On sale from February 2011, the new Toyota Verso-S marks Toyota's re-entry into the B-MPV market, a segment the company itself created with the Yaris Verso in 1999.
The B-MPV segment has almost tripled in size since 2002. Driven by downsizing, this growth incorporates an increasingly diverse cross-section of customers, many of whom appreciate the interior flexibility and loadspace offered by a Multi-Purpose Vehicle.
Supporting this significant growth are families switching over from conventional B-segment hatchbacks and, more significantly, empty nesters and seniors downsizing from C-segment cars. For them, a B-MPV is not only a rational purchase essential to making the most of leisure time, but must also offer the levels of space, comfort, equipment and quality they have experienced in a higher segment vehicle.
Toyota's new B-MPV is less than 4 metres long. This makes the vehicle highly manoeuvrable and easy to drive in the urban environment. Conversely, careful attention to detail in every aspect of its interior design has maximised spaciousness, comfort and perceived quality throughout. The Toyota Verso-S offers front seat headroom, rear seat roominess and luggage capacity to rival that of C-segment cars.
The new Toyota Verso-s: A Space Revolution for Five
Small, spacious and smart, the new Verso-S showcases excellent efficiency in space management. It combines highly competitive interior space with the shortest overall length - just 3,990 mm - of any MPV in the European B-segment.
Design
Toyota's new B-MPV is instantly recognisable through its neat, compact and appealing exterior styling. It features short front and rear overhangs, powerful, sweeping coachwork lines and a large panoramic sunroof. The full-length side glazing with blacked out pillars reinforces the maximisation of interior space within the bodyshell.
Within a long, 2,550 mm wheelbase, the new Toyota Verso-S's wide opening front and rear doors give access to a spacious, practical and flexible interior. The interior design focuses not only on ergonomic excellence, but also on the high perceived quality and visual and tactile appeal demanded by increasingly discerning B-segment customers.
The precise, clean lines of the two-layer dashboard and sculpted door panels are clad in soft-touch materials. And the functional, easy-to-read instrument cluster and centre console are trimmed with crisp, brushed metal surrounds to further enhance the quality perception.
Passenger Accommodation and Loadspace
The streamlined design of the front seats, doors and trim panels maximises interior space, giving the new B-MPV class-leading front passenger headroom, rear seat knee room, and loadspace length and volume.
Raised front and rear seating hip point heights have been optimised for both good visibility and ease getting in and out of the car. Driver comfort has been further enhanced by the addition of seat height adjustment, an armrest and the placing of the gear lever as close to the three-spoke steering wheel as possible.
The 60:40 split rear seats feature a centre armrest and a one-touch, fold-flat mechanism. Unique to the B-MPV segment, the rear seats may also be remotely folded from the cargo area, with tilt down levers fitted to both sides of the loadspace side walls within easy reach of the tailgate.
The top-hinged tailgate is cut into the Toyota Verso-S's rear bumper, giving lip-free access to the loadspace. The 760 mm long loadspace floor incorporates a flexible, lightweight, two-stage cargo deck board. It may be positioned at bumper level to give a flat floor throughout and a 336 litre cargo volume, or lowered with one hand to increase the loadspace depth by 95 mm and the cargo volume to 393 litres.
With the board removed altogether, the spare wheel well is included within the loadspace, increasing cargo volume to a total of 430 litres. And with the rear seats folded flat, the total loadspace volume increases to 1,388 litres.
Despite the maximisation of interior roominess, the comprehensive array of flexible storage solutions essential to a B-segment MPV has not been compromised. The Toyota Verso-S features bottle and cup holders, generous front and rear door pockets and a versatile, three-level, dashboard storage compartment.
Toyota first, Touch Screen Multimedia Interface
Unique to the B-MPV segment, the new, 6.1 inch, full colour, Touch Screen Multimedia system provides customers with a comprehensive multimedia interface. At launch, it will incorporate AM/FM radio, a CD/MP3 player, Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity, a USB port for the connection of portable music players and the facility to display iPod album cover art, and a rear parking camera.
A DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) compatible digital radio and Navi-Box will become available as an option at a later date. Navi- Box not only functions as a multimedia booster, offering as the facility to both view pictures and sort music from a USB source, but also offers enhanced satellite navigation functions.
It incorporates speed camera warnings, sign posts motorways, and allows users to access numerous Google-based connected services. For instance, Points of Interest may be downloaded from the internet and entered as destinations, and other applications include social networking, fuel prices, news and weather reports.
Grades, Equipment and Trim
A simple, three grade strategy offers customers comprehensive equipment specifications throughout the Toyota Verso-S range. Even entry grade models feature seven airbags, electric front windows, power steering, a 4 speaker radio/CD/MP3 player with USB port, VSC, ABS, EBD and BA active safety systems, LED interior lighting and the remote rear seat fold flat system fitted as standard.
Mid grade models add the flexible loadspace floor, manual airconditioning, a leather steering wheel and gear knob, steering wheel switches, front and rear armrests and a new Touch Screen Multimedia interface. High grade models further add automatic air-conditioning, electro-chromatic rear-view mirror, dusk- and rain sensor, smart entry, 16 inch alloy wheels and front and rear electric windows.
An extensive list of highly-affordable options includes a number of Option Packs tailored to enhance on-board comfort and convenience, full leather seats with driver and front passenger seat heating, and a large, frameless, panoramic sunroof with integral power operated blind.
The Toyota Verso-S will be available with a choice of 15" wheel caps or 16" alloys, and 9 exterior colours, including a new Satin Blue metallic finish. Interior trim options include a choice of black or beige colour schemes with fabric upholstery and high quality black leather on high grade models.
Safety
The new Toyota Verso-S offers a high level of active, passive and pedestrian impact safety performance.
All Toyota Verso-S versions are equipped, as standard, with seven SRS airbags; driver and front passenger airbags, a driver's knee airbag, front side airbags and full-length side curtain shield airbags. All front and rear seats feature three-point, ELR seatbelts, and the front seatbelts are equipped with a pre-tensioner and force-limiter function.
Fitted as standard, a comprehensive range of active safety systems includes an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA), Traction Control (TRC) and Vehicle Stability Control (VSC).
Driving performance: Class-Leading Economy
The new Toyota Verso-S is available with either a 1.33 litre Dual VVT-i petrol engine or a 1.4 litre D-4D turbodiesel. Both engines are mated, as standard, to 6-speed manual transmissions. The 1.33 litre petrol engine may be equipped with an optional, Multidrive S, continuously variable transmission which features a 7-speed, sequential paddle shift mode. Both engines comply with Euro 5 emission standards.
Both powertrains benefit fully from the low friction components, super-lightweight compact design and enhanced combustion efficiency inherent in Toyota Optimal Drive. Combined with comprehensive weight saving measures and highly aerodynamic styling which gives the Toyota Verso-S a drag coefficient of just Cd 0.297, this awards the new Toyota B-MPV class-leading fuel economy and CO2 emissions.
1.33 litre Dual VVT-i Petrol Engine
The 1.33 litre petrol engine is equipped with Dual VVT-i (Variable Valve Timing-intelligent) and a remarkably high compression ratio of 11.5:1. It generates 73 kW/ 99 DIN hp at 6,000 rpm and maximum torque of 126 Nm at 4,000 rpm, combining strong dynamic performance with class-leading fuel economy of just 5.5 l/100 km and CO2 emissions of only 127 g/km.
1.4 litre D-4D Diesel Engine
The 1.4 litre D-4D common rail, intercooled turbodiesel employs the very latest piezo-electric technology and is equipped, as standard, with a Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF). It generates maximum power of 66 kW / 90 DIN hp at 3,800 rpm and maximum torque of 205 Nm at 1,800-2,800 rpm.
Benefiting from an exceptionally high injection pressure of 160 MPa, the piezo-electric injectors can supply larger, more precise volumes of diesel at twice the speed of conventional fuel injectors. Because of their high operating speed, they can deliver multiple injections per combustion cycle, optimising the combustion process for responsive performance, excellent fuel economy of 4.3 l/100 km and reduced CO2 emissions of just 113 g/km.
Multidrive S and MultiMode Transmissions
The 1.33 litre petrol engine's optional Multidrive S transmission showcases Toyota's latest Continuously Variable Transmission technology. Multidrive S features a manual override, sequential, 7-speed mode operable by either the gearshift lever or steering wheel mounted paddle-shifts. Mated to this seamless transmission, the 1.33 litre petrol engine returns 5.2 l/100 km, and generates CO2 emissions of 120 g/km.
Available as an option on 1.4 D-4D diesel versions of the Toyota Verso-S, MultiMode is an automated manual transmission with a fully automatic shift mode and no clutch pedal3. It offers the driver a choice of two, fully automatic gear change modes or a manual, sequential gear change with steering wheel-mounted shift paddles. When equipped with MultiMode transmission, the 1.4 D-4D Toyota Verso-S returns 4.4 l/100 km and generates CO2 emissions of 115 g/km.
