| A Week at the Wheel | Herts, England | Toyota Yaris SR 1.8 |

Inside & Out:

There's no denying that the Yaris SR looks the part. Big alloy wheels? Check. Deeper front and rear bumpers and side skirts? Check. Front fog lamps, large chrome exhaust and boot-mounted spoiler? Check. Bigger engine, revised suspension and a more sporting interior? Check. And it looks good, the Yaris benefiting from the exterior and interior enhancements. It's still the same shopping trolley underneath too, which means a cabin that never fails to have people commenting on its ample accommodation, though you pay for that space with a tiny boot - which can admittedly be made larger by sliding the rear seats forward at the expense of rear legroom. The dual-floor luggage compartment does little for boot space, either.

The interior is perhaps the least convincing part of the sporting makeover. There's little different in there over the more mundane models in the range, the addition of some perforated leather on the steering wheel and gearknob and some slightly more sculpted, bolstered seats is about as racy as the interior gets. A splash of colour might lift the cabin, but Toyota seems pretty happy with black, the exception being the light grey plastic on the doors, which get grubby pretty quickly.

Engine & Transmission:

The idea of a Yaris with a 1.8-litre engine is rather an appealing one, and 131bhp sounds pretty promising. It's a smooth unit too, revving all the way up to its redline without ever sounding strained. Thing is you need to be revving it pretty hard to get the best from it, and although it's pretty flexible at lower engine speeds, it only really comes alive further up the rev range. The five-speed manual doesn't encourage you either; its shift pretty sloppy, and finding reverse is a bit of hit-or-miss affair. It just doesn't engage you as a driver like its rivals can, good as that engine is. The 0-62mph time of 9.3 seconds is not bad among its competition, and although the official combined fuel consumption figure of 39.2mpg isn't too bad given its sporting focus, the small fuel tank means you'll become friendly with you're local filling station staff.

Ride & Handling:

The standard Toyota Yaris is a competent enough supermini, but it's never going to get your pulse racing as a driving machine. Which makes it all the more difficult for Toyota's engineers to make the SR entertaining. It's certainly improved over the standard car, the tighter suspension suppressing body roll effectively enough without being too detrimental to the ride quality. Bigger bumps set up a bouncing motion though that's not very appealing, limiting its cross-country pace on the UK's less than perfect roads.

Not bad then, but the real limiting factor in the car's ride and handling is the lack of any information through the steering - or seat of the pants - as to what's going on at the wheels. The ESP beeps annoyingly (and completely unnecessarily) when you're pushing it hard. Neither can it be switched off - well, we couldn't find the button anyway. Traction isn't brilliant either, the SR merrily spinning its wheels when pulling away quickly.

Equipment, Economy & Value for Money:

Being a range-topper the SR is pretty comprehensively equipped. Indeed, pretty much everything bar satellite navigation comes as standard. That includes a keyless entry system and push button starter, which works well enough, but we still struggle to see the point of such systems. Sadly there's no auxiliary plug for MP3 players and the stereo never sounded particularly impressive. The headlamps in comparison are super bright and powerful, and although the seats aren't the sportiest looking items they're comfortable. Economy is comparable to its rivals', the official combined figure of 39.2mpg - though drive it hard and you'll see nothing like that with CO₂ emissions of 170g/km.

Overall:

Toyota's regular Yaris is a smart little supermini, but the SR fails to deliver the sort of grins that people want in a pocket rocket. We'd look at MINI's Cooper or the Fiesta ST for fun. However, if it had to be a Yaris we'd have SR's smart looks and decent equipment levels, but take it with the 1.4-litre D-4D turbodiesel. It is only marginally slower to 62mph, will feel faster in everyday driving and return far, far greater economy and lower emissions. It's also cheaper.