Toyota At The Geneva Motor Show 2017

Toyota had a big contingent of cars at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show - though the most important ones are quite small in size. Toyota showed off an urban transport concept car, the newest iteration of its most popular hatchback in Europe along with its performance-oriented version, highlighted its existing lineup of hybrid cars in the continent and showed off their new lineup of racing vehicles.

Toyota i-TRIL Concept

The Toyota i-TRIL Concept previews a potential future car which addresses the mobility needs of people living in cities while being less harmful to the environment. The i-TRIL also tries to address the demands of a future where autonomous driving will be the norm but certain customers may still want to drive themselves in a fun-to-drive car.

Designed by the company's ED2 design studio in South of France, the i-TRIL could be an alternative to A and B segment hatchbacks and even motorcycles of the future, says Toyota. 

The car is 3-metres long, 1.5-metres high and weighs just 600kg. The unique feature of the car is the fact that its body is hinged on the rear axle, allowing the body to tilt to up to 10 degrees. The front wheels and the body tilt as the car turns into the corner, this allows for a tighter turning radius (of 4-metres), increased passenger comfort as well as increased driving pleasure, even at low speeds.

The teardrop cabin can seat three people and can be accessed via butterfly-doors hinged on the front pillars. The butterfly doors allow for easier access even in tight parking spaces; the doors also include a part of the floor to ease entry into the threes-seater cabin. The driver seat is placed in the centre while the rear passenger seat is a bench. 

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The steering, which hides from view when in autonomous mode, is the only controller available inside for the driver; there are no pedals.

2017 Toyota Yaris

Toyota has invested €90 million (about Rs 6.36 Crore) to improve its hatchbacks for the European market - and one of the first cars to have come from this is the new Yaris. Changes include the heavily redesigned exterior, more premium interior, new equipment, improved handling and safety - and most importantly an all-new petrol engine.

While the car still utilises a tall-boy design to be spacious-but-compact, designers have tried to mask the height. New to the Yaris is the option of fitting 16-inch alloy wheels, the car is offered with 15-inch steel or alloy wheels depending on the grade.

Inside, the design has been updated to give the Yaris a premium feel. The propeller-style vents, blue interior illumination, and redesigned multimedia screen housing make the cabin look better. The NVH levels inside the cabin have been reduced thanks to new engine mounts, a better engine roll restrictor, new front driveshafts, new front subframe and a new air intake. A new sub-silencer has also been added to the exhaust system to make it quieter. 

The new 1.5-litre petrol motor is not only better in terms of performance and efficiency as compared to the 1.33-litre unit it replaces, but also future emission norms ready. Developing 111PS of maximum power and 136Nm of peak torque - the new Yaris accelerates from 0-100kmph in 11 seconds (faster by 0.8 seconds than the earlier model).

Safety systems offered as standard include a pre-collision system with autonomous braking, automatic high beam assist, and lane departure alert. A Road sign assist system is also offered on certain variants to warn drivers of road warnings through the driver-information screen on the instrument cluster. The rear seatbelts now get force limiters and pretensioners for added safety of the rear passengers.

2017 Toyota Yaris GRMN

The performance-oriented version of the new Yaris hatchback, the GRMN offers the thrill only a powerful hot-hatch can deliver. 

Developed by Toyota's Gazoo Racing department with extensive testing conducted at the famed Nürburgring Nordschleife - the Yaris GRMN also celebrates the return of the company to the World Rally Championship. GRMN stands for 'Gazoo Racing tuned by 'Meister of Nurburgring'.

The exterior design closely matches the Yaris WRC car with white, red and black details featuring heavily. It also features 17-inch BBS alloy wheels and a large wing-type spoiler. Inside, the Yaris GRMN features sports seats, a steering wheel lifted from the GT86 and aluminium sports pedals.

The Yaris GRMN is powered by a 1.8-litre supercharged motor developing 208PS of maximum power sent to the front wheels. The chassis has been fettled with to help transmit the extra 97PS of power - this includes a tie bar between the front strut towers, shorter springs, new Sachs shock absorbers and a larger front anti-roll bar. A Torsen limited-slip differential is also fitted.

Braking duties are handled by ventilated discs at all four corners with the front brakes featuring four-pot callipers.

Mirai Geneva Motor Show Edition

The hydrogen fuel-cell powered Mirai was shown with a special Purple Flake paint job. The sedan is powered by an electric motor developing 152PS/335Nm which draws power from a 1.6 kWh battery charged by a hydrogen fuel-cell; The car has a claimed range of 480km.

Toyota Dakar Hilux

Toyota's motorsport arms showed off the Dakar Hilux at their booth. The much cleaner looking race truck was part of this year's Dakar Rally and came fifth overall amongst the cars that finished, piloted by Giniel de Villers and Dirk von Zitzewitz.

Toyota Yaris WRC

Toyota showcased the Yaris WRC which will soon compete in the third round of the 2017 World Rally Championship in Mexico. Toyota has returned to WRC after a gap of 16 years and it has already tasted success by winning the second rally of this season held in Sweden. 

Toyota TS050 Hybrid

Toyota's entry in the World Endurance Championship LMP1 segment was also shown at the company's stand at Geneva. The TS050 Hybrid will be competing against Porsche and NISMO for glory this year.

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