Used Toyota Yaris Cross (Mk1, 2021-date) buyer’s guide: small SUV is a smash hit

All Yaris Crosses cost less than £40,000 new, so there’s no road-tax supplement to pay, which means the bill is £195 per year. Maintenance costs shouldn’t be too punishing, either, the service schedule is set at every 12 months or 10,000 miles, alternating between Intermediate (which is essentially just an oil and filter change) and Full. These cost £265 and £365 respectively, on top of which you’ll need to add £96 every other year for fresh brake fluid. A chain-driven engine means there’s no cambelt to change.

Recalls

Toyota has a good record when it comes to issuing recalls, and sure enough the Yaris Cross has been the subject of just two of them so far; both also affected the fourth-generation Yaris hatch.

The first campaign was issued in August 2023 and it affected just a handful of Yaris Cross models built in June 2023, which left the factory with their wheel nuts not tightened sufficiently. All that was required was to check the nuts and tighten them if necessary.

A second recall came in October 2023, but this time there were more than 27,000 cars affected, built from the start of production up to July 2023. These had faulty eCall software, which had to be upgraded to a newer version via an over-the-air update. Dealers would fix both problems for free.

Driver Power owner satisfaction

The Yaris and Yaris Cross are both in the 2025 Driver Power survey, in 35th and 41st place respectively. The Yaris Cross didn’t manage any first places, although it did come second for drivetrain smoothness and fuel economy, but only 31st for servicing costs and 27th for other running costs. Owners also like the quality, brakes, handling and comfortable ride, but not the built-in sat-nav, rear-seat legroom, heating and ventilation, or shortage of cubbyhole space.