The new Toyota Yaris hybrid hatchback is now on sale in Britain with prices starting at just under £20,000. With new mechanical underpinnings, fresher styling and a cabin that boasts new and softer materials, as well as updated driver assistance technology, Toyota claims the Fiesta-rivalling supermini is “the world’s safest compact car”.

To get your hands on the cheapest version – the entry-level Icon model – you’ll need at least £19,910. That money buys you 16-inch alloy wheels, a seven-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a reversing camera. You get automatic headlights and wipers, too, plus automatic air conditioning, smartphone integration and Toyota’s Safety Sense driver assistance equipment.

For an extra £1,060, though, you can have the Design version, which comes with a handful of more premium features. The 16-inch alloys, for example, have been machined to create a two-tone look, while the lights become LEDs at the front and rear. The touchscreen grows to eight inches, too, while rear privacy glass and power rear windows are added to the kit list. And, if you want, you can also specify a panoramic glass roof as a £495 optional extra.

Climbing the range further still brings you to the £21,920 Dynamic, which is designed to offer “extra style” with a range of sporty-looking enhancements. As standard, the Dynamic model gets sports seats, black part-synthetic leather upholstery and larger, 17-inch alloy wheels. It benefits from two-zone climate control, too, plus keyless entry and a JBL surround sound audio system.

To make the Dynamic stand out even more, though, you can choose the optional bi-tone paint finish, which sees the metal above the window line adopt a contrasting colour. If you want to pair that with metallic paint, it’s a £885 option, but that rises to £1,180 if you want pearlescent paint.

Toyota Yaris (2020)

Even more luxurious, though, is the £22,220 Excel model, which also comes with 17-inch alloy wheels and sports seats, but swaps the black upholstery with a “light-coloured” palette. As with the Dynamic, the Excel gets the two-zone climate control and keyless start, but it misses out on the JBL speaker system.

In a bid to make up for that, though, the Excel gets automatically folding door mirrors, blind-spot monitoring and “Intelligent Clearance Sonars” that can help the driver maintain a safe distance to the car in front. The panoramic glass roof is still an option, as is the £825 Tech Pack.

Toyota Yaris (2020)

However, for the time being, the Excel is not the ace in the pack. Toyota is currently offering the £24,005 Launch Edition model, which is based on the Dynamic model and adds Tokyo Fusion Red and Eclipse Black Pearlescent bi-tone paint finish, as well as the Excel’s auto-folding door mirrors and blind-spot monitor. There’s a 10-inch colour head-up display, too, plus clear blue ambient cabin lighting and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

No matter which version you choose, the Yaris will come with the same 1.5-litre petrol engine and electric motor. As a “self-charging” hybrid, drivers won’t be able to plug the car in or drive for 30 miles on electric power alone, but the motor will help the engine out in certain circumstances. In fact, Toyota claims the car can be driven on electrical power for a “significant proportion of the journey time” when in urban environments.

Gallery: Toyota Yaris (2020)