If you want a small car that can rival the build quality of a brick-walled latrine but is many times more desirable, then the Toyota Yaris should be right at the top of your shopping list. It's packed to the gunnels with technology that makes it easy to live with every day, its automatic gearbox makes it ideal for town and its hybrid engine means it has the thirst of a fruit fly.

You should only rule the Toyota Yaris out if you want as much space as possible out of your small family car, you'll be better catered for by the Volkswagen Polo or Hyundai i20 if that's the case.

The Toyota Yaris' stiffest competition can be found in the more fun-to-drive Ford Fiesta or the more spacious and smoother riding Volkswagen Polo, though neither offers the Toyota's generous standard equipment levels and hybrid engine.  If it's hybrid you want, look at the versatile Honda Jazz.

There's a long list of other rivals to choose from including cars like the Hyundai i20, Kia Rio - both with long warranties as standard plus the practical Skoda Fabia and the well equipped SEAT Ibiza. The Mazda 2 is a little older but still worth checking out plus the latest Vauxhall Corsa and Peugeot 208 are both very impressive.

The Toyota Yaris has taken a big step up in quality compared to the previous model. You get a belt of spongy soft-touch plastics that runs along the centre of the dashboard – which makes up for the hard but durable plastics on the centre console and door cards – flashes of chrome and fuzzy fabric trims.

What the Toyota Yaris can't compete with is the consistent feel of quality you get in the Volkswagen Polo. So, while the car feels well built on the whole, things like the cheap featherlight glovebox lid, plasticky door handles and flimsy armrest between the front seats let the side down. 

Also up for criticism are the Toyota Yaris's centre touchscreen's washed out graphics that have neither the colour nor the definition of the graphics you'll find on a Polo's infotainment screen. That said, there can be no complaints about the clarity and size of the optional head-up display.

All but basic Icon versions of the Toyota Yaris get a digital dashboard with two pod instrument clusters and a 4.2-inch TFT display nestled between them. 

A central touchscreen comes as standard. In entry-level Icon models, it's a 7-inch display which is easy to use navigate – helped by conventional hotkeys that run down the side of the infotainment display – and looks much smarter than infotainment you get in a basic Fiesta (which is just as well because the Toyota Yaris is a lot more expensive). 

It displays info on things you'd expect, like your fuel economy and radio station, and things that are more of a novelty – what the hybrid engine's getting up to and how economically you're driving – it'll even give you an economy score at the end of each trip. 

Aside from the obvious, the 8-inch screen is all but identical, it's at this point we should note that no Toyota Yaris comes with sat-nav, which is fine because all models do get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. As a result, you can use your smartphone's navigation apps – like Google Maps and Waze – on your car's big screen, both of which are better than a basic sat-nav system with no connectivity. 

These mirroring programmes mean you can also playback music using apps like iTunes and Spotify complete with their pretty artwork and excellent suggested playlists. While we're on the subject of music, an uprated eight-speaker JBL stereo is optional on Excel models and standard with Dynamic cars – it's punchy but not as clear or as powerful as the Beats Audio system available in some Polos. 

On Toyota Yaris Excel models, the JBL stereo comes as part of the optional Tech Pack which also adds an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and a 10-inch head-up display. The latter is multi-adjustable so it's easy to get it positioned in your line of sight so key information like the speed limit and your current mph are right where you need it. Although, it's a shame sat-nav directions aren't something it displays. 

Getting comfortable in the Yaris is easy and that starts before you've even got in. It's large front doors and the surprising height of the driver's seat mean you can slide behind the wheel rather than dropping into it. It does feel a little too tall at first, but you very quickly get used to it. If you want to know the dimensions of the Toyota Yaris, it's 3940mm long and 1745mm wide.

All Toyota Yaris models get a height-adjustable driver's seat and Excel models and above carry over that functionality to the passenger side, too. Sadly, though we found the seats very comfortable, lumbar adjustment isn't even and option.

While the seats may benefit from more adjustment, the steering wheel has plenty – it moves in and out and for height – and the Yaris' standard automatic gearbox's shifter is also easy to reach. 

Space in the back of the Toyota Yaris is also relatively good. Someone over six foot will fit behind you even if you're the same height, although they'll probably find themselves wrapping their knees around the sides of your seat. 

It's not uncomfortable, but tall adults will have more room for their knees in a Hyundai i20 or Volkswagen Polo. Headroom is fine, however, even in Toyota Yaris models fitted with the space-eating glass roof.

There's more good news on the storage front. The Yaris's layered dashboard design give you a couple of storage ledges above the glovebox and beneath the infotainment screen, the glovebox itself is an average size, you get large door pockets up front, small ones in the back and a tray in front of the gear stick.  You also get a couple of cupholders that fit different sized cups although the front centre armrest gets in the way when you're using them. 

The boot space on the Toyota Yaris could also be better designed. It misses out on the false floor and smaller storage areas you get in cars like the Volkswagen Polo and the Toyota Yaris's 286-litre boot capacity is 30 per cent smaller than you get in a Renault Clio. 

Fold the Toyota Yaris' back seats down and you'll have to lift heavier items over the pronounced boot lip and the rear seats don't fold neatly flat into the floor although, all in all, the Yaris is still pretty roomy for its size. 

Ignoring the Toyota GR Yaris rally homologation special, the Toyota Yaris is only available with a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine that's boosted by an electric motor to produce 116PS in total through a CVT automatic gearbox. It gets the Yaris from 0-62mph in 9.7 seconds and gives it a top speed of 108mph.

The hybrid system is much improved compared to the old car. It can run on battery power alone for significantly longer than before for incredible in-town fuel economy and, unlike in the old Yaris, the battery/motor combo is powerful enough to take you up to motorway speeds without needing to call on the petrol engine. Read our guide to what is a hybrid car to find out the pros and cons of self-charging and plug-in hybrids. 

Something that doesn't work so well is the EV mode. It should let you lock out the petrol engine entirely at the touch of the button but our car never had enough battery charge to do it. The driving modes (Eco, Normal and Power) are another gimmick. They progressively make the engine more responsive and the steering heavier, but not in a way that makes the Toyota Yaris any nicer to drive and you soon learn to leave it in Normal and never touch it again. 

Around town the Toyota Yaris is extremely quiet because it will run on silent electric power almost all of the time. 

Clear the city and head out on the motorway and you'll still have very little to complain about with the Toyota Yaris. Okay, so you'll hear a muffled growl from the engine as you accelerate but once your up to speed that disappears, there's not much tyre roar and no wind whistle worth mentioning. 

It can even run on electric at a cruise, albeit, only for short bursts. All this makes the Yaris the quietest small car on sale nudging it slightly ahead of the Volkswagen Polo. 

You can count on the Toyota Yaris being very safe after Euro NCAP awarded it a five-star safety rating under 2020's extremely tough testing regime. 

Perhaps it's not a surprise that it past with flying colours when you see its list of standard safety equipment. 

As well as getting autonomous driving aids that mean it can accelerate, brake and steer itself on the motorway, the Toyota Yaris can read road signs – for information like the speed limit – and display it on its infotainment screen and dip its headlights automatically. 

On top of that, it can warn you when you need to take a break from driving and, if you do have an accident, it can call the emergency services with your location. 

If you're looking for a reliable car that'll deliver many years of solid service, you'll want a Toyota. They have to be the most reliable mainstream car manufacturer, and we expect the Yaris to continue that tradition, while as a brand Toyota's been selling hybrid cars since long before they were in fashion.

The Toyota Yaris will be cheap to insure because it qualifies for Group 13 or 14 insurance. That said, it'll cost you more to get covered than, say, a Volkswagen Polo which sits in insurance group 1-8 depending model. That is likely to be down to the Yaris' single 116PS engine being relatively powerful for a small car.   

The Toyota Yaris produces CO2 emissions of between 92-112g/km depending on wheel size. Choose a version that produces between 91-100g/km CO2 and you'll pay tax of £135 in year one and £140 for every year thereafter – £10 less than other conventional small cars which don't qualify for the hybrid Yaris's Alternatively Fuelled Cars discount. 

Yaris models producing between 101-110g/km or 111-130g/km of CO2 pay £155 or £175 respectively in the first year, before reducing to £140 for every year thereafter. 

The Toyota Yaris range kicks off with the Icon model though you wouldn't know it's the entry-level car from looking at its kit list. 

It looks quite sporty thanks to its 16-inch alloy wheels, LED tail lights and boot-mounted spoiler. Inside, equipment highlights include things like a seven-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, automatic air conditioning, a reversing camera, plus auto lights and wipers. The Icon is the only model not to get the digital dashboard readouts and looks a touch basic as a result.

Toyota Yaris Design models solve that problem by adding the digital dashboard, swapping in an eight-inch centre screen, as well as adding electric rear windows. They're also smarter on the outside thanks to 16-inch machined alloy wheels, all LED lights and tinted rear windows.

Toyota Yaris Dynamic models are the sportiest of the lot. They add 17-inch alloy wheels but also get sports seats with added bolstering, an upgraded eight-speaker JBL stereo, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and start, piano-black trims and a height-adjustable passenger seat.

Toyota Yaris Excel models feel the most luxurious thanks to their light grey upholstery and interior plastics that make the interior feel light and airy. They use Design trim as a base, adding different 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control, folding wing mirrors, front and rear parking sensors, keyless entry and go, plus a height-adjustable passenger seat. 

Toyota Yaris Launch Edition models represent the apex of the range and have everything bar the kitchen sink fitted as standard. Using Dynamic models as a base, they add kit like the 10-inch head-up display, blue ambient interior lighting, auto-folding mirrors with blind-spot warning and seats with contrast red stitching. They're easily spotted thanks to their Tokyo Fusion (red) and Eclipse Black pearlescent paint job.