Six years after making its global debut, the Yaris Cross compact SUV has been unveiled in its latest avatar. While Toyota carried out a comprehensive update in 2024, this facelift is mostly minor. Aimed mainly at the European market, the 2026 Toyota Yaris Cross facelift brings revised exterior and interior details, while continuing to be based on the automaker’s TNGA-B platform.
- Facelift brings a revised front fascia, new colours and wheel designs
- More features added across trim levels
- Will be available with just one powertrain option
2026 Toyota Yaris Cross facelift: Exterior
Most of the visual updates are concentrated at the front
One of the most obvious updates on the exterior of the Yaris Cross facelift is noticeable at the front. The small and narrow grill of the old car has been replaced by a new honeycomb design that is body-coloured and better integrated into the fascia. The tweaked angular headlamps get sharper-looking lighting elements, and the new front bumper features black cladding. Meanwhile, the Toyota logo sits further up, between the headlamps.
There are two new colours – Persian Salt and Precious Bronze. The latter is a two-tone option with contrasting black roof and pillars. There are new 18- and 17-inch alloy wheels on the top-end Excel and mid-tier Design trims, respectively. The side cladding now has ‘Yaris Cross’ etched into the black plastic. As for the Yaris Cross GR Sport, it comes with 18-inch rims, a slightly wider front bumper, and 'GR Sport' logos.
2026 Toyota Yaris Cross facelift: Interior and features
Design changes remain minimal, but the feature-spread is more notable
One of the visible changes on the inside of the 2026 Toyota Yaris Cross are the platinum-coloured inserts on the doors, dashboard and around the engine ignition button. The mid-tier Design trim now gets sports seats, which were earlier reserved for the Excel trim, but with platinum highlights and stitching to match the rest of the cabin detailing.
The top Excel trim gets leatherette and plant-based materials used for the seats along with contrasting highlights. The GR Sport variant gets a darker interior theme and leatherette plus suede sport seats with red stitching. There are also ‘GR’ logos on the headrests and steering wheel. Other version-specific touches include gunmetal silver inserts in the doors and on the instrument binnacle.
The GR Sport and Excel trim get an electrically powered tailgate, while the Excel also adds a panoramic glass roof. There is a JBL sound system, wireless Apple CarPlay & Android Auto, ambient lighting and wireless charging available on higher trims, while standard equipment on all trims include power-closing outside rearview mirrors (ORVMs), split-folding rear seats and the Toyota Safety Sense suite.
2026 Toyota Yaris Cross facelift: Powertrain
There is only one engine option available with this facelift
The 2026 Yaris Cross facelift has a 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine mated to an e-CVT gearbox. Comprising the hybrid system is a small lithium-ion battery and up to two electric motors (in case of the all-wheel drive variant). The pre-facelift model had this hybrid powertrain in two states of tune – 114hp and 129hp. However, the facelift is only offered with the higher output version. Front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive options remain, and the top speed is 175kph. In Europe, the 2026 Toyota Yaris Cross facelift competes with the likes of the Nissan Juke, Renault Captur and Volkswagen T-Cross.
Dhruv Dhaka
Uday Singh
Dipan Sur
Glenn Noronha
