CAR OF THE YEAR TOP 50

No. 23: Toyota Yaris

Cars

| 12-09-2021

In the 1990s, one nice little car after another entered the European market. Among those, the 1996 Toyota Starlet was a somewhat boring presence. Toyota proved to be able to do differently, when showing the 1997 Funtime concept, the harbinger of a much fresher model. As early as 1999 this resulted in the Yaris, the first Toyota from the European design studio and also the first Toyota ever to become the European Car of the Year. In 2021, the latest offspring of that first Yaris also became Car of the Year, but with 45.1% of the achievable votes, that model did not surpass the first Yaris (61.4%).