Where each one leads
Toyota Yaris
- Against cars of the same age, the Toyota Yaris comes out better at its first MOT test (passes 4% more often than average) than the Volkswagen Polo (passes 4% less often than average).
- Fewer Toyota Yaris cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (2.6% against 3.9%).
- New Toyota Yaris cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 103 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 125 for the Volkswagen Polo in 2022.
- Measured by the cars' own fuel meters, the petrol Toyota Yaris uses 6.0 l/100 km on the road, the Volkswagen Polo 6.3.
Volkswagen Polo
Ahead on none of the like-for-like measures.
Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare
At a glance
| Toyota Yaris | Volkswagen Polo | |
|---|---|---|
| Model years in the US safety record | 2001–2023 | — |
| New cars registered in Europe | 2,365,588 (2010–2022) | 3,287,019 (2010–2022) |
| Licensed in the United Kingdom | 585,005 | 685,293 |
| On the road in the Netherlands | 256,323 | 292,864 |
| In traffic in Finland | 82,065 | 31,462 |
| Generations on record | — | 5 |
EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).
Reliability and problems
| Toyota Yaris | Volkswagen Polo | |
|---|---|---|
| UK MOT first-time pass rate | 72% | 67% |
| … against cars of the same age | +4% | −4% |
| New York safety inspections failed | 2.8% | — |
| … against cars of the same year | +19% | — |
| Illogical odometer records (NL) | 2.6% | 3.9% |
| US owner complaints | 810 | — |
| Most complaints about | Air bags | — |
| Model year with most complaints | 2007 (258) | — |
| US recall campaigns | 23 | — |
| Manufacturer service bulletins | 2,571 | — |
| NHTSA defect investigations | 13 | — |
Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).
Safety
| Toyota Yaris | Volkswagen Polo | |
|---|---|---|
| NHTSA overall rating | 5★ (2020) | — |
NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).
Fuel, emissions and price
| Toyota Yaris | Volkswagen Polo | |
|---|---|---|
| Official combined fuel use, Canada | 6.6 l/100 km (2020) | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid | 4.5 l/100 km | — |
| Real-world use in Europe, petrol | 6.0 l/100 km | 6.3 l/100 km |
| Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe | 103 g/km | 125 g/km |
| Average power of new cars in Europe | 69 kW (93 hp) | 74 kW (99 hp) |
| Average mass in running order | 1,206 kg | 1,190 kg |
| Dutch list price when new (median) | €19,569 | €19,500 |
| Average odometer in Finland | 137,000 km | 140,000 km |
Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).