Toyota Yaris Verso

Toyota Yaris Verso: which version to buy (1999–2006)

If you are choosing a Toyota Yaris Verso rather than reading a first look at the model, the short answer from the numbers is this: there is only 1 generation (1999-01-01 to 2006-12-31), body type Compact Van, and 4 versions. The fastest and most powerful is 1.5 MT (106 hp, 11.2 s to 100 km/h, 175 km/h).

If you are choosing a Toyota Yaris Verso rather than reading a first look at the model, the short answer from the numbers is this: there is only 1 generation (1999-01-01 to 2006-12-31), body type Compact Van, and 4 versions. The fastest and most powerful is 1.5 MT (106 hp, 11.2 s to 100 km/h, 175 km/h). The strongest torque and the only measured fuel figures belong to diesel 1.4 MT (170 Nm, mixed 5 L/100 km). The lightest kerb weight and the largest payload sit on 1.3 AT (1000 kg kerb, 550 kg payload). 1.3 MT is the gasoline baseline: same 86 hp engine as the automatic, but 2.0 s quicker to 100 km/h and 10 km/h higher top speed.

No prices are in this dataset, so “what the extra money buys” here means what extra power, torque, mass, and time you get when you move from one named version to another.

Generations: what changed between versions (one generation only)

The Yaris Verso has 1 generation, key `5864`, sold as Compact Van from 1999-01-01 to 2006-12-31, with 4 modifications. There is no second generation in the data, so there is no generation-to-generation restyle to weigh. The buying choice is entirely between the four versions of this one generation.

All four share: FWD; Front, transverse engine; Independent, spring front suspension; Semi-independent, torsion rear; front brakes Disc; rear brakes Drum; ground clearance 120 mm; tank 45 L; production window 1999-01-01–2006-12-31. Wheel sizes are not measured on every version.

What actually differs is engine family, gearbox, and the resulting mass and performance:

Engines and specs

Exact version names as in the data:

Gasoline 1.3 MT and 1.3 AT share the same 1299 cc unit: multi-point distributed injection, compression 10.5, bore × stroke 75 × 73.5, 95 fuel. 1.5 MT keeps compression 10.5 and bore 75 mm but stroke is 84.7 mm (11.2 mm longer), which is the geometric reason displacement rises from 1299 to 1497 cc (+198 cc, +15.2%). Diesel 1.4 MT is the only Turbo version; fuel system, compression, and bore × stroke for 1.4 MT are not measured.

Specific output (hp per litre of displacement):

• 1.5 MT: 106 / 1.497 = 70.8 hp/L (highest)
• 1.3 MT and 1.3 AT: 86 / 1.299 = 66.2 hp/L
• 1.4 MT: 75 / 1.364 = 55.0 hp/L (lowest peak power density, highest torque density)

Torque per litre:

• 1.4 MT: 170 / 1.364 = 124.6 Nm/L
• 1.3 MT / 1.3 AT: 124 / 1.299 = 95.5 Nm/L
• 1.5 MT: 143 / 1.497 = 95.5 Nm/L

The two gasoline displacements land on the same 95.5 Nm/L; the diesel is +29.1 Nm/L versus that gasoline figure. Peak diesel torque arrives at 2000 rpm versus 4400 rpm on 1.3 MT/1.3 AT and 4200 rpm on 1.5 MT — 2200–2400 rpm earlier.

Performance, mpg, and economy

1.5 MT is the performance pick: 0.7 s quicker to 100 km/h than 1.3 MT and 2.7 s quicker than both 1.4 MT and 1.3 AT. Top speed ranking is the same order: 175 → 165 → 160 → 155 km/h. 1.5 MT is 20 km/h faster than 1.3 AT and 15 km/h faster than 1.4 MT.

1.4 MT and 1.3 AT share the same 13.9 s 0–100 figure, but they are not the same car: the diesel has +46 Nm versus the 1.3 gasoline pair and a 5 km/h higher top speed than 1.3 AT. The automatic costs 2.0 s and 10 km/h versus 1.3 MT on the same 86 hp / 124 Nm engine.

Fuel consumption is not measured for 1.3 MT, 1.5 MT, and 1.3 AT. Only 1.4 MT has figures: city 6, highway 4.4, mixed 5 L/100 km. Highway is 1.6 L/100 km below city; mixed sits 1.0 L/100 km below city. Do not treat the gasoline versions as “unknown thirsty or unknown frugal” — the parameter exists in the catalogue and is simply not measured.

CO2 and eco class are not measured on all four versions.

Dimensions, weight, tank, wheels

Ground clearance is 120 mm on every version. Tank is 45 L on every version. Wheel size is not measured on every version.

1.5 MT has the best power-to-weight: 10.14 kg/hp, 2.13 kg/hp lighter than 1.3 MT and 3.86 kg/hp lighter than 1.4 MT. That matches the 11.2 s sprint.

1.3 AT is the mass outlier: lightest kerb (1000 kg, 55 kg below 1.3 MT, 75 kg below 1.5 MT) but heaviest gross (1550 kg, +20 kg versus the three manuals). Payload is therefore 550 kg — 70 kg more than 1.4 MT, 75 kg more than 1.3 MT, 95 kg more than 1.5 MT. If the Compact Van is bought to carry mass rather than to sprint, 1.3 AT is the arithmetic winner even though it is the slowest (155 km/h) and tied-slowest to 100 km/h.

1.4 MT is 25 kg lighter at the kerb than 1.5 MT and 5 kg lighter than 1.3 MT, with 480 kg payload — the best payload among the three manuals.

Which version to choose

Use the four named versions as they stand. There are no duplicate names that need a horsepower split.

Choose 1.5 MT if the question is “which Yaris Verso is the strongest gasoline Compact Van in this generation.” It is the only 106 hp / 78 kW / 143 Nm / 1497 cc version. Versus 1.3 MT you gain +20 hp (+23.3%), +19 Nm (+15.3%), +198 cc, 0.7 s off 0–100, +10 km/h top speed, at +20 kg kerb and −20 kg payload (455 vs 475). Specific output rises from 66.2 to 70.8 hp/L. Both are Manual, 5 gears, FWD, Gasoline, No boost, 4 valves per cylinder. Fuel use for 1.5 MT is not measured, so you cannot claim it uses more or less fuel than 1.3 MT from this data.

Choose 1.3 MT if you want the gasoline 86 hp engine with the quicker of the two 1.3 gearboxes. Versus 1.3 AT it is 2.0 s faster to 100 km/h (11.9 vs 13.9) and 10 km/h faster at the top (165 vs 155), with Manual 5 versus Automatic 4. You give up 75 kg of payload (475 vs 550) and accept 55 kg more kerb weight. Versus 1.5 MT you give up 20 hp and 0.7 s; versus 1.4 MT you gain 11 hp and 2.0 s but lose 46 Nm and the only measured mpg figures. City/highway/mixed for 1.3 MT are not measured.

Choose 1.4 MT if torque, Turbo diesel, and measured consumption matter more than peak hp. It is the only Diesel, the only Turbo, the only 2-valves-per-cylinder engine, and the only version with L/100 km numbers (6 / 4.4 / 5). Peak is 75 hp — 31 hp below 1.5 MT (−29.2%) and 11 hp below the 1.3 pair — but 170 Nm is +27 Nm versus 1.5 MT and +46 Nm versus 1.3 MT/1.3 AT, at 2000 rpm. 0–100 is 13.9 s, same as 1.3 AT, 2.7 s slower than 1.5 MT. Top speed 160 km/h sits between the two 1.3 gasoline versions. Kerb 1050 kg is the lightest manual. Fuel system, compression, bore × stroke, CO2, and eco class for 1.4 MT are not measured.

Choose 1.3 AT if Automatic 4-speed and payload are the point. Same 86 hp / 124 Nm / 1299 cc Gasoline engine as 1.3 MT, same 10.5 compression and 75 × 73.5, but 4-speed Automatic instead of 5-speed Manual. It is the slowest top speed in the generation (155 km/h) and tied with 1.4 MT at 13.9 s to 100 km/h. What it uniquely buys in the numbers is 1000 kg kerb and 550 kg payload — the largest carrying margin of the four. Fuel use is not measured.

Pairwise “what you add”

• 1.3 MT → 1.5 MT: +20 hp, +19 Nm, +198 cc, +20 kg kerb, −20 kg payload, −0.7 s, +10 km/h. Same Manual 5, FWD, Gasoline, No boost.
• 1.3 MT → 1.3 AT: same engine; gearbox Manual 5 → Automatic 4; +2.0 s; −10 km/h; −55 kg kerb; +20 kg gross; +75 kg payload.
• 1.3 MT → 1.4 MT: Gasoline → Diesel, No → Turbo, 4 → 2 valves/cyl, 86 → 75 hp, 124 → 170 Nm, 11.9 → 13.9 s, 165 → 160 km/h, −5 kg kerb, +5 kg payload. Fuel figures appear only on the diesel.
• 1.5 MT → 1.4 MT: −31 hp, +27 Nm, +2.7 s, −15 km/h, −25 kg kerb, +25 kg payload, and the only mixed 5 L/100 km figure in the table.
• 1.5 MT → 1.3 AT: −20 hp, −19 Nm, Automatic instead of Manual, +2.7 s, −20 km/h, −75 kg kerb, +95 kg payload.

Reliability, problems, and what this dataset does not contain

This catalogue extract has no failure rates, no common-fault list, and no service-cost figures. A buying article that invented “typical Yaris Verso problems” would not be using the data. What can be said without leaving the numbers: all four versions share the same chassis pattern (FWD, 120 mm clearance, Disc front / Drum rear, Independent spring front, Semi-independent torsion rear) and the same 1999–2006 window, so generation-level hardware is not a differentiator. The differentiators that are measured are engine type (Gasoline vs Diesel), boost (No vs Turbo), gearbox (Manual 5 vs Automatic 4), power (75 / 86 / 106 hp), torque (124 / 143 / 170 Nm), and mass.

If you need a single line: 1.5 MT for the highest hp and shortest 0–100; 1.4 MT for 170 Nm and the only mpg numbers; 1.3 AT for 550 kg payload and Automatic; 1.3 MT for the 86 hp gasoline engine without the automatic’s 2.0 s penalty.