Toyota Yaris 2017 | new car sales price

Toyota Australia has released pricing for its three-variant Yaris line-up – which is now on sale locally – with the restyled light hatch starting from $15,290 before on-road costs for the five-speed manual Ascent.

Exterior styling changes are most apparent when looking at the hatch's nose, which is highlighted by a redesigned front fascia that replaces the former model's X-shaped grille.

Re-shaped front fog lamps also feature, as well as wraparound tail-lights for the rear end.

The Ascent range-opener is powered by a 1.3-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine, which develops 63kW of power at 6000rpm and 120Nm of torque at 4600rpm.

Customers can also opt for a four-speed automatic transmission with their Ascent ($16,820), with both versions featuring as standard a 6.1-inch multimedia system with Bluetooth support, reversing camera, 15-inch steel wheels wrapped in 175/65 tyres, seven airbags, steering wheel-mounted audio controls, cloth-trimmed interior and six-speaker audio system.

Meanwhile, fuel economy is rated at 5.8 litres per 100km for the manual and 6.4L/100km for auto-equipped Ascents, while CO2 emissions are measured at 134 grams per km and 147g/km respectively.

Mid-spec SX variants gain a more powerful 1.5-litre atmo four with 80kW/141Nm, costing $17,330 for the manual or $18,860 when paired with an auto.

However, the bigger powerplant means fuel consumption takes a hit as the SX manual returns 5.9L/100km, while the auto averages 6.4L/100km on the combined cycle test.

CO2 emissions also increase up to 137g/km and 147g/km respectively for the mid-spec Yaris.

Sitting at the top of the light hatch range is the auto-only ZR, which cops a $550 price hike to $22,470 and takes its drivetrain pairing of a 1.5-litre engine with four-speed transmission from the SX.

Compensation for the extra cost comes in the form of a longer list of standard equipment, which now extends to satellite navigation, LED headlights and fog-lamps, climate control air-conditioning, as well as Toyota’s safety sense package that includes lane departure warning, automatic high beam and pre-collision warning system.

Ascent and SX customers can pay to add the safety sense package as an option, while all Yaris models will come backed by the Japanese carmaker's three year/100,000km factory warranty.

Has Toyota done enough with this Yaris facelift to keep the light hatch competitive with its rivals? Tell us what you think in the comments below.