The London Motor Show (22-31 October) will mark the UK debut of Toyota's new rival to the Audi A2 and the Mercedes-Benz A-class. The Yaris Verso, however, will take some beating. The Verso is the latest derivative of the new and very successful Yaris hatchback. It will go on sale in the UK early next year.

At just 3.86m long, 1.69m wide and 1.6m tall, the Yaris Verso still manages to offer lots of interior space. With all seats in position, it is a full five-seater with 390 litres of boot space.

However, the Yaris Verso also has a versatility that is unequalled by other small cars on the market to date thanks to its unique design of second row 'flat-in-floor' retractable rear seats. Within seconds, any member of the family can fold away the left and right rear seats to create a low, flat floor and an incredible 2,160 litres of load space. That's more than the Renault Scenic which is a much larger car.

Toyota made the Yaris Verso's seat flexibility easy to use. Key to this is the fact that the folding seats remain in the car, eliminating the problem of storage for those without a private garage. It is this simple and practical every day benefit that makes Yaris Verso so unique in its class.

Yaris Verso will be powered by a new 1.3-litre version of the award winning Toyota Variable Valve Timing-intelligent (VVT-i) engine first seen in Yaris. The engine develops a maximum 85bhp of power at 6,000rpm and 91lb.ft of torque at 4,400rpm. This high-technology engine has fully variable valve timing and direct ignition to offer impressive performance and fuel economy. Thanks to the VVT-i, high torque is available across a wide range of engine speeds to offer excellent mid-range acceleration and easy, comfortable driveability. The Toyota Yaris Verso will be available with a five speed manual gearbox or a four speed automatic transmission.

All Yaris come with a free three-year/60,000 mile warranty plus RAC breakdown recovery included as part of the Club Toyota membership package. This includes a three-year Eurocare mobility package that provides roadside rescue as well as accident management services throughout mainland Europe. The Verso is also backed with a three-year paint and 12 year anti-perforation warranty. Add to that the claim that a full service is required only once every 20,000 miles or two years., and the Toyota Yaris Verso appears to be a very sensible package.

The Yaris Verso will go on sale in the UK early in 2000. Full technical details, specification and pricing will be available at the London Motor Show - we'll be there.

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