Toyota's product transformation is in full swing and picking up steam as new generations of its cars and crossovers move to the company's Toyota New Global Architecture. Toyota says TNGA is a new way of doing business that allows it to add new models more quickly and inject some styling flair and modern technology into its lineup. The next steps in incorporating TNGA will allow Toyota to catch up to rivals in key areas where it has lagged: offering more all-wheel-drive choices, infotainment upgrades such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and greater electrification.
There's also early development of TNGA for body-on-frame pickups and SUVs, which are on a longer product cycle and badly in need of an overhaul almost across the board. Meanwhile, the Supra sport coupe is finally coming.
Yaris Hatchback: The aging subcompact soldiers on unchanged after a minor freshening for the 2018 model year that added a bolder front grille and headlamps. In the next few years, it should move over to TNGA like the bigger Corolla hatch. The Yaris is popular in global markets, and Europe just got a sport version, but U.S. sales have cratered.
Yaris: Unrelated to the hatchback version, the Yaris sedan gets a mild freshening this fall for the 2019 model year, with a new grille, fog lights on some trims and optional features such as automatic LED headlights. The sedan is a rebadged Mazda2 that came to the U.S. as the Scion iA just before the brand was axed in 2016.
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Corolla Hatchback: The 2019 model year marks a new generation for the hatch that showed up in the U.S. as the 2016 Scion iM. It's now on a TNGA platform with a new 168-hp engine and two new transmissions: a six-speed manual and a continuously variable automatic. It's also a harbinger of the coming next-gen Corolla sedan.
