Very much like my waistline, the ‘small car’ appears to be increase in size with every passing year as manufacturers push the boundaries in attempts to give their customers a little more than the opposition.

With the Yaris, Toyota may have nudged a centimetre or so at the front end to make it a little longer,at almost 4 metres, but they have reduced the clutter on the inside to create extra room and quite successfully too.

Once you get over the initial shock of spaciousness, you realise just how wisely the space has been used. And, thanks to the full panoramic glass roof in the higher spec models, the result is a light and airy interior, even with four or all of the five seats taken up.

The dashboard appears pretty minimalist, but has everything you need including a 6.1in touch screen which gives access to rear parking cameras, DAB radio, Bluetooth phone connections and sat nav, (again an option), which is quick and easy to negotiate. There is cruise control and a fully adjustable steering wheel.

It also has bags of cubby holes and a decent boot space. The rear seats also fold down to give a reasonable space for baggage. With the seats up, it has 286 litres of boot space and with the rear seats folded flat, this increases to 768 litres.

As far as power is concerned, the 1.5 litre, 16-valve petrol engine is combined with the Hybrid Synergy Drive to get you to 62mph in 11.8 seconds, but despite this it is still nippy in and around town. This is no hot hatch, though, but that’s not what this car is all about.

It is designed to perform economically and well in an urban environment. It is ideal for nipping quietly, and sometimes silently, in and out of traffic with economic and comfortable ease. And, while it does just as well in narrow country lanes, it doesn’t score so well on motorways. The engine struggles a little and the automatic gearbox has to uuse maximum revs to reach 70mph, but once there holds the pace well enough. In its defence and to reiterate a little, this is a car which peaks in an urban environment.

Where it also scores well is in economy. I didn’t manage to attain the manufacturer’s claimed urban or extra urban 85.6mpg, though, 62.8mpg was the best I could score. It must be a result of a right foot or the fact that I’m obviously in need of some eco-driving lessons.

Handling is good with a well-balanced feel with no pitch or roll and I found the electric powered steering, while not giving massive feedback, handled well enough in town and along the country lanes near my home.

If you’re looking for a stylish small car which is economic in town, you will not go too far wrong with the Yaris hybrid.

Toyota Yaris Hybrid Excel

Price: £17,695

As tested: £20,185

Engine: 1.5 litre, 16-valve, 4 cylinder VVT-i

Transmission: Automatic electric CVT

Power: 73/55bhp @ 4,800rpm

Maximum speed: 103mph

Acceleration (0-62mph): 11.8sec

Urban: 85.6mpg

Extra urban: 85.6mpg

Combined: 78.5mpg

Emissions (CO2):82g/km