Seven days. A great music expert. And the city as a backdrop. These are the ingredients of this "atypical" road test, one more tied to experience, to the person, than to the car itself. The first star of the show is the Toyota Yaris Hybrid in its latest version, on sale since last spring.

In 1999 the Yaris was not yet a hybrid, but it was already the "little genius". Today it is not only one of the best-selling city cars in the world, but it has carved out a prominent place in the urban landscape, thanks above all to the Hybrid version — a standard-bearer for a sustainable lifestyle that makes low consumption and low emissions an essential choice for many. To tell you about it we have chosen two different but complementary approaches: the Milan city scene to explore, in a video, the affinities between the Yaris and the world of music, and a week of test drives to discover the style, comfort and safety innovations of the latest Toyota Yaris 1.5 Hybrid.

Toyota Yaris, nine hundred "invisible" changes

Changing it radically would have been a risk. Toyota understood this, and for the third edition of the Yaris they chose to work "beneath the skin" — improving, refining, but without turning everything upside down. So the look changes, it updates, but it retains its familiar personality. The interior improves, yet practicality, space, the five doors and the roominess remain its perennial strong points. On the latest Yaris almost 900 components have changed compared to the previous version, and yet… it feels like the same Yaris as always. Optimised.

What does safety have to do with a passion for music?

Among the things you barely see but "feel" a great deal is safety — a fundamental pillar on the road map towards autonomous driving. At Toyota they call it Safety Sense, a "package" of electronic wizardry that puts you at ease behind the wheel, even in the city. Starting with the most important new feature: the pre-collision system, which also caught the attention of our exceptional tester (Giacomo De Poli, known as Depo, the head of music programming at LifeGate). Why? For anyone who loves music, music in the car can be a source of distraction. So the new Yaris has learned to "see" the road, to monitor — thanks to a laser — what other vehicles are doing, or whether a pedestrian suddenly steps out. Depo, as he explains in the video, was very impressed. He did not agree to actually put the effectiveness of all these systems to the test, but Toyota assure us that in all these collision-risk situations the Yaris is capable of braking on its own. We'll take their word for it.

Connectivity at the centre

There was something else our Depo appreciated: the connectivity of the new Yaris, the ease of using the satellite navigation thanks to the touchscreen display, and the real-time traffic updates. The ability to use Google Maps, the numerous apps available to download for free, the ability to receive emails and text messages in complete safety, without getting distracted or taking your hands off the wheel. Or to connect your phone quickly via Bluetooth and listen to LifeGate Radio playlists.

It recognises road signs

There are other aspects that inspire confidence in the little Yaris 1.5 Hybrid. The automatic high beams, for instance — a rare feature on compact cars; they activate whenever night falls, the road becomes dark (and no other vehicles are coming the other way). In the city high beams aren't much use, but on A-roads the fact that they switch on by themselves is a great convenience. Any other electronic wizardry? In order of usefulness: the system that warns of unintentional lane departure (typical of a moment of drowsiness or distraction), and road sign recognition (perfect for not exceeding speed limits). Cabin climate comfort also has a significant effect on driving composure, and in this regard the Yaris's dual-zone automatic climate control ensures the ideal temperature for both driver and passenger. You see? The Toyota Yaris remains a city car of choice, but the new active safety equipment makes it reassuring on out-of-town journeys too.

In the city, it runs on electricity 50 per cent of the time

What hasn't changed much on the new Toyota Yaris is the mechanics. Or rather, they've been refined even further. The same qualities as ever remain: that smooth drive, that gearbox that feels as though it barely exists, a chore you can forget about in traffic. The countless ratios slip by as smooth as velvet, leaving the driver free to enjoy an intuitive, gentle and relaxed driving experience. Parking is a breeze (excellent visibility when manoeuvring) and fuel consumption is always among the lowest in its class. But the best thing of all is that the Yaris runs on electricity for more than 50 per cent of the time, drawing on the energy stored by the hybrid system. In Milan, for example, the hybrid system means you can enter the Area C congestion zone free of charge. Admittedly, the latest Yaris is no champion off the mark at traffic lights. But in the city we managed over 20 kilometres per litre with it, effortlessly, with the comfort of suspension capable of handling — and those from Milan will know exactly what we mean — cobblestones, manhole covers and tram tracks. But even for those who aren't from Milan and perhaps travel more out of town, "real-world" fuel consumption on A-roads and motorways ranges between 14 and 18 kilometres per litre — an excellent result.

The magic of that silent hybrid

And the secret behind it all, the "heart" of this Toyota Yaris Hybrid, remains the hybrid system. A system that hasn't changed, once again pairing a 1.5 petrol engine with an electric unit. Together they produce around a hundred horsepower — not enough to make the Yaris Hybrid a "rocket", but certainly enough to deliver the right amount of energy for stress-free driving, especially in the city. The other changes are minimal and hard to detect for anyone who wasn't already familiar with the "old" Yaris: less vibration, improved suspension and steering. What has improved above all, however, is comfort — in the city, but also on out-of-town roads, where the cabin space, the boot and the seats make the Yaris a compact car capable of tackling motorway journeys without any limitations.

Technical specifications

• Version: Toyota Yaris 1.5 Hybrid
• Price: from 19,400
• On sale from: April 2017
• Engine: 4-cylinder 1.5 petrol + electric motor; total power: 100 hp
• Transmission: continuously variable automatic gearbox
• Performance: top speed (km/h) 165; 0–100 km/h acceleration (sec.) 11.8
• Fuel consumption (l/100 km): urban (3.1), extra-urban (3.3), combined (3.3)