Thailand’s Toyota Yaris Cross is yet another jacked up, quasi-SUV hatchback looking to cash in on consumer’s growing interest in taller riding crossovers/SUVs.

Despite the name, the Yaris Cross is actually a dress up version of the standard ride height Thailand-market Toyota Yaris, which unlike the Yaris sold here, uses a smaller 1.2-litre engine to take advantage of Thailand’s tax incentives for low CO2 emitting vehicles. (100 g/km).

Our Malaysian market Yaris comes with a larger 1.5-litre engine.

What you see here is part of a 35,000 Baht (RM 4,700) accessories package, which swaps the standard car’s suspension for another one which raises the car’s ride height by 30 mm.

Other items include black skirting, black painted roof, larger 16-inch wheels (standard car is 15-inch), and black side mirrors.

Also new is a 1.2-litre (3NR-FXE) VVT-iE (electrically controlled variable valve system) engine that raises power output from 86 PS to 92 PS, while offering a lower (claimed) fuel consumption of 23.3 km/litre – a significant improvement on the previous 1.2-litre Dual VVT-i engine’s 20 km/litre.

For comparison, our locally-assembled Toyota Yaris comes with a 1.5-litre Dual VVT-i engine that makes 107 PS and 140 Nm.