Blink and you might miss the Toyota Yaris Cross, a car designed for dutiful service

Regular readers will know that I seem to have a soft spot for ostensibly dull cars. Regular readers will also know that a substantially high proportion of vehicles on offer at any one time fall into this dubious category. Dullness is very subjective, perhaps nowhere more so than in the car market. For some people, the idea that a car should be anything more than a means of reliable transport is anathema. Others swear by the boost to kudos and aura that your choice of conveyance bestows.

On the surface, the Toyota Yaris Cross fits into the former category. A compact crossover originally introduced way back in 1999, it became automotive shorthand for reliable, unshowy, simple motoring. Senior citizens around the world love(d) it. The combination of fabled Toyota reliability and easy driving made it

The original Yaris – also known as the Vitz, Platz, Echo and Belta, amongst other names – had a lo-fi charm, a counterpoint to its far more advanced and influential contemporary, the Prius (introduced a couple of years before). It’s remained doggedly committed to its niche over four generations, with the occasional foray into the spotlight (the sensational GR Yaris performance derivative, for example), as well as the introduction of hybrid tech.

This is the Yaris Cross GR Sport, the high-riding sibling to the hatchback. Built on the same platform, only with raised ride height and a tougher, butcher body style, the Cross joined Toyota’s line of small SUVs and crossovers, including the Aygo X, CH-R and forthcoming Urban Cruiser EV. I’m revisiting the Yaris Cross after a few years to see if this template – uncontroversially quirky but otherwise risk free – still applies in an era when small cars, and particularly small EVs, are proliferating.

In GR Sport trim, the most premium Yaris model there is, the emphasis on sportiness is only very slightly enhanced. This is no GR Yaris - the initials standing for Gazoo Racing, the in-house outfit that effectively rebuilds the regular Yaris from ground up to make a true pocket performer. With the Cross GR Sport, things are differentiated by perkier colour and trim and a mere 14hp bump over the regular car.

This Cambrian explosion of new smallish cars, with a particular emphasis on Chinese manufacturers, is upending the European car market (the Yaris nameplate is no longer sold in the US). With Stellantis pushing its small EV and hybrid platforms hard across a number of brands – Renault 5, Nissan Micra, Fiat Grande Panda – and Chinese firms like Leapmotor and MG re-shaping the compact crossover market, Toyota suddenly looks old school and a little staid.

The Yaris Cross still has a few things going for it, however. Number one is reliability. The company pioneered hybrids and whilst it doesn’t appear to be keeping pace with developments in range extenders or even pure EVs, the ‘basic’ system that underpins the Yaris Cross is tried and tested unlike no other. Last year, the company reckoned it had sold over 27 million ‘electrified’ cars to date. Look after your Prius and it’ll run for ever, and there’s no indication the Yaris Cross will be any different.

However, it’s not like those hundreds of thousands of miles will be particularly memorable. The Yaris Cross GR Sport plods along, a middle lane cruiser that’s neither especially fast nor especially dynamic, but still has a bit of zip thanks to a battery-assisted injection of power.

In this age of dashboards graced only with a solitary touchscreen, the interior is injected with a welcome dose of tactility courtesy of real buttons and dials. It’s not cossetting or especially luxurious, just well built, well specified and durable. There’s a touch of genericism about the looks, which slot into the crossover segment without controversy or distinction.

This is car design as a service, not an entertainment. If that’s your definition of dull, then so be it, but for the millions who want their mobility served up with fuss-free dependability, the Yaris Cross is here to serve. Dutiful, not dynamic and yes, a little bit dull.

Toyota Yaris Cross GR Sport, from £32,245, Toyota.co.uk