The regional Yaris Cross, produced in Brazil, will be standard equipped with the Toyota Safety Sense package, which includes:
Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) Adaptive Cruise Control Lane Change Alert Lane Keeping Assist Pre-Collision System
This equipment, absent in the Asian unit, directly impacts the areas where Latin NCAP detected shortcomings: Safety Assistance and Pedestrian Protection.
Additionally, Toyota confirmed that the regional configuration is aligned with Latin American standards, so it would include elements that correct the weaknesses of the evaluated model.
Therefore, although the initial result was a mere two stars, the organization itself could obtain higher scores when it evaluates the Brazilian version, whose production will begin in 2026.
Buenos Aires, December 11 (NA)—The presentation of the new Latin NCAP results once again generated an impact in the region, especially because among the evaluated models appeared one of the most anticipated launches for 2026 in Argentina: the Toyota Yaris Cross, the SUV in segment B that will replace part of the brand's compact offering in the region.
The first impression was not encouraging: the organization awarded it only two out of five possible stars.
According to what Noticias Argentinas agency learned, behind that number hides a key point that changes the reading completely: Latin NCAP tested a unit manufactured in Asia, with different equipment from what Toyota confirmed for Brazilian production in the Sorocaba plant destined for South America.
What did Latin NCAP evaluate, what went wrong, and why the Brazilian test could tell a different story.
What the Latin NCAP test showed: light and shadow
Latin NCAP evaluated the basic variant of the Asian Yaris Cross, equipped with six airbags and stability control (ESC).
The results were as follows:
2 out of 5 stars overall 77.01% for Adult Occupant 69.29% for Child Occupant 55.60% for Pedestrian Protection 58.14% in Safety Assistance
This is how the Toyota Yaris Cross crash test went.
However, the lack of a switch to deactivate the passenger airbag and the absence of warning signs compatible with Latin NCAP penalized the rating, despite the good dynamic performance.
The third critical point was in driving assistance systems: the tested model did not offer AEB (autonomous emergency braking), speed assistant, or advanced ADAS technologies, which do directly influence the total score.
Why the result could be different in the Brazilian version
Although the Latin NCAP verdict seems harsh, specialists and users quickly agreed on a decisive piece of data: the unit evaluated is not the one that will arrive in Argentina.
Toyota Yaris Cross, an SUV in segment B that will arrive in Argentina in 2026.
In other words: it is not the same Yaris Cross that will arrive at Argentine dealerships.
Even so, the result sparked the debate because, beyond the origin, it is a new model from a brand that usually obtains high safety scores.
In the frontal and lateral impacts, the structure behaved stably and the foot area showed good performance.
However, the driver's chest only received marginal protection in both the frontal impact and the side pole test, two factors that weighed heavily on the final score.
In the child section, the ISOFIX system and the rearward-facing installation demonstrated complete protection, following global standards.
