B ACK in 1999, Toyota's original Yaris supermini was one of the very first Asian models with a European market-only version that had looks, handling – even a name – bespoke to Western tastes. The initiative was rewarded with a Car of the Year gong.

Unsurprisingly, it sold very well. In the years that followed, though, the Yaris became less frisky and more sensible. As the average ownership age grew to 60, it no longer felt quite in tune with a European supermini market by now obsessed with high-tech and high fashion.

Which is why the sharper-looking third generation Yaris, launched mid-2011, has everything the trendiest small car seeker could want, according to Toyota – from Google mapping to hybrid power.

It's bigger, cheaper to run and easier to drive, too.

Here, we're told, is supermini fashion at its most friendly, chic city motoring at its most sensible.

Toyota's customer research has shaped the Yaris, so there are no hard core hot-hatch versions and, despite a revised suspension design and a quicker steering rack, little for the enthusiast to get too excited about.

In compensation though, on the open road, there's a ride and handling balance that's difficult to better in this class, even if you go for the slightly sporty 1.33 SR model tested here with its stiffened suspension.

The low speed ride is quite firm, but refinement is good enough to give the feeling of being in something from the next class up.

Unless all of your motoring is urban, the 100bhp 1.33 petrol engines are the ones to choose, even over the 89bhp 1.4-litre D-4D diesel version which offers more pulling power but a similar set of performance figures and struggles to justify its significant price premium.

The engines are mated to a clever 6-speed manual gearbox with a higher than usual 6th gear to boost fuel economy.

The 100mm increase in length has made a big difference to cabin room that you can most easily feel in the back; six foot adults can be accommodated with ease.

The 286-litre boot (within 9-litres of a Fiesta) expands to 347-litres if you load up to the roof. Push forward the 60:40 split-folding rear seats and a useful 768 litres of space is freed up.

And at the wheel? Well, traditional instruments behind the wheel replace the binnacle in the centre of the dash in older Yaris models.

And while it's certainly true that there are classier-feeling cabins in this sector none is better screwed together.

Apart from the redesigned multifunction steering wheel – and of course the Touch & Go multi-media system – the well laid out and ergonomically sound interior hasn't changed much.

Yaris prices sit in the £11,000 to £16,000 bracket, with what Toyota calls a 'price walk' in £500 increments between the main body style, trim and engine choices.

Closest competition for the 1.0-litre petrol model at just over £11,000 comes from the 1.2-litre VW Polo and 1.25-litre Kia Rio.

For around £13,000, the 1.33-litre Yaris faces the 1.4-litre petrol-powered Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa, VW Polo or Kia Rio while at £14,500 the rivalries with Ford, Vauxhall and Kia continue in diesel form with the appreciably dearer 1.6-litre TDI VW Polo out on a limb.

Even the most basic Yaris has electric front windows and mirrors, a height-adjustable driver's seat and an MP3-compatible CD stereo.

The big selling mid-range TR model gives you 15-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning, colour-keyed door handles and mirrors and a leather-trimmed gear knob. Better still, you get the Toyota Touch multimedia system that, via a colour touchscreen, enables you to control a six-speaker CD stereo system and Bluetooth link your mobile phone. It also offers a USB port for MP3 players and iPod connection, as well as a rear-view camera for parking.

With no fewer than seven airbags, isofix childseat fastenings, anti-whiplash head restraints, brake assist, VSA stability control and TRC traction control, Toyota seems to have thought of nearly everything.