Toyota Yaris HSD hybrid is pretty, green in official pictures

Toyota has solemnly vowed to offer a hybrid version of almost every car in its line-up, so help it, God. You won't be surprised to hear, then, that it's bestowed its Yaris city car with the same fancy Hybrid Synergy Drive propulsion gubbins seen in the Prius and Auris.

If you were expecting the Toyota Yaris HSD, which is still a concept at this stage, to be geeky and ugly, you'll be pleasantly surprised. The car sports large, contoured headlights, a big, aggressive air intake and a sporty, F1-style rear diffuser below the back bumper.

The Yaris HSD's roof has received a funky spruce-up, too, in the form of solar panels that power the car's air-conditioning unit, which would otherwise consume engine fuel.

Other eco-friendly additions include a regenerative-braking system, an all-electric EV mode for use on very short trips in urban environments, and LED daytime running lights. The wing mirrors have also been ditched in favour of side-mounted cameras that capture exterior images for playback on an internal display, reducing drag. Clever, no?

At the time of writing, Toyota is being secretive about the Yaris HSD's performance and economy figures. The company has admitted it faced several engineering challenges in bringing full hybrid technology to a car this small, so we'll have to wait and see whether its eco-friendliness has been compromised in some way.

Even if the Yaris HSD doesn't quite live up to its bigger brothers' capabilities, we'd love to see Toyota turn it from a concept into reality -- not least because it's one of the more attractive hybrids we've seen recently.

Have a look through our gallery above to see more official pictures.