Yaris?

carrie · Post by **carrie** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 9:55 pm

The Yaris looks good to me. Decent mileage, though of course not in the Prius range. But it's so much cheaper--$11,000 ish. The safety ratings seem okay too.

Has anyone looked into these or have comments?

Many thanks,
Carol

brewerpaul · Post by **brewerpaul** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 9:58 pm

Cute little bugger. Just on the Toyota name, I'd suspect it's well made and dependable.

Congratulations · Post by **Congratulations** » Fri Dec 01, 2006 11:38 pm

The commercials are sort of neat.

brianormond · Post by **brianormond** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:33 am

-Its similar in concept to the Honda Fit and Nissan Versa, Fit taking top rating, Versa second and Yaris last place.

- Consumer Reports says Yaris isn't on par with better economy cars. Issues are loud engine & road noise, handling at car's limits and long stopping distances unless equipped w/ optional antilock brakes.

- Sticker price is higher for the Fit, but its equipped better than Yaris-perhaps priced close to the same when equipped similarly, and reportedly a better designed and better driving car.

-The Honda gets high marks for flexible, maximized interior space i.e. a rear seat which can fold flat and stow or flip up to create flat floor space for transporting tall stuff. Fit is described as having a smooth engine and agile handling.

-OTOH, if its just for trips to the grocery or for a short commute by a cautious driver-probably anything reliable will serve. -Its nice to have good handling, low noise levels and a responsive engine for long commutes or long trips, and important anytime to have handling which permits safe emergency maneuvers when the driver in the next lane decides to swerve your way.

-Check out the Consumer Reports New Car 2007 Preview on news racks now for ratings and reviews of lots of cars.

-Good luck with your choice!
Brian

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 5:35 am

I can honestly say I've never heard of any of these.

chrisoff · Post by **chrisoff** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 6:03 am

I almost bought one a couple of years ago but went with a low mileage 3 door honda civic instead. They look like great little cars and you can get a fairly nippy one with a pretty small engine. And it's Japanese so it'll never break down.

Surprised they sell them over the water, never thought small cars were popular in the land of long straight roads.

dwinterfield · Post by **dwinterfield** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 7:59 am

My brother-in-law is obsessive in researching these things. He's going to help my niece buy a car. His research steered him away from the Yaris and toward the Scion. A friend's wife has a Scion and they love it.

chrisoff · Post by **chrisoff** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 8:21 am

dwinterfield wrote:My brother-in-law is obsessive in researching these things. He's going to help my niece buy a car. His research steered him away from the Yaris and toward the Scion. A friend's wife has a Scion and they love it.

Having just gone to look at what a Scion is it seems it's similar to the Toyota Avensis we have in Europe. It seems strange to me that someone would consider a small car like a Yaris and a Scion. I'd have though they were aimed at two different markets.

fel bautista · Post by **fel bautista** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 8:30 am

the Scion (Toyota, none the less) marketing scheme is aimed at the under 30s or first time buyers. Hence the flashy commercials. At one point, Toyota was thinking of selling Scions via the internet, although I'm not sure that actually happened.

carrie · Post by **carrie** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 8:32 am

Many thanks to all who took the time to write! Just the kind of observations and thoughts I was hoping for, and I appreciate the comments very much.

Carol

chrisoff · Post by **chrisoff** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 8:40 am

fel bautista wrote:the Scion (Toyota, none the less) marketing scheme is aimed at the under 30s or first time buyers.

Must be slightly different from the Avensis then. It's marketed at young to middle aged, executive, squash playing types over here.

Post by **Dale** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 10:17 am

Carol,

Sarah's boyfriend owns one. I'll email you his email address.

Dale

Lambchop · Post by **Lambchop** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 10:57 am

I had a Yaris as a dealer loaner in September. It was under 1,000 miles, so it was in good shape. I'm used to a Camry, but I also drive government sedans, which are small Dodges or Chevys.

Driving it around shopping and then to and from work, I thought it was perky enough at low speeds. The steering was ok. It zipped around parking lots and in and out of parking spaces nicely.

It wasn't so hot merging into fast-moving traffic or accelerating on highways. Response time was on the slow side, but not so slow that it caused problems. Still, the car is so small and light that I wouldn't want to use it on the interstate if I had to use it regularly. This is not a commuter vehicle.

It wasn't as great as the Camry, but at half the price it was pretty darned good. I thought that if I only had to tool around a small community, I wouldn't mind a Yaris.

It is, overall, better than the economy government vehicles. Suspension and shocks were much better, seating, and steering. I can't speak to the air-conditioning, as I operated it only long enough to determine that some foul person had smoked in the car already. There is good ventilation with the windows rolled down, though.

The main problem I had with it was that the engine and road noise were high. The passenger compartment was also strangely designed. The speedometer was in the middle of the dashboard, at the top, so you had to look to the right to see it. The gearshift was located where you would be gaffed in the ribs when leaning over to roll down the right window. The driver-side window crank was also oddly located, so I could not roll down the window while seated. I had to lean forward and to the right to give my elbow room.

There is also no cup holder anywhere to be seen in the front seat. Nor is there any place to attach one. Or any room where you could fit one. I spent most of my time in the car pondering this situation and searching for the cup holder I knew must be there.

It ended up being in the console, not in front of the gearshift and not behind it. There was a small -- and I do mean small -- console box behind the gearshift between the seat backs. The sole (yes, only one), small cup holder was located at the back of the console. It was behind the console box. Since the console box was between the seat backs, the cup holder was actually behind the seat backs.

A very tall person who had to push the seat back all the way would perhaps be able to place his cup in this cup holder, at which point it would be directly in the path of his elbow, which would slam it into the back seat. A shorter person, like me, could reach this cup holder after extensive training as a contortionist, but only at the risk of causing an accident.

As I said, this feature occupied my attention for the better part of my time in that car.

chrisoff · Post by **chrisoff** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 11:29 am

I've never understood America's obsession with cup holders.

Neither I nor my parents have ever owned a car that's had any and we've survived fine so far. Any car I've been in that's had cup holders, I haven't felt the need to use them.

Do they still make cars without electric windows? Wow.

Post by **Nanohedron** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:31 pm

Carol, this isn't a practical consideration, but if you get a Yaris, you have got to get a vanity plate that reads "ME YARIS".