Say hello to Roci

[eTiMaGo]

Since I am now in a committed relationship, my dirty, smelly, noisy, unreliable car is not exactly suitable as a daily driver :p

So, my GF's family hooked her up with a new car, a 3rd-gen Yaris (Asian model, quite different from what you get in most of the rest of the world) :D We came close to getting a Mazda2, but unless you get the top-of-the-line one with all the gizmos, it's pretty plain.

Completely stock now, and will probably stay this way for a while. I actually don't mind, it is quiet and smooth and comfortable :)

Anyway, enjoy!

[NJP440]

I wish we got these in the states

Sent from my LG-H918 using Tapatalk

[ern-diz]

Nice!

[kimona]

I like that model.

[bradbowl]

Looks nice!

[KCALB SIRAY]

Don't cut any holes in the bumper :wink:

[Kaotic Lazagna]

LOLOL Mike!

Thomas, your missing days (even for your Vitz) are over now =\

[ABSPLASTIC]

So your gf's car is your car now? lol

[eTiMaGo]

I wish we got these in the states

I wish we had your model over here :p

Don't cut any holes in the bumper :wink:

LOL not gonna happen, this car will not be abused, I have mine for that :p

LOLOL Mike!

Thomas, your missing days (even for your Vitz) are over now =\

Yeah, gonna have to drop by here more often :D

So your gf's car is your car now? lol

I'm just the driver, she's the boss :p

[IllusionX]

I wish we got these in the states

Sent from my LG-H918 using TapatalkPrius C?

Sent from my SM-G930W8 using Tapatalk

[ABSPLASTIC]

LOL it's supposed to be the other way around!

[KCALB SIRAY]

LOL it's supposed to be the other way around!

No, he's got it right, she's the boss. Unless he's ball-gagged and in a footlocker, then she really IS the boss.

[ABSPLASTIC]

:iono::iono: lol

No, he's got it right, she's the boss. Unless he's ball-gagged and in a footlocker, then she really IS the boss.

[eTiMaGo]

A few more pics, I forgot how inconvenient forums can be for posting images :p

[eTiMaGo]

Tempting....

[ern-diz]

That's what I'm talking about!

[KCALB SIRAY]

It's like he's all gown up now. I want Frank the Tank back. Bust out the Camaro and go streaking through the Quad!!:headbang:
https://media.giphy.com/media/3o85xtib0RaWzZ7U1G/giphy.gif

[eTiMaGo]

My impressions so far, after about 3 weeks:

I miss the extra storage compartments and cubbyholes from the old model... This one has just a glovebox on the passenger side, and a pretty useless area in front of the shifter. No coin storage, no place to keep sunglasses, a bit disappointing for a "practical" car.

Otherwise, it's pretty nice to sit in. Telescopic steering adjustment would be nice, the wheel is still a bit too much of a reach for my taste, but there is actually an extra seat angle adjustment, so it's not as bad as the old car.

Interior plastics are interesting, decent quality, but not "soft-touch", and molded to look like leather, with fake stitching. Yet it doesn't feel gaudy.

Sound system is decent, nothing to write home about. No bluetooth, but there's a USB slot, so I filled a 32GB thumbdrive with music and have it on random. There are steering wheel controls, so that's pretty nice.

The downsized engine is not that big a deal. 90hp out of a 1.2L is pretty good, and mated with a CVT, it works pretty well. I rarely ever go over 2000RPM, even at 120km/h on the highway, so getting some pretty decent fuel economy, so far about 32MPG average with mostly city driving, and on the highway I can keep it around 50MPG when cruising. Of course, in terms of an engaging, responsive drive, it's pretty useless :D Accelerator response is sluggish, and without much feedback from the engine sounds, it can be hard to gauge your change in speed. But it just takes some getting used to. On the bright side, when you put the gear selector in "S" mode, and mash the accelerator, the CVT does a pretty good job of keeping the engine in the power band, so it does hustle when it's needed...

Steering is a bit weird... It has variable assist, so when you are maneuvering at low speed, it is super light. But while heavier, it is still quite vague when driving normally, I have to pay a lot of attention not to drift from my lane.

There's a proper factory keyless entry and ignition too, yay... And digital climate control, the stuff I used to drool over with the old car :D

We were actually looking at other cars in this segment before settling on the Yaris. I have a real soft spot for the Mazda2, but it's quite a bit more expensive (though you get a lot more gizmos), and just more cramped inside. This Yaris is sensibly longer than the previous one (3825mm vs 4115mm), but it means a longer wheelbase and decent legroom in the back. So overall, we are more than happy with this little car :)

[kimona]

It's a good looking car. Reminds me of the Matrix. 1.2L is great for saving gas. Have fun.

[eTiMaGo]

It's a good looking car. Reminds me of the Matrix. 1.2L is great for saving gas. Have fun.

Exactly! First time I saw this model, I thought "Honey, I shrunk the Matrix" :biggrin:

[eTiMaGo]

Sneaking in a few mods here and there too ;) Some lovely Philips LED parking lights

[eTiMaGo]

Operation: Go Tuck Yourself!

"Before" and "during" pictures unfortunately missing, but imagine 3 USB cords and an audio patch cable hanging around, getting intertwined in the gear shifter and generally being a nuisance...

I recently bought some flat cables of varying lengths, and earlier tonight set out to find out if the interior of this car can be pulled apart as easily as the old one. The answer is a resounding yes! A few firm pulls on the corners of the radio surround and under the AC controls, and off the panels popped! Same for the A-pillar trim.

So, I was able to hide the charging cable for the dashcam, up the A-pillar and under the front of the headliner, as well as hiding the audio cable and other phone charging cables. Much better!

[ern-diz]

Nice; gotta eliminate as many tangled wires as possible.

[eTiMaGo]

Wow, I have not updated this thread in a while!

To be fair, in June last year, I got a sexy Volvo V60 as a new daily driver, and my future brother-in-law borrowed the Yaris for a while. But since both my GF and myself need to commute everyday now, we got the Yaris back at the end of last year. Of course, she daily-drives the Volvo :biggrin: But it also means I have permission to make some light modifications to this car!

The first ting I did, on the very last day of 2019, is a wheel alignment and front bumper modification... A litttle too fast around a very slimy muddy corner, jumped over the curb and bounced off a tree!

Thankfully the damage was actually minor, just body panels and suspension. Insurance covered it, and a month later, it was good as new :)

[eTiMaGo]

The problem with daily-driving a relatively fancy car like my Volvo, then going back to a super-basic Yaris, is that you start to miss the bells and whistles and nice little comfortable touches of the bigger car... So I started to plan out some upgrades for this car, to make it a bit more up-to-date. Starting with lighting. There are stock projectors, but using plain ol' halogen bulbs. These have since been replaced by a Philips LED kit, which is pretty much as close to OEM as it gets (not too bright, not too blue, and perfect alignment out of the box). Also swapped the turn indicators and reverse lights for some generic LEDs. I also replaced the horn with the aftermarket one I had on the 2006 Yaris, much better than the toy-like meep meep!

[eTiMaGo]

As for future plans, well... Since the 2006 Yaris is quite dismantled and won't be back up and running for a while, I will borrow its wheels, with some new tires :) After the crash last year, I have a strong distrust for the "eco" tires...

Then it will be mostly interior improvements: Big-screen Android-based headunit, 360-degree camera setup, some subtle lighting, maybe some proper Recaro seats if I can find some second-hand ones cheap... stay tuned!

[myfirstyota]

Ouch! That sucks about the brush with the tree.
Headlights are looking good though!

[eTiMaGo]

It's been super dusty the past few months, but finally got the car a good wash and wax today :wub:

[eTiMaGo]

Since I'm planning to upgrade the red Yaris to 17" wheels? why not use my nice lightweight 15" on this car?

The wheel gap looks comical, though, will need to do something about that :biggrin: