2008 v. 2020 driving position and comfort

[tforkner]

I bought a 2008 Yaris hatch new. I drove it for ten years. It was fine, but for one thing- the driving position was terrible! The steering wheel was tilted too far away at the top and only adjusted down about one inch. If I moved the seat close enough to reach the wheel comfortably, the pedals were far too close. Having the three-spoke wheel also meant the wheel couldn't be grasped easily at the bottom. This made for lousy long (over two hour) trips.

Here's my question. Were the later U.S. Yaris models any better in this regard? I test drove a 2021 Corolla hatch a while back, and it was fine. The steering wheel was much more adjustable than on the '08 Yaris. How do the newer Yarii compare to the earlier ones?

[tforkner]

OK, I went and got an answer to my own question by checking out a '19 LE sedan. It had a 6 speed manual (which I like) and seemed to have a much better driving position. Its price seemed a bit high....

I went home and researched it online. They want $16570 for it. That's thirty dollars' worth of depreciation off of the original MSRP in 2019. I checked other lots' ads- the prices were about the same. Some were even over the original MSRP! These are some seriously weird times we're in right now.

[matti]

OK, I went and got an answer to my own question by checking out a '19 LE sedan. It had a 6 speed manual (which I like) and seemed to have a much better driving position. Its price seemed a bit high....

I went home and researched it online. They want $16570 for it. That's thirty dollars' worth of depreciation off of the original MSRP in 2019. I checked other lots' ads- the prices were about the same. Some were even over the original MSRP! These are some seriously weird times we're in right now.

Glad you were able to figure this out. And yes, prices are crazy high right now!

[KALISPEL II]

FYI - The 2015/2016+ "Yaris Sedan" (also known as a Scion iA) in the USA/Canada was a rebadged Mazda2 sedan with a Yaris/iA nameplate & some slight exterior cosmetic changes, so the interior/seating was likely vastly different from an actual authentic Toyota product. The 2019+ Yaris hatch was also a rebadged Mazda2 hatch. The last of the real Toyota designed/made Yaris (hatch) was 2018 here in the USA.

[mitch9521]

FYI - The 2015/2016+ "Yaris Sedan" (also known as a Scion iA) in the USA/Canada was a rebadged Mazda2 sedan with a Yaris/iA nameplate & some slight exterior cosmetic changes, so the interior/seating was likely vastly different from an actual authentic Toyota product. The 2019+ Yaris hatch was also a rebadged Mazda2 hatch. The last of the real Toyota designed/made Yaris (hatch) was 2018 here in the USA.

Us Canucks got the NCP131 Yaris for an extra model year. We only got the Mazda designed "Yaris hatch" for literally a year. It was a flop