Happy with Yaris?

[Forrest]

We are very satisfied with the Yaris. We wanted an inexpensive car that got great gas mileage. There is plenty of leg room in the front and folding down the back seat give lots of extra space. The car handles well and is just what we wanted.

[otterhere]

Originally Posted by IllusionX

I'm surprised that he had no mentioned anything about the center seat belt that hangs from the roof.

First, I'm a girl... And second, yes, I LOATHE that seat belt hanging from the roof!!! As for all the cupholders, interior room, etc., I'm a total minimalist who strives for the most efficient use of the smallest space possible, whether that's in my car, office, or home, so "roomy" is not a good thing for me...

I virtually never carry more than one passenger and would be driving a Smart today if it weren't for the fact that I currently do a lot of interstate driving...

Hence, the tiny, close-to-the-road Swift suited me perfectly and just seemed so much more "user-friendly," somehow. I agree it will be interesting to see how the Yaris holds up over the long haul. I can't see it lasting 10+ years??? But I'll keep an open mind...

Sorry to sound so negative; obviously there are things I like about the car (I agree it's cute as can be), or I wouldn't have chosen it over all the others available... I guess I just wish they hadn't discontinued and then altered the Swift (SRX is way too big and expensive now), but que sera, sera. So of all the subcompacts available (and I just did another cars.com search), Yaris still rules the "cheap, small car"...

[06silveryaris]

Ottohere, why did you not buy a car you liked or maybe considered a Suzuki Aerio. I did I like the hatch version and they are quite popular here where I live. I bought my Yaris used and I was on a budget but that doesn't mean I will buy something I am not absolutely sure of.

By the way I love it, its my first toyota I have always had mitsubishi or Honda. It is very reliable and gets me great gas mileage. I like cupholders and compartments where I can put stuff in. Plus I can chirp the tires in second gear. haha

[KCALB SIRAY]

Originally Posted by otterhere

First, I'm a girl... And second, yes, I LOATHE that seat belt hanging from the roof!!! As for all the cupholders, interior room, etc., I'm a total minimalist who strives for the most efficient use of the smallest space possible, whether that's in my car, office, or home, so "roomy" is not a good thing for me...

I virtually never carry more than one passenger and would be driving a Smart today if it weren't for the fact that I currently do a lot of interstate driving...

Hence, the tiny, close-to-the-road Swift suited me perfectly and just seemed so much more "user-friendly," somehow. I agree it will be interesting to see how the Yaris holds up over the long haul. I can't see it lasting 10+ years??? But I'll keep an open mind...

Sorry to sound so negative; obviously there are things I like about the car (I agree it's cute as can be), or I wouldn't have chosen it over all the others available... I guess I just wish they hadn't discontinued and then altered the Swift (SRX is way too big and expensive now), but que sera, sera. So of all the subcompacts available (and I just did another cars.com search), Yaris still rules the "cheap, small car"...

But did you solve the MPG issue as I stated before?

[otterhere]

Originally Posted by KCALB SIRAY

But did you solve the MPG issue as I stated before?

I haven't taken it in (can't spare the car right now), but sounds like the mpg is pretty typical, based on responses received; sounds to me like 40 is very atypical and the result of "extreme" driving (extremely careful), which I'm not currently practicing. Also willing to give it some time (haven't hit 200 yet) to see if it improves before starting the whole "taking it to the dealer" thing...

[otterhere]

Originally Posted by lita_g

I've also only noticed 2 velcro strips, for that thing that hangs in the back, which I removed and put in a closet at home because I don't see a use for it, are there any more strips?

What do you mean you removed it; where are those strips supposed to attach, and what's their purpose??? I can fit so little back there, really, that I'm tempted to just fold down the back seat (don't use) and make it all storage, accessible from the front doors. If you saw a photo of the Swift interior, you'd see just how unnecessarily COMPLICATED the design of the Yaris interior is in comparison. The exterior, no complaints, though. Cute...

Although that antenna is going to make it hard to throw a kayak on top...

[IllusionX]

Originally Posted by tetzyamis

I agree with otterhere about Yaris VS Swift.
I've looked at 2008 Swift (it's called SX4 now) too before I bought 2009 Yaris 5-Door.
Suzuki, Subaru, and Toyota are all sold at the same dealer here.

Actually, the SX4 is not exactly the same as the Swift found in other countries.. where it remained the same as before. The SX4 has just crazy gas consumption... It wouldn't even be in my list of choices...

Originally Posted by otterhere

First, I'm a girl...

Sorry.. i didn't know

[otterhere]

"Actually, the SX4 is not exactly the same as the Swift found in other countries.. where it remained the same as before. The SX4 has just crazy gas consumption... It wouldn't even be in my list of choices..."

So the Swift as it was found here until 2001 is still available in Europe? Yet another reason to move to Europe, LOL... I agree; the SRX is undesirable...

[lita_g]

Originally Posted by otterhere

What do you mean you removed it; where are those strips supposed to attach, and what's their purpose??? I can fit so little back there, really, that I'm tempted to just fold down the back seat (don't use) and make it all storage, accessible from the front doors. If you saw a photo of the Swift interior, you'd see just how unnecessarily COMPLICATED the design of the Yaris interior is in comparison. The exterior, no complaints, though. Cute...

Although that antenna is going to make it hard to throw a kayak on top...

Inside the hatch there's supposed to be a sort of hanging cover that has some fabric that attaches to those velcro strips, don't you have that? I think it's what toyota calls the "Liftback storage cover", I got tired of removing it every time I wanted to put down the seats and found no use for it, so I put it away for the time I decide to sell/trade in the yaris.

I looked at several pictures of the swift and it didn't seem to have that much more room in the back, but I could be mistaken, anyway, if you don't use the backseats then put them down, that's what I've done all week, although I usually prefer having them up, I rarely carry anything that wouldn't fit in the hatch, unless I take the dog out.

I don't think the yaris is a bad car, it just doesn't seem to be the right car for you, it happens, but if you really can't get used to it, I would advise you to get rid of it, it will save you a lot of heartache and stress.

[andries]

The Yaris drives so good that I am never will sell him, or over a number of years I buy the same again.
That is also because the very nice mods I have.

[MadMax]

You do have that center seatbelt locked into the roof, don't you? I see a lot of Yarii that don't do that, but it is quite easy to do!

And I don't think 40 MPG is "typical," more like 35 MPG. This is one car where you can't expect much better than the EPA estimates unless you concentrate on efficiency using hyper-milling or other techniques. I downshift my auto into '3' to kick the DFCO in when decelerating, and go easy on the gas most of the time; but I also drive 70-80 MPH and am not as worried about gas mileage as some. And even with the larger(215/45ZR17)/wider/“gripier” tires and my auto I am still getting 35 MPG.

Overall, I am very happy with the car and don’t have any major gripes about anything. I do have a few minor ones (such as the lack of a split-folding rear seat on my car), those are things I can fix given the opportunity. But for the most part, the Yaris does everything I expect of it!

Cheers! M2

[landrym28]

I'm pretty happy with mine. It gets me where I want to go at a good fuel economy.

[Chupacabra]

Originally Posted by JBIZZ

I love my Yaris, however, I recently test drove a Mini Cooper S, and was surprised that it had so much more leg room than the Yaris. The Mini S is also ridiculously fast, and has a six speed. Unfortunately it doesn't look as good as the Yaris. If anyone is thinking about spending money on making their Yaris faster, I would highly recommend they test drive the Mini S 1st.

Yeah....but the Mini S is atleast $10K more.

[songa]

i love my yaris so far...its actually more than i expected. initially, i wasnt too excited and just wanted a cheap reliable car with good gas mileage. i didnt care too much about how it looked, how much power it had, etc. i just wanted a reliable car that would get me from a to b at the lowest price. so price was my top priority, and i easily picked the yaris after not even doing much research. simply because i expect the yaris to be reliable seeing that toyota also make sthe corolla and camry, and it has the best gas mileage in its class...its pretty rediculus in my opinion actually. so i went to the dealership and found a cheap, stock yaris sedan.

the next day after purchase, i found myself in love with my car already. and after the first gas tank, i got 40MPG, a huge improvement from my lats car which got 26MPG. upon looking back at my purchase, i feel very relieved because i pretty much chose the yaris blindly and with little research and expectation, but it turns out it was the best car i could possibly buy given my situation. the yaris continued to exceed my expectations - i am improving my gas mileage (best is 42MPG so far) and i also love the way my black sedan looks. i already did my first mod which was painting the chrome garnish on the trunk black sand pearl to match my exterior. and looking at other YW members rides, I can see that this car can look very very good too when given the right mods.

so overall, this car is perfect for me. its reliable, safe, has GREAT gas mileage, and is one of the cheapest cars you can find. there isnt a whole lot of other cars you can say that about. but on top of that, the yaris also looks great in my opinion which makes it even more desireable to methan any other car in the market than it already is. IMO, after mods, i prefer the look of the yaris sedan over all of the other cars in its range as well. that includes the honda civic, and i think its safe to say i prefer it over the corolla's design as well. the only shortcomings i have with the car really only lie with the interior, but they are insignificant. for one thing, i dont like the placement of the front cupholders in front of the vents, and i also feel like they are a lil too far and out of the way. i also wish there was some storage space or cup holders between the front two seats, right next to the e-brake. i am just too accustomed to that area having some space from other cars and wish the yaris had that. my sedan doesnt have that "2nd dash" either unfortuantely, so im a lil strapped for storage space in my yaris. but really other tahn that i have no complaints. the yaris has exceeded my expectations in more ways than one.


..damn im bored at work! (hence the long post) =)

[tetzyamis]

Oh, I thought Swift was replaced by Aerio and then replaced by SX4.
I just checked Japanese site and yes, there still is Swift and SX4 is a different car.
Learned something new.
And it's true that the fuel economy of SX4 is bad compared to Yaris.

[otterhere]

Originally Posted by tetzyamis

Oh, I thought Swift was replaced by Aerio and then replaced by SX4.
I just checked Japanese site and yes, there still is Swift and SX4 is a different car.
Learned something new.
And it's true that the fuel economy of SX4 is bad compared to Yaris.

Actually, there's supposedly a Swift "Generation V" or something coming out in 2010, or so it's rumored... Looks about like the Yaris, though. I may test drive it and see if it's worth going to the trouble of a trade (probably not)...

[otterhere]

Originally Posted by songa

i also wish there was some storage space or cup holders between the front two seats, right next to the e-brake. i am just too accustomed to that area having some space from other cars and wish the yaris had that.

Hehehehe. With ALL those cupholders (and bottleholders) at my disposal, I am
actually on a mission to find one of those old fat-bottomed ceramic commuter cups from the 70s (meant to balance atop a dashboard without spilling)... I'll put it in that space between the two front seats where there's no cupholder.

Should'a asked me before they designed the interior!!!

[JBIZZ]

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

Yeah....but the Mini S is atleast $10K more.

Only 5K more, from the price I paid for my Yaris (a little under 18K). Mini S is @23K (base) and is designed with forced induction