Can a Yaris be Sporty?

[Doowstados]

Hey, I'm a new member. I'm thinking about purchasing a used Yaris hatch, but I have a lot of questions...

My goal for my next car is to get something sporty with good gas mileage, great reliability and under $6,000. Ideally the car will have under 80,000 miles on it. The Yaris fits this bill, as do some other cars.

The reason I'm buying another car is because my current car, a 1991 Toyota Celica, requires quite a bit of upkeep. I recently swapped the engine in it and shortly afterwards had to move to an apartment so I can't take care of the minor issues after the swap (small coolant leak, wiring issues, no A/C, etc) because I don't have a garage. I'll be putting the car in storage until I finish college and need something to get me by until then.

I've been spoiled by the Celica - it was my first car and I've had it for four years. For those of you Toyota fans you know that Celicas, especially older ones, were pretty high end sports cars with great suspensions, awesome handling and all the bells and whistles.

I don't want to feel like I'm driving a big car that bobs everytime you hit a small bump - I like feeling laid back, sitting low to the ground and firmly planted in the seat. I don't speed but I like being able to redline it at lights occasionally just to get going and get thrown back into the chair.

Can a Yaris give me that feeling? What would I need to do, if anything, to get that feeling? The seats don't look very grippy (no support on the sides), I'll probably need to install some aftermarkets buckets or something from another car (maybe a Celica?) How does a short shifter feel in the Yaris? Is the manual mooshy?

Tell me all ya can! Thanks!

[tk-421]

You want a sporty Yaris under 6k? Can't do any better than this IMO:
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45367

Welcome to the forums, BTW.

[Doowstados]

Originally Posted by tk-421

You want a sporty Yaris under 6k? Can't do any better than this IMO:
http://www.yarisworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45367

Welcome to the forums, BTW.

Looks pretty nice but passing smog is a big reason I'm looking for a new car to begin with

California FTL.

[47_MasoN_47]

The Yaris isn't going to rocket off the line without some boost, but you can definitely spruce up the handling. A rear sway bar and some different springs will make it feel like you're driving a completely different car. I took one of those cloverleaf exits at 65mph yesterday on my way to Franklin. Car didn't slide or get sketchy at all.

I'll warn you though, once you get the car handling nicely you might end up buying a supercharger or turbo. It happened to me haha.

[CTScott]

I own a 92 Celica GT as well as 5 Yaris. I definitely understand the sports car feel of the Celica, but I think my Supercharged Yaris is actually more fun to drive.

The one thing that really differentiates the Celica from the Yaris is the independent rear suspension. If we could figure out how to transfer that to the Yaris, I would never look back.

[Astroman]

I did a CAI, corolla throttle body, dc sports header, aluminum pulleys and had a local muffler shop build me a custom magnaflow axleback muffler and with springs, rear sway bar and some bracing it really feels sporty just need boost but I really enjoy driving the yaris. I got an auto but my ex got a manual and it was better on gas plus you can do some upgrades like a short shift kit, clutch and bushings. I'd start with the suspension.

[junorico24]

Well, get a Daihatsu. Toyota took the K3-ve engine out of the Daihatsu and put it in the Yaris. With toyota's own vvti set up. But it's not as lively as a Daihatsu motor.Get a Daihatsu sirion gtti or YRV turbo. The same engine as the Yari but Daihatsu tuned it like a pocket rocket.I mean the Yaris has some some pop off the line but has no character. It's kind of dull.

[94toy22re]

How about a MR2 Spyder or Maita? I know its out of your budget but the 2012+ Yaris's do have sportier seats then the previous generation + install a short shifter and a sway bar and it defiantly makes the car more fun.