so close, cant decide

[wagoneer]

well, I just noticed in another thread that you are considering a Liftback.

Well, then...that is totally different. I can see wanting to go to the 2 dr Hatch.

[roxy84]

yeah, its all about the hatch. the only car ive had that i really loved was a 1989 civic hatch (a 4 speed manual-can ya believe it). but, it was fun and pretty versatile (hey toyota, that base model 1989 civic had a rear seat that folded flat!)

i have no passion about the corolla. i like it because for an econobox it rides pretty good and gets great mileage. i guess sedans just dont do it for me.

reasons against looking at the other small hatches out there

rio/accent-less than stelar mileage, reliability concerns over 10 years/200k miles

versa-gave it a serious look, consistent complaints about poor mileage scare me

fit-hate the minivan look, bit pricey

mini-pricey, reliability concerns

matrix-comes close, but bigger than i'd like, less mileage than i'd like

[Black Yaris]

xb?

[roxy84]

Originally Posted by Black Yaris

xb?

mileage--though its not horrible, i want 40 mpg in mostly highway, some city driving. ill bet the real word mileage of that aerodynamically challenged box is still better than the nissan versa. i remember before the versa hit the market, nissan was touting its 38 mpg city/highway mix. it cant even get close to that on 100% highway, according to pretty much every owner in the versa forums.

[Black Yaris]

well it all depends on how you drive the Yaris as well, I have a few mods and drive pretty hard and still get low 30's in MPG. I also run 89 octane gas and 0w-20 full synthetic oil to increase mileage

[Typer73]

I have a liftback with the power pkg. No ABS, no side airbags. Don't miss them, don't care. BTW--this is the first car I've had that even has front airbags. Don't miss the ABS either, learned to drive pumping the brakes & it's a hard habit to break!

The split rear seat does fold flat. Mine has been down since the day after I got it. Finally gave up trying to find a rubberized mat to cover the whole rear compartment & laid down grey-black carpet. Looks good to me & keeps stuff from flying around on the plastic.

Also, I drive mine all the time (every day) & have taken several 400+ mile (one way) trips to FL to see the folks. I have no problem with the ride, noise, etc. My only complaint is if I go down one day & back the next, the last 2 hours of driving my ankle is killing me. (Would like to have cruise just for the final 2 hrs home). I consistantly get over 30 mpg & drive like a maniac (get 37 mpg on those trips to FL).

It's a great little car & after 7 months I still love it!

[BMGYaris]

Well buddy, I have a liftback myself so im going to join in a bit.

First, crash test ratings. obviously the yaris and corrolla on iihs scores are virtually identical for the non-side airbag crash test. and the NHTSA rates the non side airbag yaris at 4 stars frontal and 3 stars side, the corolla at 5 stars front and 4 stars side. Thus it seems that if you dont get the side airbags the corolla is safer.
Now here the statistics get a little complicated and I dont really feel like getting the numbers. However, a general overview is that there are obviously more head on single and multi car collisions than there are side impact collisions, but the side impact collisions have a SIGNIFICANTLY higher fatality rate.
This leads to the fact that the yaris does not have side airbag roll sensors and it will only deploy if you are in a full on side impact collision of approx. 50 mph or more. However most fatal side impact collisions are caused by spin outs where the car crashes into a telephone pole, the car flips over, or something penetrates into the cabin--likely through the window, though there are other ways. In none of these cases will our airbags deploy (all of this information can be gathered at the NHTSA website and yaris manual/representatives), thus significantly reducing the percentage increase in safety caused by the side airbags.
Further, I am sure that your corolla is much less likely to flip in a side impact collision than the LB, which is a plus for the Corolla, but if you get ABS thats more points headed toward the Yaris, I'd say statistically the two are probably averaging out fairly equal in the rolling category.
However, I suspect that your corolla has better handling and is much less likely to spin out on you than the LB. In which case even with no airbags, the corolla is again safer. possibly making the probability of you dying in a side impact equal or perhaps even greater in a Yaris with side airbags than in a nonairbagged Corolla.

THE SKINNY--they are basically the same, the Corolla certainly a bit safer in head on collisions and maybe even statistically safer on side impacts with no airbags than an air-bagged yaris, simply for the fact that in most fatal side impacts the Yaris airbags wont deploy, and the corolla is less likely to get into those situations in the first place.

As far as comfort--the yaris sucks ass. I had to buy a cushion to put under my thigh to give me more thigh support-though im a bit chunky. on long road trips its terrible, and around town its uncomfortable going back and forth from gas to break. do a search, alot of people have talked about the comfort issue--too sensitive, seats dont offer proper thigh support, the steering wheel is too far away and the arm rest sucks balls.
As far as economy is concerned do not expect 40mpg. A few people get that, but most of us seem to average about 30-32mpg with 2/3 highway, which is inline with new mpg ratings, as I'm sure you know.

Now its true that the Yaris has got some positives, and it would be great to have a LB over a sedan. However, the Yaris has alot of down sides also, as mentioned, plus more like side wind issues, overall handling issues, questionable tranmission issues--I would have to say if you really want a LB and you have to get the PP look around at other models for a bit, they will be similarly price, but honestly, i say as long as you haven't made any promises to your dogs just stick with your Corolla until you can get a LB with more active safety features, better Passive safety features, maybe a foot more of length to it and who knows maybe an option to get fold flat seats w/o PP. I think you must be nuts if you switch:)

Anyway, it would be nice to have a new member:)

(i bet people are going to be pissed at me, if they took the time to read this LONG ASS post.)

[roxy84]

thanks bmgyaris. i have considered alot of the issues you brought up regarding safety and comfort. in my younger days, looks would have been enough to sway me to the yaris. during my many test drives with the yaris, i tried to look beyond the noisy acceleration and lack of torque (even compared to corolla), significant body roll in moderately hard turns, seat without much support at the front and overall seating postion. i tried to overlook all of these things for one reason: i really like the looks of the car. is that enough? well, its really what i have to decide. when i was 20 years old it would have been plenty.

[Pars]

Granted the Corolla has a wheel base that 5inch longer then the Yaris which might explain a more stable feel on the highway. But in an emergency situation, I believe the Yaris will make better use of the available rubber and combined with the the ABS (which happens to work well) makes for a excellent combination for accident avoidance (assuming your quick enough to make use of the system).

The high-up and top-heavy might make the Yaris feel a little dinky when fighting the cross wind, but when you're coming off the curb or slamming through the pot hold, it's apparent there's a solid chassis underneath.

Regarding seat comfort (5dr liftback), it's one of my favorite place to be. Very good back support. Thigh support is a bit on the short side but the positioning makes good for crossing your leg under each other on long drives (that's assuming you have cruise control). On the long drives, the fist thing to get fatigued (after going about 3hrs non-stop) is my ankle, which gets fatigued from holding my foot over the gas pedal (I'm a bit on the leggy side, so my legs aren't stretch out and thus need more effort to hold over the gas pedal). The cruise control with the cross-leg seating position would be ideal for the long drives.

[y-rag]

Regarding those nice side air bags: I did not get them and I don't think about it (much). But then I ride sport bikes and am used to driving extremely defensively albeit aggressively and am always thinking 'bout how I just simply cannot afford any 'accident'!! So, when the dealer recommended the side bags, he claimed that they were a great idea NOT just for side impacts but for the all too common small car roll overs in numerous accident scenarios. Made sense...ah, ...but even with that info my stubborn Scotch ancestry shamelessly and arogantly bullied away any inner attempt at rationalizing the additional cost. So we went completely spartan on the cheap with absolutely NOTHING extra. Out the door tax and license 12.5 g's. What's not to like about that? BUT never the less, when it comes to safety what's your life worth?

[deebrown]

Here's a link providing some interesting reviews of the 07 corolla (most are not nice):

http://autos.yahoo.com/toyota_coroll...art=1&show=atl

[Blenjar]

If you get sedan yaris..get power pkg, if you get hatchback...get conven. pkg.

-- Blen

[Pars]

Originally Posted by deebrown

Here's a link providing some interesting reviews of the 07 corolla (most are not nice):

http://autos.yahoo.com/toyota_coroll...art=1&show=atl

Big difference, when you compare it to the Yaris reviews.

http://autos.yahoo.com/toyota_yaris-...zkfcTgF.RUjc0F

[Yaris Revenge]

I'd go with whatever option allowed you to have side air bags. Rumor has it the yaris got the worst crash test ratings in its class because of the lack of side air standard (read that on here somewhere). I wouldn't consider one without that option... better to be inconvenienced and/or broke than dead.

~YR