Is a Yaris Really That Slow?

[RacerFreakXXX]

I was driving behind a base Celica GT and noticed I could keep up with no problem, even up to highway speeds. No I was not racing, but the kid in front of me decided to floor it from a stop and I had to see if I could keep up. Surprisingly enough I did. I know a lot of people think the Yaris as being slow, but how slow is it compared to the average daily driver? It seems to be dead on average, or even a bit better that average from what I have experienced.

[eTiMaGo]

yeah it's easy to look at its "only" 100ish horsepower and think the car is slow, but that's more than enough thanks to the relatively light weight of the car.

I can merge into 50MPH traffic without needing to put the pedal all the way to the metal, that's my benchmark :D

Of course, I would not say no to more power :D

[detroiter]

I say the car should have came with 130-140hp. I don't know why car companies are so afraid of giving a "cheap car" a little bit of power...without charging a rediculous price for it. Never understood why they do that. A yaris with 100 hp is a cheap car with a cheap price. A same exact everything yaris but with 130 hp would cost $2-$3,000 dollars more.

Whatever happened to making a cheap affordable car that had some punch to it. Alot of car companies fell off if you ask me.

[PETERPOOP]

not garm's.

[djct_watt]

A Celica GT isn't all that either. . . now a Celica GT-S would be a different story. But in stock trim, even a GT-S isn't earth shattering. It's not like you kept up with a Corvette. . . But hey, even relative to a V6 Camry, it's slower. I remember when I had my xA in the USA, I was completely smoked by a Honda Odyssey Minivan that wanted to raise (because I cut him off). It was BEYOND embarassing.

But is it dangerously slow? No. It gets the job done, and is faster than MANY SUV's and other cars out there. All the base model Kia stuff is slower, as is the Aveo, some suzuki's, and a lot of older cars that were considered acceptable, ie older pre -01 Corolla's. Consider that the performance is nearly the same as base model non-modified older Honda Civic's. . .

But if you have the auto, it's a fairly large difference (due to gearing). But did you really buy a Yaris to go fast? You could have spent the $10k + on a run down Pontiac Trans-Am or an old Camaro. . . or gotten a beat up EG or EK and modified. Or you could have bought a motorcycle.

After having spent my time on a bike, everything below supercar status is slow, and is pointless to race. Yes, I still drive rather aggressively, but I do it because I am impatient, not because I enjoy it. Unless you can run 12's. . . it's just slow to me. It's like that signature everyone uses about how racing slow cars is like the racing in the special olympics.

[SilverBack]

Originally Posted by detroiter

I say the car should have came with 130-140hp. I don't know why car companies are so afraid of giving a "cheap car" a little bit of power...without charging a rediculous price for it. Never understood why they do that. A yaris with 100 hp is a cheap car with a cheap price. A same exact everything yaris but with 130 hp would cost $2-$3,000 dollars more.

Whatever happened to making a cheap affordable car that had some punch to it. Alot of car companies fell off if you ask me.

The reason our 1.5L 1NZ-FE is at 110 BHP is due to Toyota's goal to create a simple DD with a high MPG. If it were a 1.8L with up to 140 BHP we would get the punch, but would suffer a little more at the pump.

But yeah, you're right. We could afford just a little power considering how much money we're saving on gas compared to a slightly bigger car, like a Corolla.

Also the diesel Yarii owners in Europe have a good thing going. That should be us too IMO.

[BluYrs]

The performance of the Yaris in everyday taffic greatly depends on the driver's skills. You have to be in the right gear at the right time, you can't just punch it whenever you feel like it. So it takes a bit more attention to find the torque sweetspot and to make most of the engine. But when you do, it's a hoot to trash around.

Given the above, I can't say my Yaris is slow. Sure, it takes a good 15 seconds to reach 100kmh/60mph and you have to change gear more often, but driven right it can be surprisingly swift.

[yariphilia]

yes, the yaris is slow. no it doesn't get great gas mileage. the 1.8l corolla is rated the same out of the box. my friend has an xd with the corolla motor and its auto and she is getting 39-41 mpg, dead on with what i'm getting. in 1992 honda built the civic cx, gas motor, 1.5l single cam vtec-e and it was rated somewhere around 50 mpg... 18 years later and the 1nzfe cant compare? this leads to the conclusion that the yaris is just a cheap car that is environmentally friendly. doesnt mean it will keep me from going fast though, its already been done :)

[Lewis]

This discussion is strange to me as I get to Europe and there the 1.5 motor is the "hot" Yaris. You want to see slow? Try the 1.2 gas or the diesel Yaris and you will discover what slow REALLY is!

My feeling is that if speed is your goal perhaps you should drive something other than a Yaris :-)

My photo shows another slow vehicle that is excellent off road!

[Yaris Hilton]

You can't directly compare old and new EPA mileage figures, because the test procedures changed to lower the figures in the 2007 model year. The AT Yaris got switched from 34/40 to 29/35. More crash protection structure, air bags and stuff runs up the car weight and that makes a big difference. A 2375 lb. curb weight isn't a little car.

The 1.5L Yaris is comparable to the typical old big block V8 American passenger cars' performance. There's a thread on here pointing out that it will beat a 1980 Chevy Z-28 Camaro. Standards change over time. You young guys that think it's pokey don't know how good you've got it.

[127.0.0.1]

it isn't horsepower it is torque

and the Yaris has enough torque to bop around just fine

oh yeah many many cars will just flatten it, but that is not what I got
this thing for. it is small yet roomy, and good on gas. that is all I care about

[mrb3990]

I have a manual transmission and am very satisfied with the acceleration power. Anyone who bought an automatic and complains about acceleration only has themselves to blame.

[ddongbap]

Originally Posted by PETERPOOP

not garm's.

Garm no longer has a Yaris. Just a rocket on 4 wheels.

[detroiter]

+1

[talnlnky]

Originally Posted by RacerFreakXXX

I was driving behind a base Celica GT and noticed I could keep up with no problem, even up to highway speeds. No I was not racing, but the kid in front of me decided to floor it from a stop and I had to see if I could keep up. Surprisingly enough I did. I know a lot of people think the Yaris as being slow, but how slow is it compared to the average daily driver? It seems to be dead on average, or even a bit better that average from what I have experienced.

its average I'd think.... its low weight helps out a lot. A lot of the time it seems like it can get a quicker start than other cars, but then the other cars start to overcome their massive weight and catchup & pull away.

[bst82551]

I think the Yaris is plenty fast enough for what you pay. Mods are generally cheap and net decent gains. The only car in its class that I can think of that's significantly faster is the Honda Fit, and it usually retails for $3k more (plus the extra money you pay in gas over the years). You get what you pay for.

I'm extremely happy with the Yaris (and I sure love to drive it like I stole it).

[cali yaris]

haha, I saw the thread title and knew my name would come up.

I loved the look, I liked the usefulness, I liked the mileage, but the stock car was a pretty slow dog in 4th and 5th gear. And that's ok, it is what it is! well... not any more..

[bronsin]

My 74 Beetle had 48 hp and Id rather have a new one of those than a Yaris. YAris should weight 1500 pounds and be no more than 50 hp. If an economy car is what you want. Anybody import a Nano?