Take the Yaris plunge?

[1digit]

Hi folks, I've lurked here for a good while, and finally registered to ask opinions on whether I should trade in my current DD for a Yaris. Said ride is a 2003 Jetta GLI--the one with the strong 24V VR6 and a 6-speed manual gearbox. It has 68k miles and is in really good condition, and I maintain it well. The problems are: it takes premium gas, and is pretty thirsty, plus I'm just starting the back nine of life, and I don't hoon around in cars like I used to. The VR6 has so much performance capability that I just don't use.

In reading car fora, I also get paranoid that my dreaded MkIV will self-destruct at any time. A Yaris wouldn't give me those worries.

My neighbor has an 09 Yaris 5-door with slushie, and I've driven and ridden in it quite a bit. It is a little quieter and smoother than my wife's 09 Fit.

A local dealership has a 2010 Yaris 5-door manual with 5k on it, and it's been on their lot for a while now. They've slowly dropped their asking price from $14k to $12k. I've driven it, and it seems fine. What say you, am I crazy to go from a strong, near-luxury German car to a fuel-sipping sub-comapct?

[p123456789]

Make sure you take it for a long test drive on the freeway and in town. The yaris drives way different than the jetta, you will get blown all over road and it does feel a little cheap when you close the door and lean on the center arm rest. But it will be way cheaper to drive and maintain the car is basicly a motor, transmission and a body there's not much to go wrong. It wont be hard for you to sell your jetta, its a vr6 and it will get snatched up quick.

[brg88tx]

do it, i average 38.5 mpg in my 07 automatic sedan.

[Idahotom]

Originally Posted by 1digit

Hi folks, I've lurked here for a good while, and finally registered to ask opinions on whether I should trade in my current DD for a Yaris. Said ride is a 2003 Jetta GLI--the one with the strong 24V VR6 and a 6-speed manual gearbox. It has 68k miles and is in really good condition, and I maintain it well. The problems are: it takes premium gas, and is pretty thirsty, plus I'm just starting the back nine of life, and I don't hoon around in cars like I used to. The VR6 has so much performance capability that I just don't use.

In reading car fora, I also get paranoid that my dreaded MkIV will self-destruct at any time. A Yaris wouldn't give me those worries.

My neighbor has an 09 Yaris 5-door with slushie, and I've driven and ridden in it quite a bit. It is a little quieter and smoother than my wife's 09 Fit.

A local dealership has a 2010 Yaris 5-door manual with 5k on it, and it's been on their lot for a while now. They've slowly dropped their asking price from $14k to $12k. I've driven it, and it seems fine. What say you, am I crazy to go from a strong, near-luxury German car to a fuel-sipping sub-comapct?

I see you are from the Ann Arbor area. Ironic that, as I just spent a couple weeks searching far and wide for a 5 dr. 5 speed, and finally settled on a 3 dr. 5 speed, that I flew to Ann Arbor to buy! I was also orginally very interested in a Vdub diesel of some sort, but the more research I did the more scared off I got. The opposite happened with the Yaris, and as I have been a big Toyota fan for years anyway it was an easy sell. 3 weeks now, and no regrets and mid 40's FE in mixed driving.

[why?]

do i think you are crazy going from a ticking time bomb to a car from a company with a long standing reputation of reliability?

Heck no. But I do agree, it is very different to drive. I came from a Saab Viggen, and there is no way to even start comparing how the two cars drives, and it will be the same coming from your car.

Saying that the Yaris is fun to drive because of its light weight, and i enjoy it very much. Plus it gets awesome gas mileage, and it is reliable, and repairs are so much less expensive.

[Freedan]

Talk that dealer down to 10K and then BUY IT!!! No, really, 12k is still to high for a used Yaris since I got my Yaris, AT and power package, for 13.8k new before tax/title/license/destination fee.

But if you do get a Yaris, I would highly recommend getting a Rear Anti-Sway Bar asap. Here is a link on where to buy one.
http://shop.microimageonline.com/Bracing-Bars_c22.htm

The UR 23mm bar is what I have installed on my Yaris and it's working like a champ.

[Yar Is Word]

Freedan #6 is right about the sway bar. One was installed in my Yaris this week and you can really notice the difference in handling.

[SpaceShot]

I would say you're not crazy and the Yaris with manual has more than reasonable pickup for the class of car.
I chose the Yaris as the hp/wt ratio was similar to the small SUV I was giving up, and it was the vehicle in 2008 that owners more consistently beat EPA rating with. I do 120 miles/day of highway and rural driving, and am quite happy with it.

It takes some time to adjust to the clutch and where the power band is, and if you want to break 40 Mpg some practice with a ScanGuage helps.

The other pro for the Yaris, is if you later want to go more performance and handling than economy, there are plenty of aftermarket components and advice.
The other choice I would consider is a Mini Cooper, but at twice the price, you can't compare it with the value of the Yaris as a DD. (not to mention more of the premium fuel situation and expensive service)

[RedRide]

FWIW.......

I had an '02 Celica (manual) that was my DD/comuter car.
I loved that car! It was fun to drive , handled great etc.
However, even though it was in great shape. it had over 85k miles on it.

In '09, I wanted to get a more parctical car for a DD and save wear and tear on the Celica.
So I got a Yaris on a co-worker's recomenndation.
I chose the 2D HB with a manual trans.

I quickly found myself driving the Yaris more and more as I really liked it
and was then thinking about selling the Celica as it still had a high resale value.

Well, as fate would have it, I lost my job in june and decided to retire at the age of 64.
So, I sold the Celica.

Yes, I missed it at first but to be honest the Yaris is all I need now . It's cheap to run, relatively easy to work on and even sort of fun to drive.

I have absolutly no regrets about getting my Yaris.
Yeah, at times I still think it would be nice to still have my Celica.
However, somtimes you just have to know when to let go of a car.
You should own the car, it should not own you.

[yaris-me]

The Yaris is a great car for the money. It is not a VW with a V6, but it does everything well.

[nemelek]

I went from an older Lexus ES300 to a Yaris.

[MadMax]

I made a similar transition, from a 1997 Passat GLX wagon with the VR6 and a 5-speed to my 2008 Yaris auto hatchback two years ago. I do miss the 'Dub (it was the second B4 Passat we owned) but it was getting up there in both miles and age and VWs can start chewing away at your wallet once they get to that point.

However, my problem was that I was using too much of the VR6's power, I was driving like I still was back in Europe and the cops and other drivers around here weren't too thrilled with that!

I loved my Passats but I also love my Yaris, it is a completely different animal but can be just as much fun to drive. But the Yaris is not nearly as "solid" as the VWs so expect to notice that. It will also seem more "plasticy" inside; but don't let that prevent you from considering one.

It's a great car, gets excellent gas mileage and one of the things I love most about them is that you don't see them everywhere like Civics and Neons (at least not in this country, when I was in Germany two weeks ago they were all over the place!). While it may not have the power or torque of the VR6 it also doesn't have the thirst! I was filling mine up for under twenty bucks when I first got it, and that was a thrill indeed!

It is a unique and different little car that suits me just fine, and thanks to the great community of Yaris owners you will find there are lots of ways to "mod" yours to your tastes!

Good luck with your decision, but the bottom line is that you can't go wrong with the Yaris!

Cheers! M2

[swidd]

To remove cheap feeling: spend $100 on sound dampening the doors, it will take an afternoon. Spend $65 at microimageonline and get a nice leather armrest.

To make it surpass your german supermobile in luxury feel, get the clazzios.

[mryaris]

I added a leather wrapped steering wheel from an "S" model to help it feel less cheap.

[Altitude]

Originally Posted by swidd

To remove cheap feeling: spend $100 on sound dampening the doors, it will take an afternoon. Spend $65 at microimageonline and get a nice leather armrest.

To make it surpass your german supermobile in luxury feel, get the clazzios.

+1 on the dampening.

[Fastskiguy]

Hello :) Great discussion, I have a similar story here. Have a 2005 caddilac cts with the 3.6L engine. Got it a couple of years ago with the 6 speed, had a midlife crisis or something LOL. It's quiet, comfy, and has a ton of power and options I don't use. Last week my wife and I were on a trip and rented a Corolla and got a whopping 41.3mpg from Sun Valley ID to Boise. Hell I got a kick out of it! My caddie can do 25mpg on the road but it's got those sharp "vortex inducing" edges and all....plus it's super fast and honestly, I drive super slow (way down around the speed limit).

Anyway, I developed a mild case of "high mpg fever" LOL :)

And I'm not totally convinced that hybrids are the way to go. That Honda CRZ looks pretty cool but it starts at $20K so we're starting to talk about some money there. Some complexity too.

It's not really the money in gas, that's not the problem. But I like the idea of fuel efficiency....I'm grateful to "big oil" for powering our economy for the last hundred years or whatever but burning it as fast as we can doesn't seem like the best thing to do. Or those "mildly unfriendly" mideast countries, I'd rather spend my money someplace else. Like I said, it was a kick to get > 40mpg the other day.

One of the problems my wife has with it is that if we get crunched by Juthro in his pickup (and I say with affectionately, my other care is a ram 1500 LOL) there might not be much left. Still....I'd like to think I'm a defensive driver. Plus my third car is my commuter bicycle so in a way the small car is a step up :)

Anyway, thanks for the comments :)

Joe

[CAyaris]

Originally Posted by Freedan

Talk that dealer down to 10K and then BUY IT!!! No, really, 12k is still to high for a used Yaris since I got my Yaris, AT and power package, for 13.8k new before tax/title/license/destination fee.

But if you do get a Yaris, I would highly recommend getting a Rear Anti-Sway Bar asap. Here is a link on where to buy one.
http://shop.microimageonline.com/Bracing-Bars_c22.htm

The UR 23mm bar is what I have installed on my Yaris and it's working like a champ.

This may be dumb but what does the swaybar really help with besides the handeling is it a drastic difference?

[SailDesign]

I would say "do it!" The Yaris is no slouch (it will out-0-to-60 a 2.5 litre Jetta) and if you want to compare it to the cars of your (OK, "my") youth, it will out-everything an MGB. More power, less weight, more comfort, better suspension and handling, and has a lot of usable luggage/carrying space. Plus, it comes with a better stereo than the old 8-track....