Can Toyota Still Manage to Build an Awful Car? - LA Times Article

[BailOut]

I think a lot of the sound complaints come from some of these so-called reviewers that don't know what a smaller, less powerful engine is for.

My 5MT Yaris is hardly ever revved over 2,000 RPM and I barely hear a thing, but in almost every review that bashes the Yaris I see something like "You have to peg the throttle to the floor and really rev it up to get any power out of it, and then you have to stay standing on the throttle." right before I read their complaint of too much engine noise.

I don't know any engine on the consumer market that is quiet at 6,000 RPM.

I also have yet to grasp why anyone would think a USD $12k car should have fine interior appointments. I've read everything from it looking cheap to it having too much plastic to the missing navigation system and bluetooth, etc. I just shake my head as lots of those things are just now entering the sub $30k market, and if cars were always about gadgets then the Cadillac Escalade with its 10 MPG and micro-climate system and quad-screen DVD system and ported radio system with bluetooth and voice dialing and heated seats and stuff, crap, and flam would be the best selling car of all time, and we'd all have $800/month car payments instead of $250.

All these reviewers keep saying that the Fit is a better bang for the buck but I just don't see it. Worse mileage, worse emissions, higher cost and a whole slew of common reported issues.

I'm also tired of hearing that the Yaris is too small. Too small for who? Too small for what? How much space do you need to commute to work or get groceries or carry some cardboard to the recycling plant or visit a friend? Is room for 5 too little space to take a friend or 2 to lunch? Do some people really believe you have to have a 5,000 pound SUV just to pick up the milk?

It's as if they're out to get the Yaris just because it's not the same as the cookie cutter American vehicles on the road.