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

[BailOut]

Originally Posted by Pavel Olavich

If you rarely tack over 2,000 RPM with your manual Yaris, you are often lugging the engine...not good, not good at all. That engine wants and needs to rev'd past 3,000 when shifting up...otherwise you will damage it over time. The Yari engine has shit torque at and below 2,000!

As Pars already said, the 1NZ-FE engine is just fine shifting between 1,400 and 2,000 RPM as long as you aren't pushing the car. If you ever lug the engine you'll be the first to know as you can both hear it and feel it through your control surfaces.

I did indeed lug it one time when I wasn't paying attention, so I know what it sounds and feels like.

Folks such as yourself often mention torque. I've been driving for 20 years and I have yet to discover what folks need all this torque for in their daily driving unless they climb a lot of steep hills or drive like a maniac. If you live in a mostly flat area the only time you'd ever need high torque might be for entering the highway and/or passing people on it, and even that doesn't require very much torque if you use a lighter, more efficient driving style and plan ahead.

Do you know what the difference is between accelerating from 0-45 MPH in 6 seconds vs. 12 seconds in an urban scenario is? Getting to the next stop light's line of traffic faster and then wasting fuel at 0 MPG while you idle and wait.