My 2015 Yaris SE Review

[Thirty-Nine]

More gears allows for more gear spread. Better acceleration in low gears while achieving low RPM at higher speed. I'm no engineer, but this is how I understand it.

I think the Yaris was serious for the first few years it was out. However, now it is a bit dated compared to the competition. Simple and effective? Yes. However, it loses in the horsepower wars, which is much more of a marketing thing than I think transmissions will ever be. That being said, there is a lot of marketing involved. After all, you don't have to have the best product on the market, you just need to make your buyers think you do. Unfortunately, the Yaris isn't a cash cow for Toyota in the U.S., but rather a gateway to the brand (as are most subcompact cars in North America).

Americans will likely always have big trucks, SUVs, and sedans and that's fine—as long as I have an option for the small cars.