Does this happen to you?

[1stToyota]

People are always wanting to know who makes it, and asking if they can sit in it. They always seem to like the way the doors sound when they close. Most assume that it's a hybrid.

[detroiter]

I usually get asked if it's a hybrid or an electric car. I'd say 8 out of 10 times though I usually get shit for the car. Alot of the autoworkers (and just regular people as well) here feel butthurt and lash out on people who drive imports. I usually just laugh it off because most of the people here who cry "buy american", are people who drive 7+ year old cars and need to go "buy american" themselves instead of complaining about someone else not doing it.

Nothing would sway me in my decision to get and love the Yaris though. Tough little car that was cheap in price, has some nice mods for it to make it even more fun and it's still great on fuel. Looks different as well, which was a huge decision in me getting it. I can't stand having a car that everyone and their mothers have.

[bronsin]

Pretty much no ones gives my yaris a second look. Americans dont like small cars. I think one person asked if it was a hybrid.

[devinlamothe]

Some creepy guy with a cowboy hat yelled into my open window when I passed him the other day, he said it was a 'nice little car I had'. I almost peed myself at first because it scared me lol.

[xtremesniper]

Originally Posted by devinlamothe

Some creepy guy with a cowboy hat yelled into my open window when I passed him the other day, he said it was a 'nice little car I had'. I almost peed myself at first because it scared me lol.

Cowboy hat in Sudbury? Musta been a Calgarian lost along the way.

[Lewis]

I get asked frequently.....mostly from people who are well off financially and question the need for a "lifestyle vehicle". They have all said something similar to "a car is just a tool to get a task accomplished" not the light of my life and I pretty much feel the same way. There is some reverse snobbishness going on but it can't compare on the irritating scale to the snobbishness of people who believe they are somehow superior because they choose to go into debt for a fancy car.

[Yaris Hilton]

Sedans are rare and hatchbacks are common here. I get the question about it being a hybrid fairly often. Nobody knows what it is.

[47_MasoN_47]

I generally catch flak for mine (of course I live in the middle of a bunch of rednecks with huge trucks). People talk about how it's "too small" and stuff like that, but then they can't give me a reason why they need 40" tires on their extended cab extended bed Silverados with 6 litre V8s and all that garbage.

[Yaris Hilton]

I think the sedan's a pretty big car, actually. The hatch isn't quite as spacious, in the back at least.

[xtremesniper]

Originally Posted by Yaris Hilton

I think the sedan's a pretty big car, actually. The hatch isn't quite as spacious, in the back at least.

When I drop the back seats flat and flip up the panels that cover the gaping hole between the "trunk" and the seats, I suddenly have more storage room than most SUVs, and certainly all sedans. haha.

[Yaris Hilton]

Originally Posted by xtremesniper

When I drop the back seats flat and flip up the panels that cover the gaping hole between the "trunk" and the seats, I suddenly have more storage room than most SUVs, and certainly all sedans. haha.

But you've lost your rear seats, and have an unsafe condition with heavy stuff right behind you where it'll kill you if you hit something. (As I also do if I fold down the seats for long stuff.) I've got more trunk capacity than the big old Volvo I traded for the Yaris, and can carry several LONG old infantry rifles and my big Tupperware container of range stuff along with 3 adult passengers. If I've got a guitar and amp or rifles on board, they're out of sight of prying eyes. Stuff left in a hatchback is tempting to thieves. That trunk will hold anything that can be put in or on a grocery cart, and mine often has.

I like the hatchbacks' looks a lot, and actually wanted one, but after comparing them side by side I went with the sedan and have never regretted it. They're both great cars.

[talnlnky]

Originally Posted by Yaris Hilton

But you've lost your rear seats, and have an unsafe condition with heavy stuff right behind you where it'll kill you if you hit something.

That is a very exaggerated claim on an already very general presumption.

just because you have stuff in the back doesn't mean it'll hit you if you hit something. it really depends on moment, friction, crumple zones, and size/shape/placement of the object.

Also.. the chance that an object would hit you in the head with enough force to kill you is very small.... there SHOULD be a properly placed headrest in the way.

I wouldn't advise mobbing around town doing lots of passing on two lane roads with a bowling ball or two in the back... but really... most of the stuff that people carry around in their cars aren't dense enough to cause death even if it did hit somebody in the head.



Also... Who uses the rear seats? unless you have kids under age 10, or the people up front are under 5'5" they are completely worthless. Sedan has nothing on the LB when it comes to cargo... I'd LOVE to see somebody try to fit a 58" long 33" tall, 23" deep Peer 1 desk in their sedan, or a Bail of hay.

[47_MasoN_47]

For real, I don't understand why people think it's so small. They aren't all that much smaller than the Corolla and I have plenty of room inside. Me and 4 guys from work go to eat lunch in it sometimes and they don't complain about being cramped up.

[tomato]

Sedan and hatchback are 2 different cars. The hatchback is the one that attracts all the looks, I think (no offense to the S owners )

[fmicle]

This is what happened to me: a couple of months after I got mine (2007, still very few around here in the South Bay, CA) I drove my wife to 7-11 to pick up the Sunday paper. While my wife was inside, I was blasting one of my favorite songs with the window down in the parking lot. A police cruiser stops across the street and the cop gets out to get something from the store I guess. As he approaches the store, he is staring at me and asks "what is that?".
And I say: "Romanian rock."
And he goes: "I mean what car is that?"
"A Toyota Yaris, they just came out this year."
"Nice."
Usually all my friends are shocked when they sit in it, whether front or back seats, they say it's very spacious and didn't expect to have that much leg room. My wife has a Scion xD and my step-daughter likes the Yaris better for long road-trips, she says it's more comfortable to sit in
Of course this is nothing new for me, but I'm from Europe and I really don't understand the Americans' infatuation with big cars. And most people are giving me the "big cars are safer" crap but if you look at the statistics more people die in SUV/truck and minivan rollovers than any other accidents.

To be fair, I must say I bought a Jeep Cherokee after I moved to the US and kept it for 3 years, just so I can strike that off my list And the Cherokee is still half the size of an Excursion or Silverado

Anyway, I love my Yaris

[DevilGirl]

fmicle, I'm with ya on the loving the Yaris!

I was looking for a nice, affordable, fuel efficient car. I saw the Yaris on Toyota's website, went to the dealer for a test drive, and I loved it the minute I saw it! Just to be sure I was getting something I really wanted, I also test drove a Honda Fit a day later. Sure the Fit is a lil roomier, but it just didn't seem to "fit" me very well. The Yaris is just better, IMO...

Granted, there are a few amenities I wish the Yaris had (sunroof, auto up/down window control, more than one power outlet, a tach, just to name a few). But all in all, a good car!

[fmicle]

Originally Posted by DevilGirl

Granted, there are a few amenities I wish the Yaris had (sunroof, auto up/down window control, more than one power outlet, a tach, just to name a few). But all in all, a good car!

Sure goodies are nice, but I actually like the "Spartan life-style" so to speak. Manual windows, no power locks... they reduce the weight and minimize chances for stuff to break down. Reliability was the number 1 factor why I picked a Toyota and looks + fuel efficiency is why I picked the Yaris HB.
I got the base model and didn't even have a radio.

I think I wouldn't say no to a sunroof though, that would be really fancy
Oh and I just installed an aftermarket tach last weekend

[supmet]

Maybe if I didn't pass 2 sedans and a hatchback on the way out of my neighborhood every day people would comment more... lol