Happy with Yaris?

[MadMax]

otterhere, you've done nothing but badmouth the Yaris since joining here. If you don't like it so much, why don't you go trade it in for your beloved Swift?

I like my Yaris. Even with the larger and wider tires I still manage to pull 35 MPG even when regularly driving at 70-80 MPH. It handles nicely and I actually like having the auto. The MP3 jack is one of the coolest things about the car and I am real happy with the foglights I got from kargoboy. I get lots of compliments and it is not uncommon for me to come out of a store and find someone looking at it.

I think the Honda Fits are ugly and you see them all over the place. Same with Civics, the new Beetles and Minis (those last two are chick cars anyway). My bud's Kia Rio just ate its engine, and it's not that old. I see Ford Focii all over the place and they look like they are falling apart.

The Yaris is unique and much like the cars I drive in Europe all the time, so yes, I am very happy with it!

[Gideon]

Got a little over 5,600 on it right now (gotta take her in for a fluid change soon!) and I love it. I could've spent more for something else, and there's times where I look at other cars and think "Only $2,000 more and I could've gotten that...", but then someone asks me what kind of car it is and what mileage it gets (I get around 34 in town, FLOORING it everywhere, because I'm used to faster cars, heh.) and I remember how much I love it!

[JBIZZ]

I love my Yaris, however, I recently test drove a Mini Cooper S, and was surprised that it had so much more leg room than the Yaris. The Mini S is also ridiculously fast, and has a six speed. Unfortunately it doesn't look as good as the Yaris. If anyone is thinking about spending money on making their Yaris faster, I would highly recommend they test drive the Mini S 1st.

[Chupacabra]

Originally Posted by JBIZZ

I love my Yaris, however, I recently test drove a Mini Cooper S, and was surprised that it had so much more leg room than the Yaris. The Mini S is also ridiculously fast, and has a six speed. Unfortunately it doesn't look as good as the Yaris. If anyone is thinking about spending money on making their Yaris faster, I would highly recommend they test drive the Mini S 1st.

Yeah....but the Mini S is atleast $10K more.

[JBIZZ]

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

Yeah....but the Mini S is atleast $10K more.

Only 5K more, from the price I paid for my Yaris (a little under 18K). Mini S is @23K (base) and is designed with forced induction

[Chupacabra]

Originally Posted by JBIZZ

Only 5K more, from the price I paid for my Yaris (a little under 18K). Mini S is @23K (base) and is designed with forced induction

I come from the BMW world so no need to let me know about the S or forced induction. You paid just under $18K? That's a lot. If you can find an S for anywhere near $23K, let me know and I'll trade in my Yaris. There is no way that you are going to get an S for that price and if you could, everybody would be driving around in one. By the time you even remotely option out the Mini you are upper 20's...ad in the S and closer to 30.

[gaffo]

Originally Posted by Chupacabra

I come from the BMW world so no need to let me know about the S or forced induction. You paid just under $18K? That's a lot. If you can find an S for anywhere near $23K, let me know and I'll trade in my Yaris. There is no way that you are going to get an S for that price and if you could, everybody would be driving around in one. By the time you even remotely option out the Mini you are upper 20's...ad in the S and closer to 30.

I looked into a MINI base model (19k last year - in THEORY) when I had such a hard time finding a 5sp Yaris with Power Package (the whole no options for the standard Yaris got me RABID with HATE toward Toyoya at the time - still does actually when I think about it), and there was NO MINI anywhere under 26,000 bucks. period.

I was not willing to go over 19k (cash) for my car. I saved for 1-1/2 years and simply had no wish to spend 26k for any car.

[IllusionX]

Originally Posted by JBIZZ

Only 5K more, from the price I paid for my Yaris (a little under 18K). Mini S is @23K (base) and is designed with forced induction

I would've gotten the turbo mini S instead of my yaris if it had came out in 2006... You can look at it this way... 40MPG AND 175HP 6 speed of FUN ?? Not to mention the sweet and HUGE moonroof ??

[gaffo]

Originally Posted by IllusionX

I would've gotten the turbo mini S instead of my yaris if it had came out in 2006... You can look at it this way... 40MPG AND 175HP 6 speed of FUN ?? Not to mention the sweet and HUGE moonroof ??

mini has a 1.6 (not mentioning the Turbo which takes a small mileage toll) instead of a 1.5 and it weights 2600 lbs instead of 2300 lbs.


If the Yaris has a hard time getting 40 mpg, there is no way in hell that the MINI-S will average 40 mpg.

Stock MINIs get 32 average - that turbo is probably more like 31 or so in the REAL WORLD mileage.

- its all about wieght and engine size (a balance of the two also). simple really.

- can't have a HUGE engine in a small car and expect great mileage - nor can you have a heavy car with a dinky engine (the american car make solution to fuel effiency!!) - either combo equals poor mileage.


good mileage = BOTH light body and small engine. there is no other magical solution.

[gid]

no worse than any other TOYOTAs we've had in the past . So , its a for both the '08 sedan and liftback .

[Forrest]

We are very satisfied with the Yaris. We wanted an inexpensive car that got great gas mileage. There is plenty of leg room in the front and folding down the back seat give lots of extra space. The car handles well and is just what we wanted.

[MadMax]

You do have that center seatbelt locked into the roof, don't you? I see a lot of Yarii that don't do that, but it is quite easy to do!

And I don't think 40 MPG is "typical," more like 35 MPG. This is one car where you can't expect much better than the EPA estimates unless you concentrate on efficiency using hyper-milling or other techniques. I downshift my auto into '3' to kick the DFCO in when decelerating, and go easy on the gas most of the time; but I also drive 70-80 MPH and am not as worried about gas mileage as some. And even with the larger(215/45ZR17)/wider/“gripier” tires and my auto I am still getting 35 MPG.

Overall, I am very happy with the car and don’t have any major gripes about anything. I do have a few minor ones (such as the lack of a split-folding rear seat on my car), those are things I can fix given the opportunity. But for the most part, the Yaris does everything I expect of it!

Cheers! M2

[gaffo]

Originally Posted by MadMax

You do have that center seatbelt locked into the roof, don't you? I see a lot of Yarii that don't do that, but it is quite easy to do!

And I don't think 40 MPG is "typical," more like 35 MPG. This is one car where you can't expect much better than the EPA estimates unless you concentrate on efficiency using hyper-milling or other techniques. I downshift my auto into '3' to kick the DFCO in when decelerating, and go easy on the gas most of the time; but I also drive 70-80 MPH and am not as worried about gas mileage as some. And even with the larger(215/45ZR17)/wider/“gripier” tires and my auto I am still getting 35 MPG.

Overall, I am very happy with the car and don’t have any major gripes about anything. I do have a few minor ones (such as the lack of a split-folding rear seat on my car), those are things I can fix given the opportunity. But for the most part, the Yaris does everything I expect of it!

Cheers! M2

Hi! not been here for many months. YES the first thing I did was lock that back seatbelt in its holder. "Outtahere" you should do this - it takes 2 seconds.

Also got rid of that shelf thing in the back the first day I bought my car - 16 months ago. I now have 33k miles on it and no problems so far.

..........

VERY happy with the car: I did have THREE compliants with it BEFORE I bought mine car, solved two of them and live with the one.

1. Springs were WAY to "americanized" - BOATY, car just did not feel planted on the interstate above 75 mph. I put TRD stiff springs and struts on the thing the fist week I bought it. It now handles like my old Truimph TR7 sportscar of old (without the mechanical headache issues). She is now fully planted on the interstates even at 90 mph.

2. It took me nearly a year to find a STANDARD 5 speed with the POWER PACKAGE (power windows are a MUST for me!!!). I had to call all over the country to find that simple combination and I blaime Toyota incompetent marketing and region option bullshit. I had to travel out of state just to get a standard with power windows and split folding rear seats! Deaders in the Gulf State area REFUSED to dealer swap outside of region.

3. No tach on the STANDARD - WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, this fucktiod of Toyota incompetent packaging I just live with. Shift to 2nd at 18 mph, 3rd at 38, 4th at 50, and into 5th at 65.

.............

seats make me sit too high up (like in an SUV instead of low like I like), and no side support - but minor compliant.

stearing is a little mushy - not bad, but I generally dislike power stearing and such a light car don't need it. stearing is not quite "self-centering" enough either - but again a minor compliant. The 3 numbered above were the big three important complaints I had and 2 of them were solved for/by me.

..........

mileage - well I'd love to get that magical 40 - but I hit 37.5 every damn time (35.5 in winter) combined. I do get 40 on interstate, but 35 in city, so I average 37 or 38 mpg.

I traveled to Florida last year and got 42 mpg there, but Oklahoma is hillier and colder so no 42 here ;-/.
.........

She's ALMOST as fun to drive as my old TR7 and a flog the shit out of her (very agressive driver with the whole downshifting fun and jack rabbit starts). I LOVE SHIFTING - and live in fear that they will no longer be offered here in the States shortly. I have no idea WTF I'll do when I can no longer buy an new 5speed, I love not having to use my brakes!!! ;-). I bet my rotors look brand new with that 33k on em.

just my 2-cents.

[landrym28]

I'm pretty happy with mine. It gets me where I want to go at a good fuel economy.

[songa]

i love my yaris so far...its actually more than i expected. initially, i wasnt too excited and just wanted a cheap reliable car with good gas mileage. i didnt care too much about how it looked, how much power it had, etc. i just wanted a reliable car that would get me from a to b at the lowest price. so price was my top priority, and i easily picked the yaris after not even doing much research. simply because i expect the yaris to be reliable seeing that toyota also make sthe corolla and camry, and it has the best gas mileage in its class...its pretty rediculus in my opinion actually. so i went to the dealership and found a cheap, stock yaris sedan.

the next day after purchase, i found myself in love with my car already. and after the first gas tank, i got 40MPG, a huge improvement from my lats car which got 26MPG. upon looking back at my purchase, i feel very relieved because i pretty much chose the yaris blindly and with little research and expectation, but it turns out it was the best car i could possibly buy given my situation. the yaris continued to exceed my expectations - i am improving my gas mileage (best is 42MPG so far) and i also love the way my black sedan looks. i already did my first mod which was painting the chrome garnish on the trunk black sand pearl to match my exterior. and looking at other YW members rides, I can see that this car can look very very good too when given the right mods.

so overall, this car is perfect for me. its reliable, safe, has GREAT gas mileage, and is one of the cheapest cars you can find. there isnt a whole lot of other cars you can say that about. but on top of that, the yaris also looks great in my opinion which makes it even more desireable to methan any other car in the market than it already is. IMO, after mods, i prefer the look of the yaris sedan over all of the other cars in its range as well. that includes the honda civic, and i think its safe to say i prefer it over the corolla's design as well. the only shortcomings i have with the car really only lie with the interior, but they are insignificant. for one thing, i dont like the placement of the front cupholders in front of the vents, and i also feel like they are a lil too far and out of the way. i also wish there was some storage space or cup holders between the front two seats, right next to the e-brake. i am just too accustomed to that area having some space from other cars and wish the yaris had that. my sedan doesnt have that "2nd dash" either unfortuantely, so im a lil strapped for storage space in my yaris. but really other tahn that i have no complaints. the yaris has exceeded my expectations in more ways than one.


..damn im bored at work! (hence the long post) =)

[otterhere]

Originally Posted by songa

i also wish there was some storage space or cup holders between the front two seats, right next to the e-brake. i am just too accustomed to that area having some space from other cars and wish the yaris had that.

Hehehehe. With ALL those cupholders (and bottleholders) at my disposal, I am
actually on a mission to find one of those old fat-bottomed ceramic commuter cups from the 70s (meant to balance atop a dashboard without spilling)... I'll put it in that space between the two front seats where there's no cupholder.

Should'a asked me before they designed the interior!!!

[tetzyamis]

Oh, I thought Swift was replaced by Aerio and then replaced by SX4.
I just checked Japanese site and yes, there still is Swift and SX4 is a different car.
Learned something new.
And it's true that the fuel economy of SX4 is bad compared to Yaris.

[otterhere]

Originally Posted by tetzyamis

Oh, I thought Swift was replaced by Aerio and then replaced by SX4.
I just checked Japanese site and yes, there still is Swift and SX4 is a different car.
Learned something new.
And it's true that the fuel economy of SX4 is bad compared to Yaris.

Actually, there's supposedly a Swift "Generation V" or something coming out in 2010, or so it's rumored... Looks about like the Yaris, though. I may test drive it and see if it's worth going to the trouble of a trade (probably not)...