Review of the 2009 5-door and 3-door Yaris Liftbacks

[csburdick]

Hey guys, we just did this review on the Yaris - Toyota sent me a 5-door Liftback, then a 3-door Liftback. I liked them quite a bit more than I expected to.

I'm posting this because I wanted you Yaris experts to take a look at the review and let me know what you think of it:

2009 Toyota Yaris Review

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

[PaidTimeOff]

decent review of the car. One thing though, the 3-door and 5-door have the exact same exterior dimensions. The 5-door might appear to be longer because it has extra doors, but it isn't.

[PreciousPups4U]

Also, it's not the sedan that only comes in automatic, it's the the 5 door hatch.

[csburdick]

PaidTimeOff: I didn't realize that, thanks for the clarification.

PreciousPups4U: Pretty sure the 5-door hatch comes in manual or auto, but the sedan is only auto

[rningonfumes]

Nope, Pups is correct. There are a lot of complaints from us here about the 5 door being only 4AT. And to disprove your Sedan --I have a 5MT sedan.

[MadMax]

Cruise Control is also now available for the liftback models (why it wasn’t available before is beyond me.)

Not true, my 2008 LB has factory cruise control.

Also, you can get the MP3 player (auxillary jack) on the non-S models. Your article makes it appear you have to get the S to get that option.

Also, what do you mean when you say the "3-door hatchback design is controversial?" Nothing controversial about it, it is just rare as most hatchbacks in this class are five-doors.

The center instrument cluster is not only to save costs for lefthand-drive countries. It is also more practical as most cars the steering wheel obscures the instruments. This is the first car I've had were I can see the complete speedometer. It was a drawing point for the Yaris for me, I drove a rental sedan in Florida for a week and almost instantly preferred it.

But overall it is a pretty positive article. The Yaris is an economy car, and anyone who is looking for a spirited ride out of it is looking in the wrong place. The Yaris is a great handling sub-compact car and the one thing I love most about it is the fact that unlike the Beetle, Mini, Mazda 3s or even the Fit; you just don't see a many of them on the road. It is still a unique car with personality, and mine still draws much attention wherever I go in it.

Cheers! M2

[csburdick]

Originally Posted by rningonfumes

Nope, Pups is correct. There are a lot of complaints from us here about the 5 door being only 4AT. And to disprove your Sedan --I have a 5MT sedan.

Gah! That's irritating, because I'm getting this information directly from Toyota press reps. What's going on here?

[yarswiss]

What's so controversial about the hatchback design?

[csburdick]

Originally Posted by MadMax

Not true, my 2008 LB has factory cruise control.

Also, you can get the MP3 player (auxillary jack) on the non-S models. Your article makes it appear you have to get the S to get that option.

Also, what do you mean when you say the "3-door hatchback design is controversial?" Nothing controversial about it, it is just rare as most hatchbacks in this class are five-doors.

The center instrument cluster is not only to save costs for lefthand-drive countries. It is also more practical as most cars the steering wheel obscures the instruments. This is the first car I've had were I can see the complete speedometer. It was a drawing point for the Yaris for me, I drove a rental sedan in Florida for a week and almost instantly preferred it.

But overall it is a pretty positive article. The Yaris is an economy car, and anyone who is looking for a spirited ride out of it is looking in the wrong place. The Yaris is a great handling sub-compact car and the one thing I love most about it is the fact that unlike the Beetle, Mini, Mazda 3s or even the Fit; you just don't see a many of them on the road. It is still a unique car with personality, and mine still draws much attention wherever I go in it.

Cheers! M2

Same thing here, are the differences a regional thing?

Thanks for the positive note. I actually thought the Yaris was fun, which was something I didn't expect out of it. I'm impressed, and can easily recommend it.

Regarding the central instrument cluster, I found it really annoying, and something I never got used to after 2 weeks of driving it. I understand it makes sense logically, but it's something that consistently bothered both me and my photographer.

What I meant by "controversial" was that it seems like people (I've talked to about it) either love or hate the styling. I've heard things such as "cute," "European," "bug-like," "fugly," "adorable," etc. Seems both ends of the spectrum are included. Being a sports-car guy, I was surprised to actually like the design of the 3-door.

[PreciousPups4U]

Some options may be regional. Like no cold weather package necessary here in the South. But the other stuff is the same everywhere. Not sure what specifically you were asking if it's regional.

Also, that 60/40 split sliding/folding seat for the hatchback is only available with the power package. Without the power package it's just a bench seat that folds over, in other words it does not fold flat. That's the main reason I had to have the power package. Had to have the fold flat seat.

I think most of this info is available on Toyota.com. Certainly the options, transmissions and length stuff (yes, the 5 door and the 3 door are the same length and have the same wheelbase). The other stuff is just a matter of perspective and opinion. Good basic review though.

[rningonfumes]

Did they by chance give you mix specs from Canada? The Canucks got the Yaris long before us and they had the 5 door 5mt/4at options too.

[csburdick]

Originally Posted by rningonfumes

Did they by chance give you mix specs from Canada? The Canucks got the Yaris long before us and they had the 5 door 5mt/4at options too.

Straight off the US press spec sheets

[MadMax]

Maybe I have spent too much time in Europe (I am actually flying there this afternoon); but I don't find the Yaris that oddly designed. I think it just isn't as common as the other cars I mentioned, but I would not go as far as to call it controversial. It is not like it is a Fiero or the CRX when they first came out (the latter being a classic example of a economic hatchback).

You could throw some Opel badges on the Yaris in Europe and no one would notice it. As this is my first trip there since getting mine three months ago, I will be interested in seeing how many are there. We fly into Munich and later to London, so hopefully I'll spot a few. If I see any Toyota dealerships, I might pop in to see what they've got.

And I am not sure, but isn't the split folding rear seat standard in 2009? I wish I had one, and have been trying to locate one for my 2008 to no avail...

Lastly, I hadn't looked at the numbers but I would've sworn the 5-door was longer than the 3-door. It is amazing that it appears that way, who would've thunk it?

Cheers! M2

[Thirty-Nine]

Originally Posted by csburdick

Straight off the US press spec sheets

Right; I had them, too. However, regardless of the press sheets, the five-door is not available with the manual trans. It was (is?) a source of controversy in the Yaris community, since there was a lot of conflicting info. If you visit Toyota's Web site, you will see that the five door is not available with anything other than the auto. Perhaps there will be a mid-year change thought (I hope)?

[csburdick]

Originally Posted by Thirty-Nine

Right; I had them, too. However, regardless of the press sheets, the five-door is not available with the manual trans. It was (is?) a source of controversy in the Yaris community, since there was a lot of conflicting info. If you visit Toyota's Web site, you will see that the five door is not available with anything other than the auto. Perhaps there will be a mid-year change thought (I hope)?

Ah, I see now, I was getting the 5-door and sedan mixed up. I've changed it in the article. Thanks for clearing that up for me.

MadMax: Yes, I don't think the Yaris looks at all out of place for European roads, but we here in the States aren't used to that funky sort of compact design. But we're going to start getting used to it with all the subcompacts coming out.