2011 Toyota Yaris Review - A Big Man In A Small Car
FYI: Toyota Yaris Specs, Comparisons and Prices – Toyota Buyers Guide
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A Fine Little Commuter Car
By Steve Purdy
TheAutoChannel.com
Detroit Bureau
Yaris is Toyota’s tiniest car in the US . . . so far. Later this year, rumor has it, we will see the cute little city car we saw running around Europe called the iQ, which may be a new model for Scion, Toyota’s youth division.
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Style and design are modern and up-to-date. In fact, it has almost a retro look to it with a nicely sculpted, rounded shape that reminds me of the iconic new Fiat 500. Large headlight housings seem to take up more than half the space from the nose to the base of the windshield and the details of the front leave no doubt of the brand identity. A slick wing above the rear window makes it look sporty and the wheel covers fit the style well.
Base price on our test car, the 3-door liftback “S” model, is $13,665. We have the $2,665 Sport Package on this one which includes body trim and cladding, integrated fog lamps, sport seats, leather steering wheel and shift knob, power locks, windows and mirrors, sophisticated entertainment and connectivity system (AM/FM/CD/MP3/WMA/XM, etc.), split rear seats, 15-inch wheels and tires, engine immobilizer and keyless entry. With the $760 delivery charge, the sticker shows $17,400.
In this price range the Yaris is competing with some tough new entries in the sub-compact field like the Ford Fiesta, Mazda2, Nissan Versa, soon the fresh Chevy Aveo and aforementioned Fiat 500. These all start around 14 grand and get comparable mileage. For just a few thousand more you can have the new Hyundai Elantra or Kia Rio with better mileage and more upscale appointments. So do your homework if you’re looking for a car in this category.
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Performance and handling on this 2,300-pound little car is quite good, I thought. The conventional MacPherson strut front suspension and torsion bar rear design is tuned well for a good balance of control and comfort. It’s not always an easy matter to find that balance in a little, light car. Electric power steering is light without much feedback but reasonably quick and precise. The front disc and rear drum brakes felt fine, though I must acknowledge, I did not challenge them much.
Safety features are about what we would expect with Toyota’s Star Safety System – ABS, TC, EBD plenty of airbags, etc. There is very little difference these days in the safety features of any cars.
Warranty covers the whole car for 3 years or 36,000 miles and the drivetrain for 5 years or 60,000 miles. Free maintenance and roadside assistance are included for 2 years or 25,000 miles.
Over all I’d say the Yaris is a great little commuter car, or running-around-town car. I made a couple of longer freeway trips this week and found that dicing with heavy traffic was a breeze. I didn’t feel like I was in a subcompact. It’s roomy enough inside that I felt like I was in a bigger car.
At a combined fuel economy rating of 31 mpg Yaris will need to improve some to keep up with the competition with all the new entries in this bottom end of the market increasing mileage every year.
© Steve Purdy, Shunpiker Productions, All Rights Reserved