2009 Toyota Yaris 5-Door Quick Review
Confuse the world as to your intentions!
Let’s say you can’t afford the 21 – 26K it costs to buy a cheaper hybrid. Being in the market for a well made, “green” car doesn’t mean you have to opt for a high-tech fashion accessory (I mean, come on… celebrities were renting hybrids to go to the Oscars!). Mileage and carbon might matter to you and reliability is very important.
So, what to buy?
How about a cheap, economical, runabout that will be cheaper to own outright (and even when gas goes back to over $4.00 a gallon) and in the long run? How about buying a car that is kind of fun and a HELL of a lot cheaper (and WAY less pretentious) than hybrids? What about buying a great small car that has Toyota quality built in with no snobbery on the badge?
Yup, I say the Toyota Yaris 5-Door is the way to go!
It shares a ton of its mechanicals with the last generation Scion xB and xA. These were kind of cool cars as opposed to the chubby vehicles that replaced them. A 106 horsepower (that chugs out 103 lbs feet of torque) 1.5-liter, DOHC, 16-valve engine is the only power-train choice. A 5-speed manual and a 4-speed automatic are the only transmission choices. The 5-door only has the auto – and that sucks. The combined EPA mpg is 32 manual and 31 automatic which is damn good.
It ain’t exactly fast; we could barely keep the 0-60 times under 10 seconds. It makes up for it with some damn good cornering grip and control. It chatters a bit when pushed, but a bit of modulation with the accelerator and you can pull around some nasty turns with grace. I was honestly impressed with its toss-ability.
My cousin’s test car averaged about 26 mpg. That’s fairly amazing as he drives worse than a typical Prius driver (DUDE, they make BMW drivers look courteous!) and he’s a big as an ox. I stuffed the idiot in the back seat and he FIT! Then, just for a little revenge, he shoved me in the trunk with the rear seats up!
I fit too. In the trunk I mean.
Look at it like this: There’s easily enough room in the back to fit my 5 piece drum kit with just enough room to stuff my chunky mother-in-law with a walker (with oxygen tank, a bad hip and impetigo) in the back! G-d forbid she devours any corned beef before we move, the circulation is okay – but not when the deli fights back. Fortunately, the 4 power windows come standard.
I like the playful chassis and the peppy performance in the city. On the highway, the extra weight of the 5-door seems to mellow the overall ride (its about 50 lbs heavier than the 3-door). Everything is mellow and easy to control, with the exception of outside wind and road noise, which is on par with the competition. If you have an in-law like mine, (Oh, I hope not) her snoring will drown out the outside noise.
The only issue I have with the simple, user-friendly interior is the stinking center pod. Oy, the headaches this thing gave me. I cocked my head sideways just to make out the information within. It’s like forcing yourself to look at your prom date eye to eye when other things are better to look at (even if she was your cousin…). The center pod is just that annoying. On the good side, the extra storage is nice to have.
I guess that’s my only major gripe other than the lack of a more enjoyable manual transmission.
Designers made it look cute in the same way a cartoon frog can be cute; at least that’s how it looks to me. I think someone who used to draw cute anime characters penned the Toyota Yaris’s design. Nothing wrong with “cute” as long as you’re not trying to be macho.
In a nutshell, no one who sports a PETA or Green Party sticker will have much of a problem with your ride. As far as I’m concerned, a tree huger who steps out of a car like this gets a lot more respect from me than a hybrid.
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This car sucks! Europe is full of similar rubbish… sad, sad… A real car has to be a sedan like a real dog has to be a wolf. So, let’s throw away Yarises and poodles! ^^
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