Okay, I find I’m hating the Toyota Yaris hatchback and actually considering either trying to get my old beater back (I know where it is) or trading in for a Hyundai Accent hatchback. Who hates the Yaris?
It’s tough discovering you’ve made an error in buying a new car. I speak from painful experience.
For the benefit of others looking at cars, what about it do you hate?
It’s pretty embarrassing… : (
Also distressing because I’m obsessively frugal and NEVER buy anything new and NEVER pay retail; I convinced myself buying this car NEW would be actually cost-effective if I got a good price, paid cash, and kept if for at least 10 years.
Well, it doesn’t look like I’m going to last 10 years with this one…
Just little design things, more than anything (don’t get me started). The center displays, I actually don’t mind, but there’s no center CUPHOLDER. The cupholders are on the LEFT, and I’m right-handed. Where I want to put my maps is a BOTTLEHOLDER. I can’t drive with the window down without there being a sonic boom in my ear. If I crack the other window, it mitigates it somewhat, but the car’s too wide to reach across (I have manual windows, so I have to actually undo my seat belt and stop the car to do that. If I put groceries on the passenger seat, it dings at me. DING DING DING The driver seatbelt gets caught on the little knob to adjust the seat every time I take it off; EVERY TIME. I put my credit card on the passenger seat, and it disappears into the seat crack (never happened with my other car). I put coins in the little triangular holders, and they DISAPPEARED down the crack of that! The shelf on the hatchback blocks me as I try to put stuff back there. I can’t see out the back window for all the rear headrests, seatbelts hanging from the ceiling, and wipers. It’s too darned TALL and my old mother can barely climb in it (this isn’t an SUV, folks). It catches the wind like a sailboat in full sail. Worst of all, the mileage is no better than the Corolla’s. I can’t rest my hand on the bottom of the steering wheel to drive because they chose to put a BAR right there. The gas gauge is inaccurate; you get 1000 miles with the first bar and about 5 on the last. There are about 20 too many compartments and you get a headache trying to figure out what to do with them all (none “fit” what you want). Granted, it’s an inexpensive car, but it has a decidedly CHEAP feel to it. Oh, and did I mention the seat cover fabric? The seat cover fabric is polka-dots!
Sorry you asked? I’m hating this car and thinking I’ll just take the hit on it.
All these little “quirks” are just very disappointing in a high-quality (?) Toyota.
This speaks to something I’ve written 1000 times…take lots of time on a long test drive, and bring the things you’d normally have and test the car the way you normally would use it.
We’ve even had someone post asking what car had a big enough trunk to fit his golf bag and I suggested he bring his golf bag with him and try the trunks when he looked at the cars.
Sorry you had a bad experience. Better luck with the next choice.
This car wasn’t designed to be a “high-quality” Toyota. It was designed to be cheap for people who want a cheap car. The same goes for the Honda Fit and the Nissan Versa. These are budget cars.
I know you have already made up your mind, but there are some simple solutions to some of your problems. Putting one-piece seat covers on the seats might solve the polka-dot problem, the disappearing credit card problem, and the seat belt catching on the little nob. A set of cheap one piece seat covers can be bought cheap at Walmart. Before you put groceries in the passenger seat, fasten the seat belt and put your groceries on top of it.
Drinking shouldn’t require such fine motor skills that you can’t do it with your left hand. If anything, this will help you develop your fine motor skills with your left hand. Resting your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel isn’t a good idea if you have air bags anyway. you are better off not doing it.
However, I realize we have just skimmed the surface of the reasons you hate this car. So I will try to empathize.
Didn’t you agonize over this decision and start like 50 threads about your car purchase or was that someone else?
The bad news is that it WAS me agonizing over this decision and posting a million times; the good news is that this means there aren’t TWO crazy women out here with the same problem. Now I wish I’d just kept the old car and nursed it along. That, too, was a ‘budget’ car for its time, but the design and quality was far superior.
I suppose that just speaks to the trend toward shoddy craftsmenship in general?
It’s true that I didn’t test-drive the actual car nor that model as extensively as I should have since there were NONE in my town and I bought this one out of state.
Live and learn. And lose (thousands).
You might consider putting a “for sale” sign in the window and see if you can sell the car yourself. You would get much more for it this way than if you trade it in.
I would also like to add that your elderly mother might be able to get in and out an SUV easier than a car. My elderly grandmother was able to get in and out of a minivan much easier than a car.
That shelf in the back of the hatchback should be easy to remove. It shouldn’t require any tools.
Do you have any relatives who are in the market for an economy car or who have teenagers who will soon be of driving age? Normally I don’t recommend selling a car to relatives, but this one is so new that it shouldn’t be a problem
I don’t want to say, “I told you so”, but a few months ago, when I did advise you against buying a Yaris, you were not particularly receptive to that information.
While Consumer Reports generally gushes with praise for Toyotas, when they first tested the Yaris, they stated that this model performed so poorly that they could not recommend it. More recently, they reported that the Yaris has compiled an excellent reliability record, and that it had been improved to some extent, but that it still performed so poorly that they could not recommend it.
I passed all of the preceding information along to you when you were shopping for a car, but you rejected it out of hand, and in a fairly brusque manner. So, all I can say is that perhaps you should research your next car purchase more completely, and when you are soliciting advice, perhaps you should listen to that advice more carefully.
I previously recommended that you buy a Honda Fit, which is altogether superior to the Yaris, and I stand by that recommendation. A good second choice would be the Hyundai Accent.
I’m liking the Hyundai Accent; really want only two doors and a hatch. Daggone it.
You were right; I was wrong.
I take it your previous car was a Corolla. Let me suggest you sell the Yaris and buy a “lightly used” Corolla in the best condition you can afford. This way you can take the money you get for the Yaris and put it towards a Corolla. Since the “lightly used” Corolla is likely an updated model from your old Corolla check it to be sure it suits you.
10 years of unhappiness is not good for your mental health. There is nothing wrong with realizing that what seemed like a good deal hasn’t really satisfied you.
The real key is, spending lots of time behind the wheel of a car on a list of perspectives. I’m still a huge Toyota fan…and would have recommended drives in the Corolla which is slightly more but worth it, and just about as economical. CR doesn’t recommend the Yaris for good reason…lots of unsatisfied owners like you.
I’m still not a Hyundai fan. If for no other reason, they depreciate more. Though you may not be happy with your car, at least it’s a Toyota and has retained more value than a comparable Hyundai.
I think you may have bought it because it was a Toyota and not because it was the right model.
Don’t be too hard on yourself. We’ve all been there. I would live with it a while I took my time and test drove others (Corolla/Fit/Civic) for that time, then decide.
Suzuki Swift, actually; mine was a 2000, and they stopped manufacturing them when gas was cheap and “big cars” were all the rage in 2001. Don’t care for the SRX.
I liked the Corolla (and had one) back when they were little, cute, and boxy; now they look like any other generic sedan. Not a lot to choose from out there now.
Agreed; you either love your car or you don’t, and love is worth a lot.
It’s true that Hyundais do have much higher depreciation than many other makes, but since the OP normally keeps her cars for 10 years, the depreciation factor is not as significant as it would be if she got rid of a car in…let’s say…3 or 4 years.
It’s true; I was sold on the idea of Toyota quality, reliability, and craftsmanship, so these little “mistakes” are really driving me nuts.
Speaking of test-driving, did Toyota have anyone test-drive this protocol model and say, well, this is really inconvenient and that doesn’t really work and I need one of these and I could do with three fewer of those??? They should’ve ask me… ; /
Boring (Corolla/Fit Civic) is good over time…what peaks your interest short term can become overbearing long. Take your time and drive. Don’t buy anything you haven’t driven for an extended time in the way you plan to use it. Check the owner satisfaction ratings of CR.
I’m a confirmed cheapskate,so my inclination would be to live with this car and its faults (my wife stays with me despite all my faults). I’ve purchased used cars that had lots of service left in them, but have had annoyances. That said, my wife and I bought a new Ford Tempo back in 1985. It was the only car I didn’t drive well past 100,000 miles. The car ran flawlessly, but my wife didn’t care for the car and convinced me that we didn’t have to keep it forever. It wasn’t a great car on the highway. I traded it after 3 years for a 1988 Ford Taurus which we really liked.
Here is a tip: My wife liked the idea of a minivan. A used car dealer had a Ford Aerostar that we thought we liked. I had made arrangements to rent a minivan from the Ford agency for the week-end. He told me to cancel the rental and take his minivan. We liked it so well that we did buy it. In your case, you may want to rent a car for a week-end trip and really see if you can live with it.
Oh, and I go to put my folding reflective sunshield under the passenger seat like I did on the Swift, but does it fit? NO! Of course not; no way!!! And why are there little mirrors with little sliding doors over them on the sun visors when there are already rear-view and side-view mirrors right there in your face; WHY? Is that an expense we needed? Why do the seatbelt buckles pivot? Not necessary. Why are there sliding extension panels on the visors that, when opened, OBSCURE the rear-view mirror? Whyyyy? And opening the hatch is like cracking a safe; insert key, turn this way, try that way, push in, pull out… Boo, Toyota…
Hang on; I’ll remember more irritating design flaws as time goes on…
That’s an excellent suggestion (renting one overnight or for a weekend)… That really gives you time to not only drive it in all conditions, but also just sit and “feel” and inspect it without the pressure of a salesman waiting for at you.
It looks like you are going to sell the Yaris and are looking into what to buy next. Check out Mazda 3. Maybe a used Mini Cooper? Suzuki has a couple of small cars now and they are not an expensive brand. Happy hunting and say goodbye to the Yaris.
Oh, and I go to put my reflective windshield sun shield under the passenger seat like I did on the Swift? NO! Of course that thing is not going to fit under there; no way!!!
Does it really need to go in the same place?
Why are there little sliding panels on the sunshields that, when opened, OBSCURE the rearview mirror? Whyyyy?
Those are for when the sun is shining in your eyes and the sun visors are not long enough to block it. They go behind the rear view mirror and they can also be used when the sun visors are open to the side. I wish my car had them!