Since this is a relatively new car, would like to hear everyone’s experience with it before seriously considering buying one…
Reliability/handling/comfort/repairs/problems???
Many thanks.
Consumer Reports New Car Buyer’s Guide, available at the local bookstore, is really your best source of information.
The Yaris is not a new car; it used to be called the Echo in North America. It has always been called a Yaris oveseas.
The Echo had a Sterling repair record, and is a good used car buy. The Yaris, likewise is turning out very good.
These are bread and butter family cars in overseas countries, and not a half-hearted effort like GM or Ford would put on the road here. Toyota makes money on all their cars, and can afford to improve the quality continuously.
If you are over 6’ tall, you will still fit in it but you won’t be really happy. I don’t like the position of the seat belt latches. Get the cruise control because the car doesn’t like to maintain speed one way or another. Manual trans should be better. Mine is the sadan. I keep hitting the stupid wiper lever and have to shut the wipers off a lot. The horn cover gets hit a lot too. That has been a Toyota “we’re stupid” option for a long time. The wipers look stupid too. The defroster switch is confusing too. People mistake it for the AC all the time. You get confused at night because the dash is dark in front of you. The trunk seems huge. I would try the Scion xD because it’s slightly bigger but has no trunk. It just looks better. Try the Honda Fit too.
A friend has a 2007 sedan, and last spring we drove it from Potsdam, NY, to Ft. Lauderdale and back. There were 4 of us, two guys and two girls. My boyfriend is 6’ and had no complaints about legroom in the front or rear seats. I found the seats comfortable, even over long stretches in the car.
On our Florida trip, I got 42 mpg (by calculation, not the computer) with the car pretty loaded down and the AC running. I have a light touch and don’t speed much, so I did better than when the men drove - not a gender comment, just specific to this trip! My boyfriend has a bit of a lead foot, and he and the other guy got in the upper 30s doing mainly highway driving but speeding.
The only thing that was strange about the car was that he didn’t want to pay for the power package, so he had manual locks and windows. No problem there, but he had aftermarket cruise control installed, and there was a huge box near the driver’s left knee to control it. The power package adds a few thousand to the price, but I’d spring for it if cruise control is something you want.
Pleasedodgevan is right about the dash taking some getting used to. Things are definitely not in traditional spots, but after a few times driving it I’m sure you can figure it out! My boyfriend drives a new Civic with the gauges in a different spot and after driving it a couple times it isn’t strange anymore.
My friend has had no complaints with his car. I highly recommend it. The 4-door sedan is still reasonably small(I drive a Neon, so I like smaller cars too!) and gets similar mileage as the 3-door hatchback, so don’t discount it if a sedan would fit your needs better. I’d definitely drive both.
Thanks, guys; I realize I can read reviews, but hearing from Real People is better (and more fun). Am barely 5’, so am not at all worried about “head room,” haha. I love a hatch, myself, and am looking forward to test-driving a Yaris, though it’s not as small a car as I would like (current: Suzuki Swift).
I really cannot fathom how the 3-door Yaris is much bigger than your current car.
Regardless, check this out: http://www.autoblog.com/2007/04/16/suzuki-swift-coming-to-the-u-s-in-2010/
Fix the blower resistor block like the_same_mountainbike suggested in your original thread and drive your Swift until 2010, when you can purchase a new one!
Whoo hoo!!! As long as they haven’t “grown” it too much!!! Yaris is 1" longer, 4" wider, and 6" taller than my Swift; also, Yaris is more “rounded” than “bullet-shaped” (that’s gotta help with gas mileage). Good news for small hatch lovers; WHY is Europe always several giant steps ahead of us in common sense?
Just a little funny thought - the first response says look at consumer reports. The second praises it…
But when you look at Consumer Reports, they name the Toyota Yaris as one of the 11 worst vehicles on the market. They give good marks for reliability, but trash it for quality…
Here are the dimensions of the current European Swift Sport:
Width: 5’7"
Length: 12’4"
Height: 4’11"
And the Yaris liftback:
Width: 5’6.7"
Length: 12’6.6"
Height: 5’
Sounds like the cars are nearly identical in size, although larger than your older Swift. They’re predicting a redesign of the Swift before it hits the US so it may look a bit more modern and rounded, but I’m sure they’ll maintain it’s fuel economy - that’s really the whole selling point of the car.
Consumer reports didn’t like it? I guess not enough bells and whistles for the retail price. I wonder if they would still feel that way after putting a quarter million miles on it.
This car is an appliance, and I mean that in a positive way. It’s a car that you own, not a car that owns you. The main luxury feature of this car is that you don’t have to work like a slave to make the payments.
I prefer to drive a “bread and butter” car and have enough cash left over for an annual ski vacation to being in debt and working like a slave to pay for a fancy car.
Buying a car based on reliability alone isn’t enough. The satisfaction rating I feel is MORE important. CU customers don’t seem to be as happy with the model as say, a Honda fit. Regardless, if I liked a Ford Focus, I’d be more inclined to live with repairs than count a few more pennies, praying that a car will die just to give you an excuse to move on. CU is a starting point. YOUR opinion is the decider.