The Toyota Yaris is a success story for the Japanese manufacturer in a big way. It’s one of the company’s best-selling vehicles, has one of the highest gas mileages in its class and is good value for money too. If the Honda Fit wasn’t such a good car, the Yaris would be market leader.
The Yaris inhabits the economy sector, and is proud of it. It’s a basic car, but well-built and comes with just about everything you need. It has either a three or four door in sedan guise, or five door in a hatchback style. All are decently roomy, have enough luggage space for a couple and are easy to drive around town.
Some of the standard features are an AC system, adjustable front seats, lift and tilt steering, a decent stereo and electric windows. The sedan also includes remote trunk release and height adjustable driver’s seat. At a shade over $13,000 with a manual gearbox, the Yaris isn’t the cheapest car in the segment. However, for the combination of build quality, gas mileage and ability, the car is good value for money.
Spend a little more and you can have some options, such as The Convenience Package. This includes split rear seats, rear window wipers, 15-inch wheels, audio system with CD/MP3 and a radio.
There is also The Power Package, which adds a further $1,500 or so to the price. This package includes everything in the Convenience Package, plus remote keyless entry, power mirrors and power door locks and windows.
The last option is the Sports Package, which adds up to $2,800 to the price. It’s for the younger generation, as it includes exterior styling, an I-Pod interface, leather wrapped steering wheel, sports seat, leather packed shift knob, cruise control and fog lights.
There is a single engine option whichever model you buy. It’s a four-cylinder petrol, providing 106 bhp. This small power plant is one of the reasons the car gets such good gas mileage. The other reason is weight. At a little over 2,300 pounds, this is a light car. That means the low power output doesn’t disadvantage the car at all. It’s lively in city streets, but can also handle the highway. It’s no multistate cruiser, but it will get you where you need to go with relatively little fuss.
The 2011 Toyota Yaris comes into its own in the city though. It’s low weight, short wheelbase and fun character are best in urban environments. Where space is at a premium and the traffic lights slow you to a crawl is where the Yaris shines. The car is nippy, agile and fun to drive through congested streets. It can fit into spaces most other cars can’t so can get places quickly, and be parked in the most unlikely spaces.
With an average of 29 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway, the car isn’t expensive to run. While not as cheap as some economy cars, Toyotas are reliable and hold their value reasonably well.
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