Anyone driven a Toyota Yaris yet?

[tridim]

Just wondering if the low price and good mileage make it feel cheaply built and underpowered?

http://www.toyota.com/

As a former Honda CRX driver I love the look of the hatchback. I'm not really quite in the market yet, but 40mpg sounds so nice!

[DS1]

1. Not sure how I feel about that centered dash

:shrug:

[tridim]

5. Yea, that bugs me too..

It's probably there for a good reason though.

[ContraBass Black]

8. The good reason is that it's easier to move the driver's seat

From right to left.

[tridim]

9. Maybe.. I was thinking more for safety

It's more "head's up".

[TreasonousBastard]

2. No, and I don't plan to...

having owned two Corollas, I'm not overly impressed with Toyota's ability to make good small cars.

Both of them were tinny compared to a lot of the competition, and neither of them lasted all that long-- after 100,000 miles they both started needing vast amounts of care. Repair and parts costs were also higher than some other cars I've owned, even with avoiding the dealer.

Flame me if you must, but I'm not a Toyota fan.

[ContraBass Black]

3. What year were they?

[TreasonousBastard]

6. Late 80's, mid nineties...

and yeah, you can say that newer ones are less tinny and maybe they are, but those felt fairly tight when new, too. And I got 'em both used and did a lot of hard driving. But, they still nickeled and dimed me more than some others I've had.

I'm not saying don't buy a Toyota, most people who have are happy, just that it might pay to look around since a fair part of the reputation is hype.

[LeftyMom]

4. If I'm not mistaken the Yaris is an updated Echo

For some reason the Echo, despite it's lower price point, seemed to have held together better as the milage added up, at least in the specimens I've driven.

[tridim]

7. Last Toyota I had was an 83 Celica

I was actually sad when I traded it in. Great car.

I think the Yaris has a proven track record in Europe.

[tjdee]

10. It's got less power than the CRX, but the liftback is adorable!!

Did some googling...just bought a car and this was a good time to compare it against the Yaris, which I REALLY wanted. Made myself feel a little better. Seems the Yaris liftback has only 106 hp, and the 91 CRX had 108. (Mine's got 145 :silly: )

I digress. I believe I've read that the Yaris is offered in Canada (or Europe?) as a five door--I'd kind of wait for that, maybe. But on its face, the Yaris is the most adorable thing I've seen in a while, in cars. I'd consider it just for that and the price.

[TheMightyFavog]

11. Does horsepower really matter?

I mean, It's just to get you from point A to Point B. It's not like you're racing these things or something.

[tjdee]

12. I don't think it matters so much....

but the OP did make a point of saying he used to drive a CRX, which I remember was a pretty sporty thing back in the day LOL.

on edit: And reading the OP's original post again, maybe that wasn't a reference to power/sportiness, it was just a reference to the look of the Liftback (which is adooorrrrable).

Eh. Ya get what ya like.