When I purchased my 2006 Honda Civic I waited months to write a review of it, but this time around I’m writing a review of my new car before I’ve even had to re-fill the gas tank. I’m not too crazy about it and I’m actually having buyer’s remorse only a week after purchasing it.

Although I should preface this review by mentioning the fact I’m specifically reviewing the Yaris sedan regular trim level, not the “S” trim and neither of the hatchback models. In fact, I know that if I had bought the higher trim level sedan this would be at least a 4-star review.

I was forced to get a new car recently when I totaled my 㤎 Civic thanks to an old lady who wasn’t paying attention. No one was hurt but my car took a beating. Since I’m single and rarely have other people in the car with me and I don’t do a lot of schlepping other than trips to the supermarket, I was looking for an economy car, not a powerful one. Having done a little research ahead of time I whittled my selections down to either a used Civic or a brand new Honda Fit or the Toyota Yaris.

I actually test drove the Fit and liked almost everything about it except for two problems. Firstly, it has a terrible blind spot when backing up. The rear windshield is so miniscule you can barely see anything. This would make me nervous trying to finesse my way in to and out of parking spaces and driveways. My Civic had a similar blind spot, but the Fit’s was much worse. Secondly, the Fit is about $2,000 more than the Yaris and has almost the exact same options as far as MPG, passenger room and frills (or lack thereof). Sure, I’d rather drive a Honda over a Toyota (and the Fit definitely looks cooler than the Yaris), but two grand is a luxury I can’t really afford right now.

I also seriously considered several used Civics which were actually a tad bit more than a brand new Yaris, but I thought I’d rather have a brand new car with zero miles on it than a used one, even if it is certified.

PERFORMANCE

I’ve never actively sought a car out that was “fun to drive,” but I have to admit I like the way the Yaris handles. That’s the nice thing about small cars, they can hug the road quite well. In fact, I notice a distinct difference in the handling between the Yaris and my Civic, which was just a regular compact. The Yaris handles curves and turns with ease. Just the slightest crank of the wheel and you’re around that bend or in a new lane on the highway. I’d imagine this is what a Mini Cooper is like to drive.

For such a small engine (1.5L DOHC 16-valve EFI VVT-I 4-cylinder), the Yaris has a surprising amount of pep. In fact, it might have a little too much. When going from a dead stop to just the first two gears, it sounds like the engine is really exerting itself unless you finesse the gas pedal. I was giving my parents a ride and I had to explain that I wasn’t flooring it, the car just makes it sound that way.

As far as acceleration goes, the Yaris is probably above average. I noticed I was able to enter highways and quickly enter traffic. Even cruising at typical highway speeds between 65 and 75 I was able to give it even more gas and it would respond almost immediately. I even drove up a steep hill with my parents in the car and the Yaris was able to keep up with my need for more power surprisingly easy. I had considered buying this car in manual transmission, since you can give yourself more power, but I’m glad I opted for the automatic because I haven’t found myself needing any more power.

Overall, the Yaris is pretty quiet to drive around the city, but it is noticeably louder on the highway. It just depends on your surroundings: if you’re alone it’s of average noise level, but if you’re surrounded by traffic it’s surprisingly loud. Several times I wondered if one of the windows was ajar, but it was not the case. I’m curious to see how a long road trip will be to drive as far as my ability to tolerate noise.

Let’s not overlook Yaris’s fuel efficiency, since this has been Toyota’s marketing strategy. I’ve actually had people ask me if the Yaris was a hybrid because the commercials tout its MPG rating. No, it’s not a hybrid, but it’s pretty good for a standard gasoline engine since it gets 29 MPG city and 35 MPG highway. The gas tank is a little over 11 gallons which means it should drive between 319 and 385 miles on a single tank. I actually would prefer a slightly larger tank, but I think this will suffice.

EXTERIOR

There are only two different models available: the 2-door hatchback (or “liftback” as Toyota calls them) and the regular 4-door sedan. Personally, I think the hatchback models look a little too wedge-like, as if they are trying to cash in on the craze of ridiculously small cars. Those models are basically a Smart Car stretched out. At least with the sedan model it looks like a fairly generic car. In fact, from the exterior alone, the sedan can easily be mistaken for a midsize when it’s actually a sub-compact.

The overall styling is very modern, with lots of curves and a sleek appearance. My car is “Barcelona Red” which is basically a vivid “Cherry Apple” shade and it looks amazing. In fact, the car might give the false impression of being bigger, faster and more expensive than it really is.

INTERIOR

SEATS & LAYOUT

When you hear the word “sub-compact” you might have a tendency to think of a cramped interior but my Yaris is very roomy. In both the front and back seats there is plenty of leg and head room, enough to accommodate four adults comfortably (five if necessary). The seats are “dark charcoal” fabric, which are a little different than the typical cloth seats you’d find in most cars. The fabric is much smoother and doesn’t conduct as much static electricity as regular cloth. I find the seats to be very comfortable and I’m sure they would hold up over a long road trip.

As a driver I find the leg room to be sufficient. The only problem is the wheel well is just to the left of the brake pedal. Usually, this is where I rest my left foot, but to really stretch out I have to move it slightly to the right. The leg room issue can be directly attributed to the fact the steering wheel only tilts but is not telescoping. So you can either push the seat way back to stretch out your legs, but then you’ll be driving essentially with your arms outstretched nearly straight. Or you can pull the seat in to give your arms some flexibility but compromise on leg room. I opted for the latter.

The gear-shift is located forward of the two front seats on the floor. It’s odd it’s located so low, but this keeps it out of the way of your knees. The shifter is also not a straight shaft, but a pseudo manual-style in the shape of a 7. I suppose this is a safety feature to keep you from shifting rapidly from park to reverse, but I find it to be a little annoying.

The parking brake is located between the front seats and is conveniently out of the way. There is also a padded center console which is nice for resting your right elbow on, but it is very small. I can only fit a few things in there like my wallet and phone. Oddly enough, the cigarette lighter/accessory plug is located on the center console rather than on the main environmentals dash. There are two pockets on either side of the front center of the environmentals section of the dash as well as pockets on all four doors. Couldn’t Toyota have put the parking brake above and to the left of the pedals like on some other cars? That would have freed up some necessary room between the front seats for cell phones, wallets, change, CDs, etc.

An interesting feature about the Yaris is the location of the cup holders. One is directly to the left of the steering wheel on the dash and the other is above and to the right of the glove box (but only one cup holder for the back on the rear of the center console). These cup holders snap shut and open by pushing on them to unlatch. How convenient these will be for road trips and runs to drive-thru windows remains to be seen.

DASH

One of the first things you will notice as soon as you get into a Yaris is the fact the speedometer is in the top middle of the dash. I don’t know what the Toyota engineers were thinking when they came up with this. Not only is it an inconvenience, since almost all cars have their speedometer located somewhere behind the steering wheel, it also poses a safety hazard since you have to take your eyes off the road and look to the side to see your speed, odometer and gas gauge.

I’ve already found myself glancing down only to realize the gauges aren’t where they’re supposed to be. Although this only adds up to fractions of a second, consider how vital small bits of time can be while moving so fast.

The only reason I can think of to put these gauges in the center of the dash is so that husbands can’t use the old “that’s because you’re looking at it from an angle” defense when wives criticize their speed.

AMENITIES/ENVIRONMENTALS/ACOUSTICS

Here’s irony for you: I recently mocked my parents’ purchase of a 2006 Chevy Cobalt because it didn’t come with cruise control, power windows or power locks. I just assumed such amenities were standard on all cars made after 2005 or so. I’m eating my crow now since my 2008 Yaris did not come with these features either. There is also no keyless door or trunk entry or active theft-deterrent system (passive only).There is a higher trim level where these features are available, but for a car in the Toyota lineup and for the price I paid, I think these should have been standard.

The air conditioning in this car does a great job in cooling down quickly and maintaining a nice temperature in the summer heat. Also, I’ve had to drive it in the rain several times and it quickly warms and de-fogs the windshields. The windshield wipers are sufficient, although there is only one delay setting.

As for sound quality, I’m a bit mixed. Overall, it’s rich and clear, but I’ve found myself having to adjust the bass and trebles controls depending on the type of music playing. My Yaris model only came with four speakers which put out decent sound, but I’d consider upgrading because they can’t really put out really low bass without some rattling and vibrating.

The factory stereo interface is pretty generic and has next to no frills other than the fact it has a 3.5mm aux input. This means you can plug your iPod, or other portable music player, directly into the stereo without having to buy any kind of after-market equipment. The only problem is, since this is just a headphone jack and not a specific iPod kit, it does not charge your iPod as you play it.

PRICE & VALUE

Toyota’s website lists the Yaris at $13,150 and sure enough that’s the base price for the car I bought. However, you tack on a few “packages” and the delivery fee and the final sticker price was $14,840. That seems a bit high for a car with no frills. I’d think for that price I should have been able to get the “S” trim which comes with all the amenities my model is missing.

But perhaps I’m just naïve about the prices of new cars, because a lot of people consider a new car under $15k to be a steal. In fact, the Yaris was actually cheaper than a lot of used Honda Civics from 2004-07 I had looked at. And being a former Civic owner I knew what to expect from a Civic, but why pay MORE for a used car with just a few more frills? I just think it’s wiser to opt for a brand new car for the piece of mind that comes with knowing most likely it’s not going to break down any time soon. Sure, you can get a certified used car which is warranted as if it were a new car, but even so, you never know what the previous owner[s] did to that car. And even though the dealer will fix it if breaks, you’re still inconvenienced.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In the end, this car cost me over $17k, but I put $4,600 down on it and am only financing $13k over 63 months at 4.79% APR ($239 a month). I guess I’m just a little too frugal and think that for that much money I should’ve gotten a little more.

If you’re considering a 2008 Yaris I’d recommend you opt for the “S” trim level whether you get the coupe or sedan, the regular trim levels just don’t have enough frills for me, not for the price anyway.

SEE ALSO:
1987 Plymouth Horizon

1991 Pontiac Sunbird

1997 Mitsubishi Mirage

2006 Honda Civic

2008 Toyota Yaris
Amount Paid (US$): 14,840.00
Condition: New
Model Year: 2008
Model and Options: standard sedan trim