Toyota Yaris www.topspeed.com

Initial thoughts: Toyota Yaris This is not the first time that we have had a Toyota Yaris in the Top Speed test fleet. The last time we got to drive the Japanese automaker’s compact city car it was wearing a sporty red paint job as well as a few aggressive body pieces, like a rear wing and big mouth front bumper. Just like before, it was nice to enjoy some of the simpler things in life. Like a 1.5 Liter VVT-i four cylinder that makes 106 HP and 103 lb-ft of torque, this may not sound like a lot, but the satisfaction of driving an ultra low emissions vehicle should be enough to make up for it. Like before, our Pacific Blue Metallic Yaris was of the 5 door variety. Despite the Yaris’s diminutive appearance from the outside, it is quite spacious on the inside thanks to the hatchback layout. The only part of the Yaris that kept with the compact theme was the trunk; don’t think about bringing along more than one set of golf clubs. It was hard enough to get one bag to fit between the car’s rear suspension towers. The Yaris is definitely a good car for the money, especially when you factor in the outstanding Toyota reliability. Our car came with a few nice touches like the upgraded 14 inch rims as opposed to a set of hubcaps and there was a CD player in the center stack. The base Yaris starts at around $13,000, not bad for a new car. The power package that our Yaris came equipped with added about $2,000 worth of window motors and remote locks to the city car. The power locks are actually a big deal for a four door, this way you will never be sitting in a restaurant thinking: “Did I lock that back door?” Whereas with our Yaris, you could just hit the locking button the key to make sure.

This is not the first time that we have had a Toyota Yaris in the Top Speed test fleet. The last time we got to drive the Japanese automaker’s compact city car it was wearing a sporty red paint job as well as a few aggressive body pieces, like a rear wing and big mouth front bumper. Just like before, it was nice to enjoy some of the simpler things in life. Like a 1.5 Liter VVT-i four cylinder that makes 106 HP and 103 lb-ft of torque, this may not sound like a lot, but the satisfaction of driving an ultra low emissions vehicle should be enough to make up for it.

Like before, our Pacific Blue Metallic Yaris was of the 5 door variety. Despite the Yaris’s diminutive appearance from the outside, it is quite spacious on the inside thanks to the hatchback layout. The only part of the Yaris that kept with the compact theme was the trunk; don’t think about bringing along more than one set of golf clubs. It was hard enough to get one bag to fit between the car’s rear suspension towers.

The Yaris is definitely a good car for the money, especially when you factor in the outstanding Toyota reliability. Our car came with a few nice touches like the upgraded 14 inch rims as opposed to a set of hubcaps and there was a CD player in the center stack. The base Yaris starts at around $13,000, not bad for a new car. The power package that our Yaris came equipped with added about $2,000 worth of window motors and remote locks to the city car. The power locks are actually a big deal for a four door, this way you will never be sitting in a restaurant thinking: “Did I lock that back door?” Whereas with our Yaris, you could just hit the locking button the key to make sure.

Final thoughts: Toyota Yaris We here at Top Speed have thoroughly enjoyed our run with the subcompact Toyota Yaris . Since we received the tiny five door, we have thoroughly tested the car both on highway and off. The VVT-i 1.5 Liter four cylinder works hard at higher speeds, but is able to chug along with the flow of traffic. Despite the car’s smaller footprint, the Yaris is extremely spacious on the interior, and the cloth seats were extremely comfortable on our two hour highway stint. The Yaris did quite well on the open road, the car was able to get up to speed quickly, there was minimal exterior noise in the cabin and the seating position kept the controls in easy reach while allowing you to relax for the duration of the trip. The Yaris shines in a crowded urban environment. The way that the wheels are pushed out to the far corners, just like the original compact car the Mini, allows for many of the same benefits. There is maximum use of the interior space, weaving in and out of traffic is a breeze and finding a parking space has never been easier. For those reasons and many more, we don’t mind trading in massaging seatbacks and fancy hard drive based navigation units for a simpler, less-complicated automobile. However our favorite feature of the Yaris are all the storage compartments hidden in the dashboard. The Toyota Yaris is not only a great first car; it is also a great second car. Save the 599 for the weekends, tell your wife that you’ll be taking the Yaris to the office today, you’ll just have to be selective about which clubs to bring to the driving range after work, because an entire golf bag definitely won’t fit in the trunk. But for around $15,000 you can’t go wrong with a Toyota Yaris, it also comes with one of the greatest guarantees in the world, it’s a Toyota.

We here at Top Speed have thoroughly enjoyed our run with the subcompact Toyota Yaris . Since we received the tiny five door, we have thoroughly tested the car both on highway and off. The VVT-i 1.5 Liter four cylinder works hard at higher speeds, but is able to chug along with the flow of traffic. Despite the car’s smaller footprint, the Yaris is extremely spacious on the interior, and the cloth seats were extremely comfortable on our two hour highway stint. The Yaris did quite well on the open road, the car was able to get up to speed quickly, there was minimal exterior noise in the cabin and the seating position kept the controls in easy reach while allowing you to relax for the duration of the trip.

The Yaris shines in a crowded urban environment. The way that the wheels are pushed out to the far corners, just like the original compact car the Mini, allows for many of the same benefits. There is maximum use of the interior space, weaving in and out of traffic is a breeze and finding a parking space has never been easier. For those reasons and many more, we don’t mind trading in massaging seatbacks and fancy hard drive based navigation units for a simpler, less-complicated automobile. However our favorite feature of the Yaris are all the storage compartments hidden in the dashboard.

The Toyota Yaris is not only a great first car; it is also a great second car. Save the 599 for the weekends, tell your wife that you’ll be taking the Yaris to the office today, you’ll just have to be selective about which clubs to bring to the driving range after work, because an entire golf bag definitely won’t fit in the trunk. But for around $15,000 you can’t go wrong with a Toyota Yaris, it also comes with one of the greatest guarantees in the world, it’s a Toyota.

Some nice pictures

Some nice pictures

Some nice pictures