The little Yaris among some BIG trees. Taken in the Stout Memorial Grove Redwoods near Crescent City, CA.
When it comes to buying cars, there are only two things I really want to have: small size and bullet-proof reliability. If you’ve been reading my posts, it will probably come as no surprise to you that I’m not really any kind of motor/gear/piston-head. That’s not saying I don’t like cars (I do- why else would I be here?), but I guess what I like and find interesting about them may be a little different from the norm. First, I see cars as cultural objects, their styling and features reflecting a particular zeitgeist. How cars intersect our daily lives and why they generate so much admiration fascinates me even more. I mean, no one gets nostalgic about their old washing machine. “Ah, remember the ol’ Maytag? Boy, she sure could scrub the hell out of a load of skivvies…” So it may have been a bit of automotive nostalgia, coupled with my unnatural love of little cars, that led to our next car purchase.
In the spring of 2009, the old Honda had right around 239,000 miles on the clock, and, according to my maintenance schedule, was due for another timing belt change in about 1000 miles. So yeah, I was pushing it. I was taking Miss E to her swimming practice one afternoon, and soon as I exited I-5, I heard the most god-awful grinding and rattling sound coming from the engine bay. The car didn’t even make it to the end of the off ramp. Yep, the timing belt broke, the valves were shot, and the repair was going to run us about $2000.
So here was the question- do we sink $2000 into a 13-year old car with almost 240K on the clock, Honda or not, or do we just put a down-payment on a new ride? We were still a one-car family, so we figured the best thing to do was get a little piece of mind: buy a brand-new car and drive it into the ground. So that raised another question- what to buy? Well, one thing was for sure, it was going to be either Honda or Toyota.
I didn’t have any magical formula to figure out car purchases. I read Consumer reports, placing an almost obsessive emphasis on the number of red circles with the little white dots (best). I didn’t give a Flying Wallenda whether or not CR “recommended” a car because I noticed they started to downplay reliability and economy in favor of power and features long ago. Not that power and features aren’t something to consider, but reliability and economy are always at the top of my list if I’m laying out that much green for anything. Yeah, I know, time to get out of the 1980s, Matt.
No surprise Honda and Toyota compared favorably in terms of reliability. But the latter were a little less expensive so we ended up at the Toyota dealer where we drove both a Corolla and a Yaris 4-door sedan. You already know what we chose because I assume you read the title of this post (you did, didn’t you?). Remember a couple of posts back where I said that maybe I was a little funny in the head because, thanks to that Tercel, I had developed a fondness for small cars? The Corolla was about $1500 more, and we could have swung it just fine, but the Yaris had a little bit more of that “go-cart” feeling. It was also funkier, what with that much-maligned center instrument cluster. At first, I wasn’t a fan, but I grew to appreciate it (more on that in a bit). But mostly, I think the Yaris reminded us of the beloved old Tercel, although the new car was much nicer in every way. Nostalgia about a Tercel? Yep…a little funny in the head, remember?
This is our Yaris a day or two after we brought her home. Sedan styling was markedly different from the hatch version. You can see the cover for the tow-hook on the lower part of the bumper cover- that and a VIN that started with “J” meant she was made in Japan.
For trim, we didn’t go full-on hair-shirt like we did with the Tercel: we chose power everything as well as cruise control. Most Yari (plural of Yaris?), including ours, already had six airbags, anti-lock brakes, A/C and a CD player standard, so I never felt the car was any kind of a penalty, box. Though a little narrower than the Corolla, it actually had a bit more rear-seat leg room thanks to clever and efficient packaging. We only had the one child, so we really didn’t need a larger car. The Yaris also got stellar gas mileage at a time when gas was costing upward of $4/gallon. I once calculated 40 mpg on a trip to Klamath Falls and back and that was with the A/C running. I wasn’t complaining, especially when I filled up the car for about $35 and the owner of the over-sized SUV next to me was paying close to $80 for a fill. Yes, I will confess to a little bit of automotive schadenfreude. (Gee, that’s the second German term I’ve used in this post).
A 106-hp DOHC 4 with Toyota’s VVTi meant power was fine- certainly nothing worse than any other car we had owned. None of our previous vehicles had been street racers, anyway. So far, so good, right? I mean you, dear reader, might have wanted a larger car with more power, but I’m hoping you can see the logic of this purchase for us. That being said, here’s where I’m probably going to lose you. But please stay with me and I’ll explain: our car was equipped with Toyota’s venerable 4-speed auto. Oh, dude… Wait! Come back and let me finish…you see, by this time we had moved to Battle Ground, Washington, which is at the northern tip of the Portland metro area. We like to go into the city to do stuff. A lot. Driving in Portland traffic and on the city’s narrow and often hilly streets quickly becomes tiring in a standard. So whereas you might think there was a madness to our method, there was actually a method to our madness. The car’s small proportions also made it highly maneuverable in traffic and a snap to park when taking that trip to Powell’s Bookstore.
Inside, the little Yaris came up short compared to the old Accord. By this time many Japanese car makers, Honda and Toyota included, had been cheapening their interiors. Everything felt solid and soundly put-together but, alas, it was mostly hard plastics. My biggest gripe, however, was the seat fabric. It looked nice enough, but even if you only spilled water on them, it left a dark stain that was impossible to remove. And it wasn’t like you could use water to remove the stain, either because, well, you know…the seats apparently can’t get wet! Whose bright idea was this?
Love it or hate it, this was the gauge cluster, mounted in the middle of the dash.
Internet grab showing an expanded view. Lovers of symmetry would have little to complain about here.
Then there was the instrument cluster, mounted smack-dab in the middle of the dash. Toyota had also taken this approach with our car’s predecessor, the Echo (which, of course, was called “Yaris” in other markets). The logic being that this way a single part could be used for countries in either right-hand or left-hand drive markets. Okay, whatever you say, Toyota. I quickly learned that this unorthodox setup wasn’t as bad as it first appeared. By the time we bought this car, I was 43 and just beginning to wear bi-focal lenses. I noticed that having the instruments a little further away than typical was a good thing because I could use the top part of the lenses rather than shifting my view to the bottom. So a quick glance to my side was all that was needed and I could still see the road fine in my periphery. So there. And to any of you younger readers who may be snickering right now…geezerdom comes to all and you’ll get your turn.
Despite the fairly low-rent interior, the Yaris overall had all the goodness and refinement I had come to expect from the automaker. Truth be told, nobody, except maybe Honda, can screw together a little car like Toyota. By this time, they may have moved on to making mostly bigger cars and SUVs, but if our Yaris was any indication, they still knew how to make the kind of car that made them great. I may sound like a broken record here as I made a similar comment about both the Accord and the Tercel, but the car never gave us a lick of trouble. Oil changes, tires, a couple of serpentine belt replacements and other regular maintenance was all she asked of us. Even after 140K miles, the car didn’t feel the least bit old or worn out, and even had the original brakes (really!). Everything worked, there was hardly anything in the way of squeaks or rattles and if you didn’t look at the seats (I eventually had get seat covers to hide the stains), you’d think the car was less than half its actual age.
After the first rear-ending, the body shop replaced the entire left-rear quarter panel, back bumper and decklid. Ouch.
So though the Yaris didn’t give us any trouble, trouble did come to our little Yaris on a few occasions. In 2010, Ms. D was rear-ended by a Toyota 4Runner while waiting at a stop light. The car was still pretty new, so insurance picked up the $7000+ repair tab. Fast forward to 2018 and a friend accidentally side-swiped the driver’s side with his SUV while backing out of his driveway. That bill was $2300, also picked up by insurance. But the fatal injury came in November of that same year when I was rear-ended by a guy driving a stolen mid-’90s Chevy Blazer (with Alaska plates, no less). The street was soon swarming with local LEOs and if you’ve ever watched an episode of “Live PD,” the resulting scene was kind of like that. They cuffed the guy while telling him he was “just being detained.”* Son of a gun, police really say things like that. This time, the repair estimate was $6300- a little too much so the Yaris had the dubious distinction of being the second Toyota I’ve owned that had to be totaled.
Miss E collecting sugar pine cones at a stop along Oregon 58 southeast of Eugene.
But I really can’t complain- that’s life in the outskirts of the big city, I suppose. The Yaris served us well for over nine years and ferried us down to Klamath Falls to visit my folks so many times I almost felt the car knew the way by herself. That drive was always one I enjoyed, especially the Oregon 58 segment that ran from Eugene to US 97. There, the highway crosses the crest of the Cascades before heading out into the vast reaches of the pumice plateau of central Oregon. On the way up the west slope, drivers are treated to dense forests of Douglas-fir and hemlock, mountain lakes, and some splendid views of Diamond Peak. On the other side of the Cascade crest, the scenery abruptly changes to dry forests of Ponderosa and Lodgepole pines, and, as illustrated below, the occasional Sugar pine. Summer drives like this can be fun and satisfying, even in a little car like our Yaris. I sorely miss this car, but I ended up finding a replacement I liked almost as well. That is the subject of a future COAL, but next week I’ll be talking about a different car- a car that finally brought us into the ranks of two-car families. Until then, I’ll leave you with a few more photos taken along Oregon 58.
The reason Miss E was collecting the Sugar pine cones: at a foot-long or more, they are prized Christmas decorations and just plain interesting.
A view of Diamond Peak from Odell Lake
Oregon 58 looking west near the Waldo Lake turn-off.
* Turns out the driver of the Blazer had borrowed the car from a friend, so they let him go (without the Blazer of course!).
I’m a 10 year owner of a 2010 Yaris 3 door. This has been a great little car.Mine is a pretty basic car with only a/c, cd player, and auto trans, I added cruise which was easy on the 2010s. All you need is the switch, a short wiring harness, 2 screws, and drill a hole in the steering wheel cover. I love how the rear seats slide front to rear and recline. The only thing I’ve had to fix was an exhaust shield rattle. Battery last 9 years and I’m still on the original brakes.
Miss E currently has a 2007 Yaris 3-door hatch. She bought it about 3 years ago and it was/is her first car. Kinda makes sense as she learned to drive in our Yaris. She and her husband live near downtown Portland, so they don’t drive it much, but it’s a great city car.
I just got rid of my 2008 Yaris hatch in favor of a new Honda Fit, the Yaris had finally become uneconomical to repair but served me well.
Both are manual transmission cars (I had to go 100 miles away to another state to find a Fit so equipped and ready to test drive, although a closer but still out-of-town dealer had a couple “In Transit”) and while the Toyota gearshift felt OK, the Honda’s is next-level, like it has a short-shift kit straight from the factory, 10/10 definitely worth the effort to seek out. Especially given that it’s an “accept no substitutes, this might be the last chance” thing.
Thank you for representing our car! My Yaris is a 2010 hatch with the manual, and with the addition of a rear sway bar it makes for a really good little city car-enough power for city traffic, good vision, quick handling, small dimensions for parking and a very small turning circle. I grew up with manuals, and even in Cincinnati’s hills I do not find shifting gears to be tiresome. The light clutch helps, and the shifter, if not Honda-level of snick-snick, is quite reliable. The interior is indeed a bit basic in materials, the driving position is a little wierd if you are taller than me and it gets loud on the highway, but it also gets great mileage and doesn’t break. There are cars that don’t break, and there are cars that you know are not going to break, and the Yaris is the latter. My car is dark red and more than a little invisible, so I have to be vigilant, but so far I have been able to keep all the exterior metal straight. I do enjoy riding in other people’s plusher and sexier rides, but I am having fun in my little Tin Can Toyota. It does what I need it to, and it reminds me of the Toyotas of old. I am keeping mine.
Cleaning tip: my sister taught me that window cleaner (e.g., Windex) and a clean rag make a very good fabric upholstery cleaner. Dissolves a lot of stuff, does not harm the fabric and doesn’t leave water stains. Maybe that will work on your next car.
I have been a small car apologist for a long time. Especially Toyotas, which are often maligned as boring, pedestrian appliances. Our Yaris had gobs of personality. It’s not always about horsepower and 0-60 times. At the risk of sounding a little “woo woo,” there are ineffable qualities to car ownership, and the Yaris hit a sweet spot with me.
I hear ya. Sometimes solid structure, infallible mechanicals and “know what to expect when you drive it” can’t be comparatively measured, but they add up to “the sweet spot”. My Outback is like that – for all the unfeeling steering/CVTs-are-bad blues I hear, my car is a menace. Maybe my standards are too low.
Matt:
You obviously have found other things to spend your money on than cars. Unfortunately, many people will deprive themselves of new experiences, home improvements or other life enhancing things to have a vehicle that they believe adequately reflects their position in society.
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Another entertaining read with more than a few quotable lines.
“I mean, no one gets nostalgic about their old washing machine…”
I think it is because we wash, wax, and ride inside these machines that have – in most cases – faces to which we can relate, like cats, dogs, and some people.
“…geezerdom comes to all and you’ll get your turn..”
You’ll get your turn if you are lucky.
“… whereas you might think there was a madness to our method, there was actually a method to our madness…”
Priceless; I’m going to use this in a future post (with proper credit of course). And yes, manual shifting can get old fast; it’s quite outdated and inefficient. My left leg still hurts from a traffic jam in 1979 on the long snowy upgrade to the GWB from the Harlem River Drive in the 280Z.
This is a fun read that just happens to confirm my automotive beliefs and preferences. I just hope your next COAL is not about a Dodge Nitro.
Feel free to use the quote! I often find myself saying “there’s a madness to my method,” in jest, so I figured it was about time to work it into something written. I really do like driving standards- my father-in-law has a ’97 Nissan pickup that we borrow occasionally when we need to do “pickup stuff,” and it’s a stick. So I get that need fulfilled from time to time. But, truth be told, driving in Portland can be stressful enough, no need to add a layer.
After decades of driving stick, I’ve had cars with automatic for the last 6 years, for a number of reasons:
1. My current cars are from the era when automatic is more or less the default, and finding stick-shift examples would have been difficult. Two of the cars were replacements for cars that had been totaled, and I had to find something in a hurry.
2. Automatic transmissions no longer take a bite out of performance and mileage.
3. My commute involves a fair amount of stop and go on I-5 in Seattle.
I visit PDX occasionally, and I didn’t find stick shift to be a problem, but I was there on weekends when traffic wasn’t too bad.
A few years ago I had a Fiat Cinquecento rental with the arrangement where you move the lever to one side of the gate for automatic, the other for manual. I was driving it to and from work, so I left it in automatic, but I liked the concept.
Matt, we have a lot more in common than I thought! The purchase of my current ride involved the same thought process that you employed with the Yaris. As for the center-mounted instrument cluster, consider me a fan. The Echo just had a big speedometer which was even easier to read. I rented one on a Florida vacation back in 2004, and found that not only did the center position put it right at the bottom of my normal field of vision, I also didn’t have to take my eyes off the road to see my speed. I’m not sure why people don’t like them, as I’d like to see more of them.
Not only did I appreciate the position of the gauges, I found I started to admire the whole symmetry of the interior. A very clean look. It really didn’t take that long to get used to.
We only had the one child, so we really didn’t need a larger car. The Yaris also got stellar gas mileage at a time when gas was costing upward of $4/gallon. I once calculated 40 mpg on a trip to Klamath Falls and back and that was with the A/C running. I wasn’t complaining, especially when I filled up the car for about $35 and the owner of the over-sized SUV next to me was paying close to $80 for a fill. Yes, I will confess to a little bit of automotive schadenfreude.
This sure brings back memory’s. During this same time period my garage was stuff with a GMC Denali XL that had a 6.4l and a Suburban 2500 4×4 with the 6.0. I also had reprogrammed the computers on both of them to increase engine and transmission performance. While the tunes certainly did make a big difference in response and swiftness, they also required premium gas. I didn’t actually have to pay for the gas in the Suburban as it was company car but I remember filling them both up one time where I was actually paying for the gas myself as I had taken the Suburban on a long personal trip. I filled the Denali up and then filled the Suburban. It was almost $250! Recently, I bought a used 2006 Mazda 3 for my wife to drive back and fourth to work as she now has a near 80 mile commute and I smile every time I fill that thing up for under $30 and know that it will last the entire week!
I know what you mean. Years ago, I had a Suburban that cost $70 to fill halfway. A long line of GM B bodies that cost about 60 for a fill up.
The other day, I refuelled my 2019 Honda Insight…filled the tank for $19
Thank you for a great perspective on this car. Your experience with the seat fabric is a common one, unfortunately.
The brougham era velours may have been over the top at times, but they wore well, at least in our GM B-bodies, some of which were around our family for the better part of 20 years.
The successor velours in the post brougham era also wore well, and then suddenly the warm in winter, cool in summer, nice and soft velours gave way to Everstain (TM) fabrics or cheap leather that set you back a grand at purchase. When looking at 2005 Ford Freestyles, we faced this issue, some of the light color fabric cars were stained at the dealership!
We bought a Freestyle with leather, that has worn okay at best, and some neglect on my part likely hasn’t helped. Apparently the paragraph in the owner’s manual regarding leather cleaning and conditioning is for real. At 15 years of age, the driver seat is tired and worn.
Our 2002 Durango had a fantastic velour that stood up to years of abuse from countless trips to the lake where bodies covered with sweat, sunscreen, lake water and trailer hitch grease entered the vehicle at will. Later, it served as a conveyance for my teens, who were prone to eating in it, as well as playing sports and then carting their friends home in it.
While stinky at times, a good shampooing always brought the velour back to life. Below is an interior shot from when I sold our Durango October 2018 at 16 years of age….
Yes, that was the only thing that disappointed me with this car. When we gave up the Honda, the seats still looked new (except for the melted crayon in the back!). But I threw some seat cover in the Yaris and called it good. Thankfully, we don’t have this issue in either of our current cars.
The Yaris looks like a decent little car. I don’t think that Yaris is a good automotive name though. It sounds like a prescription medication that is advertised on TV. Ask your doctor about Yaris. Do not take Yaris if you develop hives, dizziness or dandruff……
Nice! Yeah, I’m not sure where the name comes from, but it was one they were using in Europe while we had the Echo (which isn’t exactly a great name for a car, either!)
Tercel nostalgia. I get it.
A lot of the appeal of my ’04 Scion Xb was that it reminded me somewhat of my first car, an ’83 Tercel 5 door. Xb was the same platform as your Yaris and similarly durable.
I also remember going to a showroom in 2000, and being amazed at the Echo’s roominess and the rationality of the center guage cluster. When the Xb arrived years later, it was even better, and (to some eyes) less goofy looking, especially on the inside.
“Goofy” definitely describes the styling of the Echo. I was glad to see they cleaned things up a bit when they introduced the ’07 Yaris.
A very nice review of a car (ok, category) that generally isn’t reviewed well by “enthusiast” publications – Mainly due to a propensity to forget about the primary mission, i.e. transport someone efficiently and economically. That it still manages to be assembled extremely well (look at those tight fits on the dashboard panels!), engineered to last, and provide actual value for both purchaser and producer is exactly the mindset that keeps people coming back for more. Better to get to work and figure out how make a little bit of profit on a small car than to just lose out on the market/purchaser completely when a larger, more profitable to the producer car isn’t going to be a consideration to the buyer. And talking/convincing someone into buying more car than they need because what they are looking for isn’t available isn’t going to leave the consumer satisfied in the long run once they realize it.
This is why I love CC- people here appreciate cars for all number of reasons. There’s so much more to them than just raw horsepower or skidpad performance. I was hoping readers here would also appreciate my write up on the Yaris, and I wasn’t disappointed!
As a long time driver of a Yaris with a boxy body (xB) I can relate all too well. And count me in as a fan of the xB’s gauge cluster, which is actually not centrally located like the Yaris. But I find it much easier to read than having to peer down through a steering wheel into a dark gauge typical cluster. I only were reading glasses, so for my old eyes, that transition is much superior than to reading the TSX’s or the van’s gauges.
And I can really relate to your love of Hwy 58. It’s our #1 destination for quick outdoor experiences. During the non-winter season, we’re up somewhere off 58 several time a week. There’s an incredible amount of access to back roads and trails off 58, and we’re still managing to find new ones from time to time. And in the winter there’s skiing and snowshoeing. We feel very lucky to live minutes away from such an outdoor paradise.
I worry about getting rear ended or such, as I don’t know what I’d get to replace my xBox. I’d have to find another one, I think.
Is 58 where we went hiking and I drove the xB? It looks really familiar in the pine cone picking image and the last image. But then again almost every road in Mid to Western Oregon looks super scenic like this.
Yup. But we didn’t get very far; the really good stuff is further up into the Cascades. You got a nice appetizer, though.
We need to get you over the crest of the Cascades so you can see the “dry side” forests. A completely different feel.
I drove it this summer heading back to CO from Eugene while going through Idaho. Wonderful and so different.
Glad you were able to drive through there! Yep, that’s what I love about both Oregon and Washington:- they’ve got everything::- mountains, wet forests, dry forests, beaches, deserts, prairies and farmland. Something for everyone!
Highway 58 has been woven into the fabric of my life since a young age. I grew up mostly in Portland, but my grandparents lived in KF, so there was the annual summer trip down to see them and, of course, we took 58. When my dad retired, they moved to Klamath (his home town), and by that time we were back up in the Portland area, so-yay!- more trips on highway 58. Now that my parents have moved up by us, I don’t know when I’ll have another chance to drive this route. I’ll have to make some excuse. You are indeed lucky. I’ve camped at Odell lake a couple of times and I recommend it to others looking for a quintessential Oregon Cascades experience.
Thank you for your story. Your approach to cars sounds similar to mine. I love cars, but I like the money in my wallet too! Cars are a depreciating asset so I have always sought ways to minimize that cost.
“I mean, no one gets nostalgic about their old washing machine…”
Don’t ask me about my stove – its my kitchenside classic! A 1955 GE J408 Liberator fully loaded still in daily use.
“We ascribe beauty to that which is simple; which has no superfluous parts; which exactly answers its end; which stands related to all things; which is the mean of many extremes.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
Truth be told, I actually do have a little bit of nostalgia about our first washing machine- an Amana that gave us nearly 20 years of flawless performance.
There are also those among us who hold onto their Maytags from when they were all top-loaders and built in Newton.
This observation isn’t original with me. But someone once observed that everyone has (or at least uses) a washing machine, but you don’t see buff books about washing machines.
In 1981 I bought a 1981 Toyota Tercel with a 5-speed which had been a rental car & on the vehicle sales lot. I had about a 21 mile commute to work (which was the Playboy Mansion – yep, got to see it from my point of view). I kept a log of every tank fill up/mpg – it never dropped, so never had a tune-up. The best mpg was on a road trip in the 40s mpg. I was a bit excessive with the oil/filter changes. Did the brakes once and 2 front tires. Then while sitting at a red light had a Ford pickup rear end it … his bumper above mine, pushing in the trunk and both rear quarter panels. Got a settlement, sold the car for $400. Lady friend was a graphic artist with us doing a trade of my photography services for her 1975 Nova LN with very low mileage. Have had 5 GM vehicles since the Nova – this story reminding me of my Tercel (occasionally will scan ads of older Toyota cars).
Nice, rational, write up. Most Yari in Europe were sold with a 1.0 69Hp. 3 pot engine; so you were very well off with the one you owned. I once test drove one because of the good rep they had, but couldn’t help overspeeding because of the central display. Being farsighted, I found it most inconvenient and went for a VW (like most of us Dutch people do).
I always spray the upholstery with Teflon, twice a year, to avoid stains. And not giving rides to the elderly and kids helps too in that regard …
Looking forward to your next COAL.
I remember reading a Clarkson-era Top Gear review for the Yaris and they said the little car “nipped about quite smartly” (or something very British like that!) They did, however, say the interior was a “crushing disappointment.” A bit dramatic, perhaps, but a little truth to it.
Richard Hammond used to rave about the Yaris inner qualities in the early tests. Almost stating it made all other comparable sized and priced cars obsolete. Toyota had to cut some corners too, to make it an affordable car. They did so in the interior. Otherwise it was galvanised, and utterly durable. Smart choice, even nowadays if one is looking for a good pre-owned little car.
Thank you for a real interesting article that proves that not everyone needs a SUV. I have been driving Honda coupes for years. I believe that there is one “choice” in that segment now. I drove an Accord Hatchback, 3 terrific Preludes, one horrible period in a Ford Escape, and then two Honda Civic Si’s. My current car is a 2010 Honda Civic Si in Redline Orange Pearl and has 180K and still going strong. Not everyone needs the passenger capacity or cargo capacity of a SUV. I have rented SUV’s to go camping and get back my little car on Monday morning. I love it. I one rented a Durango for the weekend. I filled the gas tanks on both the Durango and my Civic at the time. I paid $100 and most went into the Durango. And I knew that both cars would go the same distance. My father always hated my cars. He said I couldn’t haul anything with them. I should have a vehicle that will haul stuff and renting was just stupid. Using his logic, I should have been driving a moving van. My little car hauls my *ss around and its a ton of fun doing it. And I will totally agree that the standard transmission in the city is not a good combination. But it’s a ton of fun on country roads. Maybe I will share the story of my beloved 1991 Prelude and how it gave up its young life to save me from an 89 year old Eastern European airline pilot with diplomatic immunity and a Ford Taurus missle. Or the story of the absolutely worst vehicle I ever drove. A 2002 Ford Escape. Luckily I was able to escape that nightmare and beg Honda to let me come home.
The Eastern European pilot/Taurus story sounds intriguing!
Yeah, the Hondas were hit or miss on which years and engines would junk the car if a timing-belt broke
. My 96 Camry four is a non-interference design so a broken timing belt doesn’t wreck the valves. OTOH, my 98 Altima has a timing-chain, and with well over 200K now, we’ll see if it makes it to 300!
I kind-of like the Yaris sedans, as I find the hatch versions hideous. But I’m not sure I could live with that center dash-panel. And I frequently make a 400 mile highway trip, so noise, comfort, and safety are concerns too.
My Camry and Altima have padded dashes. I guess with all the airbags now, it’s not important if all that hard plastic turns into jagged
spears in a crash!
I used to be a stick-shift guy. But the automatics in my vehicles have been very reliable, and they sure beat overworking my aging knee and ankle during a traffic-jam.
And I DO Get nostalgic for old appliances, especially as I’ve had, and still have, some that have lasted decades. Today it seems, you’re lucky if they last ten years!
Happy Motoring, Mark
An interesting read, as we never had a Yaris sedan, all French built hatchbacks. Great scenery too. Very well done!
In a few months, we’ll get an all new Yaris, based on Toyota’s TNGA-B platform. The hybrid has a 1.5 liter 3-cylinder engine. I’ve also read there will be a SUV/CUV based on the new Yaris in the near future.
New Yaris outside:
…and inside:
Is this Yaris based on the Mazda 2 like the current one? It certainly has some Mazda-like lines.
It is not; the rest of the world will get a new Yaris on a dedicated Toyota TNGA platform, whereas we in North America have had the Mazda-based car since 2016. The new global Yaris is not expected here as a replacement, either.
Those centre mounted instrument displays have been around a while my 03 Citroen has one giving the radio/CD info fuel computer suspension activity etc but the main instruments are in front of the driver, my mates C4 has everything except the rev counter atop the dash the tacho and radio/cruise controls are in the centre and atop the steering wheel hub which strangely, at first, remains fixed when you turn the wheel, yes it makes it easy to swap the driving position for different markets his car has no door lock on the right front drivers door here that remains on the left but they give you a remote to get around that.
I believe some British cars in the ’50s had center instrument panels, to make it easier to set up for export to different markets.
Happy Motoring, Mark
I posted the same story in other post. Church pastor has the same car, his has 430K miles when the car had transmission gear broken this January. He was in the NJ Turnpike exit few miles from his home. This incredible for such low budget car. Before this failure, the car had gone through 4 timing belts and water pumps, everything was working.
I have been noticing that some of simple Japanese cars built in Japan often have longevity beyond some of the expensive one if the owners keep th ed m for long.
I’ve always held a deep admiration for these Yaris in large part due to how clever they go about their mission. All the goodness of the earlier Echo without the cartoonish styling and proportions. Great packaging and use of space. The hatch had a sliding/reclining seat that balanced passenger or cargo space perfectly. The center gauge cluster. Brilliantly simple HVAC controls. A sedan body style that looked really clean, not cartoonish. The equivalent Japanese Belta models even could be had with ionized air filtration, heated seats, keyless proximity entry, and factory navigation. I love the color of yours, Matt, the fairly rare 2-year only Zephyr Blue metallic. With the full power package, if it were a manual, I’d be perfect for my everyday. This is a prime example of how Toyota thinks and delivers, even on their entry level products.
Interesting you mentioning the Belta. A few years ago, I saw what I assumed to be a regular Yaris sedan on the highway, but when I got closer I saw that the badge read “Belta.” I don’t know if they switched the badge just to be clever or if it was actually a car from a different market. I was aware that Belta (and I think Vitz) was used in other markets, but I sure didn’t expect to see a car badged as such around here.
Vitz was the name until recently Japanese hatch models were branded; Platz is the sedan for the earlier (Echo) cars that predate your body style.
I fully agree with your love of small cars, and currently own Toyota’s adopted Mazda2 Scion/Yaris sedan. My depth perception is non-existent and this small car, with a stick, just suits me better. I hope mine turns out to be as dependable, being neither a Toyota or Honda. I wish the back seat were a little bigger, but with our family of 3 I have no buyer’s remorse.
The current Mazda 2-based Yaris is a nice-looking car for the most part and the interior design is definitely a step up from what we had, but I’m not a fan of the face Toyota put on it. But I’m not really enamored to any of Toyota’s styling right now. But I hope it turns out to be just as good a car for you as ours was for us.
I remember looking at a Yaris in mid 2006 when we were considering a new small car. I did not drive it as the dealer was closed on Sunday, but one was unlocked and we checked it out. I recall being underwhelmed by the interior. We were of the mindset that if we were going to get something small it should also be kind of fun, but the Yaris exuded very little fun to us and the new Honda Fit turned out to be just what we were looking for.
I do not doubt that your Yaris served you well. If I were looking now something like the Yaris might be appealing.
Just goes to show you how subjective car choices are. By 2009, Honda had restyled the Fit. I really liked the look of the 1st-gen (that would be like yours, right?), but was ambivalent about the 2nd -gen styling. The automotive press raved about the Fit at the time, but to me it looked like the car’s interior couldn’t be contained by the body- like the inside was trying to push its way out. While I’m sure the ’09 Fit was a terrific little car, I preferred the slightly more mature, but still fun styling of our Yaris.
We cross shopped the 2008 Fit against a Yaris sedan very much like Matt’s and came away with the Toyota for a number of reasons. First, Fits were very trendy at the time and so supply was limited and prices were high. That gave the Honda an immediate handicap. We found the Fit too loud, and coming out of a 93 Civic we were tired of road roar. I also couldn’t get comfortable behind the wheel of the Fit–the pedals were too close, the wheel didn’t telescope enough, and the seat didn’t have a tilt adjustment to compensate. The Yaris had issues with this as well, but was notably better. Honda’s packaging was undeniably brilliant, but we didn’t need that aspect.
I was unimpressed with a base yaris sedan as well–the sense of cheapness could be cut with a knife, but the “upscale” trim with the power equipment was a big enough upgrade to leapfrog the Fit’s.
Part of me regrets going with the Toyota simply because that first gen Fit is such a little legend now. Part of me wishes I could have doled out another $3000K at the time to purchase the leftover new 2007 Accord LX sedan (in beige on beige) that was being cleared out of inventory as the redesigned 2008s were rolling in.
Nice writeup, Matt. We had a 2008 sedan, dark blue, with the two tone interior, 4 spd auto b/c someone I won’t mention refuses to learn manual. It replaced a rapidly aging 1993 Civic. These are great little cars, badly underrated by the press at the time. Not as sharp as the Fit but they rode far better and were quite a bit less loud on the highway, and were generally more refined. Very nimble in town and they had a turning radius that felt like the car was pivoting about a central axis. People are completely wrong about the center mounted gauges, they were just fine, and I liked the waterfall style dash and great forward visibility. This car had enough care put into the interior styling and features that you didn’t always feel as if you had shopped at the bottom of the foodchain.
This is an easy 200K+ car, but three flaws caused us to sell it early: twin rear-facing carseats, a wonky driving position that had become tiring (pedals close, wheel far) and 2400 lb subcompacts just can’t hold up in a crash.
Ours lived in Oregon for the first several years as well, and recorded 43mpg going to and from Klamath Falls over that lovely Hwy 58 in your writeup!
Btw, you are absolutely correct about ponderosas. My favorite of the Pinus genus. And they smell like vanilla when the sun hits them.