2007 Toyota Yaris Review

Specifications

Saying Good Bye to a Dependable Friend

Automotive journalists have their tenets about small cars. Good on gas. Great in the city. Easy to park. Affordable. But for each positive attribute, theres an associative negative. Underpowered. Noisy. Uncomfortable on the highway. Cheap-feeling. Cramped (and built) like a sardine tin… so on and so forth. However, we discovered that not all small cars follow by these seemingly unwritten laws - one of these cars is the Toyota Yaris.

As a refresher, our long-term Yaris was a three-door Liftback in base trim. It was just about as basic as cars come, bearing only an automatic gearbox. No power windows, no power locks, no keyless entry, no ABS brakes. And as we soon found out, no rear wiper either. It was the most basic version of Toyotas most basic car. For a couple of guys and girls used to sitting in the lap of luxury, the Yaris was like being dunked into a vat of icewater. Initially, there was that shock, but shortly thereafter it was refreshing. It became our drivable palate cleanser after every full-fat luxury car or self-indulgent sports car. For the long term, a power-free Yaris might actually be the better way to go, as theres less stuff to break.
 
We ran our three-door hatchback Yaris for a grand total of seven months and 5,140 miles, most of which was accumulated in urban driving conditions. Its here that the Yaris is in its groove; its just about the easiest car in a congested metropolis, thanks to its fingertip-light electric power steering and sensitive throttle, which wrings the most out of the little 1.5-liter VVT-I engine. And when it comes to parking, the Yaris is a breeze, with its short overhangs and excellent all-round visibility its easy to squeeze into spots much smaller than initially expected. The center-mounted instrument cluster and seats are a bit of a tossup: managing editor Justin Couture doesnt mind them, but staff writer Jon Yarkony doesnt like them. As a basic, commuter car (or a students first new car) it hits everything right on the nose.

There were many things that really surprised us about the Yaris, most of which we discovered outside of its home turf. The first is that it smashes the stereotype that small cars are for cities only. The longer gearing in the automatic gearbox and ample noise insulation keeps the car quite hushed at speed. Another thing we noticed was that the drivetrain vibration is very low. Sit at a stoplight (or in traffic), and you dont feel the engine through the pedals, steering wheel or gearshift, something atypical of bottom-rung subcompacts. The Yaris has a European feel to it with a firm ride, but remarkable compliance. Its much more absorbent than its rival from Honda, but has less body movement than the equivalent Hyundai. And theres a surprising weight to those doors; they feel quite heavy and make a satisfying thunk when shut, which takes quite a bit of slamming.

Overall, the Yaris held up admirably to our daily use, showing few signs of wear and tear. Were wondering, though, about the longevity of those fabric-trimmed door panels, and how well theyll hold on to their color when exposed to prolonged sunlight. They do provide a nice cushy surface for resting your arm when its hanging out the window; its more comfortable than the hard armrest on the door. Another minor qualm is the slightly gritty texture of the low-sheen plastics used on the lower door and transmission tunnel surround. When theyre brand new they look great, but are very difficult to clean, holding on to rub marks from shoes and just about anything else. And if you dont hold the crank for the windows properly, its all too easy to rub your knuckles. It doesnt hurt, but try to clean it with a paper towel or cloth, and watch it disintegrate into little fibers and balls of fluff.

Also, a word from the wise: avoid automatic carwashes if you have plastic wheel covers. The tracks that guide the car through will scratch the finish. And if you can, spend the extra cash to upgrade the standard audio system head unit. For some reason, this particular one wont read burned CDs. Weve had other Yarii with this unit that had similar troubles.

From our point of view, as a city car the Toyota Yaris has rock solid foundations, but we feel that Toyota could be a little more generous with the standard specification sheet. We know that when it comes down to taking the bus or having a car, people are willing to live without things like power windows and locks, because at the end of the day theyre not necessary. But, given the upright rear window, a rear wiper should be standard equipment in colder areas, and Toyota could at least throw in height-adjustable seatbelts and a 60/40 split folding rear seat (rather than the whole bench folding down). One thing that would have made an enormous difference in the long run, especially if the car is being shared amongst many different people would be an interior-mounted manual control lever for the passengers side-view mirror. Currently, you have to roll down the window and stretch right across the cabin (but if your arms arent long enough you have to get outside) to adjust it. On the options list, we would also like to see more safety equipment being that all Yaris hatchbacks have is front airbags as standard equipment; side and curtain airbags are not available. Toyotas main competitors offer a six-count of airbags standard, if not as an option.

Still, for the most part our little Yaris impressed us, not just as a city car but also as a car itself. It shows exactly how far subcompact cars have come; just in the past couple years. We can easily understand why Toyotas had such great success with it, here, at home in Japan and in its other markets. And it just goes to show that you can have big car space and big car comfort with a small car.

And now, for the closing entries in our logbook:

Odometer: 4,459 miles

Justin: I dont know about you, but where Im from, the price of gas has actually been going down. Though it wasnt really anything to complain about - especially compared to our West Coast staffers - we cant help but smile every time gas prices go back the way they were two years ago. On that very pleasing note, as the years coming to a close, the Yaris has actually managed to land second place on my list of most economical automobiles, pipped out only by Hondas Insight. Think about that for a moment: it took an aluminum bodied, two-seat, 1.0-liter hybrid to beat out our regular Yaris hatch? It shows just how good Toyotas variable valve timing engine can be. More relevantly, the Yaris is better on gas than our previous Long Term Honda Fit by a large amount (and the Honda comes with a five-speed automatic), and provided better fuel consumption than the new Chevrolet Aveo and Kia Rio5.

Odometer: 4,579 miles

Justin: Before I forget (as I have been, for the past, oh, three months now) our Yaris hatchback doesnt have adjustable front seatbelts. In fact, no Yaris hatchbacks including the top model RS have it. Normally this doesnt bother me because I wear collared shirts, or a jacket of some sort, but I was reminded of it recently by the belt chafing up against my neck when I wasnt wearing a collar. On a couple of occasions, a few passengers have mentioned this to me as well. Im surprised; this is the first car in a very long time that Ive been in that doesnt have this feature, and in the past year I dont think Ive driven any other car that doesnt have height adjustable belts. I think this might very well be the only 2007 car without this feature on the road. Jon doesnt seem to be too bothered by it though, but then again, hes a taller guy than I am.

Odometer: 4,811 miles

Justin: Weve been driving around in a lot of small sports cars as of late. Over the past two or so months, weve had the Mazda MX-5 Power Retractable Hard Top and its much more powerful rival, the Saturn Sky Red Line, and the Honda S2000 just to name a few. Theres also that Tiburon that we had too, and Im inclined to lump it in with those convertibles as its a low, rakish, claustrophobic coupe. The Yaris clearly isnt a part of this crowd; not in performance, not in body type, and certainly not in interior volume. It never ceases to amaze me how big and airy the Yaris feels on the inside, to the point where you feel a certain emptiness, and the fact that you sit high up in the drivers seat gives better visibility. Then theres the Yaris use of space, which is a whole other story. I dont know of a car thats got more storage bins and cubbies.

Its always worth a good chuckle when theres a full car with people riding in back. Considerate front passengers always scoot way up, thinking that theres no space in back, even though in reality theres a ton of legroom. And my closest friends know that when Im driving the Yaris theres always room inside, so I dont have to contend with the parking lot 100-yard dash or fights over who rides shotgun (which is also worth a good chuckle).

Odometer: 4,909 miles

Justin: Things have been slowing down with the Yaris, as were very quickly approaching our return date. Were currently waiting to hear about the Yaris successor. In the meantime to keep kilometers down, our little car will be spending less time on the roads.