Toyota Yaris - 'Moving forward' as one of the best small cars

The Toyota Yaris sub-compact car is available in three body styles, a three door hatchback, a five door hatch back and a four door saloon. The saloon is visually different from the hatchback. The dashboard and the body panels of the saloon are different from those of the hatchback. The hatchback is the cheapest Toyota currently on the offer, but it does not look or feel cheap by any standards.Toyota Yaris – ‘Moving forward’ as one of the best small cars

The saloon is 20 inches longer than the hatchback versions and has a wheelbase longer by three inches. This gives the saloon more space in the passenger compartment and a practical boot. However, the hatchback has sliding and reclining back seats, in order to offer generous legroom and comfortable seating position at the cost of storage space. The rear seats can split fold 60/40 to provide for a large storage bay. The hatchback also has a more aggressive styling for both the exterior and the interior, while the saloon goes for a more conservative styling so as to appeal more to families.

Space and practicality

Performance

The car has a fuel efficient 1.5 liter, four-cylinder engine that uses Toyota’s tried and tested variable valve timing system for improved efficiency. The engine generates 106 horsepower and 103 pound-feet of torque. EPA rated the car a fuel economy of 29 mpg in the city and 36mpg on the highway to give it a combined economy of 32 mpg for the manual. The figure drops by 1 mpg for the automatic. This refined four cylinder gasoline engine comes with an equally refined five speed gearbox. Also on offer is an optional four speed automatic gearbox, which, however is sluggish when it comes off the line acceleration.

Safety

The Yaris features Anti Lock Brake and side curtain airbags as standard. The tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety saw the car earning the maximum safety rating for the frontal offset and side impact crash tests. Surprisingly, the hatchback version proved to be marginally safer than the saloon in most of the crash tests conducted.

Equipments

The car has a well appointed interior. The dashboard has three glove boxes, with one of them placed underneath the steering. The dashboard has a centrally mounted instrument console, which is a bit distracting while driving. All body styles come in two variants, the base or S version. The base variant gets just the basic features in terms of comfort and luxury, like air conditioning, four way adjustable front seats and a tilt adjustable steering wheel. The S trim offers 15 inch steel wheels, a CD MP3 player with an auxiliary audio input jack and a body kit. The list of optional extras includes power windows, cruise control, power steering, 15 inch alloy wheels, key less entry, rear window defroster, spoiler and fog lamps.

It is a highly practical car that scores high in quality and practicality. The car struggles to impress in terms of value for money, and there are cheaper cars available with as much space, performance and even more features for lesser money. However, this Toyota truly has a quality feel, which most of its rivals, maybe with the exception of the Honda FIT struggle to match. The tried and tested engines are both powerful and frugal. The Toyota is also known to be less prone to depreciation, fetching decent resale value incase one decides to sell it. This car is an excellent choice for someone who wants a small car with a premium feel, but has a limited budget.

Source: www.nitrobahn.com