17 out of 17 people found this review helpful.
Yaris Sedan- So Far It's Great!
Date of Review: Sep 13, 2007
The Bottom Line: This is not a BMW but for what it is you can't beat it! I'd buy it again.
While the front of the car is somewhat short and stubby I'm really getting used to it already. The rear of the car is rather nice but the flat sides are rather hideous. The interior is very well laid out but focusing on the center mounted speedometer with trifocals will take some getting used to. Also looking up to see the speedometer at night and seeing total darkness kind of freaks one out until you remember to look at the center of the dash. In time I'm sure this problem will go away. The trunk is huge for that size car and that is why I got the sedan instead of the hatchback.
I got 38 MPG on my first tank of gas and with a 11.1 gallon tank I went over 400 miles before I filled it up. The dealer filled it up the first time so it may have not been filled clear to the neck like I filled it up. I'm betting the second tank will get better gas mileage. The first tank was about 75% highway and 25% city driving with the AC on 80% of the time. Oh, BTW the gas gauge works flawlessly. It has a set of 8 bars and when it gets to the last bar the bar flashes to let you know that it is low on gas. The lower it gets the faster it flashes. I drove 35 miles with it flashing **BUT** I put 11.1 gallons in it at fillup so I don't recommend driving it over 20 miles at most.
For years I drove Geo Metros and this is twice the car that they were. Visibility is fine and I have none of the feeling of being in a box that I did in the Metros. This Yaris actually drives smoother over the bumps than my Tacoma. The road noise is loud though but the solution is to just turn up the radio!
Speaking of radios the MP3 jack is wonderful! I load up the MP3 player and plug it in for hours of whatever music I want. This is so enjoyable that I find myself sitting in the driveway listening to music when I get home. I do wish the display would work on the radio with the MP3 player though. All it says is "AUX".
The electric power steering seems to work great and the car can turn a very sharp circle.
The seat fits my back better than my last 5 cars and I love it.
The car did not come with cruise control and this **MUST** be added. The speedometer only has numbers in 20 mile increments. That combined with the fact that it is in the middle of the dashboard makes cruise control a necessary option.
The armrest between the two front seats is a bad joke. It is too short and is slanted down toward the front of the vehicle. Your arm falls off of it and you always feel like your arm is sliding. This is probably the silliest engineering mistake in the vehicle but far from being a 'killer' item.
