Yaris 1.3 packs a bigger punch
27 March 2000: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan.
Brian: Well, there’s one thing about the Yaris, you can’t ignore it. They’re everywhere. It seems that the Semperit Irish Car of the Year is well set to being the drivers’ favourite car in its class too ...
Trish: I didn’t expect to like it that much myself, and so I was a bit surprised how much it grew on me over the week. Initially, I thought it looked a bit high, and maybe I still do, but it certainly suits tall people! From the front it is very different from anything else on the road and I particularly liked the radiator grille which makes the car look very ready to get up and go ...
B: Yep, the big-eyed lights grab you too, with a very cheerful, chirpy shape to them, and yet they don’t overwhelm the whole front. Particularly in the metal-paint versions, the whole front end treatment is very strong and integrated ...
T: In side view, the style looks very balanced. My preference would be the five door version, which apart from looking very well, makes life a lot easier for back seat passengers, and of course for front passengers who don’t have to get out to let them in ... or out ...
B: Just on style, the kick-up in the waistline is very clever, making the high rear cabin look not so heavy. The Yaris from straight behind is very pleasing indeed, with large light clusters helping to reduce a metal slabbiness that some others (including Yaris’s own Verso version) show in small hatchbacks ...
T: It’s not so small at all when you get inside. In fact I think they’ve out-Puntoed the Punto, to coin a phrase, because it was the Fiat car that first put real roominess into this class. I felt I was ‘sitting tall’ in the Yaris compared to other cars that are direct competitors, a nice feeling. I felt a little bit more equal towards the high-up lorry drivers that are the bane of my driving life ...
B: Hmmm, yes ... anyway, as a load-carrier, the Yaris is no mean achiever itself ... it has the usual flip-forward rear seats, split backs, of course, but there’s also a rear seat forward travel that means you can make room for larger luggage in the very back ...
T: Very necessary for a day’s shopping ...
B: And I thought you were a modern emancipated woman!!
T: Sure I am, but there are some things a girl’s gotta do, and shopping’s high on the list. For the smaller bits of everyday stuff, there are lots of nooks and crannies, and I liked the fact that some of them were hidden from view, which gave a tidier overall look ...
B: Hmmm ... women like things tidy ... I’d be thinking of the security aspect ... there are lots of places where a camera and the Raybans can be kept out of sight from prying, nay, thieving, eyes ...
T: From behind the wheel I found I had a very clear view and this was because of the ingenious way they’ve put all the instruments in the middle of the dash, angled towards the driver. And all the readouts were digital which I found very clear to read ...
B: Yes ... I’ve said it before about this particular system ... the clever 3D way they ‘float’ the figures in a distance is very easy on the eyes, because I find I don’t have to refocus as much when looking over to see the speed and stuff. I’ve used digital instruments before, and they’ve never seemed quite so successful ...
T: The steering wheel seemed particularly to suit my touch and I found it to be a nice height too. The gear shift is well placed also, and as always with Toyota is precise and glitch-free. At first I found the pedals a bit high but got used to them after a few days ...
B: The layout of the various buttons on the dash is also something I’ve liked from when I first drove this car. Those on the central console are big and unambiguous ... you wouldn’t have to look hard to find find out what they do ...
T: Apart from sitting high, I was also sitting pretty. That is in a high state of comfort on my height adjustable driver’s seat. The seats are supportive and most importantly, tall enough at the back to hold you properly. There is room at a squeeze, I think, for three people in the back ...
B: Though not for too long a distance, maybe? ... I’ve had recent experience of being piggy in the middle in the back of a much bigger car, and tender bum sets in after around a hundred miles ... anyway, maybe we should get into the running gear now ... for a start, the Yaris we had for this review had the larger 1.3-litre engine, punchier than the 1-litre that comes in the basic car ...
T: Plenty of zip. It’s one of Toyota’s new family of VVT-i engines, which are right up-to-date, very economical, and we can take it that they’re going to be very reliable ...
B: I tried to compare it with my memory of the base engine we drove some time ago, and I have a thought that the little one was fine for most needs, though it could run out of puff on a long hill with a full family on board ... that said, the 1.3 is probably going to be a small enough seller in the mix, as it is £1,600 or so more expensive than the £10,000 for the starter car ...
T: The car is well equipped with goodies like central locking, electronic immobiliser, power steering and front windows, and a compact disc player. However, it didn’t have a mirror on the sun visor on the passenger side!
B: On the road, it rode well, though some of our colleagues think it winds up a little too much on a fast bend. Depends on your style of driving, really. And it did tend to feel side winds a little, because it’s high ...
T: We can’t leave the car without saying something about noise. The engine seemed quiet enough, but road noise on our Irish surface-dressed bothars really gets intrusive at not-so-high speeds. That’s annoying after a while. It’s not all Toyota’s fault, because take this car on any road in the continent and you’ll hear hardly anything of the surface.
B: But we liked it, anyway?
T: Still maybe a bit too tall in style for me, but yes.
Toyota Yaris facts: 1.0- and 1.3-litre petrol; 5-speed manual or 4-speed auto; hatch; price range £9,995-£13,395.
