TOYOTA YARIS HATCHBACK REVIEW

My car

My 2009 ‘stop start’ model 1.33SR is a company subsidised lease car. Plus points are £35 road tax, 10% company car tax, rear seat space is excellent for the size of car, a good 5 seater with no tunnel for the centre passenger, the sliding rear seat is fairly useful. It is very quiet and very well built, has loads of storage compartments, easy to drive and has a good driving position. The stop start works quite well once you’ve got used to it, the eco meter can be as much as 50 minutes for me doing mixed driving by the time I fill up. Negative points are the gear change is a bit sloppy, having 6 ratios to get mixed up with. The 6th gear is not very high and can ‘pull’ from 30mph, frequently skip gears since the ratios are so close you seem to be forever changing. A 5 speed box would be okay. The engine rated as 100bhp, feels at lot less than this, you need to rev it right up to over 3000-4000rpm to get much from it and it does get boomy, but pulls smoothly from 1000rpm but sedately. The trip computer operates via button on the dashboard not column stalk, due to the dashboard being very far forward means you need to reach right forward, and is a struggle, even with long arms. The MP3 socket is poor, radio/CD are okay, due to the low sound output of MP3 players (even on full volume) you need to run the car stereo volume at the top section of the volume range which spoils the sound quality, it sounds tinny and distorted, dealers all say there is nothing they can do with it.

My car

I have owned this car for over 2 years now and I disagree with all the negative comments which have been made. Its a great little car. It runs very smoothly, I've had no problems with the engine and it has always started, no matter what the weather. I only use it at the weekends, it is left to stand for a week before the engine is started, so for that, it is a good thing that the engine starts.

The running costs aren't that bad, but like I said before, it only gets used at the weekends so I can't really judge on that fact. Its a great handling car. The steering is responsive and the gearing is good, although, sometimes I have trouble getting it into reverse. The information given by the speedometer etc, is great. Very informative in terms if mpg, temp, trip etc.

Its a comfortable little car. Remember it is only a small car so don't expect big car conforts. The seats are very comfy, and can be altered depending on your size. Big enough room for passengers aswell. The boot space is ok for my needs, although I do have problems if I do a big shopping trip, I then sometimes have to utilise the rear seats, but, and I think I've said this before, it is only a small car.

Overall, I think the Yaris is a great car. I've had NO problems whatsoever, and my dealership were fantastic and still are whenever I use its services.

My car

I bought a Toyota Yaris after my enthusiasm for cars was crushed by an appallingly bad experience of owning a brand new Mazda MX5 Cabriolet Coupe. All I wanted after that was a reliable, safe, practical and cheap to run car. What I got was all those plus a good looking and fun to drive little car too! I question some of the comments in the recent Whatcar supermini group test in which I've driven all the cars included apart from the Polo. In particular, the Yaris should have scored much higher in the practicality section as it's one of the few cars (let alone superminis) that I (all 6 feet 4 of me) can sit in the rear comfortably. And you can vary the boot space with 60/40 sliding rear seats too. I know the Fiesta is fun to drive, but considering how new the design is, it has far too many flaws for me to consider one. Minus points : although the dashboard is good to look at and practical, it's made from cheap hard plastics. There's some turbo lag from pull-away and the Tom-Tom sat-nav needed replacing three times (not Toyota's fault really). Ride can be a bit firm on 16 inch alloys, but feels like a Jag compared to my MX5! Plus points: nippy once the turbo kicks in, averages between 55-60 mpg with mixed driving, cheap road tax, very roomy and practical despite size, handles tidily and looks good in SR trim. The dealers are friendly, knowledgable and helpful too, and the first service was reasonably priced.

My car

I bought the Yaris misled by the publicity about how wonderful Toyota were - boy was I mistaken. The car is more or less fine. It starts and gets me from A to B

However- beware of Toyota. When I bought the car they missold me some insurance- I already had insurance but they insisted on giving me 'cover for the delivery of the vehicle' - during that time someone bashed into it and guess what - their insurance did not cough up. (My perfectly good insurance that they told me to cancel would have covered it just fine). Three hundred phone calls later- nothing. Toyota and the dealer both blamed each other- neither took responsibility.

Three years and 2 days later- my car is 2 days out of warranty and is looking at a £500 repair due to a 'sensor fault.' Toyota are rubbing their hands in glee, they say that they might reduce the cost as a goodwill gesture - but won't say by how much so I can't compare them to my friendly local honest mechanic.

Why oh why did I not go for the excellent astra instead.

Do yourself a favour and learn from my mistake - stay well clear of this car and company.