Car Review: 2009 Toyota Yaris

Before we picked out the Versa, we had considered a few other vehicles as potential family transporters. The Honda Fit was cool, but in short supply. The Scion xD was a possibility, but hard to get without expensive dealer add-ons. The Veyron is cool, but lacks a back seat.

We sat in a Toyota Corolla, but it had expanded to “mid-size” since we last drove one. Kind of a shame, wider and longer is not always an improvement.

While at the dealeship, we looked at a 2009 Toyota Yaris, in sedan form. It’s shape resembled a shrunken Camry, and was sized smaller then the Corolla. Optioned correctly (airbags, mp3 connection), it would have come with everything we needed.

The dealer had just unloaded a black 4door Yaris from a delivery truck, so we took it for a ride.

It was the base model, so it had roll up windows and manual locks and mirrors, but the engine was the same so it seemed like we could make a judgement based on that.

The engine was 106hp, so it’s not quote ready for the track, bit was able to move the car around safely due to it’s light weight.

The interior was comfortable enough, but both Kate and I questioned a few of the design decisions. The speedometer was in the center of the dash (vertically in line with the stereo) instead of being directly in front of the driver. I’ve seen this before in Scions.

It was a strange sensation, driving without a speedometer in it’s normal spot… like the speedometer was broken and all your driving feedback came from what you could see/hear/feel. I imagine you’d get use to of but I’m not sure long term if I’d like it.

Also, cupholders were mounted directly in front of air vents, and were quite small (soda can sized). Not a huge deal, but I could see it growing to annoy me.

The temperature controls were cool though, 3 dials control everything. Features are great, but it’s nice just to adjust the temperature without looking away from the road.

Ultimately this would be an ok car to own, especially for the short money invovled, but it all depends on how you feel about the driving experience.

The dealership was ultimately unable to find one with the options we wanted, and really it was for the best, as we’re both much happier with the Versa. It was a little more money, but a lot more car.