Yaris - not run of the mill super mini (Toyota Yaris in general)

Member Name: bobjones

Product:	Toyota Yaris in general
Date:	08/07/00 (860 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Small car economy, big car feel.

Disadvantages: Rear of boot narrow due to wheel arches

In March this year it was time to buy a new car for my wife, with children of 2 & 4 certain things were important, safety, reliability, practicality & economy.
Having looked at the usual small cars, Clio, Polo, Corsa etc, nothing stood out. All were similar, had been around for a while & were all being imported at vastly lower prices than available from UK dealers, which was affecting the future used value.
Then we spotted the Toyota Yaris.
At first we were intested in the 1.0 litre for economy reasons. However, whilst visiting a local dealer we saw their demonstrator 1.3SR in Caspian Blue.
We test-drove it & Carole was in love.
Safety - it has dual front airbags, seatbelt pre-tensioners,
anti-lock brakes, side impact protection.
Reliability - its a Toyota (always highly rated in the Top Gear/J D Power survey).
Practicallity - although its a 3 door the access for the children into the rear seats is excellent, the front passenger seat tilts & slides forwards giving ample room for adults to enter to strap children into their seats.
The rear seats slide, back for maximum passenger room, forward for maximum luggage room & in the middle for a bit of both. They can also be folded forward for larger loads.
The seating is higher, allowing good visibilty for driver & passengers (including small children who can see out of windows), also giving a big car feel.
Economy - over 47mpg average, 20,000 major service intervals
Being built in Japan, as yet the importers don't appear to be able to get the numbers in Europe to import at low prices which is protecting the used values.
The Yaris has many extra goodies, the SR has a CD player, Air Conditioning, cental locking, immobiliser, 14inch alloys, spoilers.

The SR looks sporty & performs well.

We were impressed following the test-drive, we're delighted after 3 months ownership.

Summary: