(4yo) Toyota yaris mini-review

Surprisingly crap.

Noisier and more rattly than my 13yo pug 205, horrible interior plastic,
numb controls and *incredibly* sloooooow. I know it's only a 1 litre,
but 67Bhp in ~900kg should not feel that gutless.

I couldn't recommend one to anybody, which is not what I would have
expected.

"Albert T Cone" <mmmm (AT) pie (DOT) com> wrote

Surprisingly crap.

Noisier and more rattly than my 13yo pug 205, horrible interior plastic,
numb controls

Yes and yes. Charlie loves them. I thought the interior, well, appalling.

and *incredibly* sloooooow.

Hmm. It may be firing on two then. Okay no ball of fire, but peppy in a
revvy way. Compared to anything else with 1.0 litres or less at least.

I know it's only a 1 litre, but 67Bhp in ~900kg should not feel that
gutless.

I couldn't recommend one to anybody, which is not what I would have
expected.

Hmm. Maybe it was knackered?

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

DervMan wrote:

horrible interior plastic, numb controls

Yes and yes. Charlie loves them. I thought the interior, well,
appalling.

Some of the functional interior design was very good - well thought out
and nicely engineered, but the general quality and finish was pants.

and *incredibly* sloooooow.

Hmm. It may be firing on two then. Okay no ball of fire, but peppy
in a revvy way. Compared to anything else with 1.0 litres or less at
least.

I'm pretty sure it was running fine. It was smooth and happy enough to
rev, with no flatspots, just horribly gutless. The sheer volume of
sewing-machine-alike whine when you rev it might fool some folks into
thinking they were making good progress, I suppose.

Made my 205TD (which supposedly only has 11BHp more and very similar
weight) feel like a rocket - it pulls better in 4th than the yaris does
in 2nd. It's quieter, more comfy, better built, goes round corners,
gets better economy and would cost about a 6th as much to buy. Clearly
only insane people buy Yarises. I hate to think who buy Suzuki Altos and
similar...

I couldn't recommend one to anybody, which is not what I would have
expected.

Hmm. Maybe it was knackered?
Possibly, although it's had one doting female owner(1), and been fully

serviced, whereas my pug had one sensible owner for the first 30k and
one ruthless nutjob for the last 90k, but even at 3 times the age and 4
times the mileage it's hanging together much better.

Based on the accepted wisdom, I was expecting to be impressed, but if
this is the best small car you can buy today, I reckon things have gone
backwards in the last 15 years. I'd take a 205, a mkII golf or a mkI
clio in preference, anyday.

(1) yeah, yeah. Maybe it is knackered. Both brake-light bulbs were
dead, anyway

Albert T Cone <mmmm (AT) pie (DOT) com> wrote in news:55t84tF26jmnoU1
@mid.individual.net:

Surprisingly crap.

Noisier and more rattly than my 13yo pug 205, horrible interior
plastic,
numb controls and *incredibly* sloooooow. I know it's only a 1 litre,
but 67Bhp in ~900kg should not feel that gutless.

I couldn't recommend one to anybody, which is not what I would have
expected.

Last one I had a shot in was pretty nippy. You do have to use lots of
revs though, in a very un-diesel like way. Drive it like a bike and you
are getting there. :-)
I found the seat squabs too short though, and the floaty instrument panel
thing in the middle of the dash was a bit wierd.

--
Tunku

"end user" v. A command regrettably not implemented in most systems :-)

"Albert T Cone" <mmmm (AT) pie (DOT) com> wrote

DervMan wrote:

horrible interior plastic, numb controls

Yes and yes. Charlie loves them. I thought the interior, well,
appalling.

Some of the functional interior design was very good - well thought out
and nicely engineered, but the general quality and finish was pants.

and *incredibly* sloooooow.

Hmm. It may be firing on two then. Okay no ball of fire, but peppy
in a revvy way. Compared to anything else with 1.0 litres or less at
least.

I'm pretty sure it was running fine. It was smooth and happy enough to
rev, with no flatspots, just horribly gutless. The sheer volume of
sewing-machine-alike whine when you rev it might fool some folks into
thinking they were making good progress, I suppose.

Made my 205TD (which supposedly only has 11BHp more and very similar
weight) feel like a rocket - it pulls better in 4th than the yaris does
in 2nd. It's quieter, more comfy, better built, goes round corners,
gets better economy and would cost about a 6th as much to buy. Clearly
only insane people buy Yarises. I hate to think who buy Suzuki Altos and
similar...

I couldn't recommend one to anybody, which is not what I would have
expected.

Hmm. Maybe it was knackered?
Possibly, although it's had one doting female owner(1), and been fully
serviced, whereas my pug had one sensible owner for the first 30k and
one ruthless nutjob for the last 90k, but even at 3 times the age and 4
times the mileage it's hanging together much better.

Based on the accepted wisdom, I was expecting to be impressed, but if this
is the best small car you can buy today, I reckon things have gone
backwards in the last 15 years. I'd take a 205, a mkII golf or a mkI clio
in preference, anyday.

(1) yeah, yeah. Maybe it is knackered. Both brake-light bulbs were dead,
anyway

your diesel pug probably makes a hell of a lot more torque don't forget.
there ok the lil yaris. i quite like em but personally i wouldn't buy one or
any small car now really.

best small car i've driven was a citroen AX. it had no power steering, was a
cylinder short of what i'd call an engine and was french!
but it did ok for a 1 litre jobby. a tenner would get me to and from college
for weeks!

trouble with new cars is they have to much trim. i remember in the AX being
able to see bare metal as 'door cards' were for posh stuff. plus the AX
weighed in at fuck all compared to modern small cars. they all got to have
air bags and bars in the door and pillows of padding to keep the noise down
ect it add's like 200-300kg's on!

there's no point in a 1 litre i don't think these days. you better off going
for a 1.2 or 1.3 because the difference in mpg is fuck all and having the
smaller engine normally has you ragging the fuck out of it to get the fucker
moving that the saving in fuel is lost from reving the bollocks out of it
when you want to shift along.

"Albert T Cone" <mmmm (AT) pie (DOT) com> wrote

Surprisingly crap.

Noisier and more rattly than my 13yo pug 205, horrible interior plastic,
numb controls and *incredibly* sloooooow. I know it's only a 1 litre, but
67Bhp in ~900kg should not feel that gutless.

I couldn't recommend one to anybody, which is not what I would have
expected.

Agree totally, my mum had one and it was the harshest riding thing I've ever
driven, skateboards have a smoother ride.

--
ThePunisher

"Albert T Cone" <mmmm (AT) pie (DOT) com> wrote

DervMan wrote:

horrible interior plastic, numb controls

Yes and yes. Charlie loves them. I thought the interior, well,
appalling.

Some of the functional interior design was very good - well thought out
and nicely engineered, but the general quality and finish was pants.

and *incredibly* sloooooow.

Hmm. It may be firing on two then. Okay no ball of fire, but peppy
in a revvy way. Compared to anything else with 1.0 litres or less at
least.

I'm pretty sure it was running fine. It was smooth and happy enough to
rev, with no flatspots, just horribly gutless. The sheer volume of
sewing-machine-alike whine when you rev it might fool some folks into
thinking they were making good progress, I suppose.

Made my 205TD (which supposedly only has 11BHp more and very similar
weight) feel like a rocket - it pulls better in 4th than the yaris does
in 2nd.

Just as you would expect, though. That TD produces more torque - thus
power - lower down.

It's quieter, more comfy, better built, goes round corners,
gets better economy and would cost about a 6th as much to buy. Clearly
only insane people buy Yarises. I hate to think who buy Suzuki Altos and
similar...

No. Absolutely not.

I couldn't recommend one to anybody, which is not what I would have
expected.

Hmm. Maybe it was knackered?
Possibly, although it's had one doting female owner(1), and been fully
serviced, whereas my pug had one sensible owner for the first 30k and
one ruthless nutjob for the last 90k, but even at 3 times the age and 4
times the mileage it's hanging together much better.

Based on the accepted wisdom, I was expecting to be impressed, but if this
is the best small car you can buy today,

Who says so? It isn't the best small car. It's well suited for some
people. The interior is very Ikea-friendly.

I reckon things have gone backwards in the last 15 years. I'd take a 205,
a mkII golf or a mkI clio in preference, anyday.

(1) yeah, yeah. Maybe it is knackered. Both brake-light bulbs were dead,
anyway

You also forget the 205's tendency to skid into a hedge backwards if the
driver is slightly too keen then gets chicken on a wet roundabout or bend.

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com

Vamp wrote:

"Albert T Cone" <mmmm (AT) pie (DOT) com> wrote in message
news:55tinrF26li3qU1 (AT) mid (DOT) individual.net...
Made my 205TD feel like a rocket - it pulls better in 4th than the yaris does
in 2nd....

your diesel pug probably makes a hell of a lot more torque don't forget.
Yep, definitely. Almost twice as many torques, in fact.

best small car i've driven was a citroen AX. it had no power steering, was a
cylinder short of what i'd call an engine and was french!
Only one cyl short? The BM playing up again? :-D

I used to have an AX too. A 1.5 non-turbo D. I had thought it would be
the slowest car I'd ever drive..

but it did ok for a 1 litre jobby. a tenner would get me to and from college
for weeks!
I liked mine. Just got fed up of the lack of go and having to plan

overtaking literally miles in advance.

trouble with new cars is they have to much trim. i remember in the AX being
able to see bare metal as 'door cards' were for posh stuff. plus the AX
weighed in at fuck all compared to modern small cars. they all got to have
air bags and bars in the door and pillows of padding to keep the noise down
ect it add's like 200-300kg's on!
Yup, true. I wouldn't have liked to have a crash in the AX though -

bare metal is somewhat unforgiving.

there's no point in a 1 litre i don't think these days. you better off going
for a 1.2 or 1.3 because the difference in mpg is fuck all and having the
smaller engine normally has you ragging the fuck out of it to get the fucker
moving that the saving in fuel is lost from reving the bollocks out of it
when you want to shift along.
Probably true, although I tend to rag the nuts off things regardless, so

it probably would be worse in my case...

DervMan wrote:

"Albert T Cone" <mmmm (AT) pie (DOT) com> wrote in message
my 205TD ... pulls better in 4th than the yaris does in 2nd.

Just as you would expect, though. That TD produces more torque -
thus power - lower down.
I know, but the difference is startling - by it nature you tend to rev

the petrol lump more, so it *should* even out a bit.

Clearly only insane people buy Yarises.

No. Absolutely not.
Heh. OK, maybe some are just ignorant... :-P

Based on the accepted wisdom, I was expecting to be impressed, but
if this is the best small car you can buy today,

Who says so? It isn't the best small car. It's well suited for some
people. The interior is very Ikea-friendly.
Well, maybe. When someone says "I'm looking for a small economical

car...", the stock answers from the Newsgroup Illuminati seem to be
"Yaris" or "Micra", with the majority favouring the Yaris.

I reckon things have gone backwards in the last 15 years. I'd take
a 205, a mkII golf or a mkI clio in preference, anyday.

You also forget the 205's tendency to skid into a hedge backwards if
the driver is slightly too keen then gets chicken on a wet roundabout
or bend.
No, I don't. It's one of the myths which is reinforced over time by

repetition. I have one, and have driven quite a few, and whilst you can
(and I do) get it to happen, you have to provoke it quite deliberately -
you have to be sliding (or on the verge of..) when you lift off, AND be
in a low gear at high engine revs for there to be enough engine braking
to induce it. They are quite sensitive to tyre pressures, however, and
I wonder how many of the reported cases were caused by underinflated
rear tyres.

"Albert T Cone" <mmmm (AT) pie (DOT) com> wrote

DervMan wrote:
"Albert T Cone" <mmmm (AT) pie (DOT) com> wrote in message
my 205TD ... pulls better in 4th than the yaris does in 2nd.

Just as you would expect, though. That TD produces more torque - thus
power - lower down.
I know, but the difference is startling - by it nature you tend to rev
the petrol lump more, so it *should* even out a bit.

Clearly only insane people buy Yarises.

No. Absolutely not.
Heh. OK, maybe some are just ignorant... :-P

Based on the accepted wisdom, I was expecting to be impressed, but if
this is the best small car you can buy today,

Who says so? It isn't the best small car. It's well suited for some
people. The interior is very Ikea-friendly.
Well, maybe. When someone says "I'm looking for a small economical
car...", the stock answers from the Newsgroup Illuminati seem to be
"Yaris" or "Micra", with the majority favouring the Yaris.

I reckon things have gone backwards in the last 15 years. I'd take
a 205, a mkII golf or a mkI clio in preference, anyday.

You also forget the 205's tendency to skid into a hedge backwards if the
driver is slightly too keen then gets chicken on a wet roundabout
or bend.

No, I don't.

It's one of the myths which is reinforced over time by
repetition.

I'd say it's not quite a myth because there's an element of truth to it.

I have one, and have driven quite a few, and whilst you can
(and I do) get it to happen, you have to provoke it quite deliberately -
you have to be sliding (or on the verge of..) when you lift off, AND be
in a low gear at high engine revs for there to be enough engine braking
to induce it.

Hmmm...

In the dry, you're spot on but I have had the diesel one feel more than a
tad wayward on a wet roundabout.

Personally I think it would add to the fun but then I consider Charlie's
roundabout technique, that was (when we were changing from the Mondeo)
gung-ho in, off the power, give it some lock, brake then once she'd made the
turn, back on the power... :-/

I didn't want her trying this in the wet you see.

They are quite sensitive to tyre pressures, however, and
I wonder how many of the reported cases were caused by underinflated
rear tyres.

Yeah that could be it. I'd increase the Ka's rear pressures for the same
effect, sort of.

--
The DervMan
www.dervman.com