In a Nutshell: Competitive price, well-done on the outside and chassis, not-so-well-done inside with many interior design shortcomings.

This age of $3 a gallon-plus for regular gas has naturally "fueled" interest in small, reliable, economical cars that stretch those hard-earned gas dollars for people who don't need a vehicle like a Suburban that will carry 9 people or tow a 10,000 lb. boat, or something like a Pontiac GTO that will do a quarter-mile rear-tire burnout with the traction control turned off. So.....auto manufacturers are widely responding wih new or redesigned sub-compacts that emphasize economy and low price rather than power, speed, status, or hauling capacity. Hybrids like the Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid have helped a lot at the gas pumps but require a lot of complexity ( too much, IMO ) and a high cost of production to achieve those super-mileage figures. Entry-level cars like the Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, Honda Fit, Chevrolet Aveo, Scion xA / xB, and Toyota Yaris offer almost the same gas mileage as the more-expensive and more-glamorized hybrids, but cost much less ( even after the IRS Hybrid tax credits ) both to buy and in some cases to insure. I have already reviewed the new Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, Chevy ( Daewoo ) Aveo,( though I did not do a write-up on the Aveo ) and Honda Fit, and after the Honda Fit review a couple of weeks ago, it was natural that I got a few requests to do its arch-rival Toyota Yaris.....like the Fit, an overseas-nameplate car that was redesigned and brought to the American market to help satisfy the new demand for small cars, especially with the growing acceptance ( once again ) of small inexpensive hatchbacks with Americans. Toyota, a huge and still growing corporation ( it may soon overtake GM as the world's largest automaker) already had the cheap, economical Scion xA and xB hatchbacks, and these two vehicles simplified the buying process by selling at list-with-no-haggle like Saturns, which was desirable for first-time buyers or for those who did not want to price-argue like in a Middle Eastern bazzar, but with the demise of the Tercel several years ago ( a mistake, IMO ), and the clearly less-than-successful and geeky Echo that followed it, and especially the new competition from the Honda Fit as the Civic moved upscale, it was time for Toyota, like Honda, to dump the Echo and replace it with something that the company hoped would be more sucessful. Like Honda's conversion of the overseas-market Jazz into the U.S. market Fit as the Civic went upmarket, the Yaris, formerly sold overseas, was Americanized, given U. S. crash, safety, and pollution standards, and introduced into the U.S. this year to undercut the Corolla, give the Toyota Division a new sub-compact, and compete with the Korean entry-levels, Honda Fit, and the upcoming Nissan Versa. And unlike the Scions, it also give Toyota Division an entry-level 4-door sedan as well.

Three versions of the Yaris are offered in the American market... a base 3-door liftback, a base sedan, and an upmarket S-model sedan. Unfortunately this car, while a good small car overall and with the promise of Toyota reliability, is well-designed and well-built on the outside but inside carries over too many of the Echo's notorious shortcomings...and adds a few of its own. However, to be fair, the sub-$11,000 price of the base liftback, with the promise of Toyota quality, to some extent forgives some of the interior goof-ups. A price like that is quite competitive with Hyundai and Kia, though Toyota cannot match their warranties. ( However, the dealership I visited today was offering free drivetrain warranties for the life of all new Toyota sold there... including the Yaris... that is a good selling point). In addition,unlike the grossly marked-up Honda Fits, Yarises do not seem to be selling over list even though the availability of 3-door models is currently a little tight. That, and the fact that the Accent, Aveo, Rio, and Fit that I previously tested were all 4-doors, was the reason... along with the greater availability of Yaris 4-door models, were the primary reasons why I reviewed a base 4-door sedan today instead of a 3-door Liftback. I will consider doing another review of a 3-door if there is enough interest in it and if more of them become available and are not pre-sold.

Unlike many other small cars, the Yaris has a substantially different grille, interior and dash on the 3-door than it does on the 4-door sedans, so keep in mind as you read further on that some of my comments about the shortcomings of the 4-door Yaris interior may or may not apply to the 3-door's.

OK... now to the car itself.

Model Reviewed: 2007 Toyota Yaris 4-door sedan, Base model 4-speed Automatic.

Base Price: $12,550
Major Options: Combination A $820
Freight / Handling / Processing $580
Sport Shift Handle $65

Price as Reviewed: $14,015 ( No second sticker like on the Honda Fit )

Exterior Color: Polar White
Interior: Dark Charcoal ( Black ) fabric

Drivetrain: 1.5L DOHC 16-valve VVT-i in-line 4 cylinder, 106 HP @ 6000 RPM, 103 ft.-lbs. torque at 4200 RPM, 4-speed ECT automatic overdrive transmission, FWD ( Front-wheel-Drive )


PLUSSES:

Much lower-priced and less-complex alternative to the Toyota Prius.

Excellent EPA mileage ratings even with automatic.

Like other entry-level Toyota / Scion products, a Lexus-quality paint job for less than $15,000.

Smooth-running, quiet in-line 4 engine.

Smooth-shifting automatic transmission.

Brake pedal nice and firm by non-sports-car standards.

Base models competitive in price with Korean entry-level cars.

Solid, well-done craftsmanship, hardware, and materials on the outside.

Fold-down, 60-40 rear seat with pull-down armrest/cupholder allows long objects to be carried in sedan.

Roomy, Well-finished trunk for the price.

Good chassis engineering, with good ride-handling combination despite the simple beam axle rear suspension.

Fairly good rear seat legroom.

Good sound insulation for a car in this class.

Some nice paint colors....but as usual, too many dull shades.


MINUSES:

Poorly-done interior, with a generally cheap and awkward look.

Poorly-done gauges and instruments.

Unusual Yellow turn-signal arrow indicators next to speedometer could cause confusion.

No engine temperature gauge on any Yaris model.

No tachometer on Liftback models.

Cheap, barren interior trim on base models....only slightly better on upmarket S models.

Second-rate materials on inside door panels.

Cheap-looking, dull fabric upholstery on the seats.

Seat position too high for tall drivers, even at full-bottom setting...impacts on headroom.

Somewhat flimsy, loose-feeling rotary climate controls hard to decipher at first glance.

Stereo OK but not a killer.

Overboosted power steering

Awkward-looking, Baby-Camry-look grille on sedan not quite my cup of tea.

Like the Honda Fit, otherwise pleasant, smooth-running VTEC 4-cylinder short on low-end torque.

Brake pedal too high and close to gas pedal... tends to snag big shoes like my 15's.

Weak A/C slow to cool down... and fan speeds too low even at highest speed.


The first impression you get of the 4-door sedan as you walk up to it, particularly if you approach from the front, is that of a baby Camry. The front grille and headlights are quite similar, and while of course beauty is a subjective thing, a grille like that is generally not my cup of tea. Otherwise there is little to complain about on the outside, particularly for the car's low price. All four doors open and shut with firm-felling, well-designed door handles, close with a solid thud, and feel like they will give you at least some protection in an accident.....often a weak point in small cars. As with other low-priced Toyota / Scion models, the paint is immaculately applied, and the overall paint job is worthy of cars three and four times the price.

The trunk is roomy for a car this size, fairly well-shaped, and is quite well-finished with carpeting on the floor, sides, and an insulation pad on the inside top of the trunk helping to keep out noise from the rear tires. All of the outside hardware feels superb as well....including the precise-fitting hood. ( And, no, I DIDN'T cut my finger on this hood latch plate like I did the Honda Fit's....that gash finally healed yesterday ).

Get inside, close the solid-feeling doors, and unfortunately, it is a completely different world from the well-done exterior. First off, you sit on cheap-looking, cheap-feeling seats that are almost as flat as a pancake, with little side support. The upholstery, while not the worst I've seen, has a distinctly cheap look to it. The inside of the blank, solid-color door panels looked and feel like Wal-Mart dime-store plastic... in the Base model sedan I drove you rolled up your own windows, locked your own doors, and adjusted mirrors... but in fairness, the window cranks felt well-made and operated very smoothly.

The seats are also set too high for tall drivers, even on the lowest setting. I had barely enough headroom in front, even with the car's fairly tall roofline, and in the back seat the top my head was at least two inches too tall. Because of the high seats, one must tilt the wheel full-up to get legs in. ( No telescoping, of course, at this price ).

Get seated and belted in, look behind the steering wheel, and you are treated to a nice panel of nothing but solid dark-gray blankness... the Yaris carries on the annoying center-gauge stack arrangement of the Echo, Scion xA, xB, and Saturn Ion. Not only is this idiotic arrangement way out of sight of the driver's line of vision, but the speedometer is an unattractive ( IMO ) upside-down semicircle as well. Want to know how warm is the engine is? Too bad. Keep guessing........no gauge is provided. Signal for a left or right-hand turn with the fairly solid-feeling stalk and you get a pair of yellow flashing arrows next to the speedometer instead of the almost-universal green ones. Yellow, of course, can be confusing.....in most cars that signifies caution or a Check Engine function.

The ribbed, ball-shaped brushed-metal shift lever ( a $65 option ), like the one in the Honda Fit, looked and felt nice ( although the metal got quite hot in the summer heat ) but otherwise there was little in the interior to be impressed with. In the back seat, as I previously mentioned, there was adequate foot and knee room, even with the front seat back a little, but headroom was woefully lacking by 4-door sedan standards...a result of the high-mounted seats. Fortunately, the 60 / 40 seat ( part of the Option group ) folded down and had a built-in fold-down center armrest / cupholder ( one of the car's few nice touches inside ), but had no hole in it for carrying things like skis... you had to fold either side of the seat down.

The three basic climate-control knobs, while a simple circular pattern, were not well-designed, IMO, were difficult to decipher while you were trying to keep your eyes on the road, and had a loose, non-precise feel uncharacteristic of most Toyota products. Once you figured out the knobs and got the A/C working in the 95-degree summer heat and humidity, the A/C felt quite weak and took quite a while to get the car cool.....again, uncharacteristic for a Toyota product.

Now....I realize that when you buy a car in this class for some $11,000- $15,000, you can't expect Lexus Ls430-like interior quality and comfort. But considering what the competition is offering at the same price, and even what Toyota itself offered on the Tercel before the Echo came along, I think that even for the money, Toyota can do a little better. The Honda Fit absolutely blows this car away inside, in many areas. But, in all fairness, the upmarket S-model Yaris sedan interior, while retaining the same awkward layout, does look a little better cosmetically with some more brushed-metal trim. However, let's start her up now and take her for a spin......some of the interior's shortcomings will be forgiven. The car drives MUCH better then the interior looks.

Start her up with the key ( no starter button, of course, at this price ), and the well-designed VTEC 4-cylinder settles into a smooth, quiet idle that would have been unthinkable for a 4-cylinder a couple of decades ago. Shift into gear, and take off. The engine, like most small VTEC fours, is a little short on low-end torque, and the automatic and A/C saps some power, but there is enough power for normal stop-and-go driving. The engine is smooth, quiet, and almost vibration-free even as revs build ( as usual, I didn't take it over 4000 as it was a brand-new engine ). The smooth-shifting, quiet automatic ( typical of Toyota ) seemed well-designed, and the previously-mentioned optional shift lever made it even seem nicer.

The chassis and suspension, IMO was one of the car's best points. It was, by my standards, a good ride-handling combination... reasonable compression and bump absorption / suspension travel combined with reasonably good ( for this class ) steering response. With the standard 14" 65-series tires, the ride was neither too mushy nor too firm. Interior noise was quite low for a car in this price and size class, a result of the car's good soundproofing and things like the trunk insulation pad. Steering response was quick, positive, and without a lot of body roll as well, although the power-steering pump, again commonplace with Toyota, was too overboosted for my tastes, with a distinct lack of road feel. Even though a peek under the car will reveal a low-cost twist-beam axle in the rear instead of costlier independent rear suspension, the car rode and handled like it had IRS....a credit to the chassis engineers. Now, here's some news....Toyota Racing Development ( TRD ) offers an 18" Z-rated P215/35-series tire option for this car. Why TRD offers what are essentially wheels for a Supra on a 100 HP commuter car like this is beyond me... but they are there for those who want them.

The brakes, considering the small 14" wheels, felt and performed well. The pedal felt firm, by non-sports-car standards, and response was smooth, linear, and progressive. The only snag in the brakes ( another interior goof-up ) was the placemant of the brake pedal too close to the gas for big feet like mine.....my shoe was continually hanging up on the brake pedal ( fortunately not seriously ) when I wanted to lift my foot off the gas.

So... the verdict? A good job on the drivetrain ( even considering the low power level ), chassis, exterior quality, paint job, and fit-and-finish, and a couple of nice interior touches ( some optional ) like the shift handle and rear seat pull-down arm-rest. Otherwise, the interior needs a LOT of redesign and work. The price is competitive with the Koreans and promises Toyota reliability as well. The dealership I was at even promised to out-do the Korean 10 / 100 drivetrain warranty free of charge, but of course don't expect most Toyota shops to do this.

It is, IMO, like the Honda Fit, a good alternative to the Prius and Civic Hybrid, offering excellent ( 39 MPG ) highway ratings even with the automatic. Priuses and Civic hybrids routinely sell at well above $20,000, especially with dealer markups. You also have the markups, of course, on the Fit, but the Fit is much cheaper to start with, and that price difference will buy a LOT of gasoline, even at $3 a gallon. So far from what I have seen of this car it does not seem to be bringing the same markups the Fit is currently doing, perhaps a result of its poorly designed interior driving some people away, so if you can live with the interior on this car, it may be quite a bargain... and cheap to run as well )