Below is a FULL review that includes DETAILED information on:

-Exterior
-Interior
-Under the hood
-Handling
-Engine
-Transmission (auto)
-Pedals
-Steering
-Brakes
-Visibility
-Mirrors
-Front wheel traction
-Suspension
-Lights
-Fuel economy
-Tires
-Under the body/exhaust
-Problems

I have so far been driving the 2008 Toyota Yaris sedan for 2 months. My package includes power windows, p/locks, p/mirrors, 4spd automatic trans, A/C, 6 airbags, some exterior touches, ABS/EBD, splash guards and keyless entry, upgraded gages, sitting on 15 inch steel wheels. Here is my FULL review.

Exterior
It has a nice smooth front end with a very tight and well made fit and finish, the lights blend nicely into the body and the whole front end looks very aerodynamic. Doors are smooth with no excessive trim also well finished and fitted, rear lights fit tight and has a fairly large trunk space at 12.9 cubic feet, almost equal to a corolla. The new models sit on p185/60r15 tires with 15 inch wheels. All the panels are rubber sealed on the edges with galvanized steel under many, many, many coats of high quality metallic paint.

Interior
The one thing I remember about my old car is that I used to put my money between the gaps in the dash, with the new Yaris the panels fit so tight you cant do that, the dash is PERFECTLY fitted. Steering wheel feels nice and comfortable and has the neat tilt feature. Radio and temperature controls are within easy reach, power locks, windows and mirrors are on the drivers door conveniently located. Cup holders have a bit of a strange location on the left and right hand side on the dash. The upgraded gages has a very nice look and a very clearly visible, feature RPM gage, speedometer, automatic transmission gear, odometer, digital fuel gage, digital clock, and cold engine temperature light. The background of the gages has a very nice white glow to it when the lights are on, I really like it. The position being in the middle was a bit strange for me in the first week driving the car, I quickly got used to it, it is now no different to me than any other car, in some ways I enjoy it. Interior room is abundant, leg room is good, lots of knee room, lots of shoulder room, plenty of head room, drivers seat has a height adjustment which is a nice touch. Rear seat room again has tons of space with plenty of leg room and shoulder room with vertical adjustable headrests. Seat belts are comfortable because the positioning is good. The transmission shift lever is well placed and easy to use. Handbrake is where it should be, easily accessible, easy to use, right under my arm. Bottle holders in the door and some nice hidden storage spaces. Rear seats fold down to expand trunk space. Overall the use of the interior space is excellent.

Under the hood
Very clean well finished easily accessible design, very few wires and little to go wrong, battery and spark plugs are easily accessible as are all the fluids. A pleasure if any work should ever be needed. But its a Toyota, so I close the hood and never intend to open it again. No worries.

Handling
The one thing you lose when you buy a car in this price range is handling, simply not impressive. It feels nice and stable, very predictable. Because of the high body design highway winds can be felt. Body roll is minimal. Overall very predictable. If you take a corner at high speed under-steer is easily achieved by a professional driver, not much lateral g's are felt going into a corner. This vehicles internet reviews post the lateral Gs at about 0.76 lateral Gs. Your average car in a slightly higher price range should do about 0.82-0.85, performance coupes will do about 0.88-0.91. I see reviews posting slalom speeds ranging from an average 60mph to 66mph being very impressive. Winter driving stability has been good, the tires have provided the needed traction. ABS system does a good job at stopping the car, overall fairly good.

Engine
106hp@6,000rpm and 103lb.ft@4,200rpm torque. Having said that, it’s very impressive, I was shocked to still have ample passing power past 140kph. Pickup from initial startup is a little slow but once you reach about 30kph power picks up real nice. I dont like the way the engine sounds, lacks that performance sound I enjoy. Just sounds like a plain 4 cylinder. Quarter mile is rated at 17.8 seconds. Only about 1.2 seconds slower than a car with twice its power would normally be able to do. The engine provides the smoothness I enjoy and more than enough power for everyday driving.

Transmission (auto)
My Yaris has the optional 4 speed automatic gated transmission. Provides smooth shifts, well positioned for driver to shift into drive or reverse. Neutral is easily engaged with a slight push forward. Drive is easily again re-engaged with a slight push backwards. Rpm must be low when re-engaging Drive gear as any RPM input will cause a jerk, takes about 1 second to go into gear after the gear has been selected by you. Other than that for the average driver, just leave it in the drive gear and enjoy the smooth ride. Under heavy acceleration shifting is also smooth.

Pedals
I did find the gas pedal maybe a little bit too close to the right hand side, my foot on rare occasion will run against the carpet next to it. No more than a small annoyance. Other than that the pedals have a good consistent feel that require little force to use.

Steering
Electrically assisted power steering on a rack and pinion. In plain English, Its a new better system that requires less engine power to run, has a more consistent feel and feed back, also takes less energy to use by hand. The one minor disadvantage is there is a bit less feedback from the road. Rack and pinion means you are directly connected to the wheels through a solid gear connection. No slipping here. Turns a full circle in 34 feet which is nothing impressive. The wheel does have a nice finish that feels good to the touch.

Brakes
ABS is one major feature which I recommend you take on this car, it makes a major difference in the stopping distance this car is capable of. With the ABS system stopping distance ranges from 121ft to 125 feet depending on whose track review you read. Thats pretty impressive for any car, the ABS system is felt under slippery conditions when braking hard. It vibrates the brake pads very quickly and does a good solid job. The EBD (electronic brake force distribution) system it linked to all 4 wheels and distributes power as needed. Some EBD systems on other cars transfer power only front/back, Yaris can do it Front/back/side to side. The handbrake does a good solid job of giving you that little bit of extra fun in those really snowy conditions. Any car that can stop in under 125 feet is fine by me. Front brakes are disc, rear brakes are drum which tend to last a very long time. Without the optional ABS system braking distance is poor.

Visibility
Good, mirrors are nice and big, windows and nice and big, no oversized pillars. No tinted glass. Perfect.

Mirrors
large with optional power option, foldable incase you hit something like the garage wall. Overall satisfied.

Front wheel traction
Torque steer is not an issue, snow traction has been good, managed to drive through snow about 1 foot deep for a few km. Wheel slip is minimal.

Suspension
The setup is very simple and effective. Front on Macpherson gas struts and coil springs with stabilizer bar, torsion beam with coil springs and shocks at the rear. Its a very simple solid setup with very few moving components that provides average traction and handling, but very reliable long life. Going over rough surfaces is smooth, you do get feedback but its nothing excessive, feels like a good solid setup with minimal body roll.

Lights
Standard halogen lights. Manual On/off

Fuel economy
I drive with a very, very, very heavy foot, more so than 99% of drivers. I seem to be averaging apx. 8.5L/100km, I do city and highway combined, currently in -10c up to +10c with some snowy conditions. I still have to drive more to figure out an exact number, so far very good for the conditions its in. Regular gas. Fits a total of 43L. I dont like the gas gage because its digital, when the warning come on that Im out of gas I was still able to drive over 70km. At fill up I realized I still had 1.4L of gas in the tank.

Tires
185/60r15, which is 1 inch larger rim size than most cars in this price range, also its about 10cm wider than average. Gives you very slightly better traction and more responsiveness than a 14" wheel.

Under the body/exhaust
Again like all Toyota cars, everything is easy to get to, nothing protrudes too much, ground clearance is more than enough for bad snowy conditions. Everything is well sealed and protected from rusting, stainless steel exhaust system.

Problems
None so far, its a Toyota, what were you expecting. Okay fine, when I apply the handbrake to its absolute full the little rubber piece under it sometimes gets in the way which still does not cause any issue as I can fully disengage the handbrake regardless.


Amount Paid (US$): 18900
Condition: New
Model Year: 2008
Model and Options: 08'' Sedan Automatic Enhanced Convenience Package