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By the way, while we were closing the deal and signing the papers another salesman was selling our Yaris to his customer. They were all over it when the other salesman noticed our license plates on the car. He came into the show room asking everyone why there were plates on the car he was trying to sell. Boy were they disappointed to find out it was sold to us.
Then, when we go home, there was a message on our answering machine from a different Toyota dealer advising us they had searched for a car like we wanted but could not find one!
Finally, we got a price from our dealer's service department of $445 to install cruise control, an accessory we will be ordering soon.
Sounds like a great car!
What was the MSRP? (Seems like about $15,600 to me.)
The car is a bit sluggish starting from a complete stop. Also, the front passenger seatbelt alarm does get annoying when someone does not immediately put their seatbelt on.
got "caulk saver" which is a 1/2 inch diameter round strip that is used to fill up space when you are caulking around windows, doors, etc.
I cut a strip of this the length of the dash and then pushed it in the gap where the windshield meets the dash. use a wooden ruler or paint stick)
this moved the dash ever so slightly so that the harness no longer hit the dash.
I'm not sure if this will fix your problem but it will only cost you a few dollars and about 15 minutes to find out.
good luck.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Anyone else have this? I have a 5 speed, normally put it in neutral and let out the clutch.
bt
thanks
Handles very nice and plenty of power (5 speed) and way more room inside than it looks like it would have. Leg room and head room and even the back seat has plenty of room.
Nice mileage, nice look, nice price 12500. hatchback with power package and floor matts. It is really a fun car to drive.
I think I'm an intelligent guy and I've heard all of the typical arguments against small cars and take each with a grain of salt. However, it did prompt me to wonder how current Yaris Liftback owners fared during winter driving. I live in suburban Chicago and winters can be daunting. Who among you living in the area (or any place with hostile winter seasons) can provide some hands on driving experiences under such conditions? I want to know so I can FINALLY decide whether the Yaris is the car for me. All experiences shared--both good and bad--would be helpful. Thanks much!
First, the Yaris has a new body and some new suspension parts but the engine, transmission are carryovers from the Yaris that has been on the market for years in Japan and Europe.
Light cars handling in snow; Its more the tires than the weight of the car. The stock tires are all season tires, hence not much grip on ice and snow. The expensive option is to get snow tires, but I have had a great experience using "traction cables". Under $40 for a pair, they go on the front tires, and will keep you from getting stuck. I was seriously stuck in a parking spot, wheels spinning, put the traction cables on, and voila! I pulled right out. Once I got on a cleared road I pulled over and took them off. Just google "traction cables" to find places to buy them online.
My point on the mid sized SUV is that Yaris owners are after an inexpensive car with high mileage. To say that a 6-10 mpg difference between the Yaris and the Versa is just a bit, then a bit worse than a Versa is a mid sized SUV, and a bit worse than a mid sized SUV is a Suburban. I would call 6-10 mpg a significant hunk not a bit.
Someone interested in a Yaris will not be shopping for an Accord. The Versa has its strengths and weaknesses compared to the Yaris. I don't see how comparisons to mid-sized SUVs are relevant to this discussion.
The two I personally compared were the Versa SL with ABS versus Accord LX. Both have manual transmissions. The Accord is 17500 (1100 under invoice) in my area and the Versa SL is 15100 (just above invoice).
The Versa does not have Bluetooth, IntelligentKey, sunroof, steering wheel audio controls for that price. It does have aluminum wheels that the Accord LX does not have.
The Accord for 17500 does have 44 additional horsepower, better resale value, independent rear suspension, telescoping wheel, power trunk release, 5 star versus 4 star safety, and similar real world gas mileage.
In my opinion the Versa is a compact that markets itself against subcompacts that gets the fuel economy of a midsize.
Back to the Yaris.
P.S. A better comparo to the Versa SL is the Accord SE.
P.P.S. The Versa has better overall IIHS crash test results than the Accord... and the Yaris for that matter.
If I were the betting type, I'd wager than something on the order of 1% of people considering an Accord or a Versa cross-shop the other.
I'd be ready to buy a Yaris immediately if I could get a hatch with ABS around here...
The Yaris interior is quite roomy and as comfortable as the Versa.....it lacks blue tooth....but still gives you ipod capability...and quite frankly, unless you need tons of blue tooth gadgets going in a car.......while driving it...I don't see the need to spend several thousand dollars more on a Versa for bluetooth capability.
I have always had anti lock brakes on my cars until the Yaris and the funny thing is I haven't missed it...and there has been enough snow and rain here that I have driven in and done way ok with the anti lock brakes.....
The Yaris has been easy to maintain, drives like a dream and I consistently maintain in the 40 mpg plus range (and I drive the automatic Yaris Liftback.)
I got mine in July 2006 and am quite pleased.....I look at it this way..I spent $13,540 (include destination charge) and got the arm rest, rear bumper guard, floor mats and the $740.00 package.....and get close to hybrid gas mileage at half the cost of a hybrid.
My only regret was that I could have gotten the car sooner (in May around this time last year) but I didn't realize they go that quickly....and they did then..so ended up ordering the same car and Blazing Blue car as the one I test drove..had I known I would have purchased the one I test drove right there and then.....since I knew the moment I got in it that it was the car for me and I don't regret it one bit and I do LOVE my Yaris very much:)
Versa interior volume: 95 cubic feet
Yaris interior volume: 85 cubic feet
Versa cargo volume: 18 cubic feet
Yaris cargo volume: 9 cubic feet
Those are not minor differences, in numbers or in perception. I've taken multiple close looks at and driven both cars, and the Versa is decidedly more roomy in both passenger room and cargo room. The biggest difference for passenger room is in the back, where the Yaris is at best adequate for adults and the Versa has more legroom than many mid-sized cars.
As for braking, it's good that you haven't missed ABS yet, but 3rd party tests have shown a big difference in braking w/o ABS, e.g. CR found dry stops from 60 mph were 24 feet longer and wet stops 35 feet longer without ABS. Their recommendation: "Opt for ABS if you can find it."
40+ mpg is really good, but it would help prospective buyers if you could explain your driving patterns, e.g. what is the mix of city vs. highway driving, and at what speed on the highway? That way, if someone has a much different driving pattern than you do, they can realize they may or may not get 40+ mpg (CR got 33 mpg overall on the automatic Yaris on their tests).
yaris hb versa 5 door
Mileage (City / Hwy) 34/39 28/35
Curb Weight 2335 lbs 2751 lbs
Seating Capacity 5 passengers 5 passengers
Dimensions
Wheelbase 96.9 inches 102.4 inches +5.5 inches versa
Front Headroom 39.4 inches 40.6 inches +1.2 inch versa
Front Legroom 40.3 inches 41.4 inches +1.1 inch versa
Rear Headroom 37.9 inches 37.9 inches 0 diference
Rear Legroom 33.8 inches 38.0 inches 4.2 inches only noticable difference
interior differnce 6.5 inches total larger versa
now as i mentioned thats the hatchback toy compaired against the biggest 5 door versa
the sedan yaris looks like this
wheelbase 100.4 inch + 2 inches versa
Front headroom 38.8 inches +1.5 inches versa
Front legroom 42.2 inches -.8 inches versa
rear headroom 36.7 inches +1.2 inches versa
rear legroom 35.6 inches +2.4 inches versa
compaired to the more equal sedan the versas only 4.3 inches larger so overall thats not all that much considering your car is 416 pounds heavier 3 speed tran instd of 4 little aftermarket performance coverage less interior storage but most of all its not a toyota so that should say enough but i have to agree about the antilock come on toyota what were you thinking
Thanks in advance.
P.S. The liftback Yaris is in a class of its own as a 2 door car is the only thing that will fit my broad shoulders, and still get 35+ mpg, Versa/Fit/Aveo/and many others only offer 4/5 door models. Hyundai needs to fix their MPGs, at just over 10g's it would appeal to me but their mileage/history terrible.
As for your seat belt thing, My F150 does that, I got 2 of the free 6 inch seatbelt extendsions and plugged 'em in and presto! No more seatbelt warnings for non-use!
Maybe Toyota has something simular....just a thought
Thank You for your replies, I know that cars with little engines have to rev going down the road 2900-3000 vs. 2200 for my truck, I test drove a SVT focus once that was just as bad as an Accent 3700+ I just have to get past the "new" way of doing things I guess. The 5 speed models are kinda rare in MN, so are the "S" liftback models.
I am unsure If I will get a 5 speed or an auto, as of yet, My wife isn't too keen on the Manual, but she is learning....Thanks Again, Bigtaz.
Usafrosie
If you can, have someone rev the motor lightly in neutral and see if you can tell if it sticks a little causing it to not slow to idle as quickly as it should when you friend lets off the gas.
Our new car experience has been a horrifying nightmare.
and will never buy new again.
Our yaris had 55mls when purchased last year. within a month started having problems with transmission (automatic), ignition, and air system stinking like an old heater core dump.
took it into dealership they said nothing was wrong. but as I was gathering the paperwork for the lemon law arbitrator I found that the dealership lied and did a transmission diffrential repair. hmm but told me from the begining that nothing was wrong even gave me a bad time, cause I insisted something was wrong.
we had the boot replace on the exhaust. that stopped the smell until I took it in to have the ignition replaced, now the air system smells of gasoline and exhaust.
and ignition still giving us trouble.
a few months ago we started experiencing a grinding in rear wheel.
dealership said probably just dirt.
a few days later we noticed grease slung on outside of hubcap from wheel.
but nothing wrong with this car!
My wife's Yaris Sedan is doing great at a year and half. Only thing we had to do was get a faulty TPM monitor replaced - done in an hour along with the oil change.
If my Echo weren't still doing so great, I'd have bought a second Yaris by now.
The powertrain, of course, is the same except for some small fuel economy improvements, so it is no faster than it ever was, but because it is so lightweight it is plenty fast enough for commuting and the occasional trip down the local canyons.
The biggest improvement, I think, is to the steering, which is quick and precise, and while it doesn't provide a ton of feedback from the front wheels it does at least provide SOME while being heavier than before and not totally lifeless the way it used to be. And I'm no fan of electric steering in general - I think the 1/4 mpg saved by it is totally not worth what you lose vs going with a hydraulic system. But they mostly got it right here, and I'm hoping that an electric system will also be more durable and less costly to repair down the line.
Anyway, all that and two cupholders I can actually use for a Super Big Gulp earned Toyota a sale. ;-)
I am going to cross my fingers that it ends up being as ultra-reliable as my Echo was for almost ten years. Any other 2012 owners out there?
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)