Too few car buyers choose a practical and safe ride over one that's sexy. That's understandable, but it's also going to change the day gas hits $5 a gallon, when we'll be standing in line to buy cars like Toyota's Yaris.
The four-door '08 Yaris (lame, lame name) gets 29 miles per gallon in the city and 35 on the highway, which makes it among the very best gas-sipping subcompacts. And the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gives the Yaris five stars (its top score) for performance in head-on crashes and rollovers. The sedan I drove didn't have much in the way of options — most welcome were front- and back-side curtain airbags — and its sticker price was $18k.
That's all well and good, but how does it ride? My review after the Continue jump.
It's a shame that highly efficient cars have been mis-marketed for a generation or longer. Messages like "this car has pep", "it's fun to drive" or it offers a "competent ride" scream, WEENIE! Backhanded compliments like those have historically choked off greater success for gas-sipping cars.
The truth is that the Yaris' quiet, 1.5-liter, 16-valve, four-cylinder engine got me on highways with more than enough power, and passing was never a problem. The Yaris' comparatively low center of gravity, independent front suspension and torsion-beam rear suspension erased just about all body roll. Overall, the ride was sure and smooth. And its front-ventilated discs and rear drums brought me to a finely controlled stop.
Outside, the stock Yaris looks like a mondo-size vitamin in a blister pack. But the Yaris is something of a blank canvas for a lot of buyers, which could put a dent in its bid for success.
Of course anything could happen. The practical cars of the '70s and '80s gave way to new gas hogs in the '90s. All I know is that when Five Dollar Day comes, I want to be selling cars like this, or at least scalping tickets to get in the showroom.
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editor@dvice.com
By Mihai at 7:13 PM ON 06/04/08
Hey man, Go drive a Civic. As far as MPG, I constantly get over 33 mixed traffic (This is a real number), and.... let's not compare it with the Prius.
By Gig 'em at 8:39 PM ON 06/04/08
Actually no I won't drive something like this, no matter how expensive gas gets. I'll keep driving my 13MPG truck and when all you yuppies are driving around things like this I'll just mow you all down with my truck and kill the demand for gas which should bring the price back down to a reasonable amount :) ... win freakin' win baby!
By harper at 9:16 PM ON 06/04/08
Honda FIT, the Yaris is a piece of crap when compared beween the two, it's bigger inside, gets better mileage, and the ride is a whole lot better.
By paranoyd at 9:37 PM ON 06/04/08
but the Fit is even uglier I find...looks like a bug
...or a car from the 80's...that back just turns me off
and I don't get turn off easily for a Japanese car
By fgxgd at 11:52 PM ON 06/04/08
Why 30 mpg considered a good buy when GM is about to release their infinity(if you don't use the gas part)MPG hybrid plug-in so soon? Why does everyone always settle for such crap when the future is just on the horizon?
By murc at 12:14 AM ON 06/05/08
that car has the dumbest name EVER.
At least its looks, match its name.
and the Honda Fit....wow, now that is a piece of crap, I saw one today, and then I laughed at it.
If you want a decent looking car that gets pretty good mpg, I'd suggest the Malibu, its gets 30mpg.
I'm personally more excited about the Volt.
By Ender at 3:44 AM ON 06/05/08
Youre of course forgetting the $11k Smart ForTwo which gets 40mpg intown/45mpg highway (EPA 2007); 33mpg intown/41mpg highway (EPA 2008)
And as for your mpg numbers on the yaris, you need to check and see if they are '07 or '08 numbers, its the reason that the prius no longer gets 60mpg, b/c they were screwing with the numbers.
By MICHGUY at 5:35 AM ON 06/05/08
I'm with thr guy who owns a Civic. I have one too. I do a lot of highway driving and I'm getting about 38mpg avg. (actual).
By MICHGUY at 5:37 AM ON 06/05/08
I'm with the guy who owns the Civic. I have one too. I do a lot of highway driving and I'm getting about 38mpg avg. (actual).
By nicholasjh at 11:19 AM ON 06/05/08
.... The 2008 Ford Focus gets 36mpg highway too... So what's the deal with this car? All the top car makers are making good mileage subcompacts.
By zarchitect at 11:20 AM ON 06/05/08
I have both a Prius and a '94 Sentra (212K miles and original clutch). The Sentra has no issues EVER getting at least 35mpg... why the Yaris plug? Drove a loaner and it's meh... 30's mpg should be minimum on any car - not a luxury... 18k? that's real close to Prius' 21K with 50mpg... (We get measured 55 in the summer - not EPA rating number). rate of return @ $5/gal is pretty fast!
By skeet at 12:03 PM ON 06/05/08
I have a 2007 Nissan Sentra and it gets 33 mpg average. I still feel like I'm always filling the tank because of urban sprawl. We currently have one car for our household of 2 (DINKS) because we want to do our part to reduce toxins.
I'm excited about automakers finally speeding things up on the alternative fuel front because oil and the glaciers that are currently melting are going to be around for not much longer.
By wow at 12:25 PM ON 06/05/08
are you kidding? how about EVs or civics. This vehicle is a joke. Thanks Dvice for putting a pointless article up. There are so many better vehicles than this.
By CraziestGadgets.com at 12:33 PM ON 06/05/08
Good gas mileage notwithstanding, having all the controls in the center and not in front of the driver makes for an uncomfortable driving experience. The Yaris also has horrible pickup, especially with passengers. The base Civic isn't that much more and is a much better car by all measures.
By Li at 1:13 PM ON 06/05/08
I have a 06 Civic, and with some economizing measures I get 38 mpg in mixed use, real world mileage. It's bigger, rides better, has more power, and looks far better than the Yaris.
It's still no Aptera, but I'll keep it nice for the trade in when I can buy one of those lovelies.
By merd at 1:16 PM ON 06/05/08
When I was in high school, I tortured my mom's VW Rabbit Diesel. It was a stickshift, front wheel drive and I swear it go 45mpg in the city. It had to be like a 1982-86ish car (I graduated high school in 91 so it was not new new, ya know?). That car was awesome. Gas was only 1.13 a gallon then too. Ahhh. those were the days.
By JD at 8:56 PM ON 06/08/08
Unimpressed. I bought a car in 1989 (Chevy Geo) with which I regularly got 61 mpg, no that wasn't a typo. No car on the market today is even comparable. That car got me all over the country. Why can't they make a car like that now?
By pigneguy at 11:24 PM ON 06/14/08
asians and europeans smarter... we drive scooters.
By jophus at 3:48 PM ON 06/18/08
All these little, efficient cars are great if you live in places like Florida or Kansas where the tallest incline is a speed bump at the local mall. What about regions where there are lots of hills and steep inclines to go over. With such little power, you have to stomp on the accelerator to get up the hills which decreases the 30+ mpg by 1/3 or more. Where's the efficiency then?
By the mad scientist at 5:23 AM ON 07/24/08
In the UK gas is over $10 per gallon already, you even see electric cars in London (G Wizz).
My Ford Focus 1.6 does 31.5mpg on purely urban driving. It is not what you have, but how you drive it.
By Halo9x at 1:51 PM ON 08/03/08
My wife drives a 2007 Yaris Liftback and gets 35 mpg in city driving routinely. My Prius gets 46-48 mpg in the city.