2010 Toyota Yaris test drive

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I'm not generally a big fan of cute, but sometimes I get sideswiped. For instance, I like Badtz-Maru, the sad sack chicken from the Hello Kitty universe. And Julius, the Paul Frank monkey, always makes me smile. Maybe that's why I liked the 2010 Toyota Yaris so much. My test vehicle was a 2010 Toyota Yaris 5-door liftback, with a base price of $13,455 ($16,652 as tested), carrying a 3 year/36,000 mile basic warranty, a 5 year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty, and EPA fuel economy estimates of 29 mpg city/35 mpg highway. Let's drive.

Larger photos: Front - side - rear - all photos

Yaris has been kicking around in the US since 2007, replacing the much maligned Echo in the Toyota lineup. Aaron test drove the Yaris in 2009, concluding that "The Yaris is a great small car. It's just not the best small car."

The 5-door liftback joined the 3-door liftback and 4-door sedan in the Yaris family in 2009, and it would be my personal choice of the three configurations. It's a little more expensive than the 3-door, naturally, but I think it looks better and it certainly makes the back seat and cargo area more accessible. Give me the hatchback version of a car over the sedan version every time. I always envision finding that perfect piece of furniture by the side of the road, and I want to be ready.

Yaris's front end (link goes to photo) is very expressive, with an extremely short overhang and tiny hood. The rear overhang is even shorter than the front, which makes Yaris look like it is being cradled by its wheels. The design makes the small car look even smaller, which is probably the intention.

Larger interior photo

I'm a big guy, no doubt about it. I stand 6'2" and I weigh more than I'd like to. But Yaris swallowed me whole, and I had few complaints about space. I could even ride with another adult in the passenger seat, and not feel cramped. I wouldn't choose a Yaris for a long drive, though, because I wasn't thrilled with the angle of the left foot rest. A long drive would really cramp my style, and probably my calf as well.

It would take me a good long while to get used to the center-mounted instrument panel. Like Aaron, I was tickled with all of the clever storage in Yaris's attractive dash. I was a little nonplussed by the funky cupholders, which pop out of the sides of the dash in front of the air vents. But I did like the textures and details that Toyota applied to the vehicle. Economy does not have to be ugly.

Yaris's back seat is technically seating for three, but they'd better be very good friends, children or vegetarian marathon runners. The Convenience Package ($885) includes a 60/40 split/fold-down rear seat that slides and reclines, and is well worth the price. There's a bit of funkiness here, too, but the flexibility that results from the slide/recline/fold-down seat is worth the minor flaws. The bottom line is that you'll be able to stow an astonishing amount of junk in the Yaris, and big junk need not be excluded.

Underneath Yaris's tiny little hood lives a tiny little engine: a 1.5 liter four-cylinder powerplant that manufactures 106 hp and 103 lb-ft of torque. I've ridden motorcycles with bigger engines and more output, but Yaris is surprisingly sprightly. I never had any doubts about merging onto LA's busy freeways, and I felt like I could jackrabbit at those stop lights at will. My Yaris had a 4-speed automatic transmission. I wish I had driven the 5-speed manual version, but I could live with this automatic.

Parking Yaris is ridiculously easy. The short overhangs conspire with a very tight (30.8') turning circle to make Yaris feel like it could squeeze into a shoebox.

I was a little disappointed in Yaris's brakes, however. Despite the high tech 4-wheel anti-lock brake system with electronic brake distribution, I was still aware that I was driving a vehicle with front disc brakes (modern technology) and rear drum brakes (old technology). I'm sure that this is a cost-carving feature, and indeed, most of the Yaris's competitors (Honda Fit, Nissan Versa, Chevrolet Aveo5) share the same layout. But I definitely wanted sharper braking.

Yaris's handling could use a little bit of sharpening, too. Independent MacPherson struts hold up the front end, while the rear is connected to a torsion bar. Toyota Racing Design (TRD) offers some suspension upgrades, which would make Yaris a lot more fun.

Despite my quibbles with Yaris, I was actually quite taken with the little fella. Yaris would make an excellent commuter car, especially with that excellent fuel economy, tiny dimensions, and reasonable price. I might lean toward a truly stripped-down Yaris, without even the Power Package of options ($1,705) adding to the bottom line. Pure transportation, in a size that would squeeze in to my garage beside my SUV.

If you're considering a Yaris, you should definitely drive the competition. Drive a Honda Fit, a Nissan Versa and a Ford Fiesta (Aaron's favorite). Drive a Smart ForTwo, too. There are a lot of choices out there -- thanks to high gas prices and economic uncertainty, this is a great time for small cars.

Which is good news and bad news for the Toyota Yaris 5-Door Liftback. If the Yaris was the only car in the competition, I'd have no problem recommending it. Yaris's merits far outweigh its flaws. But when you look around at other cars for the same money, Yaris starts to look a little outmatched.

But then again, so does Pikachu. And look what he can do. Cuteness does have a power all its own. -- Jason Fogelson

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