Daughter has a 59 plate Aygo which she bought summer 2015 from my sister. It now has close to 80k miles on the clock.
Since daughter graduated last summer, she now has a 60 mile, majority of it motorway, round trip commute every day.
Although the car has now got past the first stage that dad feared for, ie the first commute through winter, she has recently had to put a new clutch on it (remarkably cheap) and it is currently waiting to have a new driveshaft seal installed and has also just had to have a new coil.
Women maths makes sense just to keep it and do repairs as much as she can. However, although when she first got car it was her own wee car and she loved it to bits, she now sometimes feels she could do with a bit bigger, and a bit more luxurious. Having driven it a few times myself, it really is the proverbial hairdryer on wheels , very brash, very noisy and very basic.
So doing a bit of Sunday evening browsing on Autotrader, she would maybe go up to "Fiesta" size, not any bigger. But she doesn't want a Fiesta as mother and brother have one. Doesn't want an Ibiza as cousin has one. Doesn't want an i20 as Gran and Grandpa have one and probably wouldn't consider a Note as Granda has one!
So, with that narrowing down, I came across the Toyota Yaris and for a ballpark budget of £7k, you can get a 1.3, quite highly specced car. Anyone on here got one or know anything about these? See very few on the road compared to Fiestas, Corsas etc?
But she would like a bit more oomph in her car, holding up a line of traffic as she accelerates up sliproads etc! 1.3 seems to get decent mpg, is chain driven, and as I say has toys!
She could very well be borderline diesel territory with her mileage but I am reluctant for her to go down that road with everything we currently know about the diesel future.
Would appreciate any thoughts / experiences on the Yaris? |It looks to have came a long way from its original model with the strange speedo - probably grown in size to make way for the Aygo underneath it?
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Having had an Aygo and kept in touch with them to the point of vaguely considering another now, I have looked from time to time at the Yaris. One of the things that put me off was that it looks as if the fuel consumption/running costs might well be a lot higher than I thought they would be, given you think it's just going to be a slightly bigger Aygo.
Worth a double check on the various places one checks these things, perhaps.
But for me, it's in that territory of "loses the advantage of a tiny nippy cheap car" without the advantages of "a comfy luxo barge cruiser with toys everywhere". YMMV.
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I had the pre facelift Yaris and found the suspension harsh. Mine was a diesel and 50+mpg was the norm regardless of use or abuse. I went petrol this time as my mileage has dropped to average levels. The Yaris was a step down in size for me and I found it a bit too small for my use, my Mk 3 jazz has more internal room than a Focus. I believe the Yaris suspension was softened at the facelift in 2015.
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I've a 2014 (pre facelift) 1.3 petrol 5-door Yaris Icon.
I find the interior space quite acceptable and had no complaints from passengers sitting behind me (I'm six foot). The boot is small, but (just) big enough, although you wouldn't get enough luggage in it for a four-up holiday. The bonnet's very short. The suspension was softened up for later facelift models, but I don't find it too harsh.
The engine is reckoned to be very reliable, as long as it's regularly serviced (chain cam). It's got variable valve timing on both camshafts and will pull strongly from low revs, but comes really alive after 3K RPM. When I first got mine I found myself hitting the rev limiter too easily.
The six speed gearbox is very easy to use, although the change is a little notchy. SWMBO thought six gears were intimidating as she's only just managed to cope with five, but she obeys the 'nag' lights telling when to change up and down and has become much better at using the right gear at the right time as a result.
The handling doesn't inspire it to be thrown around with gay abandon like my previous car. I think this could be due to the relatively narrow(17/65x15) tyres, but the upside is tyres are cheap and I usually achieve (just) 50MPG.
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>>....But she would like a bit more oomph in her car, holding up a line of traffic as she accelerates up slip roads etc!
>>1.3 seems to get decent mpg, is chain driven, and as I say has toys!
>>Would appreciate any thoughts / experiences on the Yaris?
>>|It looks to have came a long way from its original model with the strange speedo
This is very similar to my daughters situation way back in about 2002.
I decided that a 1.3 would be safer and more enjoyable to drive.
Reviews said that the 1.0 was too buzzy.
I found the then top spec version and she still has it.
In that time, non consumables = TWO lots of anti roll bar links ( most odd , they snapped) and a O2 sensor.
Rear exhaust box was replaced. A strange fault with the radio that remains unsolved else it is still treated like white goods is parked on the street and has 140K on the clock.
It has performed well for 17 years.
She likes the digital speedo but many do not hence normal dials now
Obviously no comments on the current range but we are very happy with the Yaris.
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How about a suzuki swift? Mainly Toyota parts but a nicer looking car than the Toyota range. A bit bigger but not too big.
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An ex-work colleague, with whom I remain in regular contact as a friend, runs a Yaris. IIRC it's an 02 reg and she bought it around 2004 as franchise dealer 'approved used'. Doesn't do many miles except odd occasion she goes to her folks in Ireland and it's still going strong today. Or at least it was last time I saw her at Christmas.
Only used consumables excepting for some a pair of steering/suspension joints that gave up ghost around 2011. She got at least a contribution and possibly the whole job under goodwill from dealer/Toyota. Admittedly they'd had years of servicing from her at full rate but still a hell of a result.
Needless to say she'd have another.
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I reckon you can't go far wrong with a Japanese petrol engine, my last three cars before going diesel were Japanese petrol powered and even with high mileage, carburetor, distributor, points, and HT leads, the only failure I had was one thermostat and that failed safe (open).
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Had a Yaris hire car last autumn in France. Not a bad small car apart from the comedian who thought a three cylinder engine (presumably from the Aggro) was a good idea. No power at all. Quite nicely built and with a decent engine (a 1.4 16v) would probably be a very acceptable car.
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Small cars are a bit like tapas to me. Tasty little things that short term can surprise and delight. But after a while, you just crave a proper meal.
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Had a Fiat 500L for a month in Espana very recently. Horrible thing. Better quality plastic on my toothbrush handle. Too sitty uppy. Overlight steering. Poor dynamics. It should have been a Fiesta, so quite a disappointment.
Next month I've requested a Focus estate from Autoclick, who normally deliver what you order. Time will tell.
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I had a Yaris hire car in Montreal about three or four years ago, I recall vague steering and kind of slack in the transmission (manual) so it seemed to clonk as you went on and off the throttle. They have a reputation for reliability though.
The previous time in Montreal, a year or so earlier, I had a Chevrolet Impala that was even more vague though at least it had a 300bhp V6.
I reckon the best small car by far is the Fiesta, the motoring press seem to generally concur.
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SWMBO drives a 1.33 Yaris 2009 Petrol.
I quite like it, plenty of room for me, a large (lardy) 6ft and passengers in the rear have enough legroom.
It is her third Yaris , she had the original 1.0 litre but found it underpowered so then moved on to the 1.3 version of the original then to the current version.
No issues with it apart from the usual consumables.Ideal for her.
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>> I had a Yaris hire car in Montreal about three or four years ago, I
>> recall vague steering and kind of slack in the transmission (manual) so it seemed to
>> clonk as you went on and off the throttle.
You must have got a hammered hire hack, they usually have a smooth and quiet transmission, steering, and suspension. The UK spec cars of that era have relatively hard suspension though.
Last edited by: Old Navy on Tue 14 Mar 17 at 09:38
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My wife has a 2013 Yaris (the facelifted version), which she bought to replace a Honda Jazz.
It's a great little car - she regularly travels 100 miles on the motorway. She misses the 'magic seats' from the Jazz sometimes though.
Hers has the inbuilt satnav which was an option when the car was new. It seems pretty good - I don't know what software it runs.
The jack is hidden under the passenger seat (took me ages to find), and there is room for a spare under the boot floor. Some cars came with the spare (up to early 2013?) and some came with a can of gunk.
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>> The jack is hidden under the passenger seat (took me ages to find), and there
>> is room for a spare under the boot floor. Some cars came with the spare
>> (up to early 2013?) and some came with a can of gunk.
The one complaint my friend Jax had about hers, earlier model, was spare being a space saver and therefore no room to stow a full size road wheel. After a puncture the (then) man in her life ended up with it on his knees for rest of journey.
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>>My wife has a 2013 Yaris (the facelifted version)
I think you'll find the facelift was mid 2014. From HJ: Dull and generic 2011 styling but improved from summer 2014 facelift.
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>> >>My wife has a 2013 Yaris (the facelifted version)
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>> I think you'll find the facelift was mid 2014. From HJ: Dull and generic 2011
>> styling but improved from summer 2014 facelift.
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Oops- I hadn't realised there was a subsequent facelift.
Hers is different from her friends 2011 - I thought it was just a facelift between 2011 and 2013, but it seems it was a redesign.
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There wasn't a facelift in 2013 - just a revamp of the trim levels. The 2014 facelift Yaris went on sale in the UK in the summer of 2014.
A second, more comprehensive facelift was unveiled at this year's Geneva Motor Show - revised front and rear styling, revised interior, revised suspension, new 1.5 litre petrol engine to replace the 1.33, etc.
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Toyota Yaris - opinions ? - Crankcase
