My review of the Toyota Yaris.

Is Toyota’s late entry going to affect the Yaris?

I recently got a chance to test drive the Yaris that was launched on April 25^th, now when I mention that I got a chance to test drive the car I mean to say that I was the passenger and my dad was driving. The car we test drove was the 1.5 cvt in V spec, which is one model below the VX. 

What segment is it positioned in or which cars does it compete with? 

The Yaris competes with cars like the Hyundai Verna, Honda City, Skoda Rapid, Volkswagen Vento and the last one that is the Maruti Ciaz. When compared it is not ahead of all its competitors but it has a lot of features that are practical. Notice how I mentioned the Ciaz at last, that’s because it has nothing to bring it even close to the Yaris, now having said that it is a good attempt from Maruti’s side. The Yaris has the right amount of features to give the City a run for its money same case with the Verna. The talking point here is the standard safety features offered, 7 air-bags standard with ABS, and EBD.  The car has AC vents even at the rear although it may look out of place, I can definitely tell you that it is effective.

How is the ride quality?

The ride quality is just plush and many of the small bumps are eliminated, it’s the big bumps and potholes that causes a thud noise, but it is not felt. Sitting in the rear seat of the Yaris is when you are really amazed, I am 6 feet tall and there was an equally tall person sitting in the front and I still had enough space to stretch my legs. When it comes to taking turns the Yaris has no issue as it grips the road very well, however there is a small amount of body roll that can be noticed, this is mainly due to the soft suspension.

Is the engine good?

Well it’s the same engine from the Etios but in a higher state of tune. The 1.5L petrol makes a healthy 107bhp, and 140Nm of torque. When compared to its rivals especially the Verna (123bhp) the Yaris is under-powered, even when compared to the Honda city (119bhp). The Yaris has an option of a 6 speed manual transmission or a 7 step CVT. I test drove the cvt variant and I was quite pleased. There is no noticeable rube band effect that is present in the Honda’s however when you floor it you can notice an increase in speed but the speedometer does not show it, and this can be quite scary. All that aside the Yaris driven with gentle throttle inputs is a very relaxing car to be in. The engine refinement and NVH reduction is amazing. The lack of power and torque can be forgotten for the level of refinement.  

How is it on the pocket?

The Yaris starts at 8.75 Lacks and the full loaded VX will set you back 18 lakhs on road. Now I know that’s a lot of money, but hey who is complaining? Because I think you are getting more than enough car for the money. Sure it may not have cooled seats but it has tyre pressure monitoring system and noise and heat reduction glass.

What I really appreciate is the focus on safety, all variants come with 7 air-bags, anti-lock brakes (ABS), electronic break –force distribution (EBD) and break assist (BA) as standard. Many may complain about the pricing as expensive, but buying a Toyota is like entering a family that you can trust and is not expensive to maintain.

Having said all that what I did not like and concerns me is the fact that Toyota have entered a segment when it is coming to an end, the C2 class of sedans are slowly reducing as it is being taken over by the cross-overs and mini-SUV segment. To add this the pricing is quite high. Coming to interiors there is the center armrest that is pushed far too back and has ended up becoming an annoyance, it does not serve as an armrest and it eats into the rear legroom. The last issue is the styling. I personally like the way the German sedans look followed by the Verna, but not the Yaris, the front is over designed and the top end could have received better looking alloy wheels. These knick-knacks kept aside the Yaris is defiantly a practical buy.