Test drove a Yaris...

[jcp123]

...for my Mom, she was thinking about one. My impression is that it's a decent little car, just not for American tastes. The back seat is TINY, and as if that weren't bad enough, the roofline is really low; I hit my head when I thought I was ducking too much. The tiny little 1.5l seemed adequate enough, though hardly what anybody would call fast or entertaining. The interior, as in all new cars, was built of that awful plastic, but my biggest gripe were the "gauges"; they were in the middle which is not only ugly, but also distracting. There's no tach to help you optimize your driving habits for gas mileage, and the gas gauge is on an LCD display. No thanks. However, it did ride pretty well for such a little car on a short wheelbase and seemed to handle nicely. The chassis seemed very tight, but still a notch below the WRX. It was also nicely equipped for an econobox, although I myself would prefer an el-strippo model if I were to get an economy car.

After looking at the 33/39mpg rating and then seeing the Corolla at 30/38 for only $1500 more, I'm wondering why anybody would bother with a Yaris.

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

you dont really need a tach if you're driving an auto cuz it woudlnt help even if you had one, a tach comes with manual tranny i think

if you think the yaris has crappy headroom try the new civic ex with the moonroof
i'm not even 5 foot 10 and i had to tilt my head to the side just to avoid the moonroof from slicing my head in half
it almost encourages bad driving positioning, the proper seating position is far enough that when you depress the clutch fully your leg is bent at 150 degrees with the seat back reclined in such a way that when you extend your arm forward, your wrist should just touch the steering wheel, if i was sitting in that position i would have needed an extra 2 inches of headroom !!!

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

i cant fathom why honda made the rake of the windscreen so high, it's wasting so much room, the corolla which is of similar exterior size has LOAdS more interior room

[nota]

I also hate the centralised instruments - well they're not really gauges they're disco lights. Central dashboards were perceived 60 years ago as cheap & outdated so they got phased out. Now Toyota has phased me out with its crappy side-glance dash design

[Gtek-i]

[QUOTE=KnifeEdge_2K1]you dont really need a tach if you're driving an auto cuz it woudlnt help even if you had one, a tach comes with manual tranny i think the bad thing is that theres no tach for manual either!!! (what a car...) and no fuel shutoff if the engine reaches redline but the 4 door sedan has a tach. it dont look bad but id really rather get a Fit with paddle shifters !!

[jcp123]

I disagree about the tach. I use it in the Bronco to gauge when I should allow the tranny to shift (I always keep it under 2000rpm) which has helped my mileage about 75%. No matter the tranny, a tach helps you drive more efficiently if you know how to use it.

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

do you drive manual or auto ??
in an auto you have no control of when it shifts up so there's really no point in getting a tach, you should know if the car is revving too much from the sound

and in a manual the best driving style for fuel economy is WOT short shifting, but keeping it under 2000 is a bit extreme, accelerating up to speed would take you forever

[Gtek-i]

and in a manual the best driving style for fuel economy is WOT short shifting, but keeping it under 2000 is a bit extreme, accelerating up to speed would take you forever[/QUOTE]
tell me the WOT is a mistake!

[jcp123]

do you drive manual or auto ??
in an auto you have no control of when it shifts up so there's really no point in getting a tach, you should know if the car is revving too much from the sound

and in a manual the best driving style for fuel economy is WOT short shifting, but keeping it under 2000 is a bit extreme, accelerating up to speed would take you forever

Automatic you have control over it based on throttle position. Less throttle input = sooner shift; more throttle = later shift. It's admittedly not quite as effective as in stickshifts, but it works with a minimum of practice, and some fine motor skills

2000rpm is basically what that truck lives under, it's not extreme at all. With as much torque as the V8 has, it is geared relatively tall, and thus I can do that while accelerating only a little slower than the traffic. In fact, it only turns over 1800rpm on the freeway at legal speed, and accelerating with or slightly in front of traffic only takes it to about 2500 or so. My Mustang shifted at 1600 most of the time with the same engine. Since the weight of this thing so drastically affects gas mileage based on how you drive, I do drive granny-style now. When I get dirty looks, I don't care. They don't pay to fill up my gas tank.

Where you shift depends on a lot of things, theoretically slower acceleration always gives better economy, and the optimum cruise speed should be the lowest RPM at which the engine pulls peak vacuum.

All of this to say that a tach can be used to the benefit of gas mileage.

[Dino Scuderia]

Sat in a Yaris and Honda Fit last week...both about the same price. The Yaris is a crap box compared to the Fit....very disappointing for a Toyota.

The Fit has a more usable space and the quality and ergonomics was right in line with their other cars. The Yaris is odd looking and cheaply designed and appointed on the inside.

[PerfAdv]

Automatic you have control over it based on throttle position. Less throttle input = sooner shift; more throttle = later shift. It's admittedly not quite as effective as in stickshifts, but it works with a minimum of practice, and some fine motor skills

I think the 4-door Yaris has a tach. Like you said; less throttle>early shift... so you don't really need a tach...

2000rpm is basically what that truck lives under, it's not extreme at all. With as much torque as the V8 has, it is geared relatively tall, and thus I can do that while accelerating only a little slower than the traffic. In fact, it only turns over 1800rpm on the freeway at legal speed, and accelerating with or slightly in front of traffic only takes it to about 2500 or so. My Mustang shifted at 1600 most of the time with the same engine. Since the weight of this thing so drastically affects gas mileage based on how you drive, I do drive granny-style now. When I get dirty looks, I don't care. They don't pay to fill up my gas tank.

That's fine if you live out in the country and move at your own pace but driving in traffic you should be a little more considerate of others. I see people who want to accelerate slowly and when others change lanes and pass them, the slowpokes get all grumpy. Once in a while I'll turn the tables and see if it just a granny-driver or a passive aggressive, getting cheap thrills playing with traffic. Oh, you see a lot of passing gear action that way.

Where you shift depends on a lot of things, theoretically slower acceleration always gives better economy, and the optimum cruise speed should be the lowest RPM at which the engine pulls peak vacuum.

I think new electrically controlled automatics shift based on throttle position, load, grade. So, other factors being equal, light throttle position still most economical.

All of this to say that a tach can be used to the benefit of gas mileage.

I don't think so but I'd still rather have a tach. I mean after all you're operating a car not a washing maching.

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

WOT short shifting IS the most fuel economic style of driving cuz ur removing the obstruction of the throttle plate effectively getting rid of pumping losses

[PerfAdv]

WOT short shifting IS the most fuel economic style of driving cuz ur removing the obstruction of the throttle plate effectively getting rid of pumping losses

Yes I've read that but it doesn't make sense, wouldn't Wide Open Throttle cause more fuel to be pumped? If I understand correctly, only drive by wire throttles control the amount of fuel being dispensed. The normal accelerator linkage when fully depressed will dispense max amount of fuel, then the ECM will advance or retard timing to cope with amount of fuel, usually resulting in unburnt fuel.

[Niko_Fx]

I'm 6-something and I fit perfectly in the new Civic and Yaris.... (?)

My wife's Scion XA has the gauges in the middle as well.... It was annoying in the beginning, but I got used to it.

After looking at the 33/39mpg rating and then seeing the Corolla at 30/38 for only $1500 more, I'm wondering why anybody would bother with a Yaris.

Agreed. The Corolla delivers more power @ about the same mpg... I wanted to get one, but my wife was in love with the Xa.

[KnifeEdge_2K1]

Yes I've read that but it doesn't make sense, wouldn't Wide Open Throttle cause more fuel to be pumped? If I understand correctly, only drive by wire throttles control the amount of fuel being dispensed. The normal accelerator linkage when fully depressed will dispense max amount of fuel, then the ECM will advance or retard timing to cope with amount of fuel, usually resulting in unburnt fuel.

yes, the reasoning is that when you're already at speed you want to be at WOT (to get rid of the pumping loss) and at the highest gear so ur engine is turning over at low rpm (making up for the extra fuel being used), in almost all circumstances being at 2000 rpm at WOT is going to be alot better then 4000rpm in a lower gear at half throttle

and as for the acceleration part, you want to get up to speed as soon as possible because every second you're NOT at WOT increases the losses accumulated from the throttle obstruction, you short shift so you are keeping the engine below a certain rpm which saves fuel