Edmunds First Drive: 2007 Toyota Yaris

[CarShark]

No more clowning around



By John DiPietro Email
Date posted: 12-15-2005

We'll be blunt; we haven't given much love to the Toyota Echo, a car that was non-affectionately dubbed "The Clown Car" by this writer. Its tall roof and pudgy body made us think a dozen goofballs with frizzy orange hair and jumbo shoes would spill out when the doors opened. Mediocre cabin trim and shaky handling didn't help either.

Now comes the Echo's overdue replacement, the 2007 Toyota Yaris. With the new Yaris (yes, the name Echo is gone), Toyota steps things up in every way. Rather than having the two-door liftback and four-door essentially differing only in body style, two separate teams developed each version of the Yaris, giving them different personalities.

Aww, isn't it cute?
Look at the Liftback and you can't help but smile at its cuteness. It reminded us a little of the Yaris' cousin, the Scion xA, a car that one editor referred to as looking like "a big-headed toddler." Look at those big eyes and that happy face. Although shorter than the outgoing Echo coupe, the Yaris Liftback has a wheelbase over 3 inches longer (96.9 inches vs. 93.3 inches).

The four-door aims for a mini sport sedan look and is now longer (169.3 inches vs. 164.6 inches), lower (56.7 inches vs. 59.1 inches) and wider (66.5 inches vs. 65.4 inches), which relieves it of the comic proportions of the Echo sedan. As with the Liftback, the sedan's wheelbase was also stretched (100.4 inches vs. 93.3 inches). The net result is a handsome little sedan that doesn't scream "entry-level" like the Echo.

With a coefficient of drag of just 0.29, both the sedan and Liftback slip through the air with ease, promising a quieter ride and greater fuel economy at freeway speeds.

Continued at Edmunds

[AMcA]

The coupe is pretty sharp looking. The sedan looks like every other 4 door in that class: tall 'n' tippy.

[ElmerMCR]

Sedan is nice, but I'm not sure how I like the big bug-eyed hatch.

[mjd1001]

I think the 2 door hatch is cute too.

I won't be buying one because they are a bit to small for me...but for the people who are in the market for this type of car, it is cute in a different kind of way.

[Mr. Burns]

sedan has bits of 07 camry styling

[Aerodynamix]

The sedan sort of resembles a Mazda3. The 3-door hatch is actually kind of good looking. There's a 3 and 5 door Yaris running around town here.

[mbukukanyau]

I hope Chevy Aveo can match this thing in gas. Its got a 1.5 Liter Engine.. GM should go with a 1.3

[Quickening]

Its still ugly, but you can't argue with the mpg..GM better fire back quickly.

[camaro chris]

yaris is one of the worst car names i have ever heard.

[ElmerMCR]

Is it pronounced Yaris with the i sounding like in the word fist or Yar- EEs like like Caprice? I've been using the second.

[paul8488]

Toyota is getting weird with their noses. This, the Avalon, and the new Camry all have weird beaks. Hopefully that's enough to force them into bankruptcy in 2006.

[griswold44]

Originally Posted by ElmerMCR

Is it pronounced Yaris with the i sounding like in the word fist or Yar- EEs like like Caprice? I've been using the second.

I think it's pronounced YARE-iss

[Strapping.Young.Lad]

In the commercials in canada.Its pronounced YARE-iss, like griswold said it.

Ive seen 3 in in me life.

[surferdude00711]

Toyota is following Audi with ugly noses. Toyota has chosen a dip where their badge is on the front. Very pronounces on the Camry, and seen here too.

[griswold44]

Originally Posted by FordRules

In the commercials in canada.Its pronounced YARE-iss, like griswold said it.

Ive seen 3 in in me life.

That's right, you guys already have it. Why did Canada get it long before the U.S. (who still hasn't gotten it)? Does it have to do with Canada's large small car market?