Back in 1999 when Epinions was young and standards were still evolving, I reviewed the Toyota Echo. My one-star rating of the tiny car enraged Toyota loyalists, but my review accurately forecasted the car's poor sales. In 2005 Toyota offered the car only on a special order basis, and for 2006 it was gone.

In other parts of the world, the Echo was available in much more attractive hatchback form and sold under the name Yaris. A thoroughly redesigned Echo is now available as an early 2007 in two-door hatch and four-door sedan forms. Like Detroit when a vehicle earns an awful rep, Toyota has decided to dump the Echo name. So we now have a Yaris just like everyone else.

A week ago I gave a mixed review to the Honda Fit. Elsewhere on the Internet this review has taken a bit of flack. So a Yaris test drive served a second purpose. While the Fit could be better, perhaps it is still the best car in its class?

While at the Toyota dealer I also took a Scion xA for a spin. So you'll find comments about it here as well. For more details, see my forthcoming separate review.

Asking to drive these cars was a bit difficult. The salesman didn't seem to think either of them would impress me--they're essentially transportation for people who cannot afford anything more expensive. Instead, he wanted to sell me the considerably more expensive Camry SE V6 sitting on the showroom floor. I was sorely tempted to drive one of those instead. But I went to that dealer intending to drive the Yaris, so that's what I did.

Styling

I especially like the pert Yaris hatch, but it's only available as a two-door here. The sedan isn't quite as nifty--sedans are almost by definition more run-of-the-mill--but the sleek, arched lines along the bodysides and long sweeping roofline that extends nearly the whole length of the car are still a huge improvement over the dumpy, frumpy Echo. Compared to the Echo, the Yaris sedan's wheelbase is a substantial seven inches longer, its overall length is five inches greater, and its roof is nearly three inches lower.

The most controversial aspect of the Yaris' styling is without a doubt its nose. Said nose is very large and round, like that on the new Camry, but the hood is much shorter than that on the larger car. The Sienna minivan might have a longer nose. The resulting pug takes some getting used to--haven't I seen this on a 1950s bus somewhere?--but at least it looks up-to-date and distinctive.

The S trim includes a body kit that manages to not look silly on the car. But this dealer only had three base sedans. The one I drove lacked even power windows. The salesman explained that adding options quickly pushed the Yaris too close to the Corolla.

The Yaris' interior contains a few interesting touches. The seats are upholstered in a textured flecked black fabric that only looks a touch downscale. The faux metal-festooned center stack interestingly forms a tall, narrow triangle. And the gauges unfortunately remain centrally located. But the rest is very basic, and you'll know you're in an economy car from the plain textures of most surfaces. The more detailed interiors of the Scion and Fit feel more upscale and with it.

Accommodations

The ultra-long roofline--the hood and trunk are both very brief--has more than aesthetic payoffs: the Yaris offers a good amount of room inside for a sedan less than 170 inches long and not unusually tall. One less desirable by-product: as in an increasing number of cars, including the new Civic and especially the Fit, the windshield and pillars are distant--looking forward you might think you're in a fishbowl.

The most notable aspect of the Yaris' driving position is the empty expanse of dash dead ahead, since the instruments are centrally located. I didn't mind glancing a bit to the right to read the speed too much, but having nothing directly in front of me is just plain odd. Because the roofline is no longer unconventionally high, the driving position is otherwise more normal than that in the Fit, xA, or Echo.

The fairly soft, decently bolstered seatbacks cup the body, providing good lateral support. They felt pretty good on this short drive. But I suspect they wouldn't provide proper support on trips.

The rear seat provides a good amount of room for an average adult behind an average adult--the larger Corolla is no roomier. Put someone tall up front, though, and rear kneeroom grows tight. This used to be pretty typical of subcompacts, but these days many have taken advantage of high rooflines to provide midsize or greater levels of rear legroom. The Scion xB is especially excellent in this regard, and even the xA does a bit better.

Trunk space at 13 cubic feet is a couple cubes greater than the typical small sedan's. A folding rear seat is part of an optional Convenience Package.

On the Road

As in the Fit, acceleration is fairly tepid with an automatic transmission. But what really drove me nuts was the lack of a tach in the base model. The Yaris' 1.5-liter 106-horsepower four produces an unpleasant buzz when called upon to do any serious work. The revs shoot up so readily that for a moment I thought the car might have a CVT. Without a tach I had even less ability to modulate the throttle to prevent this racket than I normally would. Was this all happening at 4,000 rpm, or 6,000? No idea, I just wanted it to stop. For some reason the similar engine in the xA was more pleasant.

The best thing that can be said about the ride and handling is that the bouncy ride and soggy handling that afflicted the Echo have been eradicated. Pushed, the Yaris obeys like the faithful servant it is. You'll find a bit more understeer and lean in turns than you will in a Fit, and a fairly soft overall feel to the car, but at least it's composed and not bobbing about all the time. Adding seven inches to the wheelbase and lopping three off the height will do that. Even the base 14-inch tires keep their mouths shut until they're getting close to their limits. Too often in the past Toyota has fitted tires that squeal at the slightest provocation; they're learning. The lower profile 15s optional on the base car and standard on the S should do better still, but they won't transform the Yaris into a pocket sport sedan.

As far as I can tell, the S trim is purely cosmetic. To truly be worthy of such a body kit, this car could use a firmer suspension. But in base trim, as an appliance, it does well enough.

Aside from the engine noise and a bit of patter from the tires sound levels are moderate. The Mazda Protege5 I normally drive is certainly louder inside.

Toyota Yaris Price Comparisons and Pricing

A primary reason people buy small cars like the Yaris is to save money. But how much do you save? Not enough to count. Adjust for features and compare invoices, and you'll find that a Corolla is only a couple hundred dollars more. Even before adjusting for features the difference is only about a grand after including the Corolla's $500 rebate. As with the Fit, I'm not seeing a strong case for this class of car. By spending just a bit more you can get a considerably more substantial, more powerful car. This even though the Yaris is actually a bit less expensive than the Echo was.

Prices change frequently, and differences will vary based on feature level. To quickly generate these and other comparisons with the specific features you want, visit my Web site, www.truedelta.com. (It's the only site that provides true "apples-to-apples" price comparisons.)

TrueDelta's page for the Toyota Yaris:

http://www.truedelta.com/models/Yaris.php

Last Words

Aside from the centrally located instruments, most of the things I criticized with the Echo are absent in the Yaris. Consequently, what we have here is a thoroughly acceptable car, no more, no less. Fuel economy should be very good, but there's little else to get excited about. It's hard to forget while driving this car that you're driving an economy car. I'd personally spend a bit more money to get a Civic or Mazda3, or save some money and get a Ford Focus.

A note on Toyota Yaris Reliability

I cannot practically cover reliability within the context of this review. However, many people are interested in such information, so I've started collecting my own data. Results, once they are available, will be posted to my site, www.truedelta.com, with updates every three months.

Unlike other sources, TrueDelta will clearly identify what difference it will make if you buy a Yaris rather than another vehicle by providing "times in the shop" and "days in the shop" stats (among others). You will be able to specify the number of years, annual miles, and types of repairs to include in Toyota Yaris reliability comparisons.

Before I can report results, I need data on all cars--not just the Yaris--from people like you. To encourage participation, those who help provide the data will receive free access to the site's reliability information. For non-participants, this access will cost $24.95.

For the details, and to sign up, visit www.truedelta.com.

A link to this website and alphabetized links to my other vehicle reviews can be found on my profile page.

If you're a member, and you want to receive an email when I post a new review, click here.

Some of my reviews of related vehicles:
My reviews of related vehicles:
Dodge Caliber review
Ford Focus ST review
Honda Civic review
Honda Fit review
Kia Spectra5 review
Mazda3 review
Scion xA review
Scion xB review
Toyota Corolla review
Toyota Echo review