 2014 Toyota Yaris. Click image to enlarge |
The rubbery-feeling steering wheel is adjustable for height, but does not telescope – you will find no buttons or controls on it. That’s fine, since everything is within reach. Behind it is a large central speedometer with a driver information screen on the bottom, flanked by a tach on the left and a fuel gauge on the right.
The fabric seats, manually adjustable, are reasonably comfortable and supportive in terms of bolstering. The centre of the dash holds the media system which manages your audio and phone functions – you won’t find a screen, just text-based information. For this price, the audio system sounds okay and plays from plenty of sources: AM, FM, CD, auxiliary, USB and Bluetooth streaming audio.
Below it is a basic climate control system using three rotary knobs. Simple and it works. The console is home to a couple of cupholders, the gear selector and a parking brake lever.
There was a plastic-on-plastic buzz coming from the dash over most road irregularities, which means I heard it at least a few times a minute while driving. Irritating!
   2014 Toyota Yaris. Click image to enlarge |
Back-seat passengers will find three seats, each with a headrest and seatbelt. The seats are flat but generally comfortable, and legroom is surprisingly generous for a car this small – at 5’10”, I could comfortably sit behind myself. The middle position is as expected, narrow, raised and hard, but the floor is flat so it’s actually usable for an adult if absolutely necessary. I found headroom to be tight – it was barely enough for me – anyone taller will be feeling the pinch. There is a small drop-in bin and a single cupholder at the back of the centre console and a single seatback map pocket, that’s it for the back row.
The Yaris has two sets of LATCH anchors for your kids’ seats. Our kids were comfortable back there, but with two of their seats and three of their bums fighting for real estate they felt a bit cramped width-wise.
Cabin storage is decent. There is an open drop-in bin at the front of the console with a 12V plug above it, a usable glove compartment and small door bins. The driver will find an angled cubbyhole to the left of the gauges and another small one on the underside of the dash – neither is rubberized, nor are they really deep enough to be truly useful.
The trunk is small at 286 L, but a nice high load floor makes it convenient to use and the hard parcel shelf that swings up with the tailgate adds some storage space for road trips. Toyota doesn’t disclose the bigger capacity of the cargo space when you fold the 60/40-split rear seats down.
Obviously the Yaris is not a fast car. It has minimal get up and go, and you don’t want to find yourself trying to dart into traffic. Getting up to speed quicker than normally is a chore and you’ll find your palms getting sweaty on the wheel as you see the minivan behind you coming closer and closer as the Yaris labours to get to 60 km/h. The same goes for passing at highway speeds – if you have to, leave yourself enough time and space. But with that said, it’s fine for everyday driving around town.
The $1,000 automatic transmission is insulting enough, and the fact that it occasionally gets a bit herky-jerky between gear changes and downshifts at glacially slow rates just adds to the misery. Gears can’t be shifted manually but the gear selector has old-school detents for each gearbox position (D, 3, 2 and L). Welcome to 1998.
