 2010 Toyota Yaris sedan. Click image to enlarge |
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2010 Toyota Yaris
Now into its fourth model year, the subcompact Toyota Yaris sedan has received some needed safety upgrades for 2010 to keep it up to date with newer competitors, such as the all-new 2011 Ford Fiesta sedan. Anti-lock brakes, previously optional on the Yaris sedan, are now standard. Electronic stability control, formerly unavailable, is now optional as part of the Enhanced Convenience Package ($2,800). Brake Assist, a panic braking assistance system, has also been added to that package. And 2010 Yaris sedans built after December, 2009 come with standard front seat side airbags and side curtain airbags – these were previously optional.
However, some optional features were deleted for 2010: the Convenience Package deletes power heated mirrors, while the Enhanced Convenience Package deletes alloy wheels, wheel locks, and fog lamps. The Appearance Package, which included alloy wheels, fog lights and cruise control, is gone altogether, as is the optional Aero Package, which included stylish spoilers and side sills.
  2010 Toyota Yaris sedan. Click image to enlarge |
Bottom line: the 2010 Yaris sedan is safer for its occupants, but not quite as pretty.
The price has gone up too. In 2009, the Yaris sedan listed at $13,945 plus $1,120 Freight. When the 2010 Yaris sedan was introduced in the fall of 2009, its base price was $14,750 plus a $1,280 Freight charge, but the MSRP increased to $14,990 on January 5, 2010 – probably because of the additional side and curtain airbags. That’s about one-thousand dollars more than the 2009 price.
Compared to other subcompacts, the Yaris sedan’s base price is considerably higher. Competitors include the Nissan Versa sedan ($12,698), Ford Fiesta sedan ($12,999), Kia Rio sedan ($13,695), Chevrolet Aveo sedan ($14,150), and Hyundai Accent sedan ($14,299). In most cases, the Yaris sedan’s higher price can be justified by its higher level of standard equipment, but the new 2011 Fiesta sedan includes standard ABS, stability control, traction control, and six airbags for $2,000 less; and it’s available with an optional six-speed automatic transmission compared to the Yaris’ four-speed automatic.
It’s quite likely that the Fiesta’s suite of standard features forced Toyota to upgrade the Yaris sedan midway through the model year – and other subcompacts will have to follow suit in order to compete too.
Standard equipment on the 2010 Toyota Yaris sedan ($14,990) includes a 106-hp 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission, 15-inch all-season tires and steel wheels with covers, body-coloured bumpers, AM/FM/CD/MP3 stereo with auxiliary jack and four speakers, tachometer, height adjustable driver’s seat and tilt/telescopic steering wheel, variable-assist power steering, 60/40 split folding rear seatbacks with fold-down centre armrest, illuminated entry, five head restraints, six airbags, rear door child locks, child seat anchor points and tether hooks, engine immobilizer, digital clock, front and rear cupholders, manual mirrors, intermittent wipers, and rear defroster.
 2010 Toyota Yaris sedan. Click image to enlarge |
Individual options are a four-speed automatic transmission ($1,000) and air conditioning ($1,155). Option packages include the Convenience Package ($1,630) with air conditioning, power windows, power door locks, keyless entry, body coloured mirrors and door handles, blacked-out side window frames, front and rear splash guards, and chrome trim on the trunk; and the Enhanced Convenience Package ($2,560) which includes everything in the Convenience Package plus Brake Assist, Vehicle Stability Control, front side airbags, front and rear side curtain airbags, cruise control, and power heated mirrors.
Our test car, which was built before side and curtain airbags were made standard, had a base MSRP of $14,750, and included the optional automatic transmission ($1,000) and the Convenience Package ($1,600). With Freight ($1,280), the as-tested price came to $18,630.
   2010 Toyota Yaris sedan. Click image to enlarge |
The Yaris sedan has a surprisingly roomy interior – though not quite as roomy as the boxy Nissan Versa’s. The Yaris’ front seats are very comfortable and supportive: the seamless, sculpted design of the cushions and backrests conforms to individual body shapes, almost as though they were custom designed. The seat cushion is height adjustable with a manual lever, but there is no lumbar adjuster – but, I didn’t really miss it. The only improvement I can suggest is seat heaters for winter.
The Yaris sedan’s 2550 mm (100.4 in.) wheelbase is 90 mm longer than the Yaris hatchback’s which adds rear seat legroom – as well, the raised front seats provide generous footroom under the front seats. Rear headroom, though, is just adequate for an adult, and the rear seat is only wide enough for two adults, though there are three head restraints and three three-point safety belts. A centre rear armrest with a single cupholder folds down between the rear seats, and another cupholder is found at the back of the centre console.
For the driver, the unusual position of the tachometer and speedometer on the centre dashtop takes a while to get used to because it requires the driver to turn their head slightly to the right to see how fast they’re going. As well, the digital fuel gauge, clock and trip odometer look rather small from the driver’s seat. However, because the centre instruments are further away, it requires less refocusing of the eyes from the road. That’s the theory, but personally, I still prefer gauges behind the steering wheel. To me, the centrally positioned instrument cluster still looks weird, even after all these years.
However, one practical benefit of not having instruments behind the steering wheel is that the steering wheel can be smaller and positioned lower down, reducing effort on the arms.
      2010 Toyota Yaris sedan. Click image to enlarge |
While the Yaris sedan’s seat fabrics look attractive and durable, the dash plastics look a bit cheap and the silver trim looks plasticky. It’s probably time for an interior upgrade.
The Yaris’ radio includes a single CD/MP3 player and auxiliary input jack, and four speakers, but no USB port or Bluetooth hands-free phone system. Another small criticism: the radio’s silver coloured trim reflects bright sunlight and is sometimes hard to read.
The three large dials in the middle console for the heater and air conditioner are simple and easy to use and provide plenty of hot or cool ventilation. There is even a rear seat heater duct.
Storage consists of a passenger-side glovebox, two open bins on either side of the centre console, a small covered bin under the centre armrest, two front door pockets and seatback pockets on the front seats. But unlike the Yaris hatchback, the sedan lacks the roomy dashtop storage units.
Rather than cupholders positioned in the floor console, the Yaris sedan has flip-out cupholders on either side of the dash near the doors, and a single flip out cupholder at the back of the centre console. The front cupholders are easy to reach, but watch out you don’t spill your coffee from that height.
The Yaris sedan has a comparatively large trunk: 388 litres (13.7 cu. ft.). It will easily swallow up four winter tires, as demonstrated in the photo. My only reservation is that the intruding trunk hinges take up more space than struts would. Standard 60/40 split folding seatbacks allow long objects to be transported on one side of the trunk while, at the same time, transporting one or two rear passengers. For families of three or more, this can be a very useful feature.
Over a period of a week, I found myself enjoying the nimbleness of the Yaris sedan around town. Because it’s narrow and relatively short with a tight turning radius (10.4 metres/34 ft.), it’s easy to manoeuvre in parking lots, underground garages, narrow alleys, and restricted spaces. Visibility is good except for the rear where the high trunk cuts off the view of cars directly behind. The Yaris’ electric variable-assist rack and pinion steering is easy to manage at low speeds and the small tilt/telescoping steering wheel, which can be positioned lower than usual, is easier to manoeuvre.
With 106 horsepower from its 1.5-litre, DOHC, 16 valve, variable valve timing, four-cylinder engine, the Yaris sedan is certainly not a powerhouse – but with a curb weight of just 1065 kg (2348 lbs) (with automatic transmission) the Yaris sedan zips from 0 to 100 km/h in a respectable 10.8 seconds (AJAC figures). This compares to about 12 seconds for the Chevrolet Aveo and Hyundai Accent. The Yaris’ electronic throttle is a tad sensitive when starting off but this helps when darting in and out of traffic. It accelerates rapidly up until about 60 km/h, but then peters off and I found highway passing to be weak.
   2010 Toyota Yaris sedan. Click image to enlarge |
The optional four-speed automatic transmission is a smoothie most of the time, but when quick acceleration is called for, it will kick down a gear quite suddenly, and the engine gets quite noisy. The gated shifter allows a manual shift from 4th (D) to 3rd gear by slapping the gear lever sideways – I found this useful when approaching a hill so that I could build up revs before encountering a grade. At a steady 100 km/h in top gear on the flat, the engine does just 2,500 r.p.m., which is okay for a small engine like this.
The Yaris sedan is a bit twitchy at high speeds and required steering corrections to keep it going in a straight line. Handling is nimble, and the Goodyear Eagle LS 185/60R15-inch all-season tires on our test car seemed a bit overwhelmed when pressed: understeer was easy to invoke and the Yaris sedan seemed susceptible to side winds. The ride was quite comfortable and road noise was acceptable for a subcompact.
The standard front disc/rear drum brakes with anti-lock offered a firm pedal feel and short stopping distances – independent braking tests conducted by AJAC recorded a 100 to 0 km/h braking distance of 41.8 metres (137 ft.).
Official Energuide fuel economy numbers (L/100 km) for the Yaris sedan with automatic transmission are 7.0/5.7 City/Hwy but we averaged closer to 8 L/100 km in mostly city use.
Additional safety features, such as standard ABS and optional stability control, have improved the safety of the 2010 Yaris sedan, but the price has gone up too. Overall, this is a well-built, economical and nimble sedan that thrives in an urban setting.
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Pricing: 2010 Toyota Yaris sedan
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