Upping the Subcompact Ante
I wasn't particularly surprised after first driving Toyota's new Yaris hatchback late last year. Not that it wasn't extremely good, at least for its subcompact class, but I've just grown to expect
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| A new Yaris sedan will augment Toyota's subcompact range when it becomes available later this year. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
entry-level Toyotas to be a cut above the rest, I suppose. I first saw the four-door version while attending a dinner in Cambridge, Ontario, during the media launch of the RAV4, but this time I must admit to being a bit taken aback, if only because I expected the sedan to be nothing more than a five-door with trunk replacing the hatch. Was I ever wrong.
My guess is that colleagues that witnessed the B-segment Yaris sedan debut in Detroit felt the same way. I was there, although I have to admit to not giving the car the attention it probably deserves, having poked around inside it prior to this event. As for Detroit, it was too difficult to get near anyway, as the subcompact segment is so hot in the U.S. right now, that the Yaris was major news south
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| The tiny Toyota's fun-loving attitude will be available with four doors and a trunk in Canada at the same time the entire Yaris family debuts in the U.S. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
of the border. News of the U.S.-bound Yaris was made more poignant, mind you, because its predecessor, the Echo (no Echo Hatchback was offered south of the border - or north if you're talking about Detroit and its proximity to Windsor, ON), was dropped by Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. after 2005 model year examples ran out due to slow sales.
The new Yaris, which launched in Canada late last year, the first market in the world to get the car, showing the importance that Toyota places on Canada and how critical it is in this country to have a strong subcompact competitor, will be available on the other side of the Ambassador Bridge (or the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel) this coming fall, which, once again, shows a shift in U.S. purchasing priorities towards smaller cars.
While the Yaris currently comes in both three- and five-door configurations, not everyone likes hatchbacks, especially in the U.S. For these, the tiny Toyota's fun-loving attitude will be available with four doors and a trunk in Canada at the same time the entire Yaris family debuts in the U.S. That Yaris family
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| The Yaris, in its new three-box duds, is actually styled quite differently than the liftback model. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
will only include a three-door liftback on the other side of the border, however. Does TMSUSA believe that Americans don't like five-door hatchbacks? While such a decision seems odd, no doubt concerns about a five-door Yaris doing battle against Toyota's Scion xA (not available in Canada) have something to do with it. And the company's product development specialists aren't exactly neophytes, so for now we should believe they know what they're doing, and after all, the new four-door is pretty impressive and therefore will do a much better job of wooing buyers that never warmed up to the oddball Echo sedan.
The Yaris, in its new three-box duds, is actually styled quite differently than the liftback model, and that's not just referring to the addition of a trunk tacked onto its rear end. No, both models incorporate unique front end designs, with the new four-door featuring a "smiling" grille embellished with a thick body-colour slat stretching from side to side, just above a
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| The four-door's taillights are attractively shaped, their topmost edges designed to follow the car's shoulder line downward to match the trunk opening and meet up with the bumper cutout. (Photo: Toyota Canada) |
distinct lower fascia sporting a larger, wider engine vent and special fog lamp cutouts. The car's new nose also gets unique lower profile headlight clusters, horizontal in aspect and pointing towards the centre of the car, rather than the liftback model's vertical head lamps that point downward.
On the way rearward, past where there should be a side marker but isn't on the sedan, the windshield and front doors appear the same as those on the liftback-equipped Yaris, but with the rear doors looking a lot like those on the five-door. Of course, everything in back is all-new. The four-door's taillights are attractively shaped, their topmost edges designed to follow the car's shoulder line downward to match the trunk opening and meet up with the bumper cutout. A sporty deck lid spoiler can be had, while an aerodynamically shaped rear valance finishes off the tail end neatly. Overall it's a nice looking package, much more conservatively penned than the outgoing Echo four-door, which should be warmly welcomed by Toyota's loyal customers.
