Zero to 100 km/h takes about 11 seconds which, by today’s standards, isn’t particularly fast, but it feels quicker than that. The car’s forte is fuel economy, though, and despite the winter weather we were testing the Yaris RS in, it delivered an average of 8.4 L/100 km.
The Yaris offers a decent amount of space front and rear, while the dash hosts many open and closed storage bins, so no objects have to be left lying around in everyone’s view. An armrest is always a feature I personally like to have and is lacking here.
Some don’t like the center-mounted instrument panel, while others including me don’t mind at all. The heating and ventilation knobs are easy to use while driving. The sound system’s volume and tuning knobs are too small and slippery when you’ve got gloves on, but otherwise sounds pretty good.
The major shortcoming of the Yaris, though, is cargo space. Toyota USA’s website claims 264 litres of space while Toyota Canada says it’s 318. Whatever the official volume is, it’s really small. When I pick up the kids after school, there’s not enough room for my laptop bag, their backpacks and their lunchboxes. The Honda Fit’s cargo hold is twice as big.
The Toyota Yaris, in 3-door CE trim, starts at a low $13,905 but its equipment level is bare minimum, although you can add A/C for $1,155. Our 5-door RS with the automatic transmission runs $20,555.
That’s starting to get a little expensive for a subcompact, but the dressed-up competition isn’t really better:
Chevrolet Aveo5 LT Team Canada, $19,410
Ford Fiesta SES, $20,149
Honda Fit Sport, $19,980
Hyundai Accent GL Sport, $18,249
Kia Rio5 EX Sport, $19,845
Nissan Versa 1.8 SL with Sport Package, $20,598
Volkswagen City Golf, $20,085
 |
| Some don’t like the center-mounted instrument panel. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |
The Yaris offers a decent amount of space front and rear, while the dash hosts many open and closed storage bins, so no objects have to be left lying around in everyone’s view. An armrest is always a feature I personally like to have and is lacking here.
Some don’t like the center-mounted instrument panel, while others including me don’t mind at all. The heating and ventilation knobs are easy to use while driving. The sound system’s volume and tuning knobs are too small and slippery when you’ve got gloves on, but otherwise sounds pretty good.
The major shortcoming of the Yaris, though, is cargo space. Toyota USA’s website claims 264 litres of space while Toyota Canada says it’s 318. Whatever the official volume is, it’s really small. When I pick up the kids after school, there’s not enough room for my laptop bag, their backpacks and their lunchboxes. The Honda Fit’s cargo hold is twice as big.
The Toyota Yaris, in 3-door CE trim, starts at a low $13,905 but its equipment level is bare minimum, although you can add A/C for $1,155. Our 5-door RS with the automatic transmission runs $20,555.
That’s starting to get a little expensive for a subcompact, but the dressed-up competition isn’t really better:
Chevrolet Aveo5 LT Team Canada, $19,410
Ford Fiesta SES, $20,149
Honda Fit Sport, $19,980
Hyundai Accent GL Sport, $18,249
Kia Rio5 EX Sport, $19,845
Nissan Versa 1.8 SL with Sport Package, $20,598
Volkswagen City Golf, $20,085
 |
| Our 5-door RS with the automatic transmission runs $20,555. (Photo: Matthieu Lambert/Auto123.com) |