2001 Toyota Yaris T-Sport 1.5 VVTi

Summary:

Under-estimated pocket rocket

Faults:

Slight rattle on door panels when music is turned up. This was easily remedied myself by placing foam pads behind the door panel.

General Comments:

This car is unbelievably fast and handles like it is stuck to the road.

This is exceptional especially when you have a high seating position which makes me feel less vulnerable.

The seats are really supportive and have a quality feel too.

The cabin is quite wide and spacious meaning that you don't have to rub elbows with your passenger.

The cabin, in general is very well built.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 5th February, 2003

5th Feb 2003, 05:20

Just looks a bit like a micro people carrier.

2001 Toyota Yaris GS 1.0L petrol

Summary:

An great little car with a cool dashboard!

Faults:

No major faults.

General Comments:

Overall I think my Yaris is a great little car. It's comfortable, goes well and gets about 54-55mpg on motorways (I drive mostly at 70-75mph) and about 43mpg in town. And I love the digital LCD dashboard!

It's very quiet too; when I'm driving down a narrow lane people often don't hear me coming up behind them.

Mine is actually the Netherlands GS spec, bought from a UK car supermarket. As far as I can tell, the only difference from the UK GS spec is the absence of an alarm. I haven't had to take it to the main dealer for any reason so far so I can't comment on their service.

Minor niggles:

I find that I sometimes stall at junctions unless I give what feels like a lot of throttle. This could just be down to my driving skill (or lack of it) but is something I never experienced with my old car (a 1989 Nissan Micra).

Sometimes it's a bit difficult to get into reverse gear.

I've read in other reviews on this site that the central locking can be temperamental. I find that it only fails to operate properly when the key hasn't been turned firmly in the lock.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st November, 2002

2001 Toyota Yaris T-Sport 1.5 VVTi

Summary:

An excellent compromise between performance and economy

Faults:

Rattle from the dashboard, fixed under warranty.

Squeak from the tailgate, fixed under warranty.

Other than that, very reliable.

General Comments:

Cabin and driving position are comfortable, and quite suitable for driving continuously for several hours. There is also a reasonable amount of space for rear seat passengers to travel in comfort.

Performance and handling are good, although running costs remain reasonable. The close ratio gearbox allows the driver to make the most of the VVTi engine, although results in fairly high revs on the motorway (3500 at 70mph). It will achieve the government economy figures when driven gently.

Dealership service seems good so far - a great improvement on Ford. Servicing costs are reasonable. Reliability seems to be very good.

The paintwork seems a little prone to stone chips.

The boot looks small at first glace, but is actually quite tall and spacious. The rear seats will also slide forward about 7" and fold up to provide a completely flat load space which is useful for transporting larger items.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 14th October, 2002

2001 Toyota Yaris SR 1.3 petrol

Summary:

Reliable and cheap-to-run - shame about the ride quality

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

The car has been utterly reliable. The only time I've been back to the dealer is to get the first service.

First service (10000 miles) was done while I waited (took around 40 minutes), and cost £80. Dealer service in general is streets ahead of that I received with my previous car (a Seat). I get the impression that Toyota keep a close eye on their dealers.

The car is quite quick when revved hard, though not much torque so you often need to change down a gear or two to get decent performance.

Economy is excellent - I get around 45-48 mpg.

Build quality is very good - no rattles or squeaks.

Sound quality from the CD player & speakers is very poor. Very 'tinny'.

Ride quality is very poor. Car seems to bounce around a lot on the road unless the surface is perfectly flat.

In general I don't find the car particularly comfortable - my back gets quite sore. This is partly my dodgy back, but I think the poor ride quality doesn't help.

Car is roomy inside, both front and back. However the boot is tiny.

I quite like the electronic dash display. I don't find it distracting (like some of the magazine reviews say).

Overall quite pleased with the car. It's reliable, cheap to run, and hopefully will hold its value quite well. Just a shame about the ride quality and the CD player.

I probably won't buy another Yaris because of the ride quality, but if that's not a big issue for you then I highly recommend it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st August, 2002

8th Mar 2003, 14:15

You might have found the ride quality poor because the Yaris SR model has harder springs and stiffer shockers than the the more lowly versions.

12th Mar 2004, 18:59

Just an update on the car. Had it around 2.5 years now, and I've just had the 40K miles service. Once again, the service from the dealer was excellent. For the record, the servicing bills at 10,20,30,40K have been £85,£145,£90,£200.

Still no faults at all.

The more I've driven other cars (hire cars, courtesy cars etc), the more I've come to appreciate the Yaris. It's really a very good car.

Just a pity they've re-jigged the range - the only models with air-con are now the TSpirit and TSport, neither of which really appeal. So maybe I'll just drive the SR on for a few more years...

21st Apr 2004, 10:05

You're right about the current model range - which is why our Yaris has now been replaced by a Skoda Fabia vRS. We collect it next week, but the initial road test revealed wonderful low-down torque and superb throttle response, a less bouncy ride and better seats. None of these are criticisms, particularly, of the Yaris, more observations of areas we found it slightly lacking in and ably addressed by the Fabia.

The Yaris is a fine car and one we were happy to own. I would heartily recommend it.