2007 Toyota Yaris RS review from North America

None so far.

We have the Racing Series 4-door with the sport seats and leather steering wheel, the Air Conditioning and anti-lock brakes. We looked at the Honda Fit, the Hyundai Accent, the Nissan Versa, and Mazda 3. I liked the way the Yaris Seat sits higher than all the others giving excellent visibility when surrounded by larger vehicles, though the Accent's seats are adjustable and almost as good. We both like the steering and acceleration, and after a month of driving are still excited to take it out for a drive, even if it is just to the corner store. The turning radius is truly amazing, we can easily turn right around in most streets without having to back-up at any point.

The other day my wife was driving it and a fellow in a car in the lane beside her turned into her lane after signalling the other direction. She slammed on the brakes and the Yaris stopped very quickly, avoiding a fender bender. I had read that the Yaris had a longer than average stopping distance, but with the ABS it seems to be fine.

My personal feeling is that most of the criticism of this car in the reviews I read are because base model's were tested. Gas prices just went up to $1.20/litre here in Nanaimo, and when compared to our other vehicle, a GEO Tracker, the Yaris goes about an extra week on a fill up, so for us the gas savings and the ultra low emissions ratings keep us feeling good about our purchase.

We did not get any of the add-ons such as undercoating or paint treatments or stain guarding, as my review of the data did not convince me that these things are necessary. Most people I know who own a Toyota have had little or no work done on their cars for the first 10 years, in two cases not even changing tires or the battery. So the extra warranty (which extends coverage to 10 years) is not necessary.

We do wish that the control for the rear windshield wiper was different, it seems backwards and we both turn the sprayer on when we mean to just turn on the wiper. Also the windshield wiper on the front is a bit odd in that there is a large wiper and a small one and the small one seems to leave a water trail right in the line of vision. The other thing is that because there is no rubber-type bumper, you have to be extremely vigilant when parking that you do not touch the curb.

Otherwise, we are absolutely delighted with our little Yaris and are glad we did the research ahead of time to find out its safety and performance advantages.