Toyota Yaris

Toyota Yaris

The mid-size sedan segment can be considered the most important segments in the Indian automobile industry as it scores both on the Value for money and premium-ness front. The latest entrant to this chock-a-block segment is the Toyota Yaris. The first time I heard about Toyota's new car, I thought they might have ticked the wrong box in the RTO because the Yaris is an entry-level hatchback in all other countries (except for Sri Lanka). Toyota have joined the bandwagon of companies that stick a boot to the back of their hatchbacks and sell it at a premium. At an ex- showroom price of 12.85 lakhs for this car costs almost one lakh more than the top end Honda City, One and a half lakh more than the Verna and almost 3 lakhs more than the Ciaz! This has to stop. The indian car market is growing at an astounding pace and companies must develop products exclusively for us instead of mashing together a bunch of parts and selling it as a brand new car. Ok back to the car:

Styling, or rather the lack of it

Toyota really have lost it. The car has no definition. The front is overstyled with its many layers and the back is plain as vanilla. Its like the designers at Toyota put too much work on the front and then went out for a late lunch and had a had a nap. When they woke up, it was 4:45 and had 15 minutes before they missed their bus back home, so they just drew a bunch of lines to that it looks like a car. Seriously! What were they thinking?

Source: toyota-yaris.jpg

The interiors, I am happy to report, are actually prettty good. There are plenty of godies to keep your inner child happy, such as gesture control (which is extremely hard to use and would have preffered a simple knob), roof mounted airvents for rear passengers (which work like a charm), rain sensing wipers, auto on off headlamps, and a pretty usable infotainment system that has all the essentials. It does not justify the premium it commands.

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The interiors are pretty roomy and there is a sizable boot too. You can sit three in the back seat because of the wide seat and flat floor. The quality of the interiors is nothing to write home about...

New car but no new engine?

The same engine as you would see on a Etios petrol, this 1.5 litre engine engine will just do for your city commute and occasional short trip. It leaves you with no impression of acceleration as it is linear and smooth. There are no flat spots, but there is nothing exciting. It will do the job and nothing more. It isn't particularly efficient either with ARAI efficiency figures of 17.1 km/l which would translate to something like 9 km/l on your daily city commute.

Source:toyota-yaris-rear.jpg

Why would you buy it?

Its a car with the frills in all the wrong places. So nobody ought to buy it. This is consumer advice at its best. Stay way clear of the Yaris, instead buy the fully loaded Hyundai Verna, or Honda City and be happy that you made the right decision.