By Casey Williams

When Toyota first sold the Yaris in the U.S. it was called the Echo and was just shy of ugly. The rest of the world got a more stylish and functional hatchback. Toyota didn’t make the same mistake twice, and when it replaced the Echo, we got the same Yaris sold in Europe but only in 3-door hatchback and a 4-door sedan. For the 2009 model year, Toyota decided to share their cute 5-door version with us.

The 2009 Yaris gets its European city car looks honestly. It resembles other high-profile Toyotas like the Prius and Camry with a stub nose, arching roofline, strong shoulders, and a short rear with hatchback. Body color door handles, strong wheel arches, and 15” alloy wheels give the car an upscale sporty look. Five doors extend the car’s length a couple of inches, but the five-port Yaris is still pretty short and easy to park in tight downtown spots.

A feature I liked a lot with the Echo was its tall seating position, making entry and exit more like a crossover than a scrunched up compact. The front thrones are styled from foam, but are still comfortable and supportive. Toyota engineers are smart campers, so they designed the dashboard with a central instrument cluster, radio, and HVAC controls making the build of right-and left-hand drive models easy. Our test car came with an in-dash CD player, iPOD input jack, power windows with auto down driver’s switch, freeze-you-now air-conditioning, and storage bins on the side of the center stack. Clever flip door storage on both sides of the dashboard and flip down cupholders on the dashsides are practical and cool. Rear seats split/fold to throw in bicycles, groceries, or camping gear.

Moving all of this Euro-Japanese coolness is a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine, equipped with variable valve timing that generates 106 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 103 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,200 rpm. A manual transmission is standard, but our test car came with the optional four-speed automatic transmission that features shift logic to prevent “hunting” in hills. Gas mileage is rated 29/35-MPG city/highway.
You might think a little over a century of ponies is not much, but in a lightweight car with plenty of torque, that’s plenty. I had no problem cruising at super-legal speeds and zipping away from stoplights on city streets. I am not a fan of electric power steering systems, but rarely did I feel the on-center deadness that is typical of these systems. Four-wheel anti-lock brakes, available stability control, and side curtain airbags keep everybody safe. You probably won’t want to do 1,000-mile days in the Yaris, but it is perfect for commuting or a couple of hours in the Interstate.
Much effort was also put into building a car that feels tight and solid. High-tensile steel enhances a rigid structure that is noticeably free of squeaks and rattles, especially over rough roads and railroad tracks. Damping insulation is also placed strategically throughout the body structure to repel road noise. Suspension and steering were dialed to provide responsive handling balanced with a comfortable ride.
We tested a relatively base model, but Toyota offers many ways to upgrade the Yaris. S models pour on the POW with front and rear underbody spoilers, differentiated interior color schemes, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, and “S” badging. A small spoiler is attached to the rear hatch.
Toyota has a deserved reputation for building durable, efficient, and occasionally fabulous cars. It expects to sell 130,000 Yaris (all models) during 2009. Given impending fuel economy regulations and high gas prices, I suspect many will come to the conclusion that the Yaris provides all of the space and power they really need – in a stylish little container that makes life easy.

Photos courtesy of Toyota

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