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Mini Lexus

Its the best policy
Lets be honest, no one buys a Yaris as a babe magnet. You buy one to be reliable and hold its value. So far so good...

It don't like it ron
I am a mug for an up-sell. If you tell me it is bigger longer or thicker I will buy it. That is why I pay the extra few pence for the premium brands of petrol. Well I did until I bought the Yaris. It just does not like it and pinks like heck when trying to pull away. Back to the regular.....which improved things no end although once the choke is off it will still 'miss' when pulling away if you do not have plenty of revs going.

Toil and trouble
With six gears to chose from you are always making a decision. In the hubble bubble of urban life you are stirring the gear stick like a thing demented, which can get tiring.

I like knobs
I like knobs - ...well buttons at least - you know where you are with knobs. Just reach out and turn them. same with buttons - just press them. This 'touch scree' business is distracting as you have to take you eyes off the road to look at the screen. No good saying wait til you get to a service station... if they start playing Max Bygraves you just gotta change the station!

Don't be flashy
Another distraction is the touch screen constantly resetting itself to a brightness it thinks you need. The continual flashing is distracting.

Looks are not everything
The interior is rather incongruous, looking like it is made up of different bits from different continents on different planets. The dashboard has different levels on each side and looks to be from two different cars joined in the middle. Presumably no one has failed to spot the strange pencil (?) holder above the glove compartment. What is that for?

No one likes a smart ass
The Yaris will lock itself when it thinks you have decided not to get in it - like when your neighbour starts talking to you, which is very annoying. However, there is no radio volume reset (so if you switched the engine off with the CD on full blast it will resume on full blast when you next start the motor)

Don't go spare
So why no spare? Cannot be for fuel saving as the repair kit supplied weighs a ton (and I am told by my friendly AA man that if used it ruins the tyre) I paid £105 extra for a narrow 'space saver' wheel just for the peace of mind

And to boot
I had a Corolla a few years ago and the boot always looked like they forgot it and had to make one up at the last minute. The Yaris is much the same with the boot floor on different levels.
and whilst the rear seat squabs move forward the seats themselves do not move so it is not really a fully useable hatchback like say a Golf

Townie
I bought his for about town, which is my major use, although after 11,000 miles I have decided it is best on dual carriageways (as long as there are no hills) when it shows its true colours as a mini Lexus. Who knows, I might even come to love it.

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