1st Drive Overview
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A good car in require of a greater powertrain.
Among the a lot more memorable marketing slogans of current years—at least to us—was the “It’s a car!” tagline that Toyota attached to its 2012 Yaris, which was initially advertised exclusively online. Right here was pure truth in advertising, with absolutely zero overstatement. It need to have won an award.
At the same time, the sleeping giants that are Toyota’s style and engineering departments had been in the midst of crafting effective redesigns of the brand’s core products, like the Avalon, Highlander, and Camry. The humble Yaris sooner or later came in for its midcycle 2015 refresh, and we had been brought to the Large Island of Hawaii to see regardless of whether it has been injected with some life or if it is nevertheless, nicely, just a car.
The style department, for its component, went to freakin’ town on the factor, making a new cross-your-heart schnoz that looks like a combination of a sports bra and the Darth Vader Hot Wheels. (In Toyota-land, it also shares some influence from the X-Men-tastic new Aygo.) The optics of the rear end have been refined a bit with the addition of amber turn signals in the mixture lenses and a tiny bitty diffuser-kind factor in the rear bumper. Yaris SE models get sassy LED operating lamps up front, as effectively as techno-hunting black and silver 16-inch wheels. Even though beauty is usually in the eye of the beholder and we count on that the taste police would possibly choose the aesthetics of the outgoing model, credit should be issued to Toyota stylists for not bunting on this refresh.
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There wasn’t much to get excited about inside the preceding Yaris—we have been merely pleased to have the gauges moved to their appropriate spot in front of the driver. But for the 2015, Toyota has worked in some further soft-touch supplies on the dash and the doors, added brigh2rk to LE and SE trim levels, given all models a new center console, and beefed up some of the hard plastics that utilized to flex disconcertingly below slight stress. All models get a 6.1-inch touch screen for Toyota’s app-primarily based infotainment system, as well as 6 speakers, HD radio, a USB port with iPod handle, and Bluetooth phone, voice-recognition, and music-steaming capability. All of this is notable in a class of vehicle where the mere presence of a radio isn’t often assured. Seat fabrics have also taken a step up in good quality, but the whole doesn’t really feel much better than class typical unless you spring for the SE model, which gets its own instrument cluster, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shifter, and contrast stitching.
Speaking of the SE model, one of these managed a third-spot finish in a 6-automobile subcompact comparison shortly after it was introduced in late 2011. So we usually liked it. For 2015, the SE gets even greater thanks to new structural welds, frequent to all Yaris models, that stiffen the body and in turn let the suspension to be far more responsive. All Yarises also benefit from redesigned and stiffer physique bracing, wheels that are wider by half an inch (on L and LE), a lot more noise insulation, and “sport-tuned” electric energy steering that delivers actual really feel when combined with the SE’s larger 16-inch wheels. We’d prefer more time behind the wheel and the chance to hit our skidpad to confirm this impression, but our restricted driving time in Hawaii seemed to indicate the Yaris (and the SE in particular) is as eager as ever to hit a back road.
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The powertrain, however, hasn’t changed. It’s nevertheless the loud, unpleasant 1.5-liter 4-cylinder, a personality-free lump hell-bent on delivering efficiency at the expense of forward thrust. The SE model’s 5-speed manual feels better in action than that of the L—those are the only 2 models in which it really is available—as it in fact lets you know that you’ve slipped the lever into a gate. This is crucial to know, since you want to be in the absolute correct gear to wring any performance out of the 1.5. We will refrain from bagging also hard on the sluggish 4-speed (!) automatic, because, effectively, the reality that such an outgunned, ancient gearbox is nevertheless getting installed in new vehicles in 2015 does not warrant considerably additional comment. Save your $ 725 and shift for oneself. Given the carry-more than engine and transmissions, 2015 Yaris performance isn’t probably to alter significantly, which means 60 mph in 9 seconds flat with the manual and 8.5 seconds with the slushbox.
The factor about the Yaris is that no matter how frisky its chassis, a powertrain that grows a lot more dated by the day is most likely a deal-breaker for numerous when virtually each and every one of the Toyota’s competitors—including the Hyundai Accent, the Honda Fit, and the Chevrolet Sonic—has more sophistication underhood and better fuel economy to boot. Then once again, we surmise that a lot of clients with fifteen to eighteen grand in their pockets seeking for just “a car” will care as much about these cars’ powertrain benefits as they will the T logo that has moved to nest comfortably in the center of the 2015 Yaris’s grille.
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2015 Toyota Yaris First Drive: Yes! It’s Nonetheless a Car!
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