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-   -   Toyota Yaris : Official Review (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/official-new-car-reviews/199409-toyota-yaris-official-review-5.html)

A recent visit to Wasan Toyota Sampada allowed me to check out the V variant in the red color. I liked the seats and the the overall fit and finish which definitely seems a lot better than my cousins City. A candid conversion with my sales advisor who sold me the Crysta a few months earlier said Toyota had priced it too high and there are hardly any sales for the top versions. He said many who came to check the car out at the showroom opted for the base Innova Crysta instead, seeing the atrocious pricing of the VX variant.

Not a very good logic as Innova does not have a competition. Wrt Yaris, that's not the case. Recently one of my friend who was considering Yaris seriously decided to go with City because of these 1) engine performance 2) rear seat comfort 3) cost for the higher mid variant

One of my friends is considering Yaris G AT. He is particularly interested in AT, safety (7 airbags, 5 star NCAP) and good built quality of Yaris. However, he is not getting delivery of the color that he is interested in – Red.

Are there any good alternatives that meet the above criteria, in the same budget (around 14.7 L on road in Bangalore)?

Ecosport 1.5L Petrol AT is the only other option that comes close when you look at Safety.

I proposed the same and took him to a Ford showroom. He felt EcoSport's built quality was not as good as that of Yaris.

His other concerns were: 3 cylinder engine and limited backseat space.

We went for a short test drive. Auto gearbox was not smooth. (Yaris is also not a fun to drive car).

We also looked at Verna EX AT. It came short on safety features.

Blasphemy!

Did he also do a Finger-NCAP on bonnet? IMHO Ecosport is the safest among sub 4m SUVs. And in the titanium + variant it more or less matches the Number of airbags in Yaris. I don't think yaris is better built than the Ecosport.

The Ecosport definitely has a better build and feel from outside. The only place were Yaris feels better is w.r.to interiors. The plastic feels bolted better compared to Ecosport. When driving though Ecosport gives you a feeling of sitting inside a tank! Heck, even the Vento does not feel as solid.

After-market seat covers aren't suitable for any car with a seat mounted airbag. This is normally mentioned in the user manual.

Agree, no point going with a 3 cylinder engine vs. a 4-cylinder petrol. 4-cylinder petrol will always be better. Verna EX AT has 2 airbags - only thing you will miss is the additional 4 airbags in the top version.

Among the sedans today, The Verna is a no-brainer for the diesel lovers while the City & Verna are close for the petrol versions. The Yaris could have made a dent in the market with better pricing

Found this yummy looking Yaris on a Thai Facebook group (Yaris Ativ).
I wish they would allow films in India !! Adds so much to the cars character i feel.

Brilliant review, guys!

Rating it a full 5 stars!

The Yaris is a good product from Toyota, but I feel it has been launched at the wrong time. I feel it should've been launched much earlier because now, Toyota has to fight against the Verna from Hyundai, the Ciaz from Maruti and the City from Honda - all three of which are strong players in this segment. This, coupled with the 'criminal pricing' means that Toyota will find it difficult to move the Yaris off showroom floors.

Coming to the pricing, I feel Toyota has followed a similar strategy which was implemented at the time of launching the 1st gen Innova and the Fortuner. If I'm not wrong, the first Gen Innova was launched at a price of 12 lakh (ex-showroom). However, it became an instant hit among the masses, as it had no real competitor. Had there been similar competition to the Innova like the Yaris, the average Joe would have felt it to be expensive and would've neglected it.

Same was the case with the Fortuner. Though the endeavour was already present in the market at that time, it was like a Stone Age model in front of the Fortuner. The Fortuner was priced higher than the endeavour as well! But nobody complained!

Enter the Yaris during the year 2018. The City, Verna and the Ciaz already have strong positions in the segment and Toyota decides to price the Yaris higher than the available options - thereby just ensuring an early downfall. What Toyota failed to realise IMHO is that the market has moved on a lot over the recent years. You cannot afford to remain in the past, Toyota!

If Toyota would've done something that Ford did with its new Endeavour or what Skoda did with its new Superb, all of us wouldn't have had anything to complain of! But no, Toyota decides to follow what they know has always worked for them.:Frustrati

Cheers,
Karthi.stark

Thanks for the wonderful and in depth review of the car.
I expect the spare tyre also to be with alloy wheel when its priced high.
Could have made some difference from other cars in this segment.
Toyota should be very much appreciated for making the safety features a standard on all variants. Hope all other manufacturers adopt the same philosophy in near future.

This review fulfils the expectation one has from team-BHP. Setting the gold standard. Thank you.

For me Yaris is a "neither here" "neither there" car. Toyota had the fantastic opportunity of bringing in features like digital display, front camera, sun roof, lumbar support etc etc in this segment and make the most competitive segment its own. Irrespective of price. It did not do that. it actually misses feature like CarPlay support, steering telescope in this time and age!

Or else it had the opportunity to price the car very aggressively. Nope there too.
Unfortunately with the current feature- price combination, Yaris is an also ran. Beating City/Ciaz/Verna/Rapid is not easy. Some Toyota faithfuls and some Toyota wannabes will account for initial numbers but it will soon settle into a tired straight line below the current leaders.

I am a Toyota faithful and I am not enamored by it. Waste of a chance.

Another good review Aditya. I have owned ( wife owned ) a Yaris hatchback earlier, 2006 model but it was a different car. 1300 cc petrol. A/T.

Coming to the review. It is 90 % good. The balance to make it better.

Visit the dealership too.
Include Extended warranty costs.
Service Costs and intervals.
Toyota first service is usually at 1000 Km itself. The first oil change.
Include the price of
Engine Oil
Oil Filter
Air Filter
Bulbs all around i.e. Headlight and Tail lamps / overhead lamps, interior lamps
Who takes care of the Music System and display panel warranty?
Tyres Typical to model
Spark plugs
Complete Exaust System
Clutch Replacement
Brake Pads and disks
Price and normal labour + sundry costs.

But well done.
With best regards
Shahid

It is a difficult car to evaluate on price.

No other car has a 6-speed gearbox or 7 airbags as standard. And its suspension is supposed to be more comfortable than the Etios. On top of that, Toyota always either charge a premium for featureful cars (or charge a reasonable price for a feature-poor car like the Etios).

Most manufacturers have wooed the Indian buyer with features, and buyers have got used to evaluating on features. Maybe (hoping, because I'm a function-over-form person) in a few years, capabilities like 6-speed or 7 airbags or suspension behaviour will count for more in the market.

I saw a white Yaris with a black painted roof & boy does it look sleek! Anybody OK with the space on offer should be looking at it as an option; the doors shut just like a Corolla Altis'! I think that will be Toyota's challenge - getting C-segment buyers to actually consider the damn car!

As an Etios owner, I personally am flabbergasted at the ergonomic gaffes in it, not least of which is the ingress into the rear seat.