I drove a rented automatic about 300 interstate miles one day last year and it wasn't bad at all.
I drove a rented automatic about 300 interstate miles one day last year and it wasn't bad at all.
My youngest Daughter drives an Echo hatchback. It's way more fun than it has any right to be. The Yaris is just a slightly refined Echo. Did the States get the 2 door hatch RS?
Same chassis as the prius? If so, box in the rear twist beam and itll be transformed.
Pity it's a sedan not a hatch, that keeps it in negative rather than positive cool points! I just looked up the specs on the all knowing Wikipedia, around 2,200lb's and 110hp. Back in the 80's that was called a hot hatch.
I love the idea of the KYB shocks and a rear sway bar at the least. That should make for a fun tossable momentum car. If money is tick you could do the old remove one coil from the springs when you're doing the struts at the same time. Unless you want to go autocrossing I'd stay with whatever tires are on there until they are worn out. Fuel econ spec tires will just let you enjoy the tossable handling at even lower thresholds.
Out of the rentals I used to drive every other week, I was always happy when I got a Yaris.. They were amazingly fun little things to throw around. I'd imagine with some shocks, sways and tires it would have been a real blast to bounce off the rev limiter.
Love me the HATCH....I'm a liitle slow on the vanity plate help I've fallen and can't type.......
I'll confess, this thread had convinced me to go to CL and look at Yarises.
How about this Toyota interpretation of a Mini Cooper. Is this the reliable Mini Cooper?
^^^^ I like that!
Buy good suspension and sticky tires. Lower it to just before it gets to be annoying and drive it like you stole it from the Ex's Mother. When I had the Protege I did just that and used the rev-limiter as a shift indicator. I think I had more fun in the Protege than I do in the FRS. Car seemed to thank me for saving it from a life of boredom.
I've always liked the Yaris hatches. I wish we would have got the previous gen ones though. I like the styling better.
I think its time for a 2zz swapped Yaris.
had a similar vintage hyundai accent. suspension mods do transform the little subcompacts. I have to agree it is possible you may get tired of the car before its serviceable life has ended. For me it was the base spec interior, uncomfortable seats (yaris seats are definatly more cushy). Coworker has a yaris sedan manual exactly like the one posted above, that he bought the same week I bought my accent. Completely stock and he drives the piss out of that car every day.
I honestly like driving my automatic mazda 5 (ok well it is lowered too) more than I did my accent.
In reply to John Welsh :
Hell yeah that's what I'm tawkin' bout!!!!
They're not soul-sucking cars, very reminiscent of a '90s Corolla. You can really feel how light they are (probably due to the floppy factory shocks) and acceleration is decent.
And for those that are well heeled....let's not forget the AM version......only $60k IIRC
759NRNG said:Love me the HATCH....I'm a liitle slow on the vanity plate help I've fallen and can't type.......
Princess Bride reference (greatest movie ever made, BTW). Expands out to "Dread Pirate Roberts".
BTW - I, too, LOVE the looks of the hatch, but this fortunately/unfortunately is a sedan. Unfortunate because I probably won't love it as much, fortunate because I'm much more likely not to take a sedan beyond some basic handling improvements. With a hatch I might get carried away.
Well, I bought it. First driving impressions: it likes to rev, just doesn't make any power while it's doing it. The suspension is pretty squishy for my taste. I'll probably start looking for a used TRD sway for it to see if I can make it rotate a little better, although the understeer isn't nearly as bad as I thought it might be. Eventually, I'd like to throw some better shocks and maybe some shorter, stiffer springs on it. It's currently got steel wheels and hubcaps, which I would eventually like to turn into "winter wheels" with snow tires. I'd like to get a set of Panasport (or similar style) wheels and summer tires, but all that will probably wait a while. Not sure if I'll ever try autocrossing it or not.
The interior is surprisingly spacious for such a small car. As mentioned, the center mounted dash is weird and will take some getting used to. The seats are neither the best nor the worse I've ever encountered.
I spent a few minutes with some paint polish and figured out a lot of the paint transfer and scuffs are going to come out.
I wish it were a hatch.
When do we get pics?
Adrian_Thompson said:When do we get pics?
Dark out right now. Plus I've got to polish out 8 years of accumulated paint scuffs first. Pics will follow.
For some reason I always preferred the sedan version of this. Does anyone know if a 2zz would swap in? That might make for a fun sleeper if you keep the exhaust quiet.
Zomby Woof said:Wasn't there a Yaris racing series in Europe?
Canada too.
I don't think the motors stood up.
It was the Echo cup. It was a very popular series in Quebec (since replaced by the Micra challenge).
They were very durable even under racing conditions. The old race cars still pop up for sale pretty often.
The interior is surprisingly spacious for such a small car.
Manufacturers have gotten pretty good about this. Of course, one of the downsides is that even small cars are tall. On a related note, the back seat in a Versa Note is like a damn limo with all the legroom.
Already own/love a Prius. If i couldn't get my hands on a Matrix XRS i'd probably shoot for an xA. Just the fact that i have a mental 'small Toyota heirarchy' is clear evidence that i don't think they suck. I think you'll enjoy your ownership!
kazoospec said:Adrian_Thompson said:When do we get pics?
Dark out right now. Plus I've got to polish out 8 years of accumulated paint scuffs first. Pics will follow.
I like before and after pics
Penalty Box? Hardly. I used to travel a lot for business, and my employer was a cheapskate who forced me to take the cheapest rental cars available. I always chose the Yaris if I could.
I honestly found them fun to drive, and that was with the 4-speed slushbox.
I figure spending a couple hundred bucks on a nice upgraded audio system would make it an awesome daily driver.
EDIT: Someone said they are reminiscent of '90s Toyollas. I will second this. The Yaris "felt" a lot like a newer version of my '93 Toyolla wagon.
This thread is making me want to buy one too. I was watching some of the replays from the past few years of Runoffs and kept thinking about how awesome Jason Isley's H-Production Yaris looks in a field of chop-top Spridgets and battle-worn CRXs.
If I bought a Yaris, that could be me terrorizing drivers of tiny British sports cars in a (relatively) gargantuan modern econobox.
2016 SCCA Runoffs - H Production Replay
https://www.scca.com/videos/2029798
2015 SCCA Runoffs - H Production Replay
https://www.scca.com/videos/1972492
2014 SCCA Runoffs - H Production Replay
https://www.scca.com/videos/2027450
2013 SCCA Runoffs - H Production Replay
https://www.scca.com/videos/2027374
2012 SCCA Runoffs - H Production Replay
Armstrong Racing and his Yaris sedan with a 2zr-fe swap are pretty darn impressive. He converted his to a 5 speed and added a Cusco LSD since the video was posted below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fygSViQyM_4
If the iQ had been optioned as a manual, some of you guys would be all be over it as it oversteers like crazy even with ESP and the 24mm rear Whiteline Yaris sway bar. There's a guy in FL with a full 6 speed manual swap and Air Repair inc. of Japan just had an LSD made for the iQ manual transmissions.
You'll need to log in to post.
