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2007 Toyota
Yaris Liftback Road Test Review
Cute to Drive
The 2007 Toyota Yaris Liftback
is so cute it should be sold at the Hello Kitty website. It’s not a twin for the
Japanese, uh, novelty character that’s so popular with little girls of all ages,
but it has the same wide-eyed innocence and giggly-sweet personality. It’s teddy
bear huggable and puppy dog playful.
 And
if you think that makes it difficult for a moderately mature-looking American
male to drive a Toyota Yaris Liftback for a week, you’re durn tootin’ right.
“Uh, yeah, it’s my daughter’s car” is a lie one can tell only so many times.
To be fair, the two-door Toyota Yaris Liftback, along with its four-door
Toyota Yaris Sedan partner, is the most economical model in the Toyota lineup. With a
base price of ,850 and a stingy 1.5-liter engine EPA rated at 34/39 mpg with
an automatic transmission, it rivals the Toyota Prius for affordability,
especially when purchase price is factored in. It may not be a hybrid but its
financial footprint is small, particularly so considering the absence of a
battery pack and the manufacture and disposal of same.
Doing cute
But if the Yaris Liftback is cute, it’s cute very well done. The overall profile
would be “one box” if it were at all boxy. Instead the silhouette of the Yaris
Liftback was drawn with a French curve, then the windows and wheels were drawn
in. The kitten nose is stubby with a compact “T” grille and a hood so short it’s
really more of an access panel.
 The
styling inventiveness continues inside with armrests the sweep up to the
A-pillar and the center stack that forms a T, with horizontal radio controls
across the top and simple HVAC dials aligned vertically below it. The instrument
panel is contained in a single pod centered atop the dash, like that of the
Toyota Echo that the Yaris replaces, because that makes it easier to sell in
countries with right and left-hand drive. There’s just a speedometer on the i.p.
Like, what would anyone do with a tachometer, whatever that is, anyway? It’s an
option with the manual transmission on the Sedan, so like whatever.
Cup holders fold down at either end of the dash, inconvenient but there’s little
other real estate for them, particularly with all the bins and cubbies, more
than in a pink backpack, actually. The Toyota Yaris Liftback has big
double-decker gloveboxes, there are bins on either side of the center stack,
another at the driver’s shin and a flat open tray ahead of the shifter for the
automatic transmission. There’s a lidded bin above the steering wheel where the
instrument panel normally would be, and a pencil-sized tray is alongside the
lift-up handbrake lever.
A couple of oddities: The Yaris’ central locking system includes a door
lock-unlock button on the driver’s door, and there’s one on the center console,
but none on the passenger’s door. There’s also a power window lockout on the
driver’s door but the only other window that opens is the passenger door’s. The
hatchback isn’t included in the power locking system. It unlocks, and locks,
with the key only.
We have the power (package)
The optional Power Package refers to the power accessories and nothing about
under the hood, where there are no options. For the Yaris Liftback, the Power
Package also includes the standard-sized AM/FM/CD player with MP3 capability and
universal mini-jack port (like totally awesome), rear defroster and wiper, and a
60/40 fold-down rear seat. Fifteen-inch steel wheels with full covers replace
puny 175/64R14s.
 Stand-alone
options for the Yaris Liftback include side/side-curtain airbags and ABS, along
with the Power Package, simply gotta-havits, ’cause like the ’rents say so.
Cruise control is not available, however, perhaps something to do with the
Toyota Yaris’ 106 horsepower and 103 lb-ft of torque.
No hunting
Speaking of which, both versions of the 2007 Toyota Yaris have a
standard 5-speed manual transmission. The four-speed automatic—could this ever
use a 5-speed—has a gated shifter. Logic controls shifting to reduce “hunting”
in hilly driving, but if it downshifts on downhills, there isn’t enough
compression to provide any braking effect.
Driving is what one gets with only 1.5 liters. There are two modes: easy and
pokey, or frantic and, well, acceptable merge power. It’s best to plan ahead but
for most situations the Toyota Yaris Liftback produces only moderate terror.
Perhaps that’s moderately unfair, but the Yaris is unfast by any measure.
No squealing
As for going around corners, the Toyota Yaris Liftback doesn’t know the meaning
of the phrase “sports coupe” and although it may have heard of “sport compact,”
it’s totally clueless about what that is either. The tall profile conspires
against it with a high center of gravity, and the high seating position
accentuates every degree of lean. The 185/60R15 Bridgestone Potenza tires on our
test Yaris Liftback are averse to squealing—only the occupants are likely to do
that—and there certainly isn’t enough power to break the tires loose any other
way.
Ride is tolerably smooth and road noise present but not intolerable, but
roadtrips in a Toyota Yaris Liftback are best left to the young. The trip won’t
break the Hello Kitty piggy bank. Our mixed driving of about 300 miles yielded a
real world 32.4 miles per gallon of regular fuel.
We’re not claiming then that a Toyota Yaris Liftback would be impractical for
anyone other than a Hello Kitty-friendly female, but the less likely one is to
go to the Hello Kitty website for an AstroTwin horoscope or to buy a Hello Kitty
toaster (.99, plus shipping and handling—and why do we have to pay for
someone to handle our Hello Kitty toaster anyway?), the more unlikely the 2007
Toyota Yaris Liftback fit your driveway.
Philbert J Thrombockle comments: Our Hello Kitty AstroTwins horoscope on the day
this was written said denim never goes out of style and that we should consider
investing. We say that anyone who considers blue jeans an investment will
probably find it difficult to get a loan for a Toyota Yaris. Of course, if it’s
just a fashion statement—or better, if Daddy springs for the Hello Kitty
wheels—have we got a car for you.
A few additional comments: Befitting a small car making the most of interior
space available, the Toyota Yaris has thin front seats. Although they’re
bolstered well enough for all the handling dynamics the Yaris is likely to
produce, some passengers complained that the seats felt thin as well. The
upholstery looks durable, however, and in charcoal with tiny electric blue polka
dots matches the car’s oh so cute personality.
The 2007 Toyota Yaris Sedan is a different car, by the way, not just a Liftback
with two more doors. Hood contours are different and more standard equipment and
options are available. Obviously someone who drives a Yaris Sedan is more, um,
mature than the Liftback owner.
Sorry, but that’s how we call it. We just don’t think the Toyota Yaris Sedan
owner is likely to also own a Hello Kitty 13-inch television-DVD combo: Just
4.99 plus shipping and, yep, more handling.
Prices for our test “Absolutely Red” 2007 Toyota Yaris Liftback automatic:
Base price ,050 (the manual transmission model's base price is ,150)
Power package: ,680
Anti-lock brakes: 0
Front side airbags and side-curtain airbags: 0
Keyless remote entry: 0
Delivery: 0
Total: ,260
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