Posted 01.12.2009

2009 Toyota Yaris 5-door liftback; 2009 Scion xD 5-door wagon

By Jeff Rundles

Economy with style and performance

I’m in an economical mood, both as it relates to price and to gas mileage. So it’s cool that Toyota has come to my rescue, and it has done so in ways that don’t insult my sense of quality.

2009 Toyota Yaris

These two cars, the 2009 Yaris and the Scion xD are both made by Toyota, the Scion being in the line of economical cars the famous line introduced a few years back in an all-internet marketing campaign aimed toward younger drivers. In those days Toyota, and other Japanese automakers, were thinking economical just in terms of price, so the Scions we are priced at or under $20k to attract first-time buyers and other younger people who hadn’t yet made enough money to get a larger or car or a ride with more muscle. This is instructive: Toyota has obviously been thinking about economy and the future of driving for some time, long before $4+ gasoline made the rest of America wake up to the wonders of economy. So, as they have done so many times in the past, Toyota proved to be ahead of the curve and perfectly positioned to take advantage of a change in mind-set. As I have said many times in the past, the woes of America’s Big Three automakers – GM, Chrysler and Ford – are not the result of higher pension costs or other legacy costs they claim give the foreigners an advantage; if they had made the Toyota Corolla all along and not the Taurus or the Malibu or the K-car, we wouldn’t be discussing their demise.

Now there is nothing fancy about the Yaris, but then there is nothing held back either. Sure, it’s only powered by a 1.5-liter I4 engine with a scant 106-hp, but it is a zippy little ride; the engine feels like it has half again the rated power. It just may be the perfect city car. It is quite small, at least it looks small on the outside, and you can park it just about anywhere. It fits nicely into parking spaces that your standard sedan would have to pass by. It’s quick enough to handle the traffic on the busiest, speediest thoroughfares in the city, like Colorado Boulevard, and it handles the rigors of I-25 quite well too.

What enhances this particular model’s handing –which is excellent – and especially its handling on the highway, is an upgrade in a power package to 15” wheels. The standard Yaris comes with 14” wheels, and I have found 14” wheels to create handling problems. They just don’t seem to be substantial enough to take tighter curves without leaning, and they don’t give a driver all the confidence that is required, especially in wet or more slippery conditions. But the 15” wheels on my test-drive model – alloy wheels, part of a Power Package added on to this vehicle – offered all the confidence you need, and I drove it in some slippery, wintry conditions.

What amazed me most about the Yaris, however, was the reaction I got to it. I have been reviewing automobiles for many years, and I can tell you from experience that up until a short time ago – say, the last two years – when I had a car of this ilk, that is a very small subcompact, of any make – it was received by my friends and casual observers alike with what amounted to sneers. I have head the term Eco-box, derisively, many times. Indeed, a couple of Christmases ago, during the big holiday snowstorm, I test-drove the Honda Fit, which is Honda’s model that is very6 similar to the Yaris, and I loved the car. But no one else did; it was met by friend and observers alike with a long look down the nose.

But times have certainly changed. Everyone I met with the Yaris had something nice to say. “What’s that? It’s cute.” “How much is that? What a neat car?” And what surprised me the most was that these comments didn’t just come from younger people, or people I know who lean toward the tree-hugging side of the ecology question. These comments came from people who until quite recently, or in some cases still, were drivers of SUVs and other fancy-pants vehicles. One friend of mine, who drives a Lexus SUV, and whose wife drive a Land Rover, said, “Man, I should get one of these (a Yaris), for my commute.” There’s no way in the world this particular individual would have entertained such a thought even a year ago, much less expressed it out loud.

And I should point out that I drove the Yaris after the gas prices came down to the $1.50 area, so the reaction wasn’t directly related to very expensive gas. I think the $4+ gas price experience this past fall set off the little voice in many, many people’s minds that says, “Okay, you’ve had your fun. It’s time to conserve.”

The great thing with the Yaris, however, is that you can still have your fun. It is a fun car.

2009 Toyota Yaris (Interior)

My model was equipped with a standard 4-speed automatic transmission that provided a lot of zip, while at the same time being quite smooth in operation. I was surprised by this. I have driven other small cars, with a little engine, where the automatic transmission really has to cough and puff and heave to stay up with the program. Not here. It was very smooth. (The 5-speed manual with OD is standard on the basic model Yaris).

Inside, I was impressed as well. Yup, this is a small car, but when you’re inside driving or riding, it has the feel of a car twice its size. Like any good design firm, Toyota here has placed the seats back away from the dash and windshield, to make the feel of the front seats twice as large. They have enhanced this by placing all of the gauges and such in the middle of the dash, rather than right in front of the driver, which gives the impression of even more room. And the gauges themselves, in the middle, aren’t overwhelming. So many cars these days have those LED/LCD screens with as much information as the control panel on the space shuttle, and it just isn’t necessary. I can see my speed, my tach, my fuel level, the temperature (there’s even a handy blue light that indicates “cold,” and it turns off when the engine is warm, which is fairly quick). A few people opined that having the gauges in the middle was disconcerting, and I felt the same way a few years ago the first time I got behind the wheel of a Mini Cooper, but it’s something you quickly get used to, and I in fact now prefer it. It helps me concentrate on my driving. My only interior complaint is that they put the cup holders, two of them, in an awkward place, kind of a little behind the driver; I would like them to be forward a little, but with everything in the center console, I suppose this is the best they could do.

The rest of the car has room, too. They rate this as a five-passenger vehicle, and the two people up front will at all times be very comfortable in the bucket seats (fabric trimmed 4-way adjustable seats, manual but very nice). In the rear seat, the leg room is fine, the head and should room good too, but I wouldn’t want to travel any long distances riding as the 5th passenger in the middle seat. What helps with the rear seat room is the back doors; they open wide enough to make egress and ingress easy.

They call this a 5-door model because of the liftgate in the back, and it is very easy to open and close. There is a smallish shelf back there for cargo, or groceries or whatever, and I found it to be quite useful for anything but a major trip to the grocery store. For trips with larger cargo, you have your 60/40 split rear seat, that folds flat, so if you don’t have a full complement of passengers on the shopping trip, no problem; you’d be amazed at how much stuff, or big stuff, fits back there.

Now here’s the extra cool stuff: the base price on the 5-door model is $13,305, which is an amazing price for what you get here and, of course, for a car with Toyota quality. On my test-drive model they added $230 for remote keyless entry (nice), and $1,970 for the Power Package: power door locks, power windows, power outside mirrors, 60/40 split, reclining, fold-flat rear seat, AM/FM CD player with MP3/WMA playback capability, auxiliary audio jack, satellite radio capability and CD text display, rear window wiper and defroster, and the 15” alloy wheels. I recommend the package. They also charged %150 for carpeted floor mats and cargo mat, and $359 for a VIP security system. Add $720 for destination charges, and the bottom line was $16,734. That’s a good price for a Toyota and for what’s here.

Now extra, extra cool stuff. This Yaris, as equipped, is rated at 29 mpg city and 35 mpg highway, and my rough calculation for what I got in a mix of mostly city driving with some highway (up and back to Boulder, down to the Tech Center, but no mountains), was approximately 33 mpg. That is really cool.

My only overall complaint is that the Yaris is available in 10 trims, all with the same engine, beginning with a 3-door model with a base price of $12,205, up to Yaris S 4-speed AT sedan with a base price of $15,880. Ten trims is a lot to manage; half that many would probably satisfy the demand.

Now, like all subcompacts with smallish engines, I did notice that with four adults in the car, there was a noticeable, but not awful, decrease in power. But I don’t care. This is the kind of car that I wish – and many people of my acquaintance wish – I had for commuting around town.

RATING: FOUR WHEELS (out of four).

2009 Scion xD wagon

Scion xD 5-door

I am going to say a lot less about the Scion than the Yaris because they are so similar. Indeed, the Yaris is a little less heavy – 2340 lbs versus 2625 for the Scion – but they are the same height, 60”, they have the same wheelbase, 96.9”, and they are very similar in length and width: Yaris, 150.6” long, 66.7” wide; Scion, 154.7” long, 67.9” wide.

Since they are made by the same company ultimately, I am going to hazard an educated guess that they are built on the same “platform.” No one re-invents the wheel when it comes to cars within the same family. And besides, the minor differences can be explained by simple styling alterations, and for the difference in engines.

The Scion has a boxier look to it than the Yaris, and it comes across visually as just a little larger – but not much. My gut feeling, based on what I heard from people during both test drives, is that people marginally preferred the look of the Scion xD versus the Yaris, but they preferred the Yaris overall simply because it said Toyota on the badge and fewer people, particularly older ones, know that Scion is Toyota.

I liked the Scion xD very much; it drove well, handled beautifully, and was roomy. The big difference between these two cars is the engine. The Scion xD, which is only available in this one trim, comes with a 1.8-liter I-4 engine with 128 hp, and I thought it was a peppy ride with just a little more gumption than the Yaris. But not that much.

Everything I said about the Yaris goes for the Scion xD, with the addition that the Scion has a bit more room in the back under the easy-to-use lift gate.

The interiors are quite similar, especially in room and ride, except for two things: in the Scion, the instrument gauges are in the traditional location in front of the driver. They are not overwhelming, of course, and they didn’t seem to compromise the feel of room, but personally I like the middle configuration. Second, I couldn’t get the heat in the Scion to work as well as I wanted from the dashboard, middle vents. I’m a big heat guy in cars; the Yaris had a better heater, or at least a better vent system.

The cool thing with the Scion is the one trim only thing, and the fact that they don’t overload with options. As standard you get the 60/40 split, fold-flat rear seat, a Pioneer 160-watt AM/FM/CD sound system with iPod connectors and auxiliary jacks, power door locks and windows, and remote keyless entry. They added on $650 for Vehicle Stability Control, $155 for the carpeted floor mats and cargo mat, and $469 for Scion Security.

The base price is $15,450, and with the options and the $670 in destination charges, the bottom line is $17,394. So, for something like and additional $700 over the Yaris, you get essentially the same car with a slightly larger engine, and you don’t have to wend your way through all the superfluous trims. The mileage is 27 city/33 highway, which is pretty good. 

I like this car very much, and since I know it’s a Toyota it would be a toss-up as to which one I’d want as my commuter car.

RATING: FOUR WHEELS (out of four)

Last updated on Apr 09, 2010 at 03:37 PM