Faults:

Nothing. It was a rental.

General Comments:

We rented this car for several days in North Carolina. Before making any judgement on it, it helps to set your standards low because it fits in the same class as the Chevy Cobalt, Ford Focus, and Kia Sephia. In other words, it's the cheapest of cheap econo-cars. Put into that context, it's actually a pretty decent all around car for the money.

First for the good. For such a small car, it actually has a decent amount of interior room. I'm kind of short, but my Wife is 6 feet tall. Yet she was comfortable and had plenty of leg room.

Secondly, it got fantastic fuel economy. I'm guessing it must have gotten close to 40MPG the whole trip because we only filled it up once just to top it off for the return at the rental place. It only held 9 gallons and we drove it for 2 days solid without having to fill it up.

Thirdly, despite having a tiny little engine, the performance was admirable. In fact, it was pretty peppy.

Lastly, despite being an econo-car, it had a lot of features I've seen on more expensive cars. The stereo was better than the one in our own car back home, and it even had a feature that automatically adjusted the volume for the road noise.

Now for the bad. My least favorite thing about it was the engine. When you start from a dead stop and even barely press the gas pedal, the engine revs extremely high, as if you're absolutely flooring the thing. I assume in order to compensate for the small engine, the drivetrain was designed to rev way up. It honestly sounded like the engine was going to blow itself up at every stop light. I take good care of my cars, so this to me was a bit disturbing. Additionally, the engine and everything else was loud. There seemed to be little sound dampening and when on the freeway, all you heard was the whining of the engine.

Secondly, the steering was a little too fidgety and strange. It felt like the steering did a lot of wandering. The steering wheel itself was made out of hard plastic and in my opinion was too small.

The interior materials were pretty cheap. I've driven a Cobalt, which also has a super-flimsy, cheap interior and the Yaris was almost as cheap, which is kind of disappointing considering this is a Toyota.

But all in all, I'd say that if you just want a car that'll get you around cheaply, or don't have the cash for a nicer car, this would be a good option. Probably perfect for college kids too. It wasn't a bad car at all. Just know that this is basically a re-incarnated version of the former Tercel with a few added whistles and bells.

Faults:

One problem I had was I backed up into my own wooden fence and the bumper dislocated from its normal position. I didn't have to spend any money replacing the bumper, all I did was I pushed the bumper back into place and it popped right back in no problem, almost like putting the arms back on your sunglasses! Very simple.

General Comments:

I fill my tank up with premium fuel from Sunoco, I have found that my miles per gallon improved greatly by switching from ESSO (A Quebec Based Fuel company).

ESSO is rubbish, and has no dramatic difference whether it be regular or premium fuel.

I recently got 508 km for a tank of Sunoco premium, compared with ESSO's 440 km per tank.

Keep in mine my average speed was fluctuating quite frequently, I am not a granny behind the wheel either.

It's a great car, I once drove down a country road in Stirling, Ontario in the middle of winter, I never thought I would make it down considering the powder snow was up to the centre of my front wheels!

But I never let off the gas and powered my way through the snow! It was really wonderful.

In the snow that is much like mashed potatoes, it is very difficult to make pin point turns (with all season tires), but I found that when I pulled the handbrake I could make turns I couldn't have made normally. I don't suggest pulling your handbrake too frequently of course.

Well that's my Toyota Yaris - I love it!