2018 Toyota Yaris IA 1.5L gas from North America

Summary:

Very well designed econobox

Faults:

Very little, so far! In 19 degree weather, the windshield wipers got stuck and wouldn't move once, however they could have been iced up.

The infotainment system is pretty bad at connecting to Bluetooth phones and making decisions about audio sources. On two Android phones, I randomly have issues with connecting. There's a few USB devices, which, if plugged in with a cable that has a data line, will cause the infotainment system to reboot itself every ~5 minutes. Very annoying.

The rare sized 16" tires make for good handling/comfort, but are very expensive to replace. I wish that a more common 15" size was chosen.

General Comments:

Note: My car is a Yaris IA, which is the Mazda designed version of the Yaris, which is being sold as a Toyota.

This is an extremely good car for the money and I plan to keep it long term!

Handling is very nippy/agile, and it also rides like a larger car. Mazda did an excellent job when they designed the suspension/chassis. Even at very high speeds, the car does not become skittish or twitchy. The oversized wheels make for good compliance over potholes etc.

Acceleration is quite good for a car with 106 horsepower. The engine has excellent low end torque, so you could drop it into 6th at 35mph and still be able to accelerate fairly well. The low curb weight of the manual transmission model (~2,350lb) really helps here.

The engine bay is well laid out and the car looks very easy to work on in the future.

The manual transmission shifting action is quite good and notchy, however the clutch action is very mushy and ambiguous... the car also has significant rev hang, so you really need to wait between shifts, otherwise you'll sand down the clutch :/. This is livable, but kind of a shame, as the car could pull much quicker 0-60 times and be much more sporty.

Fuel economy is out of this world! I've achieved 65-69mpg average doing 60mph continuously with the A/C off a few times. It's not unusual to see 50mpg+ if speeds are kept to 65mph on the highway. The EPA fuel economy is wildly understated; in order to see 40mpg average, you need to be cruising along at over 80mph or be doing 70-75 with the A/C on.

The computer's suggestions on what gear to be in are often wrong. If followed, you will see subpar fuel economy. Always be in as high of a gear as possible.

I picked this car over a Honda Insight hybrid because the highway fuel economy numbers were eye popping, and the cost of the car was $7k less.

Comfort and interior space are good for a car of this size. Nobody's complained about room in the back. I do not like how the seats force you to hunch your neck forward though... a 12+ hour road trip can hurt.

The car is very aesthetically pleasing... in my opinion, it's the best looking econobox out there.

I will update this review as time goes on. But so far, so good.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 8th January, 2020

12th Jan 2020, 04:18

Well written review :)

12th Mar 2021, 09:27

65 mpg at 60mph is simply impossible on the 1.5 engine. I drove this same engine both on the Yaris and on the older (and lighter) Echo. It didn't not return anywhere near your numbers. In fact, the Yaris manual would do close to 40mpg AT BEST and it was revving quite high at 60 mph in the 5th speed, while the older Echo was doing near 45 mpg figure. But of course, if you have the wind behind, you drive at 45 mph and you just lifted your feet off the gas pedal, you can see tiny numbers on the computer display in any car. But it's only for a short moment. Not a real long term average.

13th Mar 2021, 02:12

Depends on how the gear ratios are set up. If it’s at low RPMs at 60mph, the car could get some nice mpg.

2nd Jun 2022, 12:20

Original poster of the review here.

I wish I could post a picture on here, but my top fuel economy is actually 68.5mpg over a 50 mile long trip.

I believe that the aerodynamics of the car are mostly responsible for its above average fuel economy. But also, I am a hypermiler driving a stick shift, not an automatic.

Go drive one of these and confirm it!

2nd Jun 2022, 12:27

Original poster of the review here.

The Yaris/Mazda2 has a very long 6th gear, so at 60mph, it's doing something like ~2,250 RPM.

The engine also has a nice amount of low end torque despite its size, so you can go as low as 37mph in that gear and get away with it.

I spend as much time in 6th gear as possible.

2nd Jun 2022, 18:51

Interesting disparity between EPA MPG figures and what (you claim) you are getting. Why bother with engineering a hybrid if a straight ICE powered car can get that MPG? You should offer your services to Toyota in order to inflate their CAFE figures!

3rd Jun 2022, 16:02

I do not disagree with the reviewers claim about his/her fuel economy with the Yaris. My 2018 Elantra can easily do 55 MPG (imperial) on the highway and I’ve done 60+ on occasion.

3rd Jan 2023, 15:02

Probably the best small car for the money.