INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
My drive on the Toyota Yaris was not meant to happen
At least not this soon anyway as the Bengaluru based company invited us all down to its home city for the first press drive
It was a frantic call from one of my colleagues (who's now enjoying the company of some fantastic electric cars), informing me that I was
Typically I would have received that news with pleasure, only this time jealousy got the better of me
That said I am still getting to drive the Yaris - one of the most hotly anticipated cars of this year
I first saw the Toyota Yaris in flesh at the Auto Expo 2018 and it did look like a promising compact sedan; right for its segment
There are several players in that space and most have seen a steady rise in sales
Leading that pile are the new Hyundai Verna, Honda City and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz
The Verna has been selling at an average of 4500 units per month since its launch in August 2017
The sales of Honda City might have taken a hit, but it remains a strong contender
And the big surprise remains the now ageing Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, running strong after many years without any proper generation change
So you'd think it was a no-brainer for Toyota to enter the compact sedan segment with the Yaris
Well, it still took it long enough! In fact even after the decision was finally taken, it's taken three years of planning, designing and
implementation to make the Yaris sedan a reality for India.? 8 - 10 Lakh *( Expected Price )Expected Launch May 2018FIND OUT MORE(The first
impression of the Toyota Yaris is that it's a baby Corolla)The instant first impression of the Yaris is that it's a baby Corolla and
The sleek body and the subtlety in design screams Toyota and there's no aggression whatsoever
The wider lower grille could have given the Yaris a bit of an 'in your face' look; but frankly, it looks calm, collected and very sure of
The bonnet gets some musculature, but that's about it
On the side though, there are lovely character lines, which make the car look elegant and also serve as a major differentiator from its
rivals - a very good thing
Toyota has been working tirelessly, to make Yaris stand apart from the crowd; and in getting there, has studied the market thoroughly
It will be offered in 4 variants - J, G, V, VX and the company says that the target audience of the Yaris is the upper middle class
That's one reason why you see tons of features on the car
Projector headlamps are standard, so is keyless-entry
LED DRLs are only available on the top-of-the-line VX trim - a bit of a miss in our opinion and could have been made available from second
variant up.(The Toyota Yaris impresses with air gesture control, a segment first feature)Where the car does impress is on safety - something
Toyota seems to be playing up as a USP on the Yaris
The Yaris will be the safety benchmark with 7 Airbags (this includes dual airbags up front, 2 curtain airbags, 2 front side airbags and a
driver knee airbag), ABS with EBD and Brake Assist as standard, The top-spec VX also gets Hill Start Assist Control as well as Vehicle
The cabin is well laid out and the 'Waterfall Design' on the dashboard looks attractive
The 7-inch touchscreen system is available from the G (second) variant onwards and gives you access to Wi-Fi, navigation and Mirrorlink
(which sadly did not work when we tried with both Android and iOS devices).(The Yaris gets roof mounted air vents for the rear seats with
ambient lighting)There's gesture control too which works very well, but can be distracting
The Air Gesture feature is a segment first but its operation takes a little getting used to
The Yaris also has features like a Start/Stop button, audio controls on the steering wheel, and climate control
A unique addition are the roof mounted air vents, for the rear passengers that incorporate ambient lighting
This feature is not standard though and is available only from the G variant and up.(The rear seat feels plush with ample kneeroom, but can
seat two comfortably)There's a good amount of space at the rear, but primarily for two people
While the claim is that the rear seat can comfortably seat 3, it just doesn't seem wide enough to do so comfortably
But the seats are comfortable and that's thanks to the seatback angle
The use of leather makes it plush; though that is only available on the VX trim
The flat floor frees up a lot of space though, and there's good knee room too
But headroom for taller people could be an issue because of the sloping roofline
There's a rear armrest with two cup holders, and two 12-volt charging points for passengers
Honestly, one charging point and one USB slot would've been way nicer.(The Toyota Yaris is offered only with a 1.5-litre petrol engine that
is tuned for efficiency)The Yaris is petrol-only and there's no diesel engine variant on the way either
The car's 15-inch wheels help in two departments - reducing road noise from seeping into the cabin and fuel efficiency
Toyota claims that the manual transmission variant returns a fuel efficiency figure of 17.1 kmpl, while the CVT returns 17.8 kmpl - and
But it does affect the way the Yaris drives because the engine has been tuned to churn out better efficiency
The 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder engine is pretty silent
Even at 3000 rpm, there's very little sound that enters the cabin; so yes, the NVH levels are pretty good
The engine comes mated to a 6-speed manual transmission or a 7-speed CVT
Now, the CVT is available right from the base variant and this makes automatic more accessible to buyers
Toyota is simply catering to the growing need for automatics in the segment, and unlike its rivals' will not provide it only on the top or
medium spec.(The Yaris is offered with both manual and CVT options, but it is the former that is more responsive)Feed the accelerator and
the gearbox starts to react
It doesn't respond quickly though and hence there's a lot of rumble from the engine that you hear before the gearbox starts playing catch
It suffers from the typical rubber band effect that we see on CVTs
The gears start changing post 3500-4000 rpm and you can hear the engine whirring away
Not much of that noise translates into any action - and this gets a bit annoying
On the CVT's 'manual mode', things do get better; but you still miss that urgent burst of power that you need at times
Toyota has brought paddle shift to the CVT party, but only on the top-spec VX
The paddles see a delay in response too, but it still beats leaving the car in 'drive' to do its own bidding
Another huge let down is the lack of a dead pedal on the automatic.(Loaded on features across most trims, don't be surprised to see the
Yaris priced at a premium)The 6-speed manual is the better variant to drive as the gear changes prompt some quick action
You have power at your disposal and the Yaris boasts a strong mid-range too, making the drive more enjoyable
However, we do see many buyers opting for the CVT for its smoothness and convenience
The ride is comfortable even though the suspension is stiffer than what we expected
But you don't get thrown around when you take it on rough roads
It's calm and collected and will do well on our broken or potholed roads
So it is a compelling entrant to the segment - with its own very specific character
The strong feature list and great safety options really put the Yaris in a league of its own
All the features though will come at a price and we won't be surprised if the Yaris is priced higher than its rivals.(The Yaris sets the bar
high for its rivals with safety tech and segment first features)So expect it to start at around ? 8.5-9 lakh and go all the way up to ?
The idea is to fit smack in between the Etios and Corolla sedans in Toyota's portfolio
The Yaris sets the bar high, though, for its rivals, when it comes to safety features, as also a few firsts, in segment features
So it will set some benchmarks in terms of features and safety
But it won't be the car for spirited or sporty driving
Now we await the prices, which will help decide how successful it will eventually be, though Toyota's strong brand and popularity will
certainly play a part.For the latest auto news and reviews, follow CarAndBike on Twitter, Facebook, Subscribe to our YouTube channel.
