TL;dr at the bottom of this post



Exterior

Firstly, I do not care much for the front end of the car, which was mostly carried over from the Vios except for the lower grille which is some sort of weave pattern for the Yaris compared to the sedan's horizontal members. I know they are going for an aggressive look with a large lower grille, but it came off as a comically large stupid grin. It is made worse if you shell out for the optional "aerokit" which adds two pieces of plastic onto the lower grille like a misshapen-ed moustache.



That said, the long and slim headlamps makes the car look more grown up, with projector halogens for the G and E trim and reflectors for the J trim. Standard across the range are the LED DRLs right beneath the headlamps. Two fake vents on each side of the lower grille houses the foglights, which is standard on the E and G trims.



Come around the side and towards the rear quarter view, things start to look Caldina-ish. The side profile looks balanced although I feel the rear overhang is a bit too much for my liking. I like the darkened C-pillar even if some might think that the "floating roof" concept is a bit over-used these days. Looking from the side, it is not as aggressive nor does it communicate "fun" as, say, the Mazda 2, but it does looks mature with a bit of flair especially with the Citrus Mica Metallic (read : bright green) color option.

In the rear the design looks a bit more sophisticated. In stock form it has but a small short spoiler. Directly underneath the rear windscreen is a piano black horizontal bar with the Toyota badge in the center, flanked by a pair of curved triangular taillamps which are LED in the E and G trims. it is not rice like the front end nor overdesigned like the CH-R, just enough details to make it look interesting. I won't be surprised if someone told me the front and rear end of this car is designed by two different persons.



All in all, I feel it would be better if they could reign in the front end a bit, then it would be perfect. But as it is, I think it looks fine as long as I avoid finding myself in front of the car.

Interior



Naturally, the interior is also almost entirely carried over from it's sedan sibling. On the driver's side, the instrument gauges are large and easy to read. The G trim comes with a nice color TFT multi-info display on the lower right corner of the instrument cluster, whereas the E trim makes do with a normal monochrome LCD display but J trim owners will get no digital display at all.



On the top of the center stack of the G and E trim is a 6.8" touchscreen headunit, replete with the usual USB, AUX and bluetooth (With phone mirroring) connectivity, plus voice dial capability. The J trim comes with the CD player with aux, USB and Bluetooth connectivity. further down the center dash, only the G trim gets the auto AC with digital button control whereby the E and J trim comes with good old physical knobs. Between the two front seats is a slim armrest, small but useful. There are no leather seats offered in any trims.

In addition to the overhead cabin lights, there are also footwell lights under the front dashboard, as well as illuminated scuff plates that are standard across the range, which I feel is a nice touch.

During the brief duration I spent in the car, the seats felt no different from the Vios and the ones that came before it - typical Japanese small economy car with just enough thigh support for your behinds and little lateral support. Nonetheless they are comfortable enough for most and Toyota does know well what not to fix if it ain't broken.

There are plenty of rear legroom, enough to give the Jazz a run for it's money, and an abundant of headroom for the average Asian. Fun fact : Despite their similarities, the Yaris actually have a lot more rear headroom compared to the Vios.



That said, the cabin is still a relatively nice place to be in. Quality-wise, it is no Mazda 2 to be sure, but it is no worse than the rest of the competition and way more spacious than the Mazda. The fake leather stitches does give it an air of luxury until you touch the panel and recoil in horror by the touch of hard plastic. There is nothing overtly flashy about the design, everything is where it should be and easy to find.

Comfort

Toyota cars are known for comfort even in it's cheapest range of product. The Yaris is no different - it handles potholes with aplomb and coarse road surfaces with nary a hint of vibration transmitted into the cabin.

Soundproofing on the go is adequate when puttering about town, but once you put your foot down, the engine roar fills the cabin and, to be honest, it is not a pleasant note. This point is a bit of a let down as even local cars are catching up on the soundproofing game. Still, it is ahead of the Jazz in this department.

the seats will carry 5 persons with no issues, although the unlucky one who got the rear middle seat might have a word or two, but that's not to be unexpected for this segment of cars.

Drivetrain

Powering the Yaris is the same drivetrain that motivates the Vios - the 105hp 1.5l 4-cylinder 2NRFE mated to a CVT with stepped 7 speed manual mode (In Toyota's words "CVT with 7-speed Sport Sequential Shiftmatic Mode". Please excuse the saliva.). Many has poke fun of the puny 105hp mill that also makes a measly 140Nm, especially compared to the Jazz's relatively beastly 120hp iVTEC. This wasn't helped by my unpleasant experience with the previous generation Vios's CVT that felt sluggish and unresponsive.

But on the go, the Yaris promptly defied my expectations. At no point during the test drive, on a route that includes a rather steep uphill, that the car felt underpower. Just the same, there were no issues performing overtaking manuevers on the highway. The car actually felt light on it's feet and perfectly on par with other 1.5l NA drivetrains on the market.

I credit the CVT and/or it's new tuning; It felt responsive and easy to predict. What surprised me the most though, is how responsive the manual mode was. I can click the gears away without having to account for any lag like I would on the Mazda and the VW Polo 6AT. Usually I would ridicule the manual mode on CVT boxes - I still do - but this one actually felt fun to use.

Handling

The test drive route involves a short stretch of urban road with traffic lights, a highway ramp followed by a long high speed left hand sweeper, then a U-turn back the same route I came from. As usual, I refrain from pushing too hard on a car I'm not familiar with, but initial impressions already surpassed my past experiences with the Vios line of cars.

It is easy to predict the chassis movement and the front end responds promptly to steering input. I can make lane changes in the midst of a high speed corner without upsetting the balance much. the suspension is pliant on rough roads which translates to less mid-corner hops.

The only major issue for me is that the steering weight is way too light on high speed. This is a tuning issue which I believe is easily rectifiable, I hope Toyota will look into it.

Overall the car is very well-mannered. It is not "fun" like my little Fiesta, but it is definitely very capable with lots of potential with aftermarket suspension tunings.

Safety

The Yaris comes with 7 airbags, ESC+TC, ABS and Hill Start Assist across the entire range. E and G trims also gets the Blind Spot Monitor, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and the Panoramic View Monitor. ISOFIX anchors are standard across all trims.

Also worth noting is that the G trim comes with rear disc brakes.



Verdict

So, back to my question of "is it any good?"

If you know me, you'd know for years I have been critical of UMWT's offering especially in the hotly contested B segment market. They have been riding on the market's goodwill and gave us poorly equipped cars with outdated specs. For their complacency, they were robbed of their top sales position by Honda since 2014 and mocked by an increasingly savvy automotive market.

While I won't say with certain they are completely sincere in turn their fortune around - after all they just launched the new Camry with the ancient 2ARFE powerplant whereas Thailand already got the new Dynamic Force engine - Nonetheless the 2019 Vios and Yaris proves that they have their ears on the ground and more importantly, the will to change their way in order to claw their way back to the top.

So yes, the Yaris is an excellent addition to UMWT's stable. Honda Malaysia better up their game with their lineup especially in the B-segment domain where not so long ago Toyota was the reigning king of the hill. If the Yaris is a sign of things to come from UMWT, and Honda Malaysia is geared up to meet them head on, the next few years will be very interesting to say the least.

Tl;dr

- Exterior : Looks good except the front
- Interior : meh, Oklah on par with competitors
- Comfort : meets expectations as a Toyota, but soundproofing needs improving.
- drivetrain : Better than expected. don't be fooled by the paper figures.
- Handling : bagus
- Safety : very well-equipped across all variants
- Verdict : very interesting departure from Toyota's regular bread and butter model, worth considering.

This post has been edited by dares: Apr 30 2019, 11:28 PM

Just sharing.

I don't get paid for posting here.

My mistake, I remembered that from what my SA told me verbally.

Fixed, thanks for pointing that out

Nah, I'm not good enough a driver nor a writer to write about cars professionally.

Wrote it myself

The light steering makes it feel abit unsafe, like a sneeze will make you change lane those kind.

But the body control is good. I heard even the New Camry also have excellent handling.

Thanks for reading

For their target market....nah, especially considering the road tax for a 1.8l.

They are aiming to crush the Jazz, nothing less, nothing more.

My personal opinion is yes, it edges the Jazz out just a little.

Not to say that Jazz is completely out of it's depth now, just that now Honda no longer have total dominion over the non-national B-hatch market, because the Yaris is a very competitive product.

This post has been edited by dares: Apr 30 2019, 11:25 PM

Mau kira liddat meh

The current GK5 Jazz may still have a few years of life left in it yet, Let's see HM is ready to give up on it and wait for the next generation to arrive instead.

This post has been edited by dares: May 1 2019, 12:23 AM

The Yaris CVT feels much better than the Iriz I tested a few months ago. Not sure if the latest Iriz MC2 is any good, haven't tested that.

The deal breaker for me on the Iriz, is the small boot space.

Well my family still have a 2007 first gen vios, so I can say the touch quality is a bit better here in the Yaris, especially the digital AC controller.

That being said, that car has had not given a single rattle or squeak over the years, which is more than I can say for the dugongs and catfish I've been in. Not sure if the new Vios/Yaris can stand the test of time.

I'll try out the new Iriz when I get the chance.

Thanks. Seems you are hanging out at /k with increasing frequency lol

Manufacturers want to streamline their interiors to make it look more spacious and put more cupholders. I think removing physical buttons are a bad idea, they are just making things more difficult and expensive to repair when things break, especially when if your HU hangs and suddenly you have no AC control.

It's unnecessary and comes off as a dick measuring contest (My car has less button than yours) at the expense of consumers.

Some simple mechanical functions such as handbrakes should also stay mechanical.

Thanks for reading


/k got many crouching dragon hidden tigers who are way more savvy about cars than me. I just contribute what little knowledge I have

No, our Yaris is different from the Yaris in the Europe and American markets which the GRMN is based on.

Going through the brochures, I saw that the Yaris kerb weight is 1,110kg to 1,140kg. The Vios is similar 5kg heavier.

By comparison, the Myvi Advance is 1,015kg, Jazz V is 1,099kg, 208 os 1,080kg and Mazda2 is 1,056kg.

So the Yaris is only lighter than the Iriz for hatchbacks on this side of RM100k, and around 100kg or more heavier than the Myvi.

Mazda2 and Yaris appeals to different groups of buyers.

- The Yaris can be the only car in your household and perform as a family car while you can also have some fun with it on the weekends.
- You will have more fun driving a Mazda2 but you will probably need a second car for family duties as your kids grow up.

Safety-wise the Yaris also trumps all variation of Mazda2 with 7 airbags vs the Mazda's 2 airbags.

Similiar size.

Yaris body is longer, but the wheelbase only 5cm longer.

Infact Myvi has a wider body and wider track than Yaris.

Protong fanboi!

Yea the Yaris is quite alot longer, so from the side the Yaris confirm looks bigger. But from front and back they will look similar and the Myvi is also slightly taller.

Interior no idea, have to compare side to side.

Paper specs is just indicative, transmission and tuning still play a huge role.

Polo 1.2 TSI 105hp vs Fiesta Ecoboost 1.0 Ecoboost 125hp, Polo suffer from 20hp deficit but still smoke Fiesta bertiang2.

Real world > paper figures.

test drive cars is just a hobby for me.

This post has been edited by dares: May 13 2019, 03:53 PM

Ask from boboi ang or potan lul

Let's just settle this and move on to other aspects of the car.

Yaris diasap bertiang-tiang-tiang-tiang.

Skip to 0:50 for the drag race.

sekian.



This post has been edited by dares: May 14 2019, 10:12 AM

Thanks


Thanks, I'll continue to share test drive reviews but err...video is too much hassle