Considering Yaris Tsport

[robbie1988]

First of I'm new to the site so HELLO!

Right im 21 didn't pass my test till I was 20 due to money situations so for the last year I have been insured on the mothers awful car. Looking for my own car now and having too much trouble deciding, basically wanting a "warm" hatch. Can insure anything upto around group 8-9 but there isn't anything that really stands out for me. Recently been considering the PH 1 Yaris tsport, my only problem is the girly reputation it has, just wondering how fast they really feel and if they out handle alot of similar specced cars? The only other cars iv seen around the same price range are...

Skoda fabia VRS - Slower than a yaris but can be remapped to 170bhp, quite boring to drive though as they hit peek power mid revs. Don't feel like telling the girls I own a Skoda either.

Seat Ibiza 1.9 tdi FR - Basically the same as the above.

MG ZR 105 - Reliability problems, more "luke warm" than "warm"

Saxo VTR - Cheap to buy, but its French and its a saxo and only morons drive saxos.

Corsa sri - Same situation as a saxo, too common.

Focus 1.9 TDCI - Good engines, fun to drive but its a bigger car and theres lots of twisting narrow roads near me which a smaller hatch would be more suited too.

Long essay of a post but there you go, any info from people with tsport experience would be appreciated or anyone with some other alternatives...

[Raeman]

T-Sport is a good choice and certainly NOT a girls car!

Have you considered a Civic 1.6 sport? My mate has an 05 plate one in silver, looks just like a TypeR but with the 1.6 Vtec unit fitted.

Very nice car with excellent ride, spec and great seats. 110bhp too, but it does feels a lot faster than that when being driven.

If it was me, it would be between a Civic sport and a Yaris T-Sport.

[ninosport]

TBH mate the Yaris TS isnt a girls car trust me. Ive only seen 1 girl driving 1 and the rest are lads.

Fabia - its a very good car but like you said you have to remap it to have any fun with it. Also is a group 9

Ibiza - like you said same as above.

MG/Rover - Its a nice looking car, tbh not that bad reliability wise but if it goes wrong parts are very hard to get due to Rover been bust and it will break cause its a Rover.

VTR - Its got great handling but I found its rep with insurance companies is its real down fall. They charge you a fortune and the YTS is just as quick and its as much to run. Also if you get the 90bhp a YTS is faster than that and will destory you.

SRI - Same thing really insurance wise.

Focus - very nice motor but when I use to have my YTS it use to beat it hands down. Like you said its a bigger car which is a plus and Fords are reasonably priced.

Now the Yaris TS - Fun to drive, fast and economical. I remember doing a run to Burnley on the back road from Leeds mainly in 3rd and 4th and didnt use hardly any petrol got like 40mpg. Nothing really goes wrong with the p1 just make sure you find one thats been looked after.

My problem with it was that it really does need another gear which you would find out once youve had it for a few months, the ride isnt that nice, its better that a saxo but not as good as the Fab or the Focus. Parts are expensive if you are wanting to modify and even getting standard parts unless you know people in the trade.

Also another good thing about the Yaris is that even though its a group 7 on insurance most companies dont treat it as a sporty chavy car and more like a town car driven by your gran. Alot of people including myself didnt know about the YTS and so dont know what its like, Ive had many of races with bigger and faster cars and kept up and sometimes even beaten.

Overall depending on what your budget is a good mk1 p1 YTS goes for £2.5k - £3.5 and its more expensive compared to the Corsa and Saxo.

The Fab is going to cost you £4.5k - £5.5k for a good one.

If it was me buying one of those cars I would probably go for the Yaris but I have already owned one in the past so I would say that.

Oh you will get some stick for having a Yaris but once you get them in it and take them for a spin they'll soon change their mind.

[robbie1988]

Cheers for the replies, price wise I could get a Yaris ts in good condition which was the main reason iv started looking at them because like the above said its going to be saving another 2k up to buy something like a fabia and im not sure if I want to carry on driving a 1.4 8v 206 until then lol

The civic 1.6 sport is my favoured choice but all the ones for sale anywhere near to me are still fetching 5k and at the moment I only have around 3k.

Yaris' seem to keep their value quite well and im thinking if I bought one now, in a year or so if looked after well which it will be I could sell it on and buy a Civic then after saving up abit. Are any of the older civic's in the same sort of insurance group?

[Johan007]

I got mine the MK1 for £3200 with 65,000 miles on the clock and no you can't have it.

The MK2 has a better looking backside but they are looking too expensive. I prefer the cuter MK1's front anyway .

The power to weight of 110ish bhp and close ratio gears can not explain how rapid this car is but you have to rev it. It prefers country roads as it is dog on the motorway long distance.

The Fabia is better if you do do motorway miles as my other car is Deisle. 130bhp Deisle is like have 300bhp car at low revs becuase it would have around 310nM of torque. But they are nose heavy. The Civic 2.2d (350nM of torque) is a lovely car but your looking at 7k.

[Raeman]

Robbie....

You could go for the 1.6 Civic 2dr. It's exactly the same body & engine (110bhp vtec) as the sport but without the bucket seats and stick on body kit.

One of these could be picked up a lot less than the sport, then you could put the sport bodykit & 16" wheels on it.

Also, they tend to be driven by older men, so chances are it will still be fresh and never been in vtec, unlike the sport or TypeR.

Then you would have a very tidy Civic for your money! Or you could buy a T-sport.

P.S, if you do decide on a Civic, avoid the 1.4 as it's underpowered and not a vtec unit. (The new model Civic 1.4 is vtec though)

[ninosport]

The civic is heavier though so it wont feel as fast as a Yaris to bare that in mind.

For 3k you can buy a 51 YTS with about 90k on the clock which isnt that bad at all.

TBH cause you are still young I would try and see whats the cheapest to insure and make a decision on that. It wouldnt suprise me if it was the Yaris or the Focus. Out of them I would choose the Yaris because the Focus is under powered and isnt as fun to drive.

[Johan007]

more to add to your list.

• Panda 100hp (looks cool and has a 6th gear for motorway driving, but not be as reliable as a Toyota and could still be expensive)
  
• Ford Puma (looks dated but a future retro car)
  
• Swift 100
  
• Swift Sport (Still expensive I think and the Yaris is just as quick even 15bhp down)
  
• Hyundai coupe 1.6
  

one to remove from your list:

[*] MG ZR 105 - too heavy, the Rover 1.4 K-Series engine is prone to head gasket fail like a Rover 214 that I used to own had the same engine.

[Chris81]

As has been said before, the Fabia vRS/Ibiza FR is going to cost you a couple of grand more than a cheap Yaris t-sport so I'd forget about those on your budget. The MG ZR is about 20 years out of date so avoid like the plague. Saxos are showing their age too and have terrible lift off oversteer and with their chav reputation then you really don't want one! Corsa, do you mean the 1.8SR? Not particularly quick and quite rare to find. Focus is a bit out of place in this company but the chassis of the mk1 is very highly regarded - how about a 1.6 zetec? Just slightly less poke than a t-sport but more of an all round car - depends how much space and comfort you want.

I'm a big fan of 100bhp petrol hatchbacks and the Yaris does fit the bill perfectly with a good combination of good looks, poke, ok insurance and economy. The ride is pretty hard and it needs a 6th gear but if you can live with those then buy one! It's a hoot to drive and for your £3k budget I can't think of anything more suitable.

[Raeman]

There's actually quite a few 100bhp hatchbacks to choose from eh? ;)

Another fun and cute car is the VW Lupo 1.4s and Polo 1.4 16v (same engine 100hp)

These might be slightly more to insure than a T-Sport though, as i've found out insuring VW's!

Suppose there's the Renault Clio, Citroen VTR's Pug 206, Fiesta zetec.....

Including everything allready mentioned, there's quite a lot of test drives there for you!!

[robbie1988]

Yeah iv looked at and est drove a 1.4 16v polo, but its stil insurance group 10 and only 10 seconds 0-60. Driving a 206 1.4 at the moment and the build quality is appauling, mum opened the door on a windy day and it blew forward and ended up needing a whole new door and a new wing lol

Just been Manchester and drove my cousins t-sport, got to admit its good fun on twisty roads and does feel quick so might just have to get one as I'v seen a few slightly modified ones i do like the look of

[Raeman]

T-Sport it is then!