Yaris Vvti-Sr Seat Position And Turning Circle ?

[Lillith112]

Hi everyone, have a couple of questions for Yaris owners out there. I have owned and still own my old Toyota Starlet GS which I have had for 15 years and has been totally amazing, only ever needing tires and Battery until recently when seals seem to be failing, slight engine leak, power steering leak and radiator leak. Put a new exhaust on to get it through MOT and decided to look for another car. I ended up buying a really stunning vvti-sr. Love it to bits but I have a couple of niggles with it. Firstly it must of been designed by a man (no offence meant lol) over 5'2" as I find the seat position impossible to get right, the gears are further back than my last car and I need the seat fairly close to touch the pedals. The problem I have is my arm keeps rubbing against the sports seats and its painful. I have tried various seat positions and all result in my arm rubbing when changing gear :(

Secondly the turning circle is horrendous. In my Starlet I could nip in and out of spaces in one go and turn in one go in my cul de sac at home. With the Yaris it takes a fair few go's to get in and out of parking spaces. I must say I am really dissapointed in these things and have put my car up for sale, so anyone wanting a mint car with 2yr warranty still on it go check out the post I put up in the 'For Sale' section.

Anyone else have these problems with theirs ?.

Ju.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Think the subject of the steering on some versions of the current Yaris are due to the larger 16 inch wheel/tyre combination limiting the turning circle. Did you test drive the Yaris before you purchased? I would have thought the gear lever and seat issues would have been picked up then.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Think the subject of the steering on some versions of the current Yaris are due to the larger 16 inch wheel/tyre combination limiting the turning circle. Did you test drive the Yaris before you purchased? I would have thought the gear lever and seat issues would have been picked up then.

[Lillith112]

Hi Mike, yes I did test drive it a couple of miles down some country lanes, the problems weren't apparent then but after driving it 30 miles home and ever since both things have become a bit of an issue. I wouldn't of thought 16" wheels would cause a problem ?.

[FROSTYBALLS]

The current Yaris brochure quotes a 9.6 metre turning circle for cars with 15 inch wheels, and a 10 metre turning circle for cars with 16 inch wheels. The Summer 2014 facelift did include changes to the suspension to improve the ride and dynamics. though not sure whether this included changes to the steering/turning circle.

[Lillith112]

Oh ok thanks for the info, I need to dig out my Starlet info and check what the turning circle is on that as mixed answers online from 9.2 -15 meters :/

[Cyker]

If it makes you feel any better, we did a little test once and found that my Mk1 Yaris has a worse turning circle than both an Audi A3 and a Ford Transit van

I don't think it has improved since...! The main problem is that the engine is so packed in that there isn't enough space for the steering arms. They really went the full japanese when making this car! (Compare this to my old Fiesta, which had so much room under the bonnet you could practically crawl into it to work on the engine )

I was surprised the Mk3 is still so bad tho' as it's much bigger than the Mk1; I would have thought they'd give more space for the steering arms...

That said, the Mk1 had 13 or 14" rims vs the 15" and 16" rims in the newer ones!

[Lillith112]

Hah ! oh dear me, yes feel much better now Cyker lol, errrm so basically my car is ok if you drive in a straight line and never attempt to park it pmsl. Yes your right about the engine being packed in tight, I am amazed just how much they have crammed in there. It's back to the drawing boards for me.

Pity they stopped making the Starlets :(

[MikeSh]

Part of the problem with modern cars is the amount of emissions control they have to carry, which obviously takes up under-hood space. If the Starlet had been kept till now it likely would have had the same space issues.

Love it to bits ...

I must say I am really dissapointed ... and have put my car up for sale

Make your mind up :D

[Lillith112]

Pmsl :) ! Mike I love the look of the car, external and internally, and it is solid to drive, hugs the road like rails but the seat position and turning circle are a big 'no no' for me :(

I am actually gutted to have to sell it, it's the best looking car I have ever owned.

[Lillith112]

I still have my Starlet by the way :)

[Catlover]

If the problem is the sports seats - I assume they protrude a bit more then standard seats, then rather then sell a car that otherwise you like why not ask the dealer can you swop seats for the standard seats. I am sure someone would buy the sport seats especially as they are half leather.

Obviously you would need to check carefully that standard seats are suited to your driving position by having a more thorough test drive then when you bought your current car.

OR - ask the dealer to explore doing something to the pedals to make" them" come nearer to you ie fitting some blocks to them. I would think it not beyond the realms of a good engineer to think of something.at foot level.

OR - again through the dealer, an extension piece to the gear stick to take the knob forward ie away from you.

Sure there would be a cost in all three of those but very possibly a lot cheaper then getting shut of the car, especially the last two ideas.

.

[Cyker]

Yeah, be a hefty loss if you sell it :(

I'm sure there's a Mk3 owner here who would happily do a seat swap.

Asfor the turning circle, if the car has 16" rims, going down to 15"'s might help as mentioned above. The tricky bit there is whether your insurance company will try to screw you over for having non-OE rims...

If you do sell, what you got in mind as an alternative? (Or you thinking of giving the Starlet an overhaul? Maybe we can get that guy from Wheeler Dealers to do it up )

[FROSTYBALLS]

If the pedals are an issue, you can get pedal extensions that could be fitted - examples:

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/performance/pedal-extensions-footrests

http://www.alfredbekker.co.uk/driving-aids/pedal-extensions/

[FROSTYBALLS]

Toyota have revised the steering on the facelift Yaris - extract from Toyota UK Blog:

"Incidentally, cornering is something Yaris is extremely adept at thanks to revised steering and a stiffer bodyshell for 2014."

[4xyaris]

I have a 60 plate Mk2 Yaris & it has a great turning circle - way better than my old Mk1 Yaris.The front wheels appear to lean over on the Mk2.

My daughter has a Mk3 & told me she has trouble going round some mini roundabouts.

My advice for this situation is to buy a Mk2 from a Toyota dealer after a long road test.

[ToyotaAuris]

I was about to purchase a Yaris similar to yours. I ended up buying a Auris. Its also good on the motorway too, reason why I chose it over the small Yaris. The steering wheel is so light and a dream to drive. The turning circle is also good. Get an Auris 2011 its amazing!

[Lillith112]

Ah sorry peeps, only just saw these replies, for some reason they went in my spam folder.

I am part Ex'ing my Yaris for a Mini Cooper Clubman, hopefully this week, I have had 2 Coopers previously and this one has extra room to put the dog in the boot lol.

[impala77]

I have a 61 plate yaris sr and I too have noticed the shocking turning circle!! I had to back up to get out of tesco the other day as it wouldn't go round in one go, guy behind me looked at me like I was a muppet!! I had a C1 before and that turned on a postage stamp so makes the yaris seem like turning a bus lol. However as I've posted already my main fault is the jerky throttle.

[colin boyde]

Hi, having drove a Starlet when learning to drive and later drove, a first generation Yaris,

the starlet had smaller diameter wheels a much shorter wheel base than the lastest Yaris ,the track is also wider on the lastest Yaris

the Yaris will have a much larger turning circle .