I wish to replace my 2014 Yaris Icon hybrid with another used hybrid but which one?

[Donmaico]

.The main reasons are the upgraded  features eg safety sense. The two that have attracted my interest are an Icon and  an Excel .Both are registered in 2017 , however there is a £1100 discrepancy between the two so I am wondering what the Excel has that makes it worth that much more than the Icon particularly as the mileage is nigh on 3 time greater  on the former (14683- 5863) I liked at the equipment lists and nothing shouted at me "pay more for me" I could understand it better where the CHR is concerned as the Icon version does not have Park Assist as standard whereas the others do so i am hoping someone can enlighten me is the Yaris Excel worth that much more over the icon?

[bill.belfield]

My Yaris Hybrid is an Excel, the only additional items on mine is the panoramic glass roof , piano black trim and 16" alloys . Got a really good audio  set up though standard head unit.

[flash22]

Your are paying for the extra toys like electric windows all round, keyless entry and start, heated folding mirrors, the touch 2 is more refined on the later cars, front seats are both fully adjustable, it may even have a spoiler as it was an option on the facelift iirc and part leather and Alcantara interior, the Excel is a much nicer place to be, but I'm a bit bias

New the icon is 16-17K new, the Excel is £21-25k depending on the options

[snowBALLs]

If u can afford the extra £1100 the Excel is better to have long term even with 10k miles more, at 15k miles it's nothing really. 

Part leather, some might have upgraded to full leather. Heated folding mirrors are fab to have and also bigger wheels/tyres at 195/55/16 over the standard 175/65/15 - which is rubbish. Plus the extras others have mentioned above. 

VED is payable from April 2017 if u r not aware.

 

[flash22]

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=13&ved=2ahUKEwiw3-Lspu3mAhV0SxUIHX4iCLU4ChAWMAJ6BAgCEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.inchcape.co.uk%2F-%2Fmedia%2F09675f3382cc4eefa1ec8bd297c9fd31.pdf%2F&usg=AOvVaw2obtymH3BUQPNwsLUvumaz

 

Be aware depending on its first reg date it may not be £0 road tax, unless its got the 15" wheels its not congestion charge free either

[Donmaico]

2 hours ago, snowBALLs said:

If u can afford the extra £1100 the Excel is better to have long term even with 10k miles more, at 15k miles it's nothing really. 

Part leather, some might have upgraded to full leather. Heated folding mirrors are fab to have and also bigger wheels/tyres at 195/55/16 over the standard 175/65/15 - which is rubbish. Plus the extras others have mentioned above. 

VED is payable from April 2017 if u r not aware.

 

yes i am aware but unfortunately i cannot find a pre april 2017 with safety sense.I'll give the Excel some consideration

[snowBALLs]

If you don't need the extra toys that an excel has then just get the icon. Although I would recommend getting bigger tyres like 195/60/15 to replace when the 175s are worn. 

[Donmaico]

8 hours ago, snowBALLs said:

If you don't need the extra toys that an excel has then just get the icon. Although I would recommend getting bigger tyres like 195/60/15 to replace when the 175s are worn. 

would that mean better performance? 

[snowBALLs]

Much better grip. The 175s are poor when cornering. Better traction and also better braking. eBay sometimes have offer on tyres sellers with 20% off, so look out for that. 

Hybrids are more heavy in the front due to the extra electric motor. Really need a wider tyre than 175 to perform better. 

[martswain]

3 minutes ago, snowBALLs said:

Much better grip. The 175s are poor when cornering. Better traction and also better braking. eBay sometimes have offer on tyres sellers with 20% off, so look out for that. 

Hybrids are more heavy in the front due to the extra electric motor. Really need a wider tyre than 175 to perform better. 

Of course, tell your insurer if you change to a non-standard size of tyre.

[Sampleman]

If your main reason for exchanging your car are the new safety features, I'd like to put a grain of salt in the discussion.

In Germany the different Yaris trim lines have different names, but I suppose that they basically are the same cars. I have a 2016 Yaris Hybrid Style Comfort. I bought it second hand, so I am not entirely sure which accessories were basic, part of the Style Comfort package or paid extras. I put my assumptions in brackets.

My car is equipped with a lane assist feature (basic), an automatic high beam assistant (basic or Style comfort), safety sense anti collision system (Style), a multimedia car stereo with rear view camera and handsfree phone (Style), Alcantara seats, both front seats with heating and height adjustment (Style), keyless entry, cruise control, foldable arm rest at the drivers seat and power windows on all doors (all Style). The car has a black top and a spoiler at the rear window, it also has privacy glass (tinted rear windows), which may be some design package. It came with 195 tires on 16 inch rims, which probably also belongs to Style. My car lacks only two accessories which definitely were accessories, the satnav system and the additional plate to put into the trunk to get an extra compartment (don't know the English word).

It may be that the Style Comfort line in Germany is exactly what you call Excel in UK. The later 2018 models got a different radio with Google Car Play, a different steering wheel with some sort of joystick button and a new cockpit with an app which detects speed limit signs and shows them in the cockpit.

I am a gadget kid, so I love things like the keyless entry and the cruise control. I enjoy the rear view camera which makes parking really easy. My car has a middle rear mirror which adapts to the brightness, this works flawlessly.

Actually, my main reason to buy such an expensive car (other cars with lower trim levels would cost less) was the front passenger seat with height adjustment. I am a very tall person, so I need every inch I can get.

As for the safety features: I am not so convinced with them. Lane assist works flawlessly, but all it does is beep three times when you cross a line on the road with indicators off. Well, a decent life seems imagineable without that thing, in most cases I switch it off. The high beam assist first worked remarkably well, but some days ago it worked that bad in the dark that I had to deactivate it. The problem: If the assistant is on and thinks it is not dark enough for high beam, you cannot override it. The most complex safety assitant probably is this presense thing, which detects objects you may collide with. It has a design flaw: It relies on a camera located in a box behind the middle rear mirror. This box is glued to the windscreen, so the camera sits in a small chamber and looks through the screen. When it is cold and wet, this chamber can get foggy, and then the assistant won't work. This would not be such a big problem, because before I bought this car I survived without such an assitant. But when the camera can't see, the assistant switches off, and a bright, orange warning sign begins to blink in the speedometer. You cannot turn this sign off, there also is no way to get into the tiny chamber to dry the windscreen with a piece of cloth. You can switch off the presense assitant, then the blinking stops - the warning sign stays lit. And if you switch off the engine and start again, the assistant is activated again.

I cannot tell about the traffic sign assistant, but I think it is even more useless.

In brief: I bought my car with all the bells and whistles, because I needed the height adjustable passenger seat and I really wanted the cruise control. My wife loves the backview camera. However, If I would already own a Yaris Hybrid which runs flawlessly and I would not need the extra space, I would seriously consider not to upgrade to a new car. If you want cruise control, you can have it installed for approx. 250 GBP, you basically need the control lever and somebody who can activate the software.

I do not want to question your plan to buy a new car, and a little car, fully loaded with very nice gadgets has a charm on its own. But I would not spend much money on the additional safety features. If safety is a major concern for you, spending some money on a safety driving training may be a better option.


Best regards from Bavaria
Frank

[Donmaico]

7 hours ago, Sampleman said:

If your main reason for exchanging your car are the new safety features, I'd like to put a grain of salt in the discussion.

In Germany the different Yaris trim lines have different names, but I suppose that they basically are the same cars. I have a 2016 Yaris Hybrid Style Comfort. I bought it second hand, so I am not entirely sure which accessories were basic, part of the Style Comfort package or paid extras. I put my assumptions in brackets.

My car is equipped with a lane assist feature (basic), an automatic high beam assistant (basic or Style comfort), safety sense anti collision system (Style), a multimedia car stereo with rear view camera and handsfree phone (Style), Alcantara seats, both front seats with heating and height adjustment (Style), keyless entry, cruise control, foldable arm rest at the drivers seat and power windows on all doors (all Style). The car has a black top and a spoiler at the rear window, it also has privacy glass (tinted rear windows), which may be some design package. It came with 195 tires on 16 inch rims, which probably also belongs to Style. My car lacks only two accessories which definitely were accessories, the satnav system and the additional plate to put into the trunk to get an extra compartment (don't know the English word).

It may be that the Style Comfort line in Germany is exactly what you call Excel in UK. The later 2018 models got a different radio with Google Car Play, a different steering wheel with some sort of joystick button and a new cockpit with an app which detects speed limit signs and shows them in the cockpit.

I am a gadget kid, so I love things like the keyless entry and the cruise control. I enjoy the rear view camera which makes parking really easy. My car has a middle rear mirror which adapts to the brightness, this works flawlessly.

Actually, my main reason to buy such an expensive car (other cars with lower trim levels would cost less) was the front passenger seat with height adjustment. I am a very tall person, so I need every inch I can get.

As for the safety features: I am not so convinced with them. Lane assist works flawlessly, but all it does is beep three times when you cross a line on the road with indicators off. Well, a decent life seems imagineable without that thing, in most cases I switch it off. The high beam assist first worked remarkably well, but some days ago it worked that bad in the dark that I had to deactivate it. The problem: If the assistant is on and thinks it is not dark enough for high beam, you cannot override it. The most complex safety assitant probably is this presense thing, which detects objects you may collide with. It has a design flaw: It relies on a camera located in a box behind the middle rear mirror. This box is glued to the windscreen, so the camera sits in a small chamber and looks through the screen. When it is cold and wet, this chamber can get foggy, and then the assistant won't work. This would not be such a big problem, because before I bought this car I survived without such an assitant. But when the camera can't see, the assistant switches off, and a bright, orange warning sign begins to blink in the speedometer. You cannot turn this sign off, there also is no way to get into the tiny chamber to dry the windscreen with a piece of cloth. You can switch off the presense assitant, then the blinking stops - the warning sign stays lit. And if you switch off the engine and start again, the assistant is activated again.

I cannot tell about the traffic sign assistant, but I think it is even more useless.

In brief: I bought my car with all the bells and whistles, because I needed the height adjustable passenger seat and I really wanted the cruise control. My wife loves the backview camera. However, If I would already own a Yaris Hybrid which runs flawlessly and I would not need the extra space, I would seriously consider not to upgrade to a new car. If you want cruise control, you can have it installed for approx. 250 GBP, you basically need the control lever and somebody who can activate the software.

I do not want to question your plan to buy a new car, and a little car, fully loaded with very nice gadgets has a charm on its own. But I would not spend much money on the additional safety features. If safety is a major concern for you, spending some money on a safety driving training may be a better option.


Best regards from Bavaria
Frank

that is an interesting comment and i thank you for it Frank .It's always useful to know people's individual experiences with a particular car and its technological features,. I don't consider myself a bad driver but was looking at these safety features as a kind of insurance in case I have lapse in concentration. Having said that electronics do fail sometimes and when they do are expensive to rectify and the thought of that may dissuade me . I very rarely use cruise control, if only because our roads are far too congested where i live and I rarely venture out far. Yaris are good city cars  but I don't consider them comfortable for long journeys .

My current Yaris was registered in 2014 and has done  less than 30000 miles which is about 48000 Kms.I could keep it and do as has been suggested ie change its tyres and then when the price of electric cars becomes more sensible, opt for one of those . I guess the thought of a newer car also has a certain appeal and I have also looked at alternatives such as the Honda Jazz which makes much better use of its internal space

[snowBALLs]

Frank wrote a very good post of his experiences. I think it's probably better to keep your existing good car and save the money for future use. 

You are correct a yaris is not good if one do regular long journeys. City drive and occasional long trips are perfect. 

As for tyres size u can go 185/60/15 and no need to inform insurance as that is in the handbook for alternative size. Although 195 would be better. 

[HughA]

Be careful with tyre sizes.  Although the handbook lists 185/60/15 tyres as an alternative they should be fitted on 15x5.5J rims rather that the standard 15x5J wheels. See section 9-1 of the manual.

[snowBALLs]

20 minutes ago, HughA said:

Be careful with tyre sizes.  Although the handbook lists 185/60/15 tyres as an alternative they should be fitted on 15x5.5J rims rather that the standard 15x5J wheels. See section 9-1 of the manual.

The only thing that I know it does is Speedo reading change a little. Not going to be dangerous, it will be absolutely fine. 

[HughA]

May not be dangerous but is not as specified by Toyota, so you should notify your insurer.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Insurance companies aren't interested in what tyre sizes are contained within the owner's manual.

What matters to them is any change to standard spec.

So if one specification of a vehicle has, for example, 175/60/15's as standard, that is the tyre size they would expect to see on a vehicle when assessing any claim, and they would want to know about any change (whether or not they charge extra premium).  For example most policies would include a statement such as "Hasn't been changed from standard specification".

[Ain ul haq]

Upgrading from Yaris i would consider going towards, Prius C aka Toyota Aqua where I live. I personally owned both Yaris Hatch and Aqua and imo Aqua is way more stable and comfortable. My travel times are huge and highway speeds reaching 130 - 150 kms/h and Aqua some how managed to coupe up with others quite well in Dubai's Hot weather. If fuel average is not an issue you may go for Camrey, Those cars are bulletproof!

[HughA]

OP lives in UK so Prius C/Aqua is not available.