Why so Tinny!!

[Pumatron]

So, I’ve had the Yaris for nearly a month, now the novelty has worn off I can see a few annoyances showing through. 
I’m not going to bang on about it, because it is what it is, but so far;

1) The doors, my goodness what a tinny sounding car, I’ve owned over 40 cars in 30 years of car ownership, and this is by far the worst for sounding, well, Cheap!!

2) Steering wheel height, the steering wheel sits too low for me, even with the seat as far down as possible, I’m just under 6ft but feel like a giant behind the wheel, it’s very “Peugeot 208” and it’s quite uncomfortable after a while.

3) Doors (again), wife, kids, me, all getting tired of shutting a door, to find it hasn’t shut and needs a hard slam to get it shut (which makes it sound even more tinny-see 1 above!)

4) The back window and the rear view mirror, I can barely see out of the back window, it’s so darkly tinted, with sunglasses on I cannot see anything, and is quite dangerous to be honest, really relying on door mirrors a lot, and glad of the blind spot monitoring. 

5) The ride. Well what can I say? If I was 20 years younger I’d be chuffed, but oh my Lord it really is a bone shaker and teeth chatterer! The larger alloy wheel really make a difference in making it very hard on the spine, I know I can swap the wheels out, but I refuse to spend anymore money, so just going to have to live with it.

So, what it has done is made me realise just how far other manufacturers have come! I have a 2021 Vauxhall Corsa e and it really does put the Yaris too shame in many areas, I suspect the Vauxhall won’t be anywhere near as reliable and even perhaps hard wearing in the long term but it is a surprise to be honest.

Thankfully the Yaris is the wife’s car, so I’ll only drive it occasionally.

The Yaris is still a good car, and plenty of positive things about it, but perhaps I was expecting too much from it? 🤔

[BugsyB]

Yes I generally agree with all your comments. However the economy of the car depends on its weight and aerodynamic design. As a point of note I have had paint devils attend to the Yaris now twice this past year to take out two dents. One in the roof, probably a small branch and one in the bonnet. Never needed them for to countless VW's in the previous 12 years. You will have noticed the contours in the roof line. Clearly there to add strength to a very flimsy roof. Dent Devils commented all the modern new small cars seem to be being built with thinner panels to cut down on weight and cost. 

[Cyker]

Yes! I agree with all those points! And you forgot the massive A, B and C pillars and low mirror - The rear 270 degrees visibility is the worst of any car I've ever been in (Aside from a transit van  ) and the A-pillars hide on-coming cars at the exact angle they come at you on roundabouts!

The door tinniness is very much a throwback to the Mk1 Yaris, which had the most hilariously tinny back doors  

And I can confirm the ride comfort on the pothole ridden hellscape I regularly drive on was improved massively going from 17" rims to 15" rims, as well as a small bump in mpg (I opted for steel ones so I don't care if I kerb them and also the insurance companies couldn't jack up the premium!  )

However the Mk4 is such a perfect car for me I don't care! It's just so nice to drive and is even punchier than even my old Mk1 D4D, and despite driving like I stole it most of the time I'm still getting a tank average of 72-75. When I wasn't and was just driving 'normally' I was getting into the low 80's last summer! I can't think of any petrol-powered car that could do that. I just filled it up in preparation for the Enfield Car Pageant tomorrow - Done about 350 miles, only got in 22 litres!

And the handling is sooo much better than any other Yaris before it; I'd say it even rivals the Fiesta, which traditionally is one of the best handling cars at this level.

My one even has a HUD! I can't even think of any car in this segment that can have a proper collimated windscreen-displayed HUD! And the adaptive cruise control and auto-steer has made the long boring slog up the M1 far less unpleasant.

It definitely has a lot of flaws, but what it does well it does really really well.

[anchorman]

I always think that opening a conversation with the word so is a continuation of a previous conversation - maybe I missed that.   

I’m a mechanic by trade and I’ve worked on both brands. If you’re happy running a Corsa, you run it.  I’ll stick with Toyota.   The weight of the doors doesn’t effect their functionality and they need slightly more pressure to shut them because they form a good seal.  I occasionally give mine a second shut but I would say slamming them is completely over the top.  I’m just under six feet tall and I have the steering wheel it the bottom.  Pushing it to the top feels very unnatural to me so that’s a personal thing. Mines got tinted windows and they are fine even with sunglasses.  You can get various levels of tint so no need to drive dangerously.  I also find the ride perfect and I’m 64 next.   I’ve come out of a 2020 Lexus NX and I’m very impressed with this Yaris.  It’s not quite big enough so I’ve ordered a Yaris Cross.  I won’t even consider owning a Vauxhall but that’s me long experience of working on cars, if somebody is happy with theirs that’s fine and I can’t be bothered joining a Vauxhall forum to tell them all the  many reasons why I wouldn’t want one.  My Yaris is a basic one and I do have a couple of gripes.  I wish the lane departure system didn’t default to on and the interior light is rather pathetic.   I’ll sort the latter out if it’s as bad in the Cross when it comes.  

[Pumatron]

41 minutes ago, anchorman said:

I always think that opening a conversation with the word so is a continuation of a previous conversation - maybe I missed that.   
 

I’m a mechanic by trade and I’ve worked on both brands. If you’re happy running a Corsa, you run it.  I’ll stick with Toyota.   The weight of the doors doesn’t effect their functionality and they need slightly more pressure to shut them because they form a good seal.  I occasionally give mine a second shut but I would say slamming them is completely over the top.  I’m just under six feet tall and I have the steering wheel it the bottom.  Pushing it to the top feels very unnatural to me so that’s a personal thing. Mines got tinted windows and they are fine even with sunglasses.  You can get various levels of tint so no need to drive dangerously.  I also find the ride perfect and I’m 64 next.   I’ve come out of a 2020 Lexus NX and I’m very impressed with this Yaris.  It’s not quite big enough so I’ve ordered a Yaris Cross.  I won’t even consider owning a Vauxhall but that’s me long experience of working on cars, if somebody is happy with theirs that’s fine and I can’t be bothered joining a Vauxhall forum to tell them all the  many reasons why I wouldn’t want one.  My Yaris is a basic one and I do have a couple of gripes.  I wish the lane departure system didn’t default to on and the interior light is rather pathetic.   I’ll sort the latter out if it’s as bad in the Cross when it comes.  

Horses for courses, we are all different…..oh, and I was a master technician/workshop controller for a main dealer for 13 years, I’ve hung my spanner’s up now though 😉.

[anchorman]

7 hours ago, Pumatron said:

Horses for courses, we are all different…..oh, and I was a master technician/workshop controller for a main dealer for 13 years, I’ve hung my spanner’s up now though 😉.

I don’t do much mechanicing other than my daughters cars.  I don’t know what makes somebody a technician or a master technician in these days of fast track NVQs other than it looks good to customers.  That doesn’t mean I’m trivialising your qualifications, I haven’t got a clue what they are.  I did a City and Guilds based apprenticeship and went on to study membership of the Institute of the Motor Industry and Member of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers.   I carried on studying to Level 5 HNC.  To complete 29 years in the motor industry, I was European Technical Sales Manager for a major component manufacturer so finished my days in Research and Development at most of the European vehicle manufacturers.  I’ve got the letters MIMI, AIRTE and LAE behind my name if I choose to use them but I simply summarise all that by calling myself what it all boils down to - I’m a mechanic by trade.   These days I do something completely different - the envy of virtually all males and many females at some stage of their lives.  

I’ve seen European manufacturers try to emulate Toyota but they can’t.  Whether it’s cameras, TVs or cars, the Japanese are the masters of mass production.  I personally am not at all impressed by any of the premium German brands.  No doubt they are very stylish but often a ticking bomb liability so accepting these things exist and people are drawn in by them I’m not even tempted to swap my Yaris for one of those either.  The only thing that irks me about running new cars is paying a dealer to have his NVQ semi skilled mechanic service my car because for sure, any skilled ones won’t be changing oil. Cars are mostly reliable but it’s when they get a bit of age and mileage under their belt that the cracks begin to show and it would be wrong to say Toyota have never had any problems but they’re on a different scale these days to most of the rest.  Mazda are a close second and you can probably rank the rest by something vaguely related to the JD Power survey.

[Cyker]

It's all about attention to detail - Toyota tend to spend a bit more time with the design and packaging to make working on that car just a bit easier; Case in point on my Mk1 Yaris there was a full undertray covering bottom of the engine, but they put in a little flap just right for getting the oil filter out!

With any other manufacturer you'd have to remove a shedload of bolts or clips and remove the whole undertray to get at it!

And they usually put things you need to access for maintenance near the top of the engine so it's easy to get to (Although they dropped the ball a bit in the Mk2 with the 1NR-FE, but I strongly suspect that engine was shoe-horned into that car for emissions reasons and was never designed to, as it's so much more awkward compared to all their other cars!) 

Working on e.g. a German car, esp. newer ones, vs Toyotas, it's a night and day difference with how much of a PITA it is to get to some parts, esp. things that are maintenance things, but not regular maintenance things like ARB bushes and belts.

Anecdotally one of the worst was Subaru - The AWD system meant almost any work needed the engine to come out  

[Guest]

Has the latest version's "solidity" gone down hill from the early Mk 3?

I haven't anything resembling Lewis's experience with mine. Can't comment on the rear window though, I haven't got "gangster glass".

All four doors close with a good reassuring thud without the need to slam them. The tailgate is "tinny" and does require a hard close for it to latch.

I too am 6ft and although I need the seat as far back as adjustment allows and it adjusted up. The steering wheel adjustment is spot on. Although I never drive with only one hand at 12 0'clock which seems to be the trendy thing now!

In spite of a couple of component quality issues my car appars to be far better in perceived quality. The interior is as "tight" as new and the ride is really comfortable. The only rattle in mine was from the diagnostic socket - a bit of foam fixed that.

Have they concentrated on toys and bling now rather than build a solid car?

Does the computer now need telling there's a new Battery installed like others marques mentioned?

[Cyker]

The car is solid where it matters - It's a bit like the Mk1 vs the Mk2 all over again - The Mk1 was a far better built car than the Mk2 (IMHO), but the Mk2 felt more solid; The solid door 'thunk' of the Mk2 is much more reassuring than the will-shut-if-faced-with-a-light-breeze doors of the Mk1.

The Mk4 is actually slightly lighter than the Mk3 too, despite having a spare wheel and being much structurally stiffer, so there has definitely been some non-structural weight savings.

[Guest]

On the tinny matter, a friends mum has a 2018 Ford Fiesta with the eco boost engine. It's a high spec 3 door thing (sunroof, CarPlay, heated seats and steering wheel and ambient lights).  Other than getting around 40 something MPG (appalling for a car this size imo), it's a nice car. 

Shutting the passenger door is tinny as hell. Literally sounds like smacking a radiator but more hollow. The drivers door is even worse. I don't know if it's the long big empty doors or the massive space inside the 3-door sidewalls being really empty and echoing. 

I don't remember the former Fiesta, or Corsa's in our family over the years having this kind of tinny effect. My old Fiat Panda (well, 2017) was far more solid in terms of shutting doors and that was about as small and cheap as I thought new cars came. 

[flash22]

6x6 or 12x12 piece of sound deadening in the doors cuts the horrid tinniness and resonance, it's all to do with weight saving and emissions, the last few years QC has dropped as they are trying to push out cars faster across many marques i dont think the Mk4 will not age well 10-15 years is the max life cycle before they become BER

[Max_Headroom]

 

Quote

3) Doors (again), wife, kids, me, all getting tired of shutting a door, to find it hasn’t shut and needs a hard slam to get it shut (which makes it sound even more tinny-see 1 above!)

The doors problem as said above its caused by good seals simply drop the window a few millimetres as you go to close the door problem solved.

Quote

4) The back window and the rear view mirror, I can barely see out of the back window, it’s so darkly tinted, with sunglasses on I cannot see anything, and is quite dangerous to be honest, really relying on door mirrors a lot, and glad of the blind spot monitoring. 

Do you not have a reversing camera, that was one of the first things on my shortlist. 

 

As for buying Vauxhall I have owned two Corsas and this guy sums it perfectly the video starts at the Corsa

(also watch the belt in oil video below this)

 

Something else to think about if you are considering moving to another manufacturer (this put me off buying a Fiesta)

 

[Pumatron]

7 hours ago, anchorman said:

I don’t do much mechanicing other than my daughters cars.  I don’t know what makes somebody a technician or a master technician in these days of fast track NVQs other than it looks good to customers.  That doesn’t mean I’m trivialising your qualifications, I haven’t got a clue what they are.  I did a City and Guilds based apprenticeship and went on to study membership of the Institute of the Motor Industry and Member of the Institute of Road Transport Engineers.   I carried on studying to Level 5 HNC.  To complete 29 years in the motor industry, I was European Technical Sales Manager for a major component manufacturer so finished my days in Research and Development at most of the European vehicle manufacturers.  I’ve got the letters MIMI, AIRTE and LAE behind my name if I choose to use them but I simply summarise all that by calling myself what it all boils down to - I’m a mechanic by trade.   These days I do something completely different - the envy of virtually all males and many females at some stage of their lives.  

I’ve seen European manufacturers try to emulate Toyota but they can’t.  Whether it’s cameras, TVs or cars, the Japanese are the masters of mass production.  I personally am not at all impressed by any of the premium German brands.  No doubt they are very stylish but often a ticking bomb liability so accepting these things exist and people are drawn in by them I’m not even tempted to swap my Yaris for one of those either.  The only thing that irks me about running new cars is paying a dealer to have his NVQ semi skilled mechanic service my car because for sure, any skilled ones won’t be changing oil. Cars are mostly reliable but it’s when they get a bit of age and mileage under their belt that the cracks begin to show and it would be wrong to say Toyota have never had any problems but they’re on a different scale these days to most of the rest.  Mazda are a close second and you can probably rank the rest by something vaguely related to the JD Power survey.

Ummm, I only put the post up of a few annoyances with the Yaris, they are just my opinions.

Now it’s boiled up to Top Trumps qualifications and the Vauxhall on my drive was a bad choice???

Yep I’m an old school mechanic, started at 14 years old got just as many real qualifications as you and the letters after my name, and I left it all behind for a much better career.

The Corsa e was to dip my toe into a full EV, it hasn’t been plain sailing for sure, but feels quite well screwed together and behind the trims (I’ve had both cars apart for front and rear dash camera’s) it is certainly on par if not better for build quality, and that was my point.

I worked at a Toyota dealership in the 90’s and remember the Camry, carina, previa, starlets and alike, they were so boring but utterly bullet proof, but pretty much all cars of today are built with costs behind them and the Yaris is no exception I’m afraid. 

As I said it is a good car, just has a few annoyances, but I’m not about to drive down to the dealership and demand my money back because I feel the back windows are too dark or the car is not particularly comfortable. 

Nothing is usually perfect in life, so can we all just accept my opinions are my opinions and just move on?

[Max_Headroom]

42 minutes ago, Pumatron said:

Nothing is usually perfect in life, so can we all just accept my opinions are my opinions and just move on?

Certainly, i wasnt trying to put your choice  down i was trying to help others who may be thinking of buying something like a Corsa.

I am on my second Corsa so a couple of problems i had with the first didn't put me off buying the second but i have had more of the same with the second and will not be buying a third, the guy in the video lists many of the problems i and people i know have had one of the worst being the clutch slave cylinder leaking its inside the gearbox so the box has to come out and if it contaminates the clutch its £800+ to get it fixed and more at VX, this seems to be more of a problem on the Corsa E and its getting to be quite a regular topic on the VX forums.

[FROSTYBALLS]

At the end of the day, if one is going to post opinions on an open forum, you will get discussion from other members who may have different experiences and opinions.

This is what forums are about. 

If one doesn't want discussion, then it is best not to post.