Fit and finish

[cruiserOAP]

Had my Yaris Cross a couple of weeks now. Initial observations are that the workings of the hybrid system are pretty impressive - average 83 mpg in a car with a not particularly aerodynamic body. However, I am surprised, bearing in mind the good reliability record, (apart from those 12v Battery issues, which will impact on the record), that the build quality of the bodywork is so sloppy. One of the rear doors is out of alignment vertically and horizontally, with varying panel gaps around the door. The black plastic mouldings on the hatch look cheap and are also out of line. I looked at three other Crosses at the dealer and two of them had the same N/S rear door misaligned. Have they got one guy with a hangover  fitting N/S rear doors? Also, the first time I opened the fuel filler I was shocked at the cheap flimsy construction of the flap. I have a biscuit tin with a better made lid. The other thing I've noticed, so far, is the silver paintwork, which looks thin and flat, compared to my Seat in the same shade, which has a deep gloss the Yaris can't match.

I hope these issues are not indicative of future build quality issues with these French built cars.

On a design rather than quality point, why did they not angle the touchscreen towards the driver? Is this a L/H - R/H drive dashboard compromise?  The angle away from the drivers line of sight makes it harder to reach, and read, especially when it is smudged.

[cruiserOAP]

1 minute ago, cruiserOAP said:

Had my Yaris Cross a couple of weeks now. Initial observations are that the workings of the hybrid system are pretty impressive - average 83 mpg in a car with a not particularly aerodynamic body. However, I am surprised, bearing in mind the good reliability record, (apart from those 12v battery issues, which will impact on the record), that the build quality of the bodywork is so sloppy. One of the rear doors is out of alignment vertically and horizontally, with varying panel gaps around the door. The black plastic mouldings on the hatch look cheap and are also out of line. I looked at three other Crosses at the dealer and two of them had the same N/S rear door misaligned. Have they got one guy with a hangover  fitting N/S rear doors? Also, the first time I opened the fuel filler I was shocked at the cheap flimsy construction of the flap. I have a biscuit tin with a better made lid. The other thing I've noticed, so far, is the silver paintwork, which looks thin and flat, compared to my Seat in the same shade, which has a deep gloss the Yaris can't match.

I hope these issues are not indicative of future build quality issues with these French built cars.

On a design rather than quality point, why did they not angle the touchscreen towards the driver? Is this a L/H - R/H drive dashboard compromise?  The angle away from the drivers line of sight makes it harder to reach, and read, especially when it is smudged.

Also, what's going on with the luggage cover? Is it a joke? And the boot floor cover is so flimsy it feels like it will break in half.

[Cyker]

Half-donkey'd build quality does seem to be a stigma the french factory can't shake, but be glad it isn't a Mk2 - The panel gaps on that thing were hilarious  

There are a lot of minor things with them that marr what would otherwise be a perfect car, but you have to remember these are Yarisisisueies, i.e. econo-boxes, so the flimsy materials, thin metal etc. just comes with the territory. It's pretty much par for them since the Mk1; The plastics are chosen for resiliance rather than feel, the metals thinned to reduce weight and material cost etc.

You can tell the lions share of the build cost has gone into the drivetrain, while almost everything else has been skimped on, but for me that's the way I'd want it rather than the other way around! (Which is more french car territory  )

 

[CruxisCore]

Yeah, I mean it is literally the 2nd cheapest family of models the brand has. Given, still a decent bit more expensive than regular Yaris, but that's likely due to other things.

The luggage cover is actually somewhat genius. It seems hilariously bad, but at the same time it's the only luggage cover you dont go "what in the world am i suppose to do with this now that I had to take it off?". You can literally fold in four and stash away anywhere and when you need it again it springs back into shape like it was never folded to begin with. It does it's job in covering the luggage from view but isnt in the way when you need to take it off.

The floor really isnt awe inspiring either, but again, likely just cost cutting and also to keep it somewhat light as it was meant to be adjusted by the user. But yeah, it also crossed my mind whether it will snap in half when I put a some heavy music equipment back there 😄

My dad told me a good joke about the paint and metal on Japanese cars once: "The japanese will take a sheet of metal, paint it both sides, then take the sheet of metal away" 

[cruiserOAP]

2 minutes ago, CruxisCore said:

Yeah, I mean it is literally the 2nd cheapest family of models the brand has. Given, still a decent bit more expensive than regular Yaris, but that's likely due to other things.

The luggage cover is actually somewhat genius. It seems hilariously bad, but at the same time it's the only luggage cover you dont go "what in the world am i suppose to do with this now that I had to take it off?". You can literally fold in four and stash away anywhere and when you need it again it springs back into shape like it was never folded to begin with. It does it's job in covering the luggage from view but isnt in the way when you need to take it off.

The floor really isnt awe inspiring either, but again, likely just cost cutting and also to keep it somewhat light as it was meant to be adjusted by the user. But yeah, it also crossed my mind whether it will snap in half when I put a some heavy music equipment back there 😄

I tried the boot floor in the higher position, and it fits. It's not strong enough to use as the split level board, but I'm thinking that I could use it as a template for a heavier carpeted board which could be used in either position.

[tfc]

Even the Corolla  is flimsy, I think it's to keep the weight down, when I wash my car I have to remember not to press hard on the roof and bonnet just incase I put a dent in them. What you can see of the interior looks fine but when you open the boot it's terrible, thin boot floor and them 2 cheap  plastic bits on either side of the floor to hold it in place.

[Hybrid21]

Coming from Landrovers and Volvo I really notice the difference in quality of materials used in my RAV4.

Thing is they are not cheap cars to buy 🙂

[TonyHSD]

Fully agreed with all comments above, all correct and true. Weights savings are absolutely great for your fuel consumption, although they might be greater to the manufacturer as cost savings and increased profits. 
There are YouTube videos how these cars are built in factory and if you pay attention to the average age of the technicians you may answer your question about fit and finish. 
Now about the screen angle. It is made on purpose and counterintuitive but the reason why it’s angled opposite direction is to prevent a sun glare. 
For the boot covers, what can I say, I have no YX but in the dealer when I was seen the car I put my hand onto the boot cover and nearly broke it., what a joke I thought, what would it happen if I go Ikea?! And the parcel shelf it’s actually more flimsy than my sun blinds in my Auris. Interior materials definitely on the cheaper and more environmental side, recycled plastics everywhere. Except top of dashboard anything else feels like touching an old HP printer, but you know it’s a Yaris , small car and Toyota, we can’t really ask for more. If you look around others same size they will be very similar and many even worse. 👍

[Guest]

Too much cheese and wine before shift would be my guess as the reason?

[davidif]

Perhaps the newly announced Lexus version will address some of these issues? (no doubt at a substantial cost penalty!)

 

[Bernard Foy]

2 hours ago, olonas said:

Too much cheese and wine before shift would be my guess as the reason?

Don’t think that the Japanese are much into wine drinking, but another much stronger liquid 🤣😂.

[CruxisCore]

2 hours ago, Bernard Foy said:

Don’t think that the Japanese are much into wine drinking, but another much stronger liquid 🤣😂.

I think he referenced the car being made in France for the most parts, where cheese and wine are a bigger thing than sake 😄

[RonYarisX]

Have to agree with those comments, apart from the luggage cover. It's material so it's meant to be flimsy. I like the design, it'll flex with any tall luggage underneath and it easily stores away if you find you need to remove it. On the other hand, if it were one of those hardboard carpeted covers then it'd probably break, just like most of them do. Most are just awful - remove / fit them a few times and hinge mechanism breaks because it's just cheap plastic glued to hardboard. I see the YarisX solution a plus rather than a negative.

Doors out of alignment? Must be careful what I say on a Toyota Yaris forum, but I can't think of many cheaper feeling rear doors than those on the YarisX. Unless they're made out of titanium, their strength has to be questionable. They feel as if they're made out of tin. They're probably aligned perfectly in the factory but open/close them a few times and...  well that's the result.

Said it many times before but build quality makes it feel more of a £15k rather than 30k car. Hate to say this but even Dacia does it better.

[Rhymes with Paris]

Arrrggh , the D word ,how very dare you?

Has the metal really got thinner then?

My old Yaris feels very solid, but AFAIK weighs less than a tonne.

[Cyker]

I forget if yours is 3-door or 5-door T-Sport; If it's 3-door those were super solid doors, albeit very long (I'd always scrape the corner of my 3dr Mk1's door if I opened it too wide on a cambered road!), but if it's a 5-door, then you'll understand what I mean when I say all the doors are like the rear doors on a 5-door Mk1  

They are super tinny and do not make a confidence-inspiring sound if you tap them. They also flex slightly alarmingly you press them.

This is one of the reasons german cars tend to inspire more confidence, as they always have big heavy doors with thick unyielding metal and make a satisfying CLUNK when they close instead of a detuned steel drum  

If it wasn't for the structural bars inside the doors I'd be a lot more afraid of side-impacts, because the skin must be razor thin!

I'm slightly surprised they haven't started making panels out of plastic like a Smart car  

Thankfully I'm not too worried about things, but this is the sort of thing that puts off my Auris-owning colleague (Who is, at heart, very much a german car person!)

[cruiserOAP]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

I forget if yours is 3-door or 5-door T-Sport; If it's 3-door those were super solid doors, albeit very long (I'd always scrape the corner of my 3dr Mk1's door if I opened it too wide on a cambered road!), but if it's a 5-door, then you'll understand what I mean when I say all the doors are like the rear doors on a 5-door Mk1  

They are super tinny and do not make a confidence-inspiring sound if you tap them. They also flex slightly alarmingly you press them.

This is one of the reasons german cars tend to inspire more confidence, as they always have big heavy doors with thick unyielding metal and make a satisfying CLUNK when they close instead of a detuned steel drum  

If it wasn't for the structural bars inside the doors I'd be a lot more afraid of side-impacts, because the skin must be razor thin!

I'm slightly surprised they haven't started making panels out of plastic like a Smart car  

Thankfully I'm not too worried about things, but this is the sort of thing that puts off my Auris-owning colleague (Who is, at heart, very much a german car person!)

I'm told by a bodyshop man that many cars nowadays have panels so thin that you can cut them with a pair of scissors. On the plus side (if you can call it that) you can push out dents with a finger. I had a Volvo Amazon in the 70s, and the chrome rear bumper was such heavy gauge, and the mountings so strong, that the official tow ball mounting method was to drill and bolt it directly to the bumper! I dropped a hammer on to the front wing and it bounced off!

Of course, the important thing is the strength of the body Shell as a whole, with effective crumple zones and strengthening in the right places for crash safety, and those bendy bonnet panels are deliberate to reduce pedestrian injuries.

[cruiserOAP]

3 hours ago, RonYarisX said:

Have to agree with those comments, apart from the luggage cover. It's material so it's meant to be flimsy. I like the design, it'll flex with any tall luggage underneath and it easily stores away if you find you need to remove it. On the other hand, if it were one of those hardboard carpeted covers then it'd probably break, just like most of them do. Most are just awful - remove / fit them a few times and hinge mechanism breaks because it's just cheap plastic glued to hardboard. I see the YarisX solution a plus rather than a negative.

Doors out of alignment? Must be careful what I say on a Toyota Yaris forum, but I can't think of many cheaper feeling rear doors than those on the YarisX. Unless they're made out of titanium, their strength has to be questionable. They feel as if they're made out of tin. They're probably aligned perfectly in the factory but open/close them a few times and...  well that's the result.

Said it many times before but build quality makes it feel more of a £15k rather than 30k car. Hate to say this but even Dacia does it better.

On the subject of the misaligned rear door, I have now emailed the dealer 3 times to ask when the door will be looked at, and they have ignored me. I will have to contact Toyota direct. If they just refer me back to the dealer, I will have to ask Which legal services to get a response from the dealer or Toyota. I'm beginning to wish I'd kept the Seat. I was seduced by the apparent reliability of the brand, assuming that this meant good build quality, but that's clearly not the case. That nasty sub-biscuit tin fuel filler flap depresses me every time I see it. 

[Big_D]

On 6/7/2023 at 8:02 PM, CruxisCore said:

My dad told me a good joke about the paint and metal on Japanese cars once: "The japanese will take a sheet of metal, paint it both sides, then take the sheet of metal away"

I remember, years ago, when my dad had a 1947 Pontiac. There was a small chip in the paint and you could see the bare metal underneath. The point of the story is that the paint on this car was thicker than the metal used on cars today. This was original paint too. The car had never been in an accident or resprayed.

[Gray86]

1 hour ago, cruiserOAP said:

On the subject of the misaligned rear door, I have now emailed the dealer 3 times to ask when the door will be looked at, and they have ignored me. I will have to contact Toyota direct. If they just refer me back to the dealer, I will have to ask Which legal services to get a response from the dealer or Toyota. I'm beginning to wish I'd kept the Seat. I was seduced by the apparent reliability of the brand, assuming that this meant good build quality, but that's clearly not the case. That nasty sub-biscuit tin fuel filler flap depresses me every time I see it. 

You would be better either dropping into the dealership or calling, that way you can deal with servicing department- assuming in the first instance you are emailing your salesman? 

[dannyboy413]

@cruiserOAP

You could always make a DIY placard on the lines of "if you buy a car here, expect to be ignored if you have a problem". Then go to the dealer and ask if they will sort your problem out, like now, or should you sit on the pavement outside with your sign. 😁

I have had my Yaris Cross for about five weeks and, after reading your initial post, I went out and checked the car, (having initially checked it at the dealers). I may be lucky, but can not see anything out of alignment. However, I agree with the comments about the metal being thin. If the window is down when I close the door, it does sound rather 'tinny', although if the window is closed, it sounds quite 'clunky'. 

[Rhymes with Paris]

3 hours ago, Cyker said:

I forget if yours is 3-door or 5-door T-Sport; If it's 3-door those were super solid doors, albeit very long (I'd always scrape the corner of my 3dr Mk1's door if I opened it too wide on a cambered road!), but if it's a 5-door, then you'll understand what I mean when I say all the doors are like the rear doors on a 5-door Mk1  

They are super tinny and do not make a confidence-inspiring sound if you tap them. They also flex slightly alarmingly you press them.

This is one of the reasons german cars tend to inspire more confidence, as they always have big heavy doors with thick unyielding metal and make a satisfying CLUNK when they close instead of a detuned steel drum  

If it wasn't for the structural bars inside the doors I'd be a lot more afraid of side-impacts, because the skin must be razor thin!

I'm slightly surprised they haven't started making panels out of plastic like a Smart car  

Thankfully I'm not too worried about things, but this is the sort of thing that puts off my Auris-owning colleague (Who is, at heart, very much a german car person!)

It's a 5 door Cyker.

But what seems solid to me may be very different from what seems solid to others, depending on what you have.

Remember, I had a Citroen AX brand new some years ago.

The pressing factory at that time produced bonnets for AXs and 10 metre rolls of bacofoil, it famously mixed them up from time to time.

It also had a plastic tailgate attached to the rear window that made one very hesitant to shut the tailgate, with visions of shattered glass and a mess of wonky struts and shards of plastic everywhere.

But it stood 80,000 miles of hard work use before I sold it.

Dunno why, but the Tsport just feels solid to me.

 

[Cyker]

The Mk1's are generally pretty solid, it was just the rear doors on my Mk1 D4D that always made me laugh - The sound they made when I shut them was so tinny  

Maybe it's different on the T-Sport, but on the normal Mk1 the front doors had the solidity while the rear ones felt like they were made of tinfoil 

 

[bathtub tom]

1 hour ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

Remember, I had a Citroen AX brand new some years ago.

I went to look at one of them, many years ago. I was intending to use it as an off-road car for trials and autotests. It had a sunroof and as I'm six foot, I barely fitted under it. I'd have got concussion over the bumps!

[Rhymes with Paris]

Was the mk1 D4D made in Japan or France?

My friend's french built Yaris that finished up crashed did feel a bit tinny to ride in.

But that is only subjective from my point of view.

[FROSTYBALLS]

4 hours ago, cruiserOAP said:

On the subject of the misaligned rear door, I have now emailed the dealer 3 times to ask when the door will be looked at, and they have ignored me.

Try actually speaking to them - in the time it has taken to e-mail you can probably have dealt with the issue in physical speech.