2019 Yaris

[Stevie J]

I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on this subject, as I said, its for each owner to weigh up the pros and cons of the Hybrid system, and just as it has many fans, some people will always be sceptical. My mother and myself are both old and quite set in our ways, I've been driving petrol engined cars since 1990, and my mother since 1981, and I guess when a major change to the way a car works comes along, we are naturally worried about certain aspects and longer term reliability. I generally keep cars till they reach end of life, usually around 17 years old, and whilst my last 2 Yaris's have both been that age when they left my ownership, I would be much more worried about a Yaris Hybrid once its over 10 years old. I am just sad that Toyota no longer offer a standard petrol Yaris with a manual gearbox and clutch, so my mother got her 2019 manual petrol Yaris hoping it will last her out as she simply doesnt want to move over to a Hybrid with a CVT auto gearbox - she's never driven an auto in all her 41 years on the road. We'll just be happy to stick to our petrol models, and we've been a Toyota family now since 2004. 

[Jimota]

Leaving the Battery issue aside, I had the same concerns about automatic gearboxes up until about 15 years ago.  On a visit to Australia I could only hire a car with an automatic box as all the British tourists got in before me and rented all the manual models.  It was a Holden car but I can’t remember which model.  Initially, I found it quite unusual to drive but within a few days it really was a relaxing experience.  Since then all my cars have been  automatics, mainly DSG boxes and now the ECVT system.  I can honestly say that the modern day automatic gearboxes are far more advanced that the Holden model that I first drove all those years ago and I don’t think I would ever go back to a manual gearbox.  My wife and I are in our late 60s and she has the same opinion as me about automatic boxes, so there should be no fear or trepidation about making a changeover.  Anyway, you and your mother are still driving great cars and if your happy with them then there is no neeed to change.

[Mojo1010]

My second car was a corolla 1.6GLS auto for 5 years no issue, after 3 years of manual for a first car. Since then bmw auto, Yaris MK3 hybrid auto and now MK4 hybrid auto. There were periods in between I had manuals for work purposes. Never want to drive a manual car again. 

Yaris MK4 hybrid is my favourite small car to date. It does most things well for such a compact car, fuel economy, power, handling and reliability, doesn't get matched elsewhere in other marquees.

[MikeSh]

We've had exclusively automatics for 40 years now, and I had a couple before that. Just as with batteries, once the car gets past a decade or so the chance of an expensive failure increases and at that age the cost of repairing an a/t would likely be more than the car's value.

I view the HSD system the same, though I expect it will be more reliable than other 'automatics'. That said, reliability of all these drivetrains has increased substantially since I started. If I keep a car beyond 10 years old then I accept the risk (though it's been a long time since I've done that).

[Cyker]

Bucking the trend, I've never liked driving automatics - I've tried a few different types, but none of them could get me off the line as fast and responsively as a manual, which is something I have to do often at very busy roundabouts and junctions during rush-hour, otherwise I'd be waiting there all day! Double and single clutch types were the absolute worst for that, esp. if I had to be waiting a significant period before a gap suddenly appeared. If the car had a sport mode, that sometimes helped, but not always.

The Toyota hybrid system and EVs are the only 'automatics' that I've found to be exceptions to this.

Other hybrid systems, not so much; I remember driving a Golf hybrid ages ago, and sometimes it would move off instantly and others it would have that delay, and that lack of consistency made it hard to trust the car like I could with manuals and my Mk4.

I've also heard lots of horror stories of autobox reliability and repair costs, esp. DSGs, although they seem to be a lot more reliable now (If you ever get one, avoid the dry clutch ones at all costs!! The wet clutch types are far more reliable!).

The Toyota hybrid system is an except to this too, partly because it's a much simpler system, but it's also gotten a long track record of reliability so I'm not so worried about it.