Which? Magazine - Long live the Yaris

[inteli7]

This says it all!!!!!😎

[Graham47]

Conveniently leaving out the fact that, in the new car listing, the Yaris is fourth behind Jazz, Mini Electric, Mini Hatch.

Comment is “Efficient little hybrid that lacks refinement “.

[MikeSh]

So if you are selling your Mk3 for a new car replace it with a Jazz or Mini.

That's one in the eye for the Mk4 fanboys 🤣

[Bernard Foy]

It’s only the opinion of someone. One mans thrash is another mans cash.😂🤪

[AndyN01]

Having been a Which? member for decades it's remarkably accurate across a huge range of products.

[skidlid]

Before we ordered our Yaris we looked the Jazz. It looked to be a better buy on paper despite being more expensive but we walked away. I am 5'9' and average build but I could only just get the drivers seat far enough back to get comfortable. Put a winter coat on and I would be stuffed. But it got worse, the seat adjust handle was in a place where the wife could not use it, she would have been totally stuffed without me there to adjust the seat. And despite the boot capacity figures for the Jazz being way bigger my trust Stanley 3m tape showed there was nothing between them until you consider there is no space for any spare in the Jazz. A win to the Yaris.

As for the Mini being reliable, well ours never let us down but it spend about 6 weeks at the dealers in the 2 1/2 years we had it having bits repeatedly not fixed. It had the engine out 3 times for an oil leak that I told them from the start was the gearbox (the odour from the oil was the give away). They finally agreed it was the gearbox the week we traded it in (complete with free oil leak).

We know quite a few people with the Mk 3 and Mk 4 Yaris and all are delighted. We only know 2 people with a mini (the 5 door one) and they seem happy enough (which is more than we were).

[Mojo1010]

Can understand the more mature drivers chooses the jazz. Mini may be more refined than both but it's not a hybrid and not as reliable. 

Fanboys of MK4 for a reason, the best small hybrid car in the world. 

[SinglePointSafety]

We test-drove the Jazz but for us the lack of a height-adjustable passenger seat was a total dealbreaker. Mrs SPS isn't that tall, and the low position of the passenger seat made her feel she had a poor view out and was 'sat down low' in the car

In contrast, our Yaris X Excel has height adjustment for both driver and passenger, so passenger seat is set to max height resulting in (according to Mrs) a really nice view

[Cyker]

I was considering the Jazz too - It has some pluses over the Yaris, mainly the interior is much more 'Yarisy', in that it has better storage and rear seat flexibility.

However, it still feels and drives like every Jazz from the last decade, whereas you can feel the major chassis improvements in the Yaris Mk4 as soon as you start driving it, esp. if you're coming from an older model.

I never understood why the modern Minis were so popular; The rear seats and boot are a joke - Even the Aygo feels more spacious - and the people I knew who owned them just had a constant stream of minor issues, e.g. bearings, bushes, noisy steering racks, suspensions arms etc.. I guess there are just a lot of form-over-function car buyers out there!

 

[Rhymes with Paris]

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

1 hour ago, Cyker said:

I guess there are just a lot of form-over-function car buyers out there!

 

 

There are indeed, like I'm sure we all do, I see a lot of fix-it-again-tommorow 500s in pastel colours.

Very pretty to some eyes maybe, but it's still a Fiat Panda in a tutu.

Initially, I wasn't too struck on the outside body design of my Tsport at the front, but it's grown on me.

I suppose I was comparing the front end with the very sharp looking Colt front end with the small headlights half shrouded by the bonnet, emulating the Lancer, but with a backside that was best avoided.

Very interested in skidlid's post about the seat adjustment on the Jazz,if he can't fit in easily at 5'9" then I certainly won't at a bit taller,😕 not by much, since according to the hospital, I have now shrunk from 6' to 5'10".

I was seriously thinking about a Jazz if the Tsport does not outlast my driving career.

[MikeSh]

24 minutes ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

Very interested in skidlid's post about the seat adjustment on the Jazz,if he can't fit in easily at 5'9" then I certainly won't at a bit taller

He may have longer legs than you or like the pedals and/or wheel further away.

And there may be differences between trims and models. Don't assume ...

[Cyker]

It's a bit surprising they found the new Jazz less spacious than the new Yaris - I remember it being the other way round! The Jazz definitely has a less obstructed view than the new Yaris.

I was surprised that my Mk4 has seat height adjustment, not only on the driver's side, which all Yarisusueseisuees have even from the Mk1, but also on the passenger's! Not very common in cars of this size.

It's that sort of thing I've always liked about the Yaris - It often has little things that you normally only see on much more expensive or higher end cars. I still find it funny mine has a HUD  

 

[Rhymes with Paris]

Aye, I was thinking of the ex top spec if I do get one.

So maybe more adjustments available.

One of my friendly neighbours over the road has a newish Jazz, not sure of spec, maybe he will let me sit in the driver's seat if I tidy myself up a bit.

I think I have some clean two stripe Adidas somewhere, and new white socks to tuck them in to.

[Mojo1010]

2 hours ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

I think I have some clean two stripe Adidas somewhere, and new white socks to tuck them in to.

Use a felt tip to draw the 3rd stripe.

[MikeSh]

6 hours ago, Cyker said:

It's that sort of thing I've always liked about the Yaris - It often has little things that you normally only see on much more expensive or higher end cars.

And yet of all the cars I've had in the last decade or two with cruise control my MK3 is the only one to not have a limiter function. It's a shortcoming that never even occurred to me, and if I'd known before buying it might have changed my mind.

It's the one thing that really tees me off about the car and if I ever replace I will certainly look at other options than Toyota on principle (especially as there is a Honda dealer about 15 mins walk from home).

[Stopeter44]

14 hours ago, Rhymes with Paris said:

There are indeed, like I'm sure we all do, I see a lot of fix-it-again-tommorow 500s in pastel colours.

Very pretty to some eyes maybe, but it's still a Fiat Panda in a tutu.

Nowt wrong with a Fiat Panda from a design POV. One of the most usefully designed cars out there, which is definitely not the case for the 500, which looks nice, but is not really that pleasant to drive. The Panda, OTOH, while not being that pleasant to drive either is very practical, and the 4x4 is a car of choice in snowy areas around my way.

[Cyker]

11 hours ago, MikeSh said:

And yet of all the cars I've had in the last decade or two with cruise control my MK3 is the only one to not have a limiter function. It's a shortcoming that never even occurred to me, and if I'd known before buying it might have changed my mind.

It's the one thing that really tees me off about the car and if I ever replace I will certainly look at other options than Toyota on principle (especially as there is a Honda dealer about 15 mins walk from home).

Yeah I've always found the Mk3 to be a bit of an anomaly - It's easily the least Yarisy Yaris of all the Yarisusesesiues, and I think they played it far too safe - IMHO they made it far too conventional a car with none of the USPs I'd gotten used to from Mk1 or Mk2, and it didn't really stand out over the competition. I don't think it had any USPs aside from the hybrid variant introduced later.

I must admit I wouldn't have missed the limiter function; The Mk4 has one but it just doesn't fit with how I drive, as I'm either driving or using the radar cruise; There are just too many speed limit changes here for a limiter to be useful without having to flick it on and off ever 10 seconds. The Jazz is worth a look tho' - The handling is nowhere near as nice, but it's got comparable performance and economy, and is definitely more practical if you have a family for instance, and its back doors aren't as stupid as the ones on the Mk4, but it's much less of a driver's car than the Yaris.

 

4 hours ago, Stopeter44 said:

Nowt wrong with a Fiat Panda from a design POV. One of the most usefully designed cars out there, which is definitely not the case for the 500, which looks nice, but is not really that pleasant to drive. The Panda, OTOH, while not being that pleasant to drive either is very practical, and the 4x4 is a car of choice in snowy areas around my way.

I think he wasn't dissing the Panda, but actually saying that the Fiat 500 is basically a tarted up, less practical Panda  

I must admit I don't mind either of them, as the 500 is one of the few cars that is still genuinely small (Where my Mk1 didn't seem that much bigger, my Mk4 Yaris looks gigantic next to one!   ).

And I do have a soft spot for the Pandas, esp. the 4x4 ones - It may just be all the YouTube videos I've seen where they embarrass much bigger 4x4s  

 

[Rhymes with Paris]

Aye, nothing against Pandas, after all they don't go round bothering anyone, and the poor things have great difficulty breeding.

I remember going back to the 80s, I was in Austria to attend a yodelling and slap dancing competition, and those 4x4 ones were all over the higher altitudes in the mountain areas.

[MikeSh]

42 minutes ago, Cyker said:

but it's much less of a driver's car than the Yaris.

I'm not interested in throwing it around these days. It's basically transport with comfort and facilities to make travelling as easy as possible.

Smart cruise is great but it still doesn't cover all situations so a limiter still has value for me. A couple of days ago without thinking I went through a speed camera in a spot where it's hard to get cc engaged (even smart ones). I'm not sure how fast I was going but a limiter would have caught it as I could have set it up beforehand.

[Cyker]

34 minutes ago, MikeSh said:

I'm not interested in throwing it around these days. It's basically transport with comfort and facilities to make travelling as easy as possible.

The Jazz might be a good shift then; I think it has more in common with the Mk3 than the Mk4! Do have a play first tho' - If you're used to Toyota controls, the Honda feels a little weird.

 

34 minutes ago, MikeSh said:

Smart cruise is great but it still doesn't cover all situations so a limiter still has value for me. A couple of days ago without thinking I went through a speed camera in a spot where it's hard to get cc engaged (even smart ones). I'm not sure how fast I was going but a limiter would have caught it as I could have set it up beforehand.

Yeah, that's why it wouldn't work for me; I'd very quickly get annoyed with setting it to 20 then 30 then 20 then 30 then 40 then 20 etc.  

I find it easier just to control the speed myself; The HUD makes it very easy since I don't even need to glance down to know my speed. It would be even more helpful if I could rely on the speed sign recognition, but I've very much learned to NOT trust it!

 

[Hicardo]

Hiya, we have a Jazz Crosstar and a Yaris Cross.  They are both very good cars.  

If I had to pick one  it would be very close run thing.  I think it'd be a !Removed!-paper thick win for the Yaris X.  For me.  If it had a right foot rest, it would be an easier win.  I drive a lot on adaptive cruise and really miss the right foot rest I had before (Golf - although I wouldn't have the Golf back).  

Other than that, the YC is for me a more enjoyable car to pilot, and a tad more economical.  But if stowage and nooks and crannies is your deciding thing, then the Jazz wins easily.  It's SO versatile.  

Oh - and my experience of Toyota dealers is that they're a bit better than Honda dealers, in my area anyway.  Mrs Hicardo prefers the Honda.  She feels a little more comfortable driving and as a passenger.  So it really is down to individual preferences.  They've both been very reliable so far, and i'd recommend both.  😀