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Join Date: Jul 2008
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Yaris V. Rio - My Observations
As I posted a while back, I bought a Kia Rio. . But I always wondered if the Yaris would have been better. Now I have my answer!
About 5-6 months back I started to realize that I would be needing a new car in the new future. The old car was starting to develop a lot of problems, and it seemed like as soon as i got one thing fixed, a new, more expensive problem would pop up. When the transmission started slipping I knew it was time to start doing some serious looking as I did not want to spend $2,500 to repair a 8 year old car, that got 22 mpg, with 115,000 miles on it. I wanted something that was inexpensive, and got good gas mileage.
My first inclination was to look at the Toyota Corolla. A nice car by all accounts, but one that was somewhat pricey, and not to easy to find with the options I did/did-not want. At that time I had a chance to look at the Yaris hatchback. But the dealer never seemed to have the larger Yaris sedan in stock. I asked once if I could test drive a Yaris sedan before I bought one, and the response was. . .”NO, we don't have any. . You can write a check for a down payment, and when one comes it, it's yours” And that's with no choice of color or options. . Just which ever one came it, I would get. . I declined that “generous” offer. A few weeks later they had a “Certified” used Yaris on the lot for $18,000!!!!! I didn't test drive it because there was no way in hell i was going to pay that much for a used vehicle!
Fortunately I travel to California on business once a month, and always rent a car. So I made use of that opportunity to “test drive” some of the smaller economy cars. I tried a Ford Focus, and was NOT happy. Got to drive a Chevy Aveo, and was less happy than with the Ford. I kept trying to get a Toyota Yaris, never once thinking about looking at the Kias. Then on one trip I was given a Kia Spectra as a rental. I was so impressed with it, that I started researching the Kia vehicle line, and ended up buying my Rio LX with power option, auto transmission, and a few other extras.
But I always wondered if I had missed out by not buying a Yaris. Well this past week I finally had that question answered!! I went on my monthly trip to Orange County California, and Avis gave me a 2008 Yaris Sedan, with the power option. It had ~14,500 miles on the odo.
When i first test drove the Kia Rio, my first impression upon getting into the car was: Wow. . The fit and finish are really nice for a econo-car. And the materials seem to be a pretty good quality. Granted, it will never be like a BMW or a Lexus, but for a $15K car, I was impressed. Now back to California and the Yaris. My first impression after getting into the Yaris was: This looks and feels REALLY cheap! The cabin was slightly larger and roomier, but the materials (including the seats) appeared to to me, to be of the lowest grade materials available. The seat coverings were one solid color, with no special design or stitching. The lateral support “wings” on the seats were actually quite large, and actually uncomfortable at first.
The first thing I did after starting the car was reset the trip meter. I always like to estimate my mpg on the cars I rent. Granted, even though the fuel gauge read full, being a rental I was pretty sure that the tank hadn't been “topped off'. So i started off to the office.
I had the Yaris for two days and this is what I observed (yes, much is subjective)
1)It's noisier than my Rio
2)The seats were OK once you got use to the big side “wings”.
3)The stereo was far inferior to the one in my Rio
4)Even though this Yaris had a “power package”, it lacked power mirrors. Which also meant it didn't have the defrosters in the mirrors.
5)It has a super deep dash board. Great for collecting a lot of dust and other junk
6)Acceleration was adequate, but I never pushed it hard.
7)Don't like the shifter. It's one of those “notched” shifters where you have to move the shifter L-to-R AND U-and-D to move it. (it was an automatic transmission)
8)The cup holders flip out from the left and right corners of the dash. They felt really cheap and flimsy. But worst of all, when you use them, your drink cup actually blocks the left and right cabin air vents!
9)The trunk lid was very flimsy. It felt like it was made from the same aluminum that is used in soda cans. But the only way I could get the trunk to latch was to SLAM it hard!
10) Didn't care for the instrument cluster being in the center of the dash instead of in front of the driver. But I got use to it after a while.
11) All idiot lights. . No gauges! No tachometer! Just idiot lights!
12)Rio has a bigger, or perhaps more squared off trunk inside.
Late the second day I headed out to John Wayne airport to catch my flight and to returned the car to Avis. Right near our office I filled up with gas, as I wanted to return the car with a full tank and not get hit up for the $7.99/gallon that Avis charges!
I pulled into the station with 69.8 miles on the trip meter. About half of that was freeway miles, and about half of all of that was with the A/C on. The car took 3.79 gallons of gas!!!! The pump first kicked off at 3.55 gallons, and then I squeezed in a couple tenths more before it wouldn't take anymore. (I wanted that tank FULL when I pulled into Avis!) Even realizing that the car was probably NOT topped off when i first got it, this is ridiculous! The gas gauge WAS on full when I picked it up. I did not drive the car very hard. So even if I only actually used 3 gallons of gas, that's still only 23.3 mpg! For a car that's suppose to be rated at 29 MPG City!!! Using this method in the past, both the Focus and the Aveo did far better than this Yaris. I know that this is hardly scientific. . But I would have expected it to be “full” and topped off at 3 gallons. . The WORST I ever got with my Rio was 25 mpg. . And that was after my wife borrowed it for a day.
I guess there is a reason why Edmunds.com rates the Rio as “Good”, but the Yaris as only “Fair”. .
I'm rally glad that I finally had all my questions about the Yaris answered. And now I'm doubly happy that I went with the Rio. I realize that there are a lot of happy Yaris owners out there, and I'm glad that their happy. But I don't feel like my Rio is a 2nd class vehicle compared to the Yaris. In fact, given what I've seen. I'd say my Rio is far more equal to a Corolla, for thousand less. .
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Bill Vojak
Pacific NW
Last edited by wvojak : 10-02-2008 at 07:09 PM.
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