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2008 Toyota Yaris Sedan Road Test

Say what you want about Honda's funky little Fit and its exclusive Magic Seats, Kia's sporty, great looking Rio5, Hyundai's stylish little Accent, Nissan and its larger-than-life,

A nice looking little sedan. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

Bluetooth-equipped Versa, or any other imported subcompact now available in the American market, Toyota's Yaris is the perennial best seller. Well, other than the made-in-Korea Chevy Aveo.

Like the bowtie subcomact Toyota's one of the reasons it does so well is duo of body styles. Where some of its competitors only offer one configuration, Toyota gives Yaris fans two choices, from the three-door hatchback to the Yaris sedan, the subject of this road test. The more significant reason as to its higher sales is also identical to the Aveo's, it's sold by one of America's most popular brands.

If you're not familiar with the Yaris, it's an oddity in the market. It also is the only subcompact, other than the Mini (which really doesn't compete directly, despite its size), with center-mounted primary gauges,

The Yaris sedan features a unique tail end, with an attractive profile. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

a feature that either gets lauded or lambasted by those who review this car. After a couple of years of numerous Yarii, I could care less where the gauges are, and hardly find the central positioning of these ones takes my eyes away from the road, as is often the complaint. I suppose the thousands of Americans who bought one of these little runabouts last year agree with me on this subject too. Where the sedan is different than the hatchback, other than the obvious addition of a trunk, is a revised center console under that gauge cluster, and a quieter cabin complemented by a more compliant, smoother suspension.

Actually, this little four-door is among the smoothest riding cars in the segment, ideal for Toyota buyers that often opt for comfort over sport. My test car

Simple, straightforward cabin with a few unexpected details. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

was a willing and able highway hauler, zipping down the freeway at slightly more than posted limits and totally comfortable all the way to my destination.

The Yaris Sedan is a user-friendly car, however, that makes driving around most neighbourhoods, even those with hills, adequate. I mean, it's not like its 106-horsepower, 1.5-liter four-cylinder, mated to a four-speed automatic in this case (a five-speed manual is standard), is a lion trying to escape its cage. Sure it'll get up to speed and beyond on the highway, with patience, but I'm just as happy moseying along at the limit, taking my time and enjoying the scenery. It's one of those cars that just lets you be, and thanks to a decent audio system, a four-speaker unit with AM/FM radio, a single CD player and MP3 compatibility,

Cool looking center stack with user-friendly controls. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

time travels quickly. An input jack for my iPod made the two days more enjoyable.

Additional standard features that pull this car up from more menial transportation include tilt steering, a climate control system with air filtration plus rear-seat heater ducts and a 60/40 split folding rear seat (optional in base models), with an integrated center armrest. There are other items I normally wouldn't bother mentioning in a car review, but in this class they're significant. Little items like dual vanity mirrors, manual remote exterior mirrors (not available on the Yaris hatch), UV glass, a tachometer and digital clock, intermittent wipers with a misting feature, reflector-style halogen headlamps, air conditioning, plus numerous interior storage bins and map pockets make the Yaris sedan more enjoyable to live with.

If you want more than that you can get your Yaris sedan with cruise control as part of a number of packages that improve living conditions. The Convenience Package, rolling out the door at $13,045, adds 185/60R15 all-season tires (which replace 175/65R14 all-seasons on the base car), an AM/FM CD player with MP3/WMA playback capability and an input jack, 60/40 split folding rear seats, and a rear defroster.

The Power Package, pushing the retail price to $14,235, adds

Plenty of room in back. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

antilock brakes with Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), power windows, power door locks with keyless entry, remote power mirrors, the cruise control, and upgraded interior trim pieces.

Lastly, a Yaris S with the Power Package, at $15,560, is the style leader, which is pretty much comprised of the aforementioned Power Package with the addition of 15-inch alloy rims, fog lamps, carpeted floor and cargo mats and a body color-matched rear spoiler and skirt package. It looks quite sharp, actually, the front spoiler being deeper and more extended at its sides than similar packages on previous Toyotas, for an almost aggressive appearance.

Power package aside, those shopping for a small car that's great on fuel and reasonably peppy will do well to check out the Yaris sedan, but there are a great many competitors in this field that do a fine job, some for less money, but most for about the same. When the Yaris for-door went on sale last fall its MSRP was $12,025, which is not bad, I suppose. The price, mind you, has increased to $12,225.

Bigger trunk than a Corolla! (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

And by the way, the Yaris' strong point is its fuel economy, rated at 29 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway in manual guise, or with the automatic, like my test car, 29 and 35 mpg respectively. The Yaris four-door also gives you a slightly larger trunk than a 2009 Toyota Corolla... go figure?

No matter if you opt for the Corolla or Yaris, one common denominator will most certainly make living with the car a joy, Toyota's renowned service. According to some of those Midwest office staffers I mentioned earlier, who lived with

A good solid choice. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, American Auto Press)

a long-term Yaris recently and taken other Toyota's in for servicing on occasion, Toyota's after sale service is the best in the business. No wonder the brand keeps selling so well here. Sure their cars are good, we all know that, but even diehard fans of a given brand will switch after a few hard years of not being treated well by service staff.

For similar reasons I keep buying laptops from Dell. They may not be the most exciting machines in the world (although they're usually pretty close to the top), but the ability to have a technician in my home, office, or hotel room the next day to fix a problem or replace a part, gives me peace of mind.

Toyota, for many, gives that same dependable peace of mind, so if you're looking for an entry-level travel companion, the Yaris might just be ideal.

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