Next Car (Yaris SR)

Lustral · 17 Jan 2012 at 15:19

Half tempted in getting an 08 plate Yaris SR 1.8 which has only 7000 ish miles on the clock , it was on for £7000 but they have reduced it to £6500

Yes yes i know i have somehow attached myself to Yaris's and looking at Fiestas and Polos are out of the question now.

Question is

a) The asking price seems almost to good to be true ? Is it worth it ? Something tells me the price is a bit cheap for what it is .

b) Although i have used MK1 Yaris for almost 5 months , is there anything in the MK2 Yaris i need to look out for ...

I might do a trip to have a look at it in the flesh and see what i think , although i cant until the weekend.

Opinions please , i know Raymond Lin drives an SR , so cheers for any input from you or anyone else that has driven the SR or any Mk2 Yarises in general

Thanks

Steve_bullockuk · 17 Jan 2012 at 17:38

Which 1.8 engine is in these cars? 140bhp same as the Celica?

OpenToSuggestions · 17 Jan 2012 at 17:44

I wouldn't be paying £6500 for a 2008 Yaris. I have no idea if that is the going rate for them, but it seems a lot for a 4 year old small hatch. You can do far better for your money. That said, the Yaris has a good reputation for reliability but when you can get a 2.0 petrol Focus of the same age for the same money it just makes the Yaris look like a lot of money for not a lot of car.

Raymond Lin · 17 Jan 2012 at 18:05

The price seems high actually.

I paid £6500 last may for a 08 plate 20k clock car.

I have driven a mk1 Yaris too (diesel though) but it was a long time ago and it was my instructor's car.

The car is relaible, not had to fix anything since I got it apart from new tyres and I also got new brakes as mine was sitting on the forecourt too long with regular washes the rust didn't shift after driving it for a month so I put in new discs and pads all round.

The car is spacious for such a small car. The dash seems to go on forever which gives this feeling. There is lots of room at the back for 2 people and enough for 3 if you are not going too far. The down side is the boot is tiny. It certainly will not hold luggage for 4, partly because it has a spare wheel and then a false floor which has the jack in and then another false floor. So the actual boot floor is the level of where the boot opening is.

The SR comes with climate, traction control, keyless entry as standard. Mine didn't come it's Bluetooth or iPod, some do, and some have the Tomtom unit as well. There are loads of storage space inside, there are 5 compartments on the dash off the top of my head. The climate is lovely, in this weather, it heats up after about 1 mile of the engine running which is nice, quicker than my sister's 118.

The gearing seems short, I usually cruise in 5th when it gets over 40mph. The car is really light though, unloaded it weight less than a tonne which is amazing. The 1.8 engine is fine for the car, I am glad I went for it over the 1.3 as I wouldnt like it to be any slower, not the the Yaris is slow slow but it should be quicker with power to weight ratio. The ride could be slightly lower by a touch I think because there is certainly body roll going on. It's not too bad though. The seat is comfortable enough, I have no ache when I drive 2 hours in it straight. I have yet driven further in 1 sitting yet. The feed back from the road is also good, the steering is precise and sharp enough.

At 60mph the rmp is at 3,000 but going up to 80mph you are hitting 4,000 rpm and because the cabin noise proofing isn't that great, on the motorway it is a bt louderthan I liked. I find myself having to turn up the music the faster I am going.

The car has 205/45/17 tyres, which for a set of conti will set you back about £600. Service via Toyota dealer for my 20k service was £140 odd including VAT but that is an intermediate service I think. The way I drive, I manage to get 39mpg since I got the car, the 42L tank get me around 300miles between fill but I normally fill it before the light comes on anyway.

By the way, I have seen a Yaris SR cheaper than £6,500, saw one the other week on AT for £5,000 albeit with higher miles. A 4 year old car with 7k on the clock is very low...was it actually a shopping trolley? Knock another £1,000 off that sticker price are you are about right.

Lustral · 17 Jan 2012 at 19:07

Steve_bullockuk said:
Which 1.8 engine is in these cars? 140bhp same as the Celica?

Its the Dual VVTi version which is slightly de-tuned to 133BHP , but essentially the same i believe.

Lustral · 17 Jan 2012 at 19:23

Raymond Lin said:
The price seems high actually.

I paid £6500 last may for a 08 plate 20k clock car.

I have driven a mk1 Yaris too (diesel though) but it was a long time ago and it was my instructor's car.

The car is relaible, not had to fix anything since I got it apart from new tyres and I also got new brakes as mine was sitting on the forecourt too long with regular washes the rust didn't shift after driving it for a month so I put in new discs and pads all round.

The car is spacious for such a small car. The dash seems to go on forever which gives this feeling. There is lots of room at the back for 2 people and enough for 3 if you are not going too far. The down side is the boot is tiny. It certainly will not hold luggage for 4, partly because it has a spare wheel and then a false floor which has the jack in and then another false floor. So the actual boot floor is the level of where the boot opening is.

The SR comes with climate, traction control, keyless entry as standard. Mine didn't come it's Bluetooth or iPod, some do, and some have the Tomtom unit as well. There are loads of storage space inside, there are 5 compartments on the dash off the top of my head. The climate is lovely, in this weather, it heats up after about 1 mile of the engine running which is nice, quicker than my sister's 118.

The gearing seems short, I usually cruise in 5th when it gets over 40mph. The car is really light though, unloaded it weight less than a tonne which is amazing. The 1.8 engine is fine for the car, I am glad I went for it over the 1.3 as I wouldnt like it to be any slower, not the the Yaris is slow slow but it should be quicker with power to weight ratio. The ride could be slightly lower by a touch I think because there is certainly body roll going on. It's not too bad though. The seat is comfortable enough, I have no ache when I drive 2 hours in it straight. I have yet driven further in 1 sitting yet. The feed back from the road is also good, the steering is precise and sharp enough.

At 60mph the rmp is at 3,000 but going up to 80mph you are hitting 4,000 rpm and because the cabin noise proofing isn't that great, on the motorway it is a bt louderthan I liked. I find myself having to turn up the music the faster I am going.

The car has 205/45/17 tyres, which for a set of conti will set you back about £600. Service via Toyota dealer for my 20k service was £140 odd including VAT but that is an intermediate service I think. The way I drive, I manage to get 39mpg since I got the car, the 42L tank get me around 300miles between fill but I normally fill it before the light comes on anyway.

By the way, I have seen a Yaris SR cheaper than £6,500, saw one the other week on AT for £5,000 albeit with higher miles. A 4 year old car with 7k on the clock is very low...was it actually a shopping trolley? Knock another £1,000 off that sticker price are you are about right.

Thanks for the input and advice , i might make a cheeky offer @ £5.5K and see what they say about it.

The one is on AT as well , will ask the history of it to see why it is such low mileage.

The Mk1 Yaris can fit 4 ppl without a problem , and im sure carting around the usual folks is simliar

I guess i will be using it to commute to work which is about 300 miles a week , so im not saving any petrol at all which isnt a problem, and the comfort levels on the Yaris im driving is adequate enough. I just need a little bit more ooomph from what im getting at the moment.