Toyota reintroduced it’s most stylish Yaris ever; 2014 Yaris Sedan, just before Nissan released it’s all new Tiida Hatchback. Sedan or hatch, it makes no difference to most buyers. They will still compare interior space, style and features offered for multiple compact sedans. Also, dealer reputation will be a key differentiator now, as profit margins between new cars are tapering off due to intense competition, particularly in this segment.
The Sport version in particular has a quite distinctive bumper compared to Kia Rio, Hyundai Accent and Peugeot 301. The all new Yaris sedan also happens to be the biggest Yaris sedan in terms of dimensions. It is longer and higher than both Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent. The only compact sedans bigger than Yaris sedan are Nissan Sunny and Peugeot 301.
All versions of Toyota Yaris sedan have fabric seats, manual seat adjustment, 2 or 4 speakers and dual frontal airbags. The Sport version is the most interesting with blue stitch leather wrapped steering wheel, Sport themed analogue tachometer, a multi information display and sport grade fabric seats. The SE+ full options model gets high grade comfort fabric seats, leather wrapped steering wheel, push button start and keyless entry as well. The air conditioning is good quality, definitely better than Nissan Sunny. It’s a decent set of features but it’s not best in class. Peugeot 301 for example, also offers Bluetooth and front fog lamps.
The Yaris sedan has best in class driver headroom of 940mm so if you’re taller than average; you can still drive comfortably in this compact sedan. The rear legroom is pretty good too but not as much as the class leading Nissan Sunny. In terms of junk-in-the-trunk bragging rights, the largest boot space is still with Peugeot 301 at 640 liters. The Yaris Sedan does drive well with 476 liters, which by the way is not just higher than Nissan Sunny, Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent, it is also slightly higher than the 2014 Toyota Corolla! Finally, the top of the line SE+ comes with 60:40 split rear seats which is not commonly found in compact sedans but is crucial for extra space when required.
The Yaris sedan has a decent McPherson strut and torsion beam suspension, it has introduced electric power steering and that improves city driving quite a bit compared to other compact sedans. With power of less than 100 HP in 1.3 engine and 107 HP in 1.5 engine, expect the engine to struggle at high speeds. This car is meant for city driving. If you have regular long trips from Jeddah to Dammam for example, this may not be the best drive. For urban driving though, it’s good enough and saves fuel too due to a smaller engine.
Get the Sport or SE+ version, the price gap is not too high and it will be more comfortable in the long run. This is a reliable car with excellent resale value and dealer reputation is decent.
