Toyota is deemed to give its owners a reliable and trouble-free ownership experience and that’s the biggest reason why many Indians prefer this brand over many other executive ones. However, when the competition is from well-established and proven brands like Maruti, Hyundai and Honda, it all boils down to the core capabilities of the car. The all-new Yaris has entered a very competitive space and to make it stand out from the crowd, Toyota has given the third-gen model class-leading safety kit like ESP, hill launch assist, traction control, and all-wheel disc brakes. Seven airbags and ABS with EBD is offered on all variants.
It also gets a laundry list of features, many of which are segment-firsts. Powering the Yaris is a 1.5-litre petrol engine, available with either a six-speed manual or CVT. And with prices ranging from Rs 8.75-14.07 lakh, this is the priciest car in its segment. What helps though is that Toyota is offering a three-year/unlimited km warranty, extendable up to seven years. In this exhaustive test, we find out whether it is only peace of mind that buyers are paying for, or is the car worth the asking price.
There are four variants on offer and the good news is that all of them get seven airbags (including a driver knee airbag) and ABS with EBD as standard across the range. Even the CVT is available as an option across the range. The top VX variant gets kit like ESP, traction control, all-wheel disc brakes and hill launch assist. In addition to these, the Yaris gets some segment-first features like gesture control for the touchscreen, roof-mounted rear blower with ambient lighting, front parking sensors, 60:40 rear-seat split, a noise and vibration-absorbing glass area and a tyre pressure warning system. Other prominent kit include projector headlamps, 15-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry/go, (part) leather upholstery, auto headlamps, rain-sensing wipers, reversing camera, cruise control and paddleshifters (in CVT). Still, its competitors offer some more desirable features like a sunroof, LED headlamps and cooled seats, all of which aren’t available on the Yaris.
Three variants get a 7.0-inch touchscreen. While the top-spec VX gets a slightly different unit, what’s common among them is that the display is hard to read, especially in daylight. The colours on the screen aren’t rich and the graphics aren’t sharp.
The talking point here is gesture control. It’s a cool party trick but isn’t very intuitive. Also, there’s no knob for the volume. To insert a CD/DVD, the system folds open (facing upwards), and because there’s no physical button to slot it back in, you end up tapping the screen randomly to get it to its original position.
While navigation is present only in the VX, Miracast is part of even the lower G and V. Using this, you can mirror (and control) your phone on to the car’s screen via Bluetooth; it works flawlessly. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay don’t make it to the equipment list.
The Yaris comes across as a well-put-together car that promises to be dependable and trouble-free like most Toyotas are. It, however, lacks the emotional quotient of its rivals, be it in terms of design and styling or the way it drives. Performance is lacklustre and the benign but neutral handling won’t thrill keen drivers either. Where the Yaris scores is in the safe and predictable way it goes about its job. Ride comfort is one of its key strengths and even at highway speeds, the Yaris feels very secure and stable. Toyota must be applauded for taking the lead when it comes to safety. The Yaris gets best-in-class safety features, which includes seven airbags, ESP and hill launch assist, earning it a 5-star rating in the ASEAN NCAP crash test, for which we’ve given it an extra star. It also gets many segment-firsts like the roof-mounted rear blower, gesture control and front parking sensors. However, it misses out on some key features its rivals offer like cooled seats, a sunroof and LED headlamps.
Overall, the Yaris is not an exciting car to own, and the premium pricing, especially for the higher variants, doesn’t make it fantastic value either. However, Toyota is banking on the lure of its badge and the peace of mind associated with the brand. But as a product, the Yaris falls short in many areas and Toyota should have offered more to entice buyers.
Also see:
2018 Yaris vs Verna vs City video comparison
2018 Toyota Yaris AT vs Hyundai Verna AT comparison
2018 Toyota Yaris video review
2018 Toyota Yaris sedan India image gallery
from Autocar India https://ift.tt/2JEiyoe
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