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Well I had the Civic and as you all might know it was an automatic. Still I mananged to get 41mpg+ out of it... I had been pitching to get the Yaris since it is more the of car I want. A hatchback, five speed and overall a smaller car. The kicker came when my dad backed into the Civic causing serious body damage to it.

Here are the pictures of my Yaris. So far I've gotten 39mpg out of it. I think 45mpg+ should be easily attained once I become more tuned with the car.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/EpyonMelee/DSCF0159-1.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/EpyonMelee/DSCF0162.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/EpyonMelee/DSCF0082.jpg
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/EpyonMelee/DSCF0163.jpg

I did have that spoiler installed. It really improved highway handling since the car is very light. Fuel economy also went up by 2mpgs once the spoiler was installed. I have been thinking about removing the hubcaps and going all steelies. Once i get the funds I'd like to purchase some "full moons" They should increase mileage as well.

Very nice!
Does FL still allow strong window tinting to ease the load a/c load on the engine?

Woot! Yet another pregnant rollerskate driver on CleanMPG.com!

I'm curious about that spoiler. How much did it cost, including installation, please? And can you provide a part number?

Hi Armivir:

___Do I see a future ride of the week here? Nice pics too … Have a family member take a few pics with you next to your new Yaris and it’s a done deal! Details on your new purchase would be a great addition as well. And when does the new avatar arrive ;)

___Yaris drivers have been taking over the place as of late for some reason :)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Nice skate buddy. I like those modern Festiva's. :)

I can see Im going to have to knuckle down. I feel like Im getting caught in a Spy vs Spy drama,,,, :)

psy

psy,

Didn't I see you trashing the Yaris in another thread? Are you really coming around to them?

I like everything about Yaris except the dash. I would have traded my Civic in on one if they would have taken my Civic on trade and droped the price on Yaris. I refuse to pay anywhere close to MSRP for any car. The 3 door is better than the way goofy looking echoish sedan,,, Hands down. I grin when I see them on the road. :)

psy

Very cool looking... and the color looks great!

Appears to be a distant cousin of the Insight, kinda.

Very cool little car. My sisters friend has one and loves it.
Best of Luck with it!

how's the low end torque? LOL... i'm sure you love your car ;)

how's the low end torque? LOL...

I know your tone is light-hearted but I have fought this question off sooooo many times since I got my Yaris, even from interested folks on the YarisWorld.com forums.

I'm still trying to figure out what people think they need so much torque for. It's not like I have to preach to the hypermiling community, but...

- No one ever got a trophy for getting to the next red light first.
- No extra points are given for getting up to highway speed in the first 200m of the on-ramp.
- All vehicles, except a few performance models, suck at passing on an uphill grade.
- Etc.

My Yaris climbs a 4,500ft mountain which peaks at 8,900ft on a twisting, winding road 5 days per week and in all seasons. On the way home I almost always get stuck at a stop light that sits on an uphill 14% grade. If the Yaris can do all these things is it really missing any torque?

Yea, good response bailout.

Ive driven/family owned

Chrysler 300C 340HP
Crossfire 215HP
Altima 160HPish
330i 255HP
750i 360HP
Camry 166 HP
Civic 140HP

And now the Yaris with its 107HP.

To tell you the truth, they all drive the same on the road. There is no difference between the German 360HP and the Yaris' 107. The shear fact that the Yaris has been the only manual makes it feel faster than it really is. Out of all those cars, I've had the most fun with it, and I just got it....Well....the 330i was fun too hehe...

I'll get some more pics up for rotw, Im hoping the service department at toyota can get the fogs installed on a Saturday.

Nice looking ride Armavir! I'm predicting 50's are in your future.:)

I know your tone is light-hearted but I have fought this question off sooooo many times since I got my Yaris, even from interested folks on the YarisWorld.com forums.

I'm still trying to figure out what people think they need so much torque for. It's not like I have to preach to the hypermiling community, but...

- No one ever got a trophy for getting to the next red light first.
- No extra points are given for getting up to highway speed in the first 200m of the on-ramp.
- All vehicles, except a few performance models, suck at passing on an uphill grade.
- Etc.

My Yaris climbs a 4,500ft mountain which peaks at 8,900ft on a twisting, winding road 5 days per week and in all seasons. On the way home I almost always get stuck at a stop light that sits on an uphill 14% grade. If the Yaris can do all these things is it really missing any torque?

im sure when you drive alone that's the case, but most of the time I'm carrying 500 lbs of extra humans in my car so there are times in heavy traffic the torque is very nice when trying to keep up with the crazy world of driving.

Which is why I'm fond of electric motors and diesels, also another thing that swayed me away from my civic. Although I"m sure your yaris has much better power/weight ratio than my civic (albiet I heard the Toyota Echo does way better in that department)

anyways, didn't mean to bash your car, I dreamt of owning one once, just didn't like the fact it didnt' came with side air bags, although hypocritrical as it sounds, my current car doesn't even have them.

philmcneal ,

I hear you, bud, but I'm curious...

The heaviest load I've had in my Yaris thus far was an associate that weighs about 350lbs (yes, he was a touch cramped but more from his height than his weight... the Yari's interior is pretty big), a media transporter that weighs about 15lbs and 90lbs of cardboard in the back. That's a load of ~450lbs greater than just myself and while I did indeed have to stay with a lower gear than usual in some of the steeper sections I still made it over the mountain without a problem and within my normal time frame.

I may not be seeing everything, though. Can you please give me an example or two of where you think you'd need more torque in your daily driving?

As for side airbags, they are a feature you can request if you get the biggest option package for the Yaris (the one with the power windows and locks, etc.). You may have to order the car that way and wait a few weeks for the factory to deliver it.

The heaviest load I've had in my Yaris thus far was an associate that weighs about 350lbs (yes, he was a touch cramped but more from his height than his weight... the Yari's interior is pretty big), a media transporter that weighs about 15lbs and 90lbs of cardboard in the back. That's a load of ~450lbs greater than just myself and while I did indeed have to stay with a lower gear than usual in some of the steeper sections I still made it over the mountain without a problem and within my normal time frame.

hahah that's where you and I differ.... you were in the low gear while I was trying to do it in high gear ;)

I may not be seeing everything, though. Can you please give me an example or two of where you think you'd need more torque in your daily driving?


when I need to rev over 2000 rpm for more torque I consider that, "lack of torque", sure I can rev higher for more torque but at what cost of FE? I have tons of hilly areas to battle, and since I'm a huge abuser of driving with load (1700 rpms up a hill baby!) more torque would at least give me a better average speed (15-20 mph instead of 25-35 mph)

As for side airbags, they are a feature you can request if you get the biggest option package for the Yaris (the one with the power windows and locks, etc.). You may have to order the car that way and wait a few weeks for the factory to deliver it.

unfortnately in canada SAB are not even an option... for the yaris sedan yes but you have to shell out the most expensive yaris option for it... GARBAGE!

but ya i'm cheap when it comes to torque, i don't want to see my mpg gauge sink under the teens for some torque I could have made up some other torquey application.

but hey that's just me.

The thing is, though, energy is not free, and torque represents a lot of energy. Would you rather rev 500 extra RPM for the extra 10 MPH on an efficient 1.5L engine or go 500 RPM lower on a vehicle that probably weighs another 1,000 pounds and has a 1.8-3.0L engine?

Even when pushing the Yaris as hard as I can (i.e. with passengers and cargo, up a 7% grade out of a 20 MPH uphill cut-back, in 2nd or 3rd gear above 4,000 RPM, wide-open throttle) I can never get the SG II to read a higher fuel rate than 2.9 GPH.

I can never get the SG II to read a higher fuel rate than 2.9 GPH.

no worries, I have the same problem on my prius, which is why pulse and glide is so important to getting 50 MPG + tanks, driving it like a regular car will only yield it sub 40 mpg tanks.

My impression of the prius 1.5 liter engine is that it loves to guzzle gas! Thank those who decided that it won't be on the whole drive to my destination.

oh and for the record my car weights 400 pounds more than you ;) just think of it as full passenger load (each weighting at least 120 pounds) oh and for the record my engine is much detuned than yours (70 horse/torque vs 105 horse/torque)

in other words, i'll school you in heavy traffic, but you'll school me in a rutal road.

i'm still in debate if toyota should have left the 1.5 as it is instead of detuning it, not like its always on anyways.

Armavir,

You never did answer my question about the pricing and part number of that spoiler, and the installation fee you paid. Please provide this info.

I'm generally more of a Honda guy, but I love that Yaris! Nice choice!