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The 40 mpg Cars of 2013

2010 Toyota Yaris

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Curious about the newer model? Check out the 2013 Toyota Yaris

Overview

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2010 Toyota Yaris Review

By KBB.com Editors

For 2010, the Yaris continues as Toyota's subcompact value leader, which makes sense since it's also Toyota's only subcompact offering. Having replaced the slow-selling Echo a few years back, the Yaris has gained in popularity and, although it remains the smallest and least expensive vehicle in the Toyota brand line-up, it is still packed with value. Set to do battle with the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and lesser rivals like the Chevrolet Aveo and Kia Rio, the Yaris must cover a lot of ground. Of the three distinctly different Yaris models it's the Liftback that make the more expressive design statement and, although the Sedan is nearly 19 inches longer than the Liftback, all three vehicles share the same chassis, engine and drivetrain.

You'll Like This Car If...

If you trust Toyota for reliability and are in the market for a cute subcompact, the 2010 Yaris fits the bill. You might also need to be open to a few curious looks on the street – the Yaris sports a distinctively "Euro" design.

You May Not Like This Car If...

If you like more conventional styling or have a penchant for performance driving, the 2010 Toyota Yaris will not meet your needs. It's a simple, four-cylinder economy model with a whimsical design – not a sporty performer by any stretch.

What's New for 2010

Toyota's Star Safety System is added to all Yaris models, bringing standard traction and electronic stability control to the little compact. Other changes for 2010 include a rear window defroster as standard equipment and the addition of a tachometer and manual transmission on the five door.

Driving the Yaris

Driving Impressions The four-cylinder engine of the Yaris has Toyota's variable valve-timing system (known as VVT-i) and dual overhead camshafts and is rated at 106 horsepower. There is a light, almost effortless...

feel to the Yaris in steering and during moderate acceleration; however, the engine seems strained when asked to deliver more. With this relatively small engine we found the Yaris a little lacking in performance when traveling at 60 mph-plus speeds on the highways. This is a shortcoming for Toyota since one of the main competitors – the Honda Fit – has a few more horses (117 horsepower to Yaris' 106) and is much more fun to drive. This kind of subtle difference may not impact you but, if you're in any way interested in quickness and responsiveness, the Yaris might fail to impress.

Favorite Features

Flexible Seat Adjustments
The Yaris Sedan provides four-way adjustable front seats and fold-down rear seats that provide nearly 13 cubic feet of cargo space.

Roomy Cabin
The Yaris boasts the largest wheelbase in the subcompact arena. This is most noticeable in the interior leg and head room in both front and back seats.

2010 Toyota Yaris Details

Interior

The 2010 Toyota Yaris Sedan and Liftback share many things, but the instrument panel is where they part ways with their domestic rivals. Both vehicles have the center-stacked "waterfall" type gauges borrowed from the Lexus design philosophy. The disconcerting aspect is that at night there are no gauges or little lights in front of you, causing you to have to turn your head slightly to the right to look at, for example, the speedometer. Another unusual trait of the Yaris interior is that the waterfall gauge panel provides a bit of a "cave" section behind it, allegedly providing storage space. This oddly-sized space might allow for balancing a small map, but anything more sizable would be precariously perched. Overall, however, the interiors of both the Sedan and Liftback seem roomier than you'd expect for the sizes of the vehicles.

Exterior

The most pronounced difference between the Yaris Liftback and the Yaris Sedan is that the Sedan is nearly 19 inches longer. Though the two body styles share a slight family resemblance, their individual personalities are miles apart. The Yaris Liftback has the more unusual exterior styling, with a pronounced short front overhang and an exaggerated "bulldog" stance. As slight as the front end seems, the wide flat-back design of the hatch door appears solid and substantial, providing a low, easy opening to the cargo area. The four-door Yaris Sedan styling seems rather traditional at first glance. It, too, has the short sloping overhang in front but the traditional sedan look is evident by the high arch of the roofline and windows that helps provide decent head room for those in the back seat.

Notable Equipment

Standard Equipment

In this, the least-expensive segment of them all, the idea is to get the advertised price as low as possible, so the standard equipment list is usually short. This is not the case for the Toyota Yaris, however, which offers a tilt wheel, air conditioning, intermittent wipers, rear defroster, six airbags, electronic traction and stability control, and color-keyed mirrors and door handles. More notably, the Yaris Sedan offers six-way adjustable front seats with driver's seat height adjustment, something not usually found in the subcompact segment. Missing from the standard equipment list is a radio and a split-folding rear seat, but both can be had by opting for the Convenience Package.

Optional Equipment

A simple solution to getting the basic features you probably want is to add the Convenience Package, which includes an AM/FM CD player with MP3/WMA playback capability and auxiliary input jack, 60/40 split folding rear seat and 15-inch wheels with full wheel covers. Adding the comprehensive Power Package brings an upgraded sound system and interior, alloy wheels, keyless entry, engine immobilizer and power door locks, windows and mirrors. Those two packages are slightly different for the Liftback models, which add a rear wiper/washer to the mix. A Sport package adds sport bucket seats, front, rear and rear decklid spoilers, an iPod connector and a leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob. The only two stand alone options are cruise control and fog lights.

Under the Hood

The Yaris Sedan and Liftback share the same 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine with Variable Valve Timing with Intelligence (VVT-i), producing 106 horsepower. This is enough power to tool around town, but maybe not enough to take a chance at passing a Mack truck on a two-way highway with an oncoming car in sight.

1.5-liter in-line 4
106 horsepower @ 6000 rpm
104 lb.-ft. of torque @ 4200 rpm
EPA city/highway fuel economy: 29/36 (manual), 29/35 (automatic)

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2010 Toyota Yaris Consumer Reviews

Overall Rating

9.1

Out of 10

Based on 673 Ratings for the 2007 - 2011 models.

Review this car

Value

9.4/10

Quality

9.2/10
Reliability

9.6/10

Performance

8.9/10
Comfort

8.9/10

Styling

9.1/10

Very realiable and fuel efficient

By nzonz0 (FL) on Tuesday, June 18, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 43,000

10 8.0

overall rating 8 of 10rating details

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating: 8/10
Value: 10/10
Reliability: 10/10
Quality: 10/10
Performance: 8/10
Styling: 8/10
Comfort: 9/10

Pros: "Great MPG, comfortable, maintains value, reliable"

Cons: "Lower stability at high speeds, some road noise"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 10

"Very reliable car, nevere given me any problems apart from a dead battery (due to a a bad battery not the car). All it needs is gas and oil and fluid changes. The car is very comfortable; although small it does the job. It handles a bit rough on the highways due to the size and weight of the car, but nothing out of the ordinary. There is a bit of road noise (only noticeable when driving with the ac and radio off) but overall higly recommend it. It is by far the best car owned by me or any family members, great on gas, and maintains its value extremely well."

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Reliable, low maintenance, great gas mileage

By Rhonda (MA) on Monday, June 17, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 87,000

10 9.0

overall rating 9 of 10rating details

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating: 9/10
Value: 10/10
Reliability: 10/10
Quality: 8/10
Performance: 8/10
Styling: 7/10
Comfort: 10/10

Pros: "Good price, great gas mileage, reliable"

Cons: "I don't care for the cloth seats. Not go in snow"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 9

"All I do is put gas in it and change the oil every 3,000 miles. The only repair has been a worn belt. Average gas mileage is 37 city 43 highway. Extremely reliable and affordable."

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Very Frugal on gas

By Scoupe (NC) on Wednesday, June 12, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 77,000

10 9.0

overall rating 9 of 10rating details

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating: 9/10
Value: 9/10
Reliability: 10/10
Quality: 9/10
Performance: 8/10
Styling: 10/10
Comfort: 9/10

Pros: "Great on gas, very reliable, park anywhere!!!"

Cons: "Sluggish with a/c running, road noise"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 9

"I purchased this car without much thought I thought it was cute and it had a fair amount of extra options that I wanted I really didn't test drive the car that much I assumed with it being a Toyota that it would be great and full of quality well its been a good car but the build quality wasn't as good as my Corolla that I traded in the doors feel light and cheap and the interior scratches very easy and there is a lot of road noise coming in from the engine and tires. HOWEVER once I realized I was getting right about 40mpg I didn't care anymore this car will go forever on a tank of gas and I have the automatic. The car also just goes and goes all I ever do it put in gas it doesn't use any oil or anything like that and with the a/c its rather peppy but as soon as you switch on the air you aren't going anywhere to fast."

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great car, great value

By Megan (IA) on Monday, June 10, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 39,000

10 10.0

overall rating 10 of 10rating details

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Reliability: 10/10
Quality: 10/10
Performance: 10/10
Styling: 10/10
Comfort: 10/10

Pros: "great price, fuel efficient"

Cons: "windy steering"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 10

"I have had my yaris for 4 years and it has not disappointed. I'm actually getting better gas mileage than it's rated for. I've calculated as high as 39.5 mpg. It's very inexpensive to fill on gas. The only qualm I have about the car is when it's windy. Even with a little wind, it's hard to control the vehicle above 55 mph. It also can be very zippy on snow and ice if you're not careful, but that is a characteristic of most Toyota vehicles. The gas pedal does not take much of an effort to go from 0 to 60, so it took some adjustment coming from driving an old Ford taurus that required a lead foot to get going. Other than that, the car is great. Lots of leg room. It sounds like another user just needs to lift their seat higher. The back seats sit up higher, so you get the feeling that there is more room. The car also has a great sized trunk (sedan version). I have surprised many by how much I can fit inside my car. With the backseats down, I have gotten a bicycle in with the lid shut."

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Best vehicle ever

By visitorsb (WA) on Monday, June 10, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 36,000

10 10.0

overall rating 10 of 10rating details

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating: 10/10
Value: 10/10
Reliability: 10/10
Quality: 10/10
Performance: 10/10
Styling: 10/10
Comfort: 10/10

Pros: "Excellent maneuverability on turns."

Cons: "none."

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 10

"I love my Toyota Yaris! It is a small but powerful car with great maneuverability and fast response. It is also the first car I have ever owned although I have driven other cars - Hondas, Fords mostly. And my Yaris is super easy to park as well as turn around in the street!"

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very good economy car.

By mr.Jay (AZ) on Saturday, June 08, 2013

I own this car - My approximate mileage is 45,000

10 9.0

overall rating 9 of 10rating details

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating: 9/10
Value: 9/10
Reliability: 10/10
Quality: 9/10
Performance: 7/10
Styling: 8/10
Comfort: 6/10

Pros: "many cup holders, 3 glove boxes, efficient layout."

Cons: "nothing"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 8

"the yaris hatchback is truly a 40 M.P.G. economy car.the back seats lay flat for cargo. the interior provides more space than it would appear to from outside. comfortable yet spartan. more road noise than some but good factory stereo."

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