2007 Toyota Yaris

Getting from point A to point B is fun and affordable again

Gary Witzenburg / autoMedia.com

When gasoline was cheap and plentiful, many Americans showed little interest in subcompact cars. For roominess, cargo, safety and image reasons, most preferred larger vehicles over cramped little cars derisively dubbed "econoboxes." But gas is no longer cheap, and future price and availability are unpredictable.

So there's renewed U.S.-buyer interest in smaller-than-compact cars, and several interesting new entries debut this year just in time to take advantage. Significant among these is Toyota's new 2007 Yaris, which arrived in showrooms in spring 2006 in 4-door sedan and 3-door Liftback versions, replacing the less than loved Echo.

Styling

Launched in Europe in 1999, the Yaris was European Car of the Year in 2000 and has been Toyota's best-selling model there. It was also 2000 Japan Car of the Year, marking the first time the same vehicle captured both honors in the same year. There is a lot to love about the little Yaris, but why would Toyota want to compete directly with Scion, its own U.S. entry-level brand, with strong new models in the same size and price class? "Yaris has a very different personality from Scion," says Toyota Marketing VP Jim Farley. "Yaris is for mainstream customers. Scion is more expressive." We think the Yaris is pretty expressive, as well.

The 3-door Yaris Liftback, styled mostly at Toyota's European design studio, is most expressive of the two body styles, while the sedan is handsome and contemporary but more conservative. Both are built on an all-new platform that is longer and wider than its European predecessor and will be the basis for a variety of future vehicles.

The Liftback has a strong mono-form shape with short overhangs and a low visual center of gravity. The blackout grille is centered between sharp character lines and large headlamps that seem to wrap up almost to the windshield. The rear features large taillamps and a wide rear door for easy cargo access. The sedan has a long cabin relative to its overall length, a slightly arched beltline and a chevron-shaped body-color grille with a central bar. In back, the taillamps flank a wide decklid that extends down to the bumper for low lift-over height.