Toyota Yaris - 2007 Review

God, I love my car! I got a 2007 Absolutely Red Yaris liftback in Feb of 07 with 3 miles on it! I got a base model with manual windows and locks. There are a lot of super great things about this car that I love, and some things I could do without.

First, it had a lot of room inside. My previous car was a 03 Ford Focus 2dr Hatchback. The Yaris is roomier inside, BUT it has no trunk to speak of. I can fit about three to four paper grocery bags...and that it. 

The car is nice and small and easy to manuver and get into all those tight parking spots, especially when you live in a big crowded city, as I do, BUT its small size also makes it very light and in the winter months, with icy road, that makes me feel unsafe at times. Also when a stong gust of wind blows on the highway, you tend to be blown around a lot. It can be pretty scary the first few times! 

The gas milage is pretty good. I primarily drive in the city through rush hour traffic, so I typically get about 28-30 mpg. But I've heard of people getting 40-45 if you travel on the highway a lot.

And just one BIG NOTE: when you get the base model, it can be VERY hard to upgrade to automatic locks after, cause the Yaris uses cable actuated lock. Most cars use rod actuated locks. So in order to turn your maual locks into automatic locks, you have to but a kit that lets you cut into the cable and costs about $250, on top of the cost for the keyless entry, on top of the instalation charge. But thats not all! After you have these locks in, there's tension on the cable that locks your door, and messing with the locks manually can shatter the cable shaft and leave you stuck in your car. It's happened to me mutiple times.  So, if you want to save a buck, I suggest you NOT do it that way. Get the fully loaded model to begin with! Other than the door lock issue, I LOVE my car and I plan to have it for a long time.