Yaris

Check out my new car!

Just kidding.

Come on, you should know that I want the liftback, not the sedan. And in cobalt blue!

I did test-drive the sedan today, though.

It's a very small car, which I like. The gas mileage is fabulous. The bucket seat is comfortable, though not as big as the seats in Sean's Corolla (something I noticed when I was driving the Corolla home). One weird thing was how the console was laid out--absolutely nothing in front of the steering wheel.

It took me awhile to get used to looking to my right to see my speed.

The view out the rear window seemed small and limited, but the car is so small itself that it's not as big an issue as it was, say, in those crazy Tauruses from a few years ago. Plus, the side mirrors help.

The sedan I drove did not have power locks and windows. The door locks were kind of funky, and they do not automatically unlock when you open the door from the inside. Also, the Yaris does not have daytime running lights. (This doesn't bother me, but Sean loves him some running light goodness.)

There was no cup holder immediately between the two front seats, but there was one dangling off the back of the center cubby. A little inconvenient, but at least it's there--the Subaru has no cup holders.

Driving the sedan hasn't given me an idea of what the liftback will be like, because the two were designed by completely different teams. I'm hoping that the brakes will be more responsive in the liftback; the sedan seemed to want to keep moving, despite my efforts to stop it. Maybe I'm spoiled by the very nice brakes in Sean's Corolla.

I'm also hoping that rear visibility will be improved by having a hatch rather than a trunk, but I honestly don't know how that will be. Since the car is so small, the headrests of the front seats actually obscure the view! I doubt that will be much different in the liftback.

The center console and controls are all pretty easy to navigate. Turn signals, wipers, and lights are all in the same place as the Corolla. The hazard lights are a button on the top of the console--fortunately, this button is positioned a good distance from other controls. In the Corolla, I'm always hitting the hazard lights every time I go to turn on the air conditioning.

The handling was great. Being a small car, it has a tiny turning radius, which is faboo. The steering was comfortable, too.

I had plenty of room, but I'm short. I don't know how my taller friends will react. Then again, Brooke can fit in the Subaru (with a little crouching, I think), so it might be okay.

In all, I was more pleased with the sedan than I thought I would be. It is much cuter in person than it is on the website.

However, I am still waiting for the liftback. Toyota of Augusta should be getting one in on April 21. I have my name down for a test drive already :D