Owner Review: Reasonable maintenance cost and low fuel consumption - My 2021 Toyota Yaris 1.5 E

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Basic information

2021 Toyota Yaris 1.5 E

Reasons why I bought this car

As an upgrade and replacement to our 2014 Myvi 1.5SE, I'm looking for another hot hatch to be daily driven and potential weekend fun cruises. Also having a small family with 1 child, I thought I needed a small SUV but can't deny my love for another hot hatch. Who doesn't love a cool, sporty hot hatch right? Hence, after few considerations & options from many car brands, I decided to get Toyota Yaris 1.5E 2021 Face lift-d version.

Car selection process

• I had a budget of: RM80k-RM90k
• Models that I have considered include: Honda Jazz/Honda BRV/Proton X50

The reason why I choose this car

Initially I felt in love with Proton X50 but the 6 months waiting list kills it. The final options at that point of time were between Yaris, Jazz & BRV. I don't like how small BRV's awkward rear passenger spaces and comfortability is and I don't fancy the egg-shaped Jazz with old tech. Plus I heard and read some "interesting" complaints from fellow Honda owners. So Yaris was the best option and just in time that Toyota launched the face-lifted 2021 model. 

Furthermore, this car will be alternating between me and my wife for work commutes hence a small, agile, easy to drive car was the characteristics to look for. And to make it more interesting, I didn't even bother to test drive this car when making a buying decision and also this is the first time I owned a Toyota. I just referred to Online car review videos. This is mostly because it's under MCO at that time and I don't have the time to visit the showroom and risk my health when the pandemic was at its peak.

User experience

I have already done 5000 km.

After 3 months of ownership and went for a second service with Toyota, overall I'm satisfied with my purchase such as the looks, the handling, the gadgets given and safety features. 

I like the interior mostly, it feels premium and modern. All black interiors made it even more minimal and clean look. The handling felt a little stiff (like my BMW Z4) for a small daily car but the cornering is smooth and stable even at high speed. You can even drive at 140-60km/h on the highway and doesn't feel shaky. 

The seats are comfortable for short & long hours driving. The boot space is big enough for balik kampung or grocery shopping. My E specs come with free aerokits, 16-inch alloy rims, safety tints, front DVR camera, 360 degrees parking camera, reverse camera, lane assist, Pre-collision sensor and blind spot indicators on both side mirrors. Though some people argue that taking the highest G spec is more worth it, I don't see the importance of extra luxuries such as extra 2 speakers and leather steering wheels and gear knob.

There's two modes of driving provided, which is ECO Mode & Sports Mode. ECO Mode comes in two options as in you can let the car set Auto Eco mode where it intelligently chooses according to the driving situation or you can manually activate ECO Mode with the side button. If you fancy just regular driving without Auto Eco Mode interfering, you actually can turn it off from your dashboard. Sports Mode improves acceleration slightly but not much of obvious, just extra kick in quick acceleration and probably made the handling stiffer.

I've also tested the Pre-collision system and it works great. It will make a high beeping alert sound when you almost crash into another car which gives you enough time to do emergency braking or maneuvering your car safely.

Ratings

Total Score: 4
Performance: 3
Quality & Features: 5
Space: 4
Ride Comfort: 4
Fuel Economy: 5
Price & Cost: 4

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Fuel efficiency -very fuel saving and smooth engine for daily commutes, I only pump petrol every 4 or 5 days. Quite happy with long distance driving, one full tank average RM50 for 500km range with average 17-8 km/l.
• ECO Mode -In my experiment using ECO mode, I can get 18-9 km/l average, though some owners in Yaris Group are able to get up to 23 km/l. I don't use this mode much because the acceleration and speed became very underpowered.
• Sports Mode -I used it sometime for 'wild' night driving and highway cruising, can feel much better pick up in acceleration but nothing over impressive. I paired this mode together with the sequential gears for better speed control. Can be more fun if I install paddle shifters.
• Reliability -No one can doubt Toyota's reliability and economical engine.
• Maintenance Cost -Reasonable and quite on par with my previous Myvi's maintenance cost.
• Audio & speakers -I love the speakers as it is, you just have to tweak the settings to suit your preferences.
• Spare wheel -You get a spare wheel with original alloy rim, which is a BONUS!

Cons

• Paint Thickness -Toyota provided very very thin paint thickness, easy chip from stones or micro scratches from debris, have to invest in PPF or wrap the whole car. In my first month of owning this car, I can spot few stone chips on the hood.
• Center Arm Rest -The arm rest is positioned too far back, not able to sit your arm there is quite annoying especially for long hours driving.
• Tires -The tires (Toyo Proxes) provided are a little stiff for my liking. Considering to change to another brand with more comfortable driving.
• Pick up Speed -Acceleration can feel slightly sluggish at times when you try to overtake or needed that quick boost, can be improve with aftermarket mods though.
• No Auto Cruise/paddle shifters -I'm not sure why Yaris at mid-ighest spec was not provided with Auto cruise & paddle shifters when Vios models were given this feature. But the both functions can be add-n with aftermarket mods as shown by other members in Yaris group.
• Small front side windows -A little hard to tap your TnG card or reaching for parking tickets, I solved this issue by using RFID/Smart Tag or the classic "open the door" to grab the ticket.
• Turning Radius -Turning radius is small and like a truck, you will have to get wide before making a perfect U-urns.

Summary

Looking for a hot hatch car for daily commute and 'fun' driving as a replacement to Perodua Myvi. Initially wanted Proton X50 but opt for Toyota Yaris due to stock availability.

Some interesting events

Not sure if it counted as an interesting event but my toddler loved and always remembered this car well and called it "Papa Silver Car" (I chose Silver for my Yaris, also my first silver car). Most people that shared a ride with me in this car also were impressed by the looks and feels of it. In my family, we owned a few Conti cars and yet my family was still impressed with our little Yaris.

Other than that, I'm also starting to get 'itchy' hence I installed the rear bumper diffuser and changed the muffler tip of my Yaris to look sportier. I'm planning to change to a new set of sport rims soon (BBS) and installing Ultra Racing Stage 1 bars for better and stabler handling.

Future plans include wrapping the whole car (to avoid more stone chips), changing to adjustable suspensions and comfortable tires, upgrading rear drum brakes to disc brakes and probably performance upgrades to increase power. I'm also considering adding Auto Cruise for long distance driving comfort.

Other than that, if you got extra cash laying around, you can change for Drive68 body kit or get that AMG-nspired spoiler just for kicks.

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