Toyota Yaris TS. Very small Car, very big price.

When one thinks of the Toyota Yaris, there is not much confusion about what to expect from the car.  A small car which is meant for a reasonably small budget. The car itself is not cheating by cutting costs at the expense of safety, luxury and driving enjoyment. A typical Yaris is a modern car for a modern trendy buyer and very fuel efficient too. A nice car at a nice price.

Enter the Yaris TS, a much more vulgar expression of what other Yaris’s should not be. Would the same buyer, a person who is probably not prepared to pay above a certain amount for a car be very excited about a Yaris costing close to twice as much as the entry level model? Would the same buyer whose list of realistic features of what car to buy (not a dream car mind you) would not include top speed, 0-60 mph times and circuit like handling... Would this person look at their modest Yaris and think, wow how dumb can I be, I should have bought the much more expensive small car which is not any bigger that mine.

But there is a car out there in production and Toyota is hoping it will sell. The TS is powered by a 1.8 litre dual VVT-i engine producing 98kw (132hp). Surprisingly for a car with the much power Top speed is just above 200 km/h while 0-100km (60mph) is the 9 seconds region.

The car does well in terms of fuel consumption (7 litres for every 100 km). Other than that, slow standing still acceleration and a reasonable top speed(220km/h). This car is really just another Yaris with a bigger engine, revised suspension and chassis to handle the power, a few extra electronics for safety and driving dynamics. The exterior is not that different except for the 17 inch wheels. Not that much change on the interior.

  So then who would buy this car?

A)     Hyperactive teens with money to spend

a.       Answer: No. They would rather have the new Ford fiesta or Honda Civic or even the older Volkswagen Polo

B)      Old women wanting a faster Yaris

a.       Answer: No. This car is not that fast for the amount of power it has. Honda Jazz would be a good alternative.

C)      Seasoned petrol heads looking for some things spunky and excitingly fast but not being the usual suspects (M3, RS4, AMG). Well a good option is the Renault Clio R27. Just a little more expensive but more rewarding.

D)      Absolute brain dead individuals needing their heads checked? No.

Toyota would have done their market research before embarking on this adventure. And a good number of people would have ticked in the yes box for wanting a Yaris that is a little bit more expensive. So the point is Toyota is leading the way in keeping their customers happy.