A few questions

[Torque]

Looking at a Yaris for my next car, I do about 7000 miles a year, mostly short journeys and have a fubarred left leg so an automatic is my choice.  I'll not be buying new and will be looking at a 12 to 36 month old car and really fancy going for the hybrid but is it worth it or am I better off with a petrol?

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the gearbox is a CVT, what's it like to drive, is it better suited to the Hybrid than the petrol or vice versa?

Real world mpg figures anyone?

Any other info that folk think might be relevant most welcome.

I do like the 2nd gen Yaris which is MMT, horses for courses I suppose but obviously my money goes a lot further the older the car I get but are there any reliability issues to be aware of?

Thanks in advance.

[FROSTYBALLS]

The Yaris Hybrid is an e-CVT, whereas the 3rd generation petrol Yaris is a CVT.

The third generation came out in 2011 so will be well within your choice of a 12/36 month old car.

The second generation Yaris had the MMT, which is an automated manual rather than true automatic, and the youngest will now be five plus years old. The MMT can be troublesome and expensive to repair.

As regards an idea of fuel consumption have a look at the Real MPG section of the Honest John website.

[Torque]

Thanks Mike, I've had a CVT before and liked it so shouldn't be much difference there but are there any known issues with either the CVT or e-CVT?

Think I'll rule out the 2nd gen as they don't have cruise which is something I like for the odd longer run I do.

[Bemused2]

As far as I am aware their are no known problems with the C.V.T. It is used by other makers including the Honda Jazz. The latest version has stepped changes which make it feel more like other automatics. Still very smooth though.

Fearful of mentioning M.P.G. as other members will probably be getting more than I do. 44 m.p.g around town, low fifties on a long motorway run. Just a guide!  

[rrockettman]

Hi Alastair.

I've had my 13 reg hybrid for over a year now and had no problems.

Once you get used to driving with the cvt box, it's a doddle, just sounds like the clutch is slipping!

MPG wise I get around 50/55 winter /summer driving rural driving and then 3 miles each way through Hereford.

I always find it relaxing in town as it's on electric power most of the time and uses nothing when stationary in traffic.

5 year warranty is good and if serviced or at least Battery checked by Toyota, I believe they extend the Battery warranty each year too.

Did I also read somewhere that if you have a puncture, a Toyota garage will repair it for free? ( Probably hoping to sell you a new tyre if they can't repair it )

Russ.

 

[Torque]

Thanks Martin and Russell, what you both say makes for good reading.

My daily commute is 5 miles to work and 5 miles back on B roads.  Probably once a month I have a 75 mile round trip to our head office; some A roads but mostly motorway.  I read that the Hybrid takes longer to warm up which I suppose makes sense due to the fact that you're not using the petrol engine as much as you would with an out and out petrol however, I do wonder if I would be better with a petrol over a Hybrid, thoughts?

[rrockettman]

The hybrid warms up very fast, about 3/4 mile as it's an Atkinson Cycle engine. It can then run on electric power when it can. For me, my first three miles are mainly down hill and I can put it in B to use engine braking to achieve a faster warm up and use less petrol during the downhill warm up.

I seem to get better economy on urban, C and D roads than faster A roads and motorways, but all better than petrol engine alone.

Russ.

 

[Torque]

Cheers Russ

[Parts-King]

I currently run an Auris TS Business Edition Hybrid, I am currently averaging 62 MPG on my daily commute/leisure time. Commute is about 5 miles slow A road and 15 miles fast A road (dual carriageway) The car is a dream to drive, what other petrol automatic does 62 MPG with such comfort? Not many, I am currently on 11,000 miles 

[Cyker]

5 miles should be enough for the hybrid to warm up I would think.
If you really want an automatic, go for the Hybrid! I generally dislike autoboxes, but will tolerate locking torque-converters, as in the GT86, or the hybrid HSD as both of them don't have any wearing parts that cost a shedload of money to fix when they go wrong.

That said, I don't think we've had any people reporting problems with the belt-driven CVT in the newer Toyota cars so far (Which is impressive!), although it's still not been long enough to develop the really nasty problems you can get when the belts start to wear.

The Yaris hybrid isn't as economical as its rating suggests (You're more likely to get mid-50's than 70+!) but it's consistently more economical than the petrol CVT.

If you can find one in your price range with the features you want and in good nick, I'd deffo get that over the petrol!

[rrockettman]

12 hours ago, rrockettman said:

The hybrid warms up very fast, about 3/4 of a mile as it's an Atkinson Cycle engine. It can then run on electric power when it can. For me, my first three miles are mainly down hill and I can put it in B to use engine braking to achieve a faster warm up and use less petrol during the downhill warm up.

I seem to get better economy on urban, C and D roads than faster A roads and motorways, but all better than petrol engine alone.

I know the Yaris should be more economical than it actually is and if I was to replace it I'd be tempted to go for a bit more luxury with a Lexus CT 200h. I'm trying to persuade my OH to trade in her Diesel Subaru Legacy for a Lexus IS300h. 

Russ.

 

 

[Torque]

Thanks folks lots of interesting info.

Cyker I'd have manual every day of the week but my knackered left leg makes it much safer and more comfortable for me to drive an auto.

[MikeSh]

7000 miles a year? Doesn't sound a lot. How long will the better fuel economy take to recover the extra cost of the hybrid? The straight petrol/CVT might be a better option even though it may use more fuel.

Do the maths as I always say 

[Torque]

8 hours ago, MikeSh said:

7000 miles a year? Doesn't sound a lot. How long will the better fuel economy take to recover the extra cost of the hybrid? The straight petrol/CVT might be a better option even though it may use more fuel.

Do the maths as I always say 

I will, don't worry, once I get over my headache 

[Torque]

I'm leaning towards a 12 -36 month old hybrid rather than the petrol although I still need to test drive both to be sure.

I've seen a few that I really like at indy's, provided it's got FSH done at Toyota I trust there's no issue with warranty?

[FROSTYBALLS]

Provided the services have been done at the recommended intervals - either every 12 months or 10,000 miles, whichever occurs first. There is a leeway of 1 month/1,000 miles, whichever occurs first, for each service.

[FROSTYBALLS]

5 minutes ago, Torque said:

I'm leaning towards a 12 -36 month old hybrid rather than the petrol although I still need to test drive both to be sure.

I've seen a few that I really like at indy's, provided it's got FSH done at Toyota I trust there's no issue with warranty?

Provided the services have been done at the recommended intervals - either every 12 months or 10,000 miles, whichever occurs first. There is a leeway of 1 month/1,000 miles, whichever occurs first, for each service.

[Torque]

Cheers

[Torque]

Another question, I've noticed different gearshift layouts between petrol and hybrid cars and 65 / 16 plate cars versus 14 plates for example.  Has there been any changes to the gearbox / es and if so is one greatly better than the other?

[FROSTYBALLS]

The Yaris received its mid-life facelift and went on sale in the summer of 2014. Changes were made to the steering, suspension and reductions in noise, vibration and emissions were made. The 1.0 litre engine had significant  improvements which bought it into line with the Aygo. Changes to the interior and exterior were also made.

14 plate models include both pre and post facelift models.

Trim levels were also refreshed in 2015 and 2016.

The next generation Yaris is supposedly due in 2017, so I doubt whether changes to the transmissions were made after the 2014 mid-life facelift.

[Torque]

Thanks