Ntroduced last year, the affordable 2008 Toyota Yaris adds a sporty three-door "S" hatchback to its lineup, which shares features like 15-inch wheels, front and rear spoilers, CD/MP3 player and other upgrades with its S sedan counterpart.
As in, cheap price, cheap design, cheap materials and cheap construction. The Yaris is available as a spunky three-door hatchback coupe (liftback in Toyota-speak) or a much longer and roomier four-door sedan with more conservative styling.
This model features larger 15-inch wheels, body-color front and rear spoilers, reworked rocker panels, amber-illuminated Optitron instrumentation, upgraded seats with sport fabric, leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, a CD player with MP3 capability and other extras.
Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options
The 2008 Toyota Yaris subcompact is offered as a three-door hatchback coupe (dubbed liftback) or four-door sedan in two trim levels. Standard models are pretty basic, with 14-inch steel wheels, intermittent windshield wipers, air-conditioning, four-way adjustable front seats and a tilt steering wheel. Many model-specific package upgrades are available and include items like 15-inch alloy wheels, powered accessories, cruise control (sedan only), 60/40-split-folding rear seat (sedan), a sliding and reclining rear seat (liftback), a rear window defroster and upgraded interior trim. A full range of Toyota accessories are available to further personalize the Yaris.
EPA-estimated fuel economy with the manual transmission checks in at 29 mpg city and 36 mpg highway (35 mpg highway with the automatic).
Safety
As you might expect given its entry-level price tag, popular safety features like antilock brakes, front seat-mounted side airbags and side curtain airbags are optional on the Yaris. In government crash testing, the 2008 Toyota Yaris sedan earned four stars out of five for front occupant protection during frontal impacts. The 2008 Toyota Yaris travels down the road with a reasonably solid feel.