Perc
Very Odd Looking Vehicular Object
I had my employer's courtesy car again, and for a bit longer this time because my car ended up spending the night on the rack. Big cambelt service including a hard to reach toothed belt that runs the oil pump. Not necessary according to VW, but I prefer to swap it before the service light comes on... that is, the oil pressure light that tells you most of the toothed belt is inside the oil pump.
So, a 2021 or something Yaris 1.5 liter manual. Yes, a conventional drivetrain, not a hybrid. Mileage doesn't matter when the courtesy car renters are paying for the fuel.
The good:
- The dashboard is really solid and well laid out. Most things are on real buttons which are nicely dampened and backlit. So are the stalks. All the controls make sense. The "oh shit" handles are dampened, all four of them. VW, are you watching? You used to be great at these things.
- I've said this before but a 3-pot really makes a nice noise when you give it a bit of shoe. I'm used to a 2.0 TDI DSG and this is a nice change of pace. For a while.
- It has Adaptive Cruise Control. This japanese manual-transmission shoebox actually has ACC.
- It rides better than a small car has any right to.
- It's fun to drive. Remember, I'm used to bigger cars.
- The interior light comes on when you approach the car.
The bad:
- The outer door skin actually shudders/bounces visibly when you close the door with a normal amount of force. This does not feel reassuring.
- The *clong* from the hollow empty door when you let go of the outer door handle. Again, I don't want to have an accident in this.
- The ACC follows too closely even in the max setting. I was in a truck's salt spray for 20 kilometers today. It was nothing compared to how closely the truck was following a poor Ford Focus in front of him, but that's another story. Then again it's a base spec Japanese car and for it to even have ACC is astounding to me.
- The physical button for the auto highbeams is by your left shin. Wtf, toyota?
- It has auto headlights unlike most Japanese cars (it seems they learned) but I still had to twist the lights on today, it was a grey day and roads were covered in salt and slush. My Passat had switched the lights on a long time ago. So if you buy one of these and don't pay attention, you're still going to be that toyota driver without your fecking rear lights on.
- The throttle response is weird. When you rev it out and go for a quick gearchange it will still not have registered you letting go of the throttle by the time you release the clutch pedal in the next gear. Jerk-erk-erky gear changes.
- The bolted-on iPad feels like it's angled away from you in a Morris Marina sort of way. It probably isn't, but that's what it feels like sitting in the drivers seat which is pushed aaaallll the way back.
The noted:
- It's not a bad looking little rollerskate, but just like I didn't like it when Mercedes went from the W212 to the bar-of-soap W213, I like my cars to be a bit angular. See my avatar for one example.
- It is the same size as a Volvo V40 I parked next to today. Nobody goes "heehehehhe you're driving a shopping trolley" when someone pulls up in one of those.
So, a 2021 or something Yaris 1.5 liter manual. Yes, a conventional drivetrain, not a hybrid. Mileage doesn't matter when the courtesy car renters are paying for the fuel.
The good:
- The dashboard is really solid and well laid out. Most things are on real buttons which are nicely dampened and backlit. So are the stalks. All the controls make sense. The "oh shit" handles are dampened, all four of them. VW, are you watching? You used to be great at these things.
- I've said this before but a 3-pot really makes a nice noise when you give it a bit of shoe. I'm used to a 2.0 TDI DSG and this is a nice change of pace. For a while.
- It has Adaptive Cruise Control. This japanese manual-transmission shoebox actually has ACC.
- It rides better than a small car has any right to.
- It's fun to drive. Remember, I'm used to bigger cars.
- The interior light comes on when you approach the car.
The bad:
- The outer door skin actually shudders/bounces visibly when you close the door with a normal amount of force. This does not feel reassuring.
- The *clong* from the hollow empty door when you let go of the outer door handle. Again, I don't want to have an accident in this.
- The ACC follows too closely even in the max setting. I was in a truck's salt spray for 20 kilometers today. It was nothing compared to how closely the truck was following a poor Ford Focus in front of him, but that's another story. Then again it's a base spec Japanese car and for it to even have ACC is astounding to me.
- The physical button for the auto highbeams is by your left shin. Wtf, toyota?
- It has auto headlights unlike most Japanese cars (it seems they learned) but I still had to twist the lights on today, it was a grey day and roads were covered in salt and slush. My Passat had switched the lights on a long time ago. So if you buy one of these and don't pay attention, you're still going to be that toyota driver without your fecking rear lights on.
- The throttle response is weird. When you rev it out and go for a quick gearchange it will still not have registered you letting go of the throttle by the time you release the clutch pedal in the next gear. Jerk-erk-erky gear changes.
- The bolted-on iPad feels like it's angled away from you in a Morris Marina sort of way. It probably isn't, but that's what it feels like sitting in the drivers seat which is pushed aaaallll the way back.
The noted:
- It's not a bad looking little rollerskate, but just like I didn't like it when Mercedes went from the W212 to the bar-of-soap W213, I like my cars to be a bit angular. See my avatar for one example.
- It is the same size as a Volvo V40 I parked next to today. Nobody goes "heehehehhe you're driving a shopping trolley" when someone pulls up in one of those.
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