16 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday October 25, 2006 www.oakvillebeaver.com Tiny Toyota aims to win big with fine design and a brilliant interior Continued from Page 15 The newcomer also keeps prices down at the pumps. Toyota says the 5-speed manual transmission, standard across the board for the Yaris, uses just 6.9 L/100 km (41 mpg) around town and 5.5 L/100 km (51 mpg) in highway use. With its 42 litre (9.2 gal.) fuel tank that gives the Yaris a theoretical highway range of 755 km (469 miles). With the optional 4speed automatic transmission, fuel consumption is barely higher at 7.1 L/100 km city and 5.8 L/100 km highway. Compared with the outgoing Echo, the Yaris is a perky little visual stimulant. It has a cleaner, more cohesive shape than its predecessor. It sits squat on the road, the front fascia jutting aggressively. From the side, a one-motion monoform shape flows up from the hood to a cabin area with arched lines under the side glass. Combining curved surfaces and sharp lines, as seen in the sculpted door surfaces, creates a feeling of substance transcending the Yaris' actual physical dimensions. Chief engineer, Kosuke Shibahara, says this visual signature reflects a new direction in design philosophy at Toyota. Known inhouse as Vibrant Clarity -- Toyota's equivalent to the new L-Finesse design theme at Lexus -- it's a precursor as to how all future Toyota's will look. Based on the company's global small-car platform, Toyota is particularly proud of the Yaris' packaging. Although it's only 3825 mm (150.6 in.) in length (90 mm up on the Echo), it has an amazing amount of interior space. According to project leader Shibahara, his engineering team carved out a comfortable, roomy interior "millimetre by millimetre." He points to the Yaris' use of space (achieved by adopting a flat floor) that creates rear seat room comparable to that of Toyota's bigger Corolla. No argument there. A ride in the rear of a 5-door LE version revealed plenty of knee room, headroom and space to move around comfortably. If you can believe it, there are also 12 distinct storage spaces spotted throughout the cabin: from upper and lower glove boxes, through pockets on each side of the centre console, to bottle holders, retractable cup holders and seatback pockets and more. This isn't the Yaris' only clever trick. The 60/40 split-fold rear seats on RS models (CE and LE models get a single folding seatback) are also hinged, allowing the cushions to flip and fold to create a deep, flat-floor cargo area. A clean, backlit Lexus-like gauge layout is housed in a neat vertical console arrangement that also creates more legroom up front. The offset dials take some getting used to, however. But, just below them, smooth operating rotary switches for heating and ventilation win points for their ease of operation. Also useful is the tilt steering wheel (leather-wrapped on RS models). Durable fabric seating materials and door trim add a lively look, and the latter wouldn't Auto EVERYTHING look out of place on some of Toyota's more upscale products. But the little hatchback's major strength beats in its 1.5-litre 4-cylinder engine with variable valve timing, an improved version of the unit that powered the Echo. Modified intake and exhaust systems result in a peak power output of 106 horsepower and 103 lbft of torque, with outstanding fuel efficiency. Drive is to the front wheels through a standard 5-speed manual transmission, although a 4-speed auto is available. It poured rain during much of our drive time, great for assessing wet weather grip, antilock brake performance (standard on the RS, optional on CE and LE), road noise, ventilation and wiper functions. We didn't find the Yaris lacking in any of those areas. Though the power and torque numbers don't look unduly impressive, the Yaris felt eager enough to cope with any traffic situation encountered. The standard 175/65R14 tires (185/60R15 on RS models) demonstrated surpris- ing levels of grip and control, especially in the base 3-door CE on a testing slalom layout. MacPherson strut suspension up front coupled with a rear torsion bar system prop up a neat little city car that turns tightly -- abetted by a new electric power steering design -- is fun to toss around when you're feeling exuberant, cuts deftly through traffic, parks easily and has a nicely controlled ride with little noticeable fore/aft pitching or body roll. The above attributes are of key importance to younger male drivers in their mid20s, a demographic group that Toyota wants to win over. It didn't quite make the grade with them on the Echo, but this sophisticated, technologically savvy segment should find the new Yaris more to their liking, especially the sportier RS hatchbacks. 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