You'll like it!
I had a 6 speed Versa hatch for a suburban commute and I hated it.
"Don't mod the DD they said...."
But then I added a set of sticky tires and TE37s and it was way more fun EXCEPT no cruise control, armrest, and the cloth seats shocking the hell out of me everytime I egressed the vehicle. So I eventually got tired of it BUT now that I mostly have a 2.3 mile round trip city commute, a little 5 speed Yaris or Versa would fit the bill and be even better than before.
boxedfox said:This thread is making me want to buy one too. I was watching some of the replays from the past few years of Runoffs and kept thinking about how awesome Jason Isley's H-Production Yaris looks in a field of chop-top Spridgets and battle-worn CRXs.
If I bought a Yaris, that could be me terrorizing drivers of tiny British sports cars in a (relatively) gargantuan modern econobox.
2016 SCCA Runoffs - H Production Replay
https://www.scca.com/videos/2029798
2015 SCCA Runoffs - H Production Replay
https://www.scca.com/videos/1972492
2014 SCCA Runoffs - H Production Replay
https://www.scca.com/videos/2027450
2013 SCCA Runoffs - H Production Replay
https://www.scca.com/videos/2027374
2012 SCCA Runoffs - H Production Replay
Watching Jason Isley running down all of the cars in those vids is inspirational. He posts regularly on www.yarisworld.com if anybody wants to connect with him or ask him for advice.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson :
All right, here ya go, finally got a quick wash done today. Based on the amount of bug and tar remover needed and the fossil record contained in the road tar on the rockers, I'd say the car was last washed sometime in the early cretaceous period.
Other observations: The center mounted pod is still weird. It also has a button on the dash labeled "AC" which allows you to select between cool air and acceleration.
Spent 6 hours today touching up stone chips/scratches. PO appears to have taken good care of the car mechanically, cosmetically, not so much. After I cleaned them with paint prep, I marked them with masking tape. It looked something like this: 
In reply to kazoospec :
I think doing a good detail is one of the greatest joys of acquiring a new to me car.
Maintaining it after that is becoming more of a hassle but I do enjoy a clean car.
Nick (Bo) Comstock said:In reply to kazoospec :
I think doing a good detail is one of the greatest joys of acquiring a new to me car.
Maintaining it after that is becoming more of a hassle but I do enjoy a clean car.
Agree 100%. I haven't even started on the interior yet.
Vigo said: Already own/love a Prius.
Possibly the least GRM sentiment ever expressed on GRM.com
^Not really. I love our Prius too. And my 11 MPG Land Cruiser and my 240Z. They all do different tasks and do them well. I'm blown away by people who hate Prius's and think all owners can't possibly have other reasons for owning them except to put Coexist stickers on them and to save the planet.
So far I've saved $3600 total in fuel compared to my previous Wrangler since buying the Prius. That can go in to the other fun cars, vacations, investments....
crankwalk said:^Not really. I love our Prius too. And my 11 MPG Land Cruiser and my 240Z. They all do different tasks and do them well. I'm blown away by people who hate Prius's and think all owners can't possibly have other reasons for owning them except to put Coexist stickers on them and to save the planet.
So far I've saved $3600 total in fuel compared to my previous Wrangler since buying the Prius. That can go in to the other fun cars, vacations, investments....
This is kind of what brought me to the Yaris. I had a job that needed to be done for the least possible cost. Hopefully, a side effect of an inexpensive commuter car will be that we'll be able to keep the Miata as a "fun car" despite adding another vehicle, driver, license plate and, the big hit, insurance for a 16 year old male driver. While it may not have been my "first choice", it is the one that ended up making the most financial sense.
Of course, in the true spirit of GRM, I hope to make the Yaris as much fun as possible.
I've got a Miata and a Yaris, both fully caged. The Yaris is only a little slower and just as much fun to drive. Put all season tires on the rear and you will get your fill of shenanigans.
I know all to well the soul crushing disappointment and appliance can bring you. I own a '16 Versa Sedan, stick and crank windows. I've kicked around finding ways to make it better like lowering it slightly, maybe 16" wheels and tires and it needs a lot of sound deadening.
I will be selling my gas guzzling Kia Sorento soon and looking for a small appliance to make my DD. An old Civic is near the top of the list, and even though it's going to be my econo-box, I will be doing some mods to make it fun. Good on ya for being reasonable and still looking for ways to make it fun. Some people just don't understand the "slow car fast" mentality. You obviously do.
Guys look into Toyota Vitz in Japan. Same car as Yaris and Echo. They made a turbo version of this car too. Hilarious fun! I had a 2001 Echo coupe that I bolted all go fast vitz/Yaris race car stuff to about 15 years ago. Car was a hoot. Beat many faster cars in ax. Most would be surprised that Yaris/Vitz/Echo platform has been one of most raced cars in world. Big Yaris/vitz cup races all over the world. Yaris rally cars too. Granted not most capable car but hilarious fun.
my favorite was first gen vitz/Yaris/echo (in US). Most don't realize there are coilovers, koni sport shocks, sport springs, white line swaybar sand lots more for these cars as they are raced. Heck even bolt on dog box transmissions!
Dog box for Yaris
This shows fun Yaris hatch
https://youtu.be/_NQal1ffv1A
This just in ......Isley has just taken H prod at this years runoffs!!!!!
Hey...Ive had my sedan for nearly 7 years. I wanted basically a new (at the time) equivalent of a Tercel, I even spec'd crank windows and manual locks.
Car is great fun, makes 107/110 at the wheels with really only a full exhaust with a header, a 2" tooter intake manifold spacer and a custom short ram intake. Ran 16.2 a few years ago at the drags on snow tires. Probably go 15s if I ran stickys and launch with some balls. TigerTec springs, Tokico Blues, UR front and rear bars, Tanabe strut bar, Whiteline poly bushings up front, a little toe out setting up front, and metal shifter bushings on the trans.
Oh and when I would hypermile it back during my 110mile commute, it would regulary get 50+mpg. now days I short trip alot and run around town and typically get 38-46mpg average per tank
In reply to malibuguy :
Are you getting that HP on factory engine management? I'm open to tinkering with it even though I bought it as a commuter, but I'd really rather leave the electronics alone. Any specifics on said "full exhaust"? I'm really not finding a lot of options there, but suspect I might be looking in the wrong places.
Also, how the heck are you getting that kind of mileage? I'm getting low 30's around town and about 40 on the highway.
In reply to kazoospec :
100% stock ecu.
Driving style gets that MPG my man :)
Im a professional exhaust fabricator by trade...so exhaust is easy for me. There is only a few off the shelf options which are axle backs. I rarely ever use anything off the shelf anymore.
I run a WeaponR header (which I port matched to the head). I also ditched the ball-socket flex for a traditional interlocking flex, 2" 409ss piping into a MBS 100cell race cat into a Scion TC resonator, 2" carried to the axle then goes into 2.5" over the axle into a large Borla muffler (from a wrx kit) that has twin 2" tailpipes. I also have 2 other axle-backs for when my mood changes...1 has a Flowmaster DeltaFlow 40 and the other is just straight pipe. But 95% of the time Im rocking the Borla.
First mod you should do. Take off your air box lid. And look up inside that. You will find the charcoal filter, it's highly restrictive. Drill out the 'dots' around its perimeter and pop it out. Dont waste your time with aftermarket air filters for the stock box. Just run a quality replacement. Then reset the ecu (disconnect the battery or pull the ecu fuse)
TRD rear bar makes a huge difference. I miss my 09 hatch. Had TRD springs, rear bar, 14x6 VW Snowflakes and Azenis on it. That was a fun car on off and on ramps. 38-40 mpg all day too.
In reply to dxman92 :
I just got my mileage check for a work trip I had to take which, perhaps not coincidentally, I earmarked for a TRD bar. I'm hoping it sharpens the handling a bit and, more importantly, makes the back end less likely to get shoved around in the aero coming off of semi's on the highway. With the trucks traveling 70+ around here and the tall profile/light vehicle combo, it gets a little sketchy on the interstate.
In reply to kazoospec :
That never really goes away. 16x7s with a 195/50 really made the largest difference. Im quickly reminded every winter when I put on the stock sized snow tires and get tossed around like a damn chew toy
...as much as I love driving my E61 compared to my Accord, the 40+ mile daily commute for work sucks.
Just might need to find a Yaris for work now.
Well, ordered up a TRD rear sway bar. And so it begins . . . 
Dang it, y'all are makin' me wonder about the hatchbacks! How can you tell if it has cruise control? I did a quick seach on AutoTrader and there were only 5 hatches with manual trans and cruise in the US for $9k or less. Is cruise part of a specific package? Cruise & AC are my current "gotta haves"...
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