What are your favorite non-Yaris alternatives, and why?

[Kalispel]

Originally Posted by attrapereves

The choice in transmission for the 2010-2012 Yaris, is it because of the horrible clutch and throttle?

That's a big part of the reason, especially based on all the negative impressions I have heard about pre-2015 manual Yaris - plus a manual 2010-2012 Yaris sedan would next to impossible to find, low-mileage/good-condition/right-color or not (and 2012 sedans were all automatic fleet/rental vehicles only originally). I really do love the look of that generation Yaris sedan though.

I was nervous as hell ordering my 2015 SE manual Yaris from another state completely blind, having never test driven anything other than the 2015 SE automatic. Thank goodness Toyota managed to create a pleasant manual driving experience with the 2015 refinements (at least it seems fine to me, and comparable to my past Honda manuals). Even the throttle seems fine, once I got used to it after about a week. It's pretty easy now to get the RPMs at 1200-1500 for smooth, relaxed launching in first gear from stop.