I test drove a Yaris, Versa and FIT

[Jem_hadar]

Originally Posted by CanadaCraig

Hi Everyone!!
The shifter was really nice but the clutch - YIKES!! It was one of those 'on/off' clutches. I only made a few smooth shifts throughout the entire test drive. The salesman even warned me before we left about how difficult it is to smoothly engage the clutch. In time - that would become extremely annoying. The Yaris felt tight and secure and was a nice car to drive. [except for that clutch]
Craig!!

The reason for the difficulty w/ the clutch is bc the Yaris is throttle-by-wire instead of the standard usual throttle-by-chain.

The type of clutch the Yaris has is going to be the next generation clutch thats going to become the norm eventually, I think, in most new cars.

I agree, its hard to shift smoothly, your RPMs hang a second before dropping..

[pxpaulx]

Originally Posted by Jem_hadar

The reason for the difficulty w/ the clutch is bc the Yaris is throttle-by-wire instead of the standard usual throttle-by-chain.

The type of clutch the Yaris has is going to be the next generation clutch thats going to become the norm eventually, I think, in most new cars.

I agree, its hard to shift smoothly, your RPMs hang a second before dropping..

yeah, that delay is an interesting one! after having our 5spd sedan for a week i've found it works best if you 1 - shift very quickly without hesitation, or 2, wait until it drops about 500rpm from where you initially shifted. if you don't pay attention, and only shift kinda fast (but sloppy) it'll be alittle jerky and over-rev alittle. bottom line at this point, some days are better than others!

[Jem_hadar]

Originally Posted by pxpaulx

yeah, that delay is an interesting one! after having our 5spd sedan for a week i've found it works best if you 1 - shift very quickly without hesitation, or 2, wait until it drops about 500rpm from where you initially shifted. if you don't pay attention, and only shift kinda fast (but sloppy) it'll be alittle jerky and over-rev alittle. bottom line at this point, some days are better than others!

Im still perfecting the smooth shift into first and 2nd... im not 100% all the time, but then again, this is my first stick ever, so I dont expect to be perfect.

Shifting to 3, 4, 5th are always smooth.

And downshifting is getting much better, that was a bigger challenge, downshifting smoothly w/o a jolt. In my buddys MX-3, upshifting or downshifting is always smooth for me practically 100% of the time.

[twocvforme]

Originally Posted by Jem_hadar

The reason for the difficulty w/ the clutch is bc the Yaris is throttle-by-wire instead of the standard usual throttle-by-chain.

The type of clutch the Yaris has is going to be the next generation clutch thats going to become the norm eventually, I think, in most new cars.

I agree, its hard to shift smoothly, your RPMs hang a second before dropping..

Mechanic at Toyota claims they did away with Standard in the Forunner and trying to do it with others...who knows...said they polute to much.

[areitu]

Originally Posted by Jem_hadar

The reason for the difficulty w/ the clutch is bc the Yaris is throttle-by-wire instead of the standard usual throttle-by-chain.

The type of clutch the Yaris has is going to be the next generation clutch thats going to become the norm eventually, I think, in most new cars.

I agree, its hard to shift smoothly, your RPMs hang a second before dropping..

The rev-hanging is an emissions-related feature. I'm wondering if anybody has managed to take the time to figure out the Yaris ECU and come out with an ECU flash to remedy the problem.

I've driven both an 5AT Fit and a Yaris. 5MT Fits are hard to come by, especially for a test drive, especially in my area. I imagine it would have a little bit of the "hanging" for emissions as well.