Persuade me to buy a Yaris!

[HYang]

Originally Posted by TONIZZLE

Here we go! An SUV to Yaris owner. I noticed you didn't mention anything about winter driving with the Yaris. Do you miss the SUV in the winter? What would you consider a long trip? 1hr each way? I didn't feel any discomfort when test driving the Yaris. But that was only for 5 minutes.

Winter driving:
According to the Internet, ESC (electronic stability control) was not yet available for the Yaris (and most other subcompacts) in 2009. ESC is supposed to help prevent loss of vehicle control in snow/rain.

ESC became standard for 2010.
I got the '10 model for that reason and I don't regret it.

The 'slip' light (indicates that ESC has been activitated) came on quite often after the snowstorms this past winter, especially when turning corners- I never had any spin-outs, and I assume I have ESC to thank for that.

So yeah, you might consider ESC (or lack thereof) to be part of your decision on trading your 4runner for that '09 Yaris (unless of course your 4runner does not have ESC either).

As for longer trips:
I find the Yaris's firmer seats to be much more comfortable for longer trips than the cushy seats in my dad's Buick LeSabre or my brother's Oldsmobile Delta88.

Longer trips for me means 5-hour drive thru western NY.

Then again I've never really had issues with any car seat. I'm 5'7", 150lbs, maybe that's why.