Toyota Yaris (rental car review)
December 11th, 2007 by Tim Uden
I rented a Toyota Yaris from Hertz at Blenheim Airport for four days of driving around the Marlborough Sounds (at the top end of New Zealand’s South Island).
I had always found Toyota a bit boring. The Corolla is the world’s most popular car and the Camry (which is way too big to appeal to people who like small cars and too small to appeal to those that like big cars) is normally seen driven slowly in the fast lane by old geezers. But the past few years has seen Toyota updating its image with a more design-oriented range with cute and trendy cars like the Echo, Prius and the Yaris.
I really liked the Yaris. It is a really fun car to drive, it looks good and is surprisingly spacious (although the boot is a bit small). The model I had was a 5-door hatch with a digital dashboard display.
I took it all around the Marlborough Sounds, which included loads of narrow winding unsealed roads, and it handled like a dream and it had no problems when I put the foot down on the rare occasion that I came across a flat bit of road.
It is a great zippy little car that handles well, has a small turning circle and is easy to park in tight spaces. I would certainly look for one again next time I need to rent a car, and would consider buying one (although I still prefer the Citroen C1) next time I’m in the market for a new car.
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