2018 Toyota Yaris 1.3 E CVT
Published Apr 19, 2018 04:05 pm
Text and photos by Neil Pagulayan
Last year, at the peak of the excise tax buying rush, Toyota unveiled the2018 Yaris to add to the already many choices in Toyota’s lineup. This week, we take a closer look at the 1.3 E CVT variant.
New look
The Toyota Yaris gets a new look for 2018. On the outside, you’ll immediately notice the new front end. It’s much rounder compared to the previous iterationand when you look at the badge, it seamlessly flows into the four-beam halogen headlights that sweep upward and around the fender. There’s more black up front, making it seem like it’s a big air-dam for that sportier look. The rear is also a lot rounder than the previous model and the tail lights are sleeker and start at the tailgate and wrap around the rear corner. It comes with 15-inch alloy rims with 185/60 Dunlop tires.
Upscale interior
This Yaris has a more upscale feel to it. The interior also gets major updates, with a new dashboard, center console layout, and an Optitron instrument cluster with illumination control. The dashboard is swathed with piano black accents. For entertainment, there’s aseven-inch touchscreen audio entertainment system with CD,MP3,Aux,USB,Bluetooth, voice control and Weblink for iOS and Android.
I like how everything is black including the seat material and ceiling, which helps reduce glare on sunny days.Finding the right position is easy with tilt-adjustable electric power steering (EPS). As for passengers, the rear seats three with three head rests which also fold and split 60/40.
Power and handling
Under the hood is a 1NR-FE, 1.3L Dual VVT-ifour-cylinder DOHC engine that puts out 98-PS at 6,000rpms with torque of 121-Nm at 4,400rpms, mated to a CVT. This is just right for running around the city, but it does get loud and you will feel it heave when you need to get off the line quickly or when going uphill.
The CVT is quite responsive, downshifting as needed. Helping keep the drive economical is the Econo light that illuminates whenever you drive the Yaris economically.
The ride is a little firm but this paid off when I took it up the winding roads of Antipolo. Steering is responsive and accurate at higher speeds, but tends to be a little dull at much slower speeds, which is a trademark of electric power steering.
Safety
You get quite a few airbags with this Yaris: driver, passenger, driver knee, side and curtain shield airbags. Vehicle Stability Control is standard along with the Anti-lockBraking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist. Child locks and ISOFIX child seat hooks are also standard.
Overall, it’s as good a car as you can expect for its category from Toyota. This 1.3L E CVT variant is priced at P927,000 which is in theupper price range for cars in this class, butif you’re weary about reliability and parts availability, you can’t go wrong with a Toyota.
Last year, at the peak of the excise tax buying rush, Toyota unveiled the2018 Yaris to add to the already many choices in Toyota’s lineup. This week, we take a closer look at the 1.3 E CVT variant.
New look
The Toyota Yaris gets a new look for 2018. On the outside, you’ll immediately notice the new front end. It’s much rounder compared to the previous iterationand when you look at the badge, it seamlessly flows into the four-beam halogen headlights that sweep upward and around the fender. There’s more black up front, making it seem like it’s a big air-dam for that sportier look. The rear is also a lot rounder than the previous model and the tail lights are sleeker and start at the tailgate and wrap around the rear corner. It comes with 15-inch alloy rims with 185/60 Dunlop tires.
Upscale interior
This Yaris has a more upscale feel to it. The interior also gets major updates, with a new dashboard, center console layout, and an Optitron instrument cluster with illumination control. The dashboard is swathed with piano black accents. For entertainment, there’s aseven-inch touchscreen audio entertainment system with CD,MP3,Aux,USB,Bluetooth, voice control and Weblink for iOS and Android.
I like how everything is black including the seat material and ceiling, which helps reduce glare on sunny days.Finding the right position is easy with tilt-adjustable electric power steering (EPS). As for passengers, the rear seats three with three head rests which also fold and split 60/40.
Power and handling
Under the hood is a 1NR-FE, 1.3L Dual VVT-ifour-cylinder DOHC engine that puts out 98-PS at 6,000rpms with torque of 121-Nm at 4,400rpms, mated to a CVT. This is just right for running around the city, but it does get loud and you will feel it heave when you need to get off the line quickly or when going uphill.
The CVT is quite responsive, downshifting as needed. Helping keep the drive economical is the Econo light that illuminates whenever you drive the Yaris economically.
The ride is a little firm but this paid off when I took it up the winding roads of Antipolo. Steering is responsive and accurate at higher speeds, but tends to be a little dull at much slower speeds, which is a trademark of electric power steering.
Safety
You get quite a few airbags with this Yaris: driver, passenger, driver knee, side and curtain shield airbags. Vehicle Stability Control is standard along with the Anti-lockBraking System (ABS) with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist. Child locks and ISOFIX child seat hooks are also standard.
Overall, it’s as good a car as you can expect for its category from Toyota. This 1.3L E CVT variant is priced at P927,000 which is in theupper price range for cars in this class, butif you’re weary about reliability and parts availability, you can’t go wrong with a Toyota.