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On the Road

By Michelle | May 4, 2008

According to a recent Washington Post article, SUV and truck sales across the US have plummeted year-on-year. With average gas prices at $3.603 nationwide and as high as $3.892 (CA) or $3.747 (NY) in some states, this is hardly a surprise. The same article notes that Toyota Motors’ car sales rose 12% this past year, largely on the strength of the subcompact Yaris (also known as the Vitz), whose sales rose 46%, and the hybrid Prius, whose sales were up 54% — Note that Toyota’s truck and SUV sales dropped 8%.

USA Today, also reporting on Americans’ shift to more fuel-efficient vehicles, said sales of subcompact cars were up nearly 27% from last year — in particular, the Toyota Yaris (up 70%), the Honda Fit (up 61%), and the Kia Spectra (up 41%). About the Yaris, caranddriver.com described the vehicle as: “bubbly styling, frugal on gas, usable cargo area, easy to park, Toyota reliability.” The review continued, “in our testing, the Yaris returned 36 mpg, the best of any car here, while making an entirely commendable 8.9-second run to 60 mph using all of its 106 horsepower.” Edmunds.com writes the that the manual Yaris has “decent midrange pull and has no problem getting up to and cruising at 75-80 mph on the highway” and that all Yarii “absorb freeway expansion joints without drama, adding to the relaxed demeanor at cruising speeds.” Of course, that doesn’t mean that someone used to cursing down the road in a luxury sedan will be pleased with downsizing to a subcompact Yaris. It’s quite small, has a good deal of plastic in its interior, and is definitely more noisy on the highway than say, a Honda Civic. But with 34 city/40 highway mpg, it’s definitely not a bad car if you can’t afford a Prius but want to save on gas.

But perhaps Toyota’s popularity is taking a toll on production. Last year, the automaker slipped to fifth in reliability rankings — behind Honda, Acura, Scion and Subaru. Of course, remember that Scion is in fact part of the larger Toyota family, a spin-off aiming to appeal to Generation Y consumers. And in the “sub-compact” car market, the Yaris undoubtedly has a fair amount of competition. One of its most similar adversaries, the Honda Fit, generally scores better with consumers due to its more upscale interior and four-door layout, but in my opinion, it’s rather lacking in design. The view from the rear isn’t half bad, but the front and the side angles look almost like a boxy soccer-mom car (nothing against soccer moms, of course) — particularly “un-hip” is that awkward-looking double front bumper. But I suppose the Fit’s “box-iness” is nothing compared to the “That’s” (thank you, Honda, for perhaps the worst car name of the century).

Besides the high gasoline price, there are other financial advantages to buying a small, fuel-efficient car. For example, cars that emit less than 120 grams of CO2 per kilometer will be exempt from a new Congestion Charge that will go into effect this October in London.

Oh, and as a side note, Engadget reports that 37% of Gen Y-ers admit to texting on their cellphones while driving. Why can’t people just concentrate on driving?!

Topics: Washington, DC, In the News |

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