00:00 VW has the Bug, BMW has the Mini, and Toyota has the Yaris.
00:10 As cute as it is functional, Toyota brings to the states a car that has long enjoyed
00:14 success in Europe.
00:15 And the Yaris is ready to stomp the competition.
00:18 The Yaris was developed by Toyota's European design studio, ED Squared, alongside Toyota's
00:23 corporate design division.
00:25 When you look at the Yaris liftback, you can plainly see the European influences on the
00:28 Japanese car, but you don't lose any of that distinctive Toyota-ness, which gives the car
00:32 a bit of a George Takai meets Simon Cowell motif.
00:36 Although Toyota has come under some scrutiny for their awkwardly violent commercials, I
00:40 believe it was just an attempt to compensate for their kind of tiny engines.
00:44 The Yaris sports a 1.5 liter, 4-cylinder engine that squeaks out 106 horsepower and 103 pound-feet
00:51 of torque, and has an available 4-speed automatic transmission.
00:54 The benefit of a small engine comes in the form of fuel efficiency.
00:58 Getting 40 miles per gallon highway with the manual transmission, the Yaris is among the
01:02 best in its class.
01:04 The inside is remarkably more spacious than the exterior lets on.
01:08 Offering a place for five passengers and ample storage space when the rear seats are folded
01:12 forward, the Yaris has a maximum of 25.7 cubic feet of cargo capacity.
01:17 The center console is topped by the instrument cluster in a unique yet space-saving way of
01:21 decorating the interior.
01:23 The size of the Yaris is somewhere between a go-kart and Simon Cowell's ego, making
01:27 it just the right size to tug at American heartstrings as the 60's era VW Bugs did.
01:32 Toyota hoped their advertising campaign would lend a tougher edge to the Lil' Tyke, but
01:36 with the rugged mentality of a newborn baby, the Yaris has earned its Beetle reference.
01:42 [music]
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