2010 Toyota Yaris Overview Change Vehicle

This 2010 Toyota Yaris review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2010 Yaris, and includes Toyota Yaris safety, reliability, and fuel economy ratings.

The 2010 Toyota Yaris receives minor changes for the model year. Stability and traction control are now standard and a manual transmission is now offered on the five-door hatchback.

The 2010 Toyota Yaris is available as a three-door hatchback, a five-door hatchback and a four-door sedan. All three models come standard with 14-inch steel wheels, intermittent wipers, air conditioning, a tilt steering wheel, rear center headrest, front and rear cup holders, digital clock, map light and a rear window defogger.

Options include a Cold Weather package, Convenience package and a Sport package.

The Cold Weather package for the 2010 Yaris includes a larger window washer tank with a low-level indicator, a heavy-duty heater and starter and rear heating ducts.

Remarkably, base Yaris models don’t include a radio. So if you’re a fan of music or the talk radio stylings of Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity, you’ll want to step up to the Convenience package that adds an AM/FM stereo with CD player, an auxiliary audio input jack and satellite radio capability. You also gain 60/40 folding rear seats, 15-inch steel wheels with full wheel covers, all-season tires and a rear window wiper.

The Sport package comes with front fog lights, color-keyed front and underbody spoilers, rear spoiler, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, upgraded front seats with sport cloth, power windows and doors, AM/FM stereo with CD player, an auxiliary audio input jack for your MP3 player, satellite radio capability, iPod interface and audio sound leveling. You’ll also gain an anti-theft system and keyless entry, 60/40 folding rear seats, all-season tires for the 15-inch steel wheels and a rear window wiper.

Standard safety equipment for the 2010 Yaris includes anti-lock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution, pump-up brake assist, dual-front airbags, front seat-mounted airbags, side-curtain airbags, tire pressure monitor system and LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) for outboard rear seating positions.

Though the Yaris is small, its safety ratings are solid. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rated the 2010 Yaris as Good, meaning the car received the agency’s highest score in front offset and side-impact test results, and a rating of acceptable in roof strength test results.

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration awarded the sedan and five-door hatchback four out of five stars for both drivers and passengers in front- and side-impact crash tests. Interestingly, the three-door hatchback received five-star ratings in front and side-impact tests for the driver and front-seat passenger. However, in rear-seat side-impact tests, the three-door hatchback only receives three out of five stars.

Consumer Reports has ranked the Yaris as better than average for reliability since 2007. That positive assessment remains unchanged for 2010. J.D. Power and Associates agrees and claims the predicted reliability of the 2010 Yaris is better than most.

The Yaris has a small, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that generates only 106 horsepower. You won’t win any street races with this little car. But it does have more pep than you might expect, especially when you drive the three-door hatch with the manual transmission. That’s the standard transmission on all models, although an automatic transmission is also available.

The EPA estimates the 2010 Yaris can achieve 29 mpg in city driving and 36 mpg on the highway. We covered 335 miles in the Yaris sedan and still had fuel in the tank. During a week of driving we averaged 33 mpg, or slightly better than the EPA combined average for the sedan. However, if you’re looking for the most fuel-efficient Toyota car, you’ll want to choose the more expensive and fuel-economy leading Toyota Prius that gets 51 mpg around town.

Our test car was the 2010 Toyota Yaris S sedan, which means we were driving the sportiest version of this small car. So is it actually sporty? When it comes to the engine, not so much. But the alloy wheels, front and underside spoiler and leather-trimmed steering wheel and shift knob may convince you that you’re driving a sporty car after all.

One of the hallmarks of the Yaris is the unique dashboard placement. Unlike virtually every car on the road, the main gauges (speedometer, tachometer, etc.) all sit in the center of the dashboard. This is a carryover from the Yaris’s predecessor, the Toyota Echo, which also featured the center placement. Fortunately, you quickly grow accustomed to the center dials. And since the Yaris is so small, it’s a simple adjustment to move your line of sight a few inches to the right to check the gauges as you drive. A quick test drive is a great way to determine if the center-mounted dials are an issue. We expect you’ll quickly adjust as well.

While you can technically fit five passengers in the Yaris, this is a car that feels much better with four. We loaded two six-foot, 200-plus-pound guys in the back seat and then squeezed between them. The conclusion was obvious; if you have big friends, limit your passengers to four people total. Otherwise, your center-seat rear passenger will have to ride without using a seat belt, which is never a good idea.

While passenger space was, shall we say, cozy, the trunk of the sedan was actually quite roomy. We easily fit two airline-regulation suitcases and two sets of golf clubs in the sedan. At the same time. A mildly impressive feat, particularly since the opening the trunk is a bit small. Storage space is one more reason why we like the hatchback versions of the Yaris more than the sedan.

You buy the 2010 Toyota Yaris for two reasons: fuel efficiency and dependability. On both counts, the Yaris excels. This is a car that won’t require you to visit the mechanic or gas station often. That doesn’t mean the Yaris is the only compact car you should consider, however. The Honda Fit offers similar reliability scores and fuel efficiency while the VW Golf TDI boasts even better fuel-efficiency scores but worse reliability. Ultimately, if practicality, reliability and decent fuel economy at a budget price tops your list of buying criteria, take a look at the Yaris and decide if this small car with the unique center dashboard controls fits your needs.

By Michael Waterman