Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Reaffirmation that driving a slow car can still be fun

Modified 2007 Toyota Yaris liftbackNow that spring is allegedly on its way here in the Pacific Northwest, the winter tires are off both our Subaru WRX and our Toyota Yaris. Both vehicles were fitted with studded snow tires, which greatly increase traction in inclement weather. However, due to the tires' narrower footprints and flabbier sidewalls, both did not corner nearly as well. While that's sort of a given, you don't realize how much it affects handling until you get your sticky summer tires back on.

Snow tires or not, the WRX still had plenty of get-up-and-go due to its gusty turbocharged performance. Handling was diminished, but at least it still would scoot in a straight line. The Yaris, however, really doesn't scoot much in a straight line no matter what tires are on it. The handling, however, is its performance attribute. Keep in mind, our Yaris is lowered, has a wider rear stance, a rear sway bar, bigger wheels, and sticker tires than a stock Yaris, all greatly up the fun factor. No matter what springs, swaybars, or rear track with the car has, with narrow winter tires, the handling on dry pavement is going to be limited. Plus, the fact our Yaris as the TRD clutch meant easy wheelspin from the studded 185mm wide tires. Thankfully, the winter rolling stock has been put away for the year.

Now that I've got the grippy Yokohama S.Drive tires back on the lightweight 15" wheels, the car has come to life again. I was reminded how fun the Yaris can be to drive, even though now I own a car that has nearly 2.5 times the horsepower. While my Yaris will never come close to matching the performance characteristics of the WRX, it has its own unique set of variables that make it entertaining to drive, especially in the corners. Weighing in at a spry 2,300 lbs., the Yaris can be thrown into corners; it feels very nimble. Plus, our Yaris, with the orange wheels, lowered stance, and throaty exhaust note still gets more looks than our nearly stock (for now) WRX.

So yes, I still very much enjoy driving my 100 horsepower Toyota go-kart. And while the WRX is a screamin' hoot, the Yaris is still a barrel full of fun, plus it gets great mileage on 87 octane fuel. Yes, driving a slow car can still be very entertaining.


3 comments:

Killchain said...

Glad to know you still love the Yaris.

Anonymous said...

The Yaris is a ton of fun. Especially when I pass a lot of more capable cars on canyon roads. :)

Anonymous said...

I sometimes think about selling my SX4 to buy a Yaris to play with. Maybe one day...