Am I the only person who thinks Toyota is moronic to bring over the Yaris sedan instead of the 5dr hatchback? Given the complete disaster that the Echo has turned out to be in the US, and the decent success that the Echo hatchbacks have turned out to be in Canada.... why hasn't Toyota learned their lesson? I want to hold one of these Toyota exec's head under water for a few minutes to clear their brains a little bit!!!

 

Any pics???

 

Yuck- that sedan looks horrible..... looks like the old Tercel warmed over....

 

It is a smart move for the US market. Hatchbacks are not popular with the majority of Americans. Compare the sales of the xA vs. xB. Or the "hatred" against the hatchback Civic Si. Canadians get the 5-door because the market is different.

More here:
http://toyota.jp/belta/
Yaris Sedan resembles Toyota Belta (JDM). Looks better than the ECHO...no offense. What is a "Belta?" Toyota says it's Italian for beauty.

 

I saw a Canadian model Toyota Echo 5 door hatchback today at the
Alderwood mall parking lot(local Washington state mall), and I must say, i like the way that car looks.

Do I have to do serious DOT approval for the Canadian model just to get it here in the states?

I live in Lynnwood, Washington, basically about 2 hours south of Canada....would it be too much of a hassle?

 

Americans love sedans and coupes, despite their stupid impracticality and total uselessness when it comes to carrying anything bigger than grocery bags. One of the reasons Honda's excellent Si in Euro hatch form is being discontinued in favor of another boring coupe variation.

Attitudes are changing slowly, but for the most part most Americans equate small hatchbacks with "cheap car" and prefer trunks. Besides it's easier to mount a big stoopid wing on a trunk than it is on a hatchback.

 

^^^^^Sad but true

 

dude how is a sedan not practical ? sure a coupe is impracticle but whatever, everyone knows that. but i think the sedan is a good idea, its a tiny car but still looks like a regular car because of the sedan shape, while still being able to haul people, etc.. props to the yaris !!!!!

 

Sedan isn't practical because they suck for carrying cargo, especially small sedans. You are limited to the trunk. Even with a folding seat you have nothing like the expansive floor to ceiling space you get in a hatchback or wagon.

The only thing sedans have going for them is a slight advantage in aerodynamics and a little more structural rigidity (3 box vs. 2 box) From a practicality standpoint though, compact and subcompact sedans make zero sense and that is why they sell poorly just about everywhere else other than the overly image-conscious U.S.

I think this Yaris sedan will work though. The Echo sedan didn't sell well not because it was a sedan, but because it was stupid looking and didn't feel like 1/2 the car the Civic did for the same money and had zero cool factor whatsoever. The Echo coupe was even worse looking.

 

Well said Biznox.

 

Thnx.

For what it's worth I think the Yaris sedan looks 'aight. Vast improvement over the Echo IMO. The second gen refresh of the Echo improved things a little bit, but it still looked like a hippo on rollerskates and nothing could be done to salvage the obscene profile of the coupe except a complete redesign from the ground up. That thing was just never meant to be a coupe, period.

 

no its genius gives toyota a better sales reach over a vast majority... thats why baskin robbins has 31 flavors!

 

supposedly with the lipkit and lowered it looks better than the corolla. at least that's what my toyota factory reps have been saying. i'll have to wait and see. as of right now i'd take the 3 dr

 

wow moved by something, complaining about nothing

 

they are bringin the sedan versus the 5 door hatch cause 2 out of three scions are 5 door hatches......

 

exactly

 

even though the xA & xB is 5 door hatches, i still dont see a reason why they dont offer the yaris in the 5 door hatch instead. it looks SO MUCH HOTTER and toyata is seriously looking down on us hatch lovers! i dont mind that they have a sedan, some people prefer it over anything else. BUT I WANT THE 5 DOOR HATCH! AM I GONNA HAVE TO MOVE OUT OF THE US FOR THAT!??

o btw, have any of you got to compare the us interior of the Yaris to foreign interiors? the us interior SUCKS, even though its just mainly the center console, if u comapre the 2, you'll totally be dissappointed with toyota for that. i dont know man, at first i was really exicted to hear that it was coming to the us, now is like a total let down.

 

o and i dont think you are moronic icemilkcoffee, im along the same lines as you are

 

I got a toyota sedan lol and I like it. ONLY with the LIP KIT though, other then that it doesn't look great.

 

I actually prefer the sedan's styling over the hatch's. That being said, I mean the S variant and not the regular one. Oh, and the Scion xD is basically a five door Yaris, I think.