Test Drive: 2009 Toyota Yaris CE two-door hatchback, five-speed manual

2009 Toyota Yaris CE hatchback. Click image to enlarge

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Review and photos by Greg Wilson

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2009 Toyota Yaris

North Vancouver, British Columbia – You’re looking at the lowest-priced Toyota you can buy in Canada: the base Yaris CE two-door hatchback. Starting at $13,620, it’s stripped of all those modern luxuries buyers have come to expect nowadays, even in economy cars. Things like power windows, power mirrors, power locks, rear wiper, ABS, side and curtain airbags, 60/40 split folding rear seatbacks, and air conditioning are all absent in the base Yaris, although they can be ordered as options.

This is a different strategy to some economy cars, such as the Honda Fit DX, which comes standard with four doors, six airbags, ABS, power windows, power mirrors, telescopic steering wheel, rear wiper, 60/40 folding seatbacks, all for an MSRP of $14,980.

2009 Toyota Yaris CE hatchback. Click image to enlarge

If you were to load up a Yaris LE 4-door hatchback (base price $14,770) with the same standard features as a Honda Fit DX ($14,980), you’d need to include Toyota’s optional Enhanced Convenience Package ($2,360) for a total Yaris price-tag of $17,130. That’s not quite an apples to apples comparison because the Yaris’ Enhanced Convenience Package also includes air conditioning, power locks with keyless entry, cruise control, and rear speakers. Deduct the price of those options and the Yaris would come pretty close to the Fit, if you could order it that way.

But the point is you can buy a lower-priced, bare-bones Toyota Yaris hatchback if you want one, but you can’t buy a stripped-down Honda Fit.

For those consumers who want simple and cheap transportation – such as college students, families who need a second car as a runabout, or RV owners who want a tow vehicle – the base Yaris CE hatchback is an affordable way to get a brand new Toyota with the security of a three-year basic/five-year powertrain warranty to depend on.

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