Our Cars: 2012 Toyota Yaris – week 4

Don’t diss the diminutive one

By Shahzad Sheikh

Faithful little Yaris

27th Jan- 2nd Feb 2012

A typical routine on one of the major four-five lane Dubai arteries is being stuck behind a slow moving gate of cars/vans/trucks that stubbornly cruise along mirroring speeds, but choosing not to convoy.

I’m biding my time though, waiting for the moment that a gap presents itself – I never like being amidst a crowd of cars at speed. But Range stormer dude behind me, on the phone – you can just make out through the heavily tinted windows – is bearing down on me as if he can make the traffic part way with a zap of his high-beams.

He can’t but I move out of the way, not wanting to be part of his expensive crash. Many others conclude likewise, but not all the traffic flow is so submissive.

Phat Yaris

Meanwhile I’ve found a few openings, hopped a few lanes and not only am I still ahead of Range stormer dude, but I’ve left him still stuck fuming a few car lengths behind.

In the more congested streets I’m zipping along changing positions easily, bounding onto roundabouts without disrupting any of the other cars. Nippy defines the new Yaris.

Get away from it all and relax in the little Toyota

Parking too is easy, more choices open up when you’re looking for a spot, not only in terms of space – you can slot the little Yaris in almost anywhere – but it’s far less prone to damage. It’s not so wide that people have to bang their doors into it (although they still will) or worst. On the flipside, you’ll never get any priority parking or preferred parking with this car – you just have to leave it with the rest of the proles.

Freshly cleaned

The above, then, mostly illustrates that driving a small anonymous car in a big bustling city definitely has its perks. Where you’d have a worry threading a big expensive car in traffic, you can zip through in this one; whilst you might feel anxious about where you left your pride and joy in the middle of that meeting, you don’t give the Yaris a second thought, until you need it. Then you get to the car park, whistle and cry ‘here boy!’ and then laugh at yourself. Okay, well I do anyway.

Cleared out the old office and the last remnants of CAR Middle East in the boot

As for the last week, mileage has hit 6845km and we’ve put 2523km on it so far during our tenure – mostly hard-charging around Dubai. It hasn’t put a foot wrong, returns consistent economy, has been a refuge, a mini-van, a shopping cart and yes, I’ve even been taking the family around in it without complaints from the two sprogs in the back.

It’s been working so hard in fact that we’re giving it a little break whilst we’re testing other cars over the next week.

Part 1 – week 1
Part 2 – week 2
Part 3 – week 3
Part 4 – week 4
Part 5 – week 5-6
Final Part 6 – week 7-8

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.