1.3 VVT I 2WD

An Undervalued practical car

The Urban Cruiser is not how Toyota marketed it. It is a Yaris with a mini MPV body, not a style statement or a 'lifestyle' vehicle. It is however a practical size with plenty of interior room, functions well in the City and can handle longer drives. It is also very well built, not many 9 year old cars have no squeaks or rattles in the interior.
For all the negativity directed at this car I can pick some salient points: The boot isn't vast, fold the seats and they flop onto the squabs, the ride is not pillow soft and the front seats are not Toyotas best effort.
Driving: Handling is fine by me it can go round corners in a stable fashion I do not treat the road as a racetrack, it always feels safe. The ride is firm but not jarring and that firm ride helps the roll control, I don't think it leans much at all and I don't drive sedately, remember cornering is all about balancing the vehicle, throttle off and power out of the bend. Keep the tyre pressures right and make sure the tracking is good and you will have the handling the engineers built in. The only thing I notice is the torsion beam rear can occasionally follow odd cambers, an IRS would have made a difference.
You have all round disc brakes that are progressive and strong. A lot of people complain about the underpowered nature of the 1.33 VVT I, it is a great little engine, it will dawdle along in traffic with no hesitation, it is a dual variable valve unit so if you want a little bit of shove get the revs up to around 4000 and it will pick up well. Cruising at 75 mph shows 3000 rpm in 6th so economy is reasonable. The gearbox is very slick and easy to use, its a close ratio box so you have to use it. Don't like changing gear? Buy an automatic. Dare I say it? Its actually quite fun driving it because you do have to Drive it! The steering isn't bad, its all electric so has the slightly dead feel they all seem to have, its OK though, weighted about right, although not the best turning circle. The car doesn't seem to be unduly affected by side winds or traffic buffeting either.
Using: Plenty of room for passengers, getting in and out is easy enough for young and old and the cabin is OK for kids, short and tall people. I like the cabin environment, the windscreen is reasonably upright and visibility is good, material quality is OK and there are a few good storage areas. The front seats are shorter in the squab than they could be and there is no lumbar support, I find this isn't an issue as I can adjust everything to get a good compromise, I have done 200 mile stints without crippling myself.
You may have gathered that I quite like the UC. Its got Climate, bluetooth, keyless stop start and entry and a few other bits that are useful like the chromatic rear view mirror. Because it was expensive new a well looked after car at 9 years is affordable to keep and run. Its also got Toyota's depth of engineering behind it so I expect reliability to be good.
Seems to be the car I need anyway, like any vehicle understand what it does well and surprisingly it can tick quite a few boxes, they are also not a common sight so you could be driving a future classic,
I can easily average mid - high 40's mpg because I have got used to the fact that the change up / down indicator is actually useful, you can put this car into a higher gear than you think.

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