157 miles in and climbing

So, the Dow dropped 777 points today, but the Yaris went up today, to 157 miles. I took a trip down to Denver and made sure I hit some back roads on the way home. I'm getting used to the car, the size and her characteristics. Though the window space is a still feeling a little cramped, the rest of vehicle seems to have plenty of room for what I need to lug around.

One thing I was really surprised by was how the car climbed the hills around here. When leaving Boulder on U.S. 36, there is a pretty good grade that is about a mile long. In every other car I've owned or driven, downshifting (whether automatic or standard) was necessary, even when ramped up to 65mph or 70 at the bottom. I was at 65mph and I didn't have to downshift on the way up the hill. The car was empty aside from my presence, and was down to about 60mph at the top of the hill, but I couldn't believe it. In fact, I figured I'd just have to downshift to 4th or even 3rd gear, like I have with cars in the past. There was little traffic, and my pace wasn't interrupted, but again, this was a huge surprise. And a nice one at that.

Here's a geeky little photograph with some real images to come soon.

I now own a Yaris sedan! The 37 mile review

I took delivery of the Yaris today! It's now too dark, however, to take any real photos, so I'll get them taken for a following post.

Boulder Toyota (whom I have no affiliation with) was very helpful and the entire experience was pretty pressure-free. If you are interested in a car and wind up there, ask for "Coach." He helped me when the first salesperson I talked to didn't have an interest in dealing with such an inexpensive car.

"Uh, hey Coach, can you help this gentleman out? I have some other stuff to do," he said.

I was pawned off on Coach, which was for the best. He took care of me without any hesitation and got me exactly what I wanted. Communication throughout the entire experience (about a month in total) was open and easy. Tell him you read about it here.

Let the adventure begin!

Initial thoughts in the first 37 miles of driving my 2009 Toyota Yaris Sedan. I never had the chance to test drive this car, so the entire Yaris experience is brand new to me.

• It's surprisingly zippy. I have the manual transmission and there is some pretty good power off the line (for a car of this class). At highway speeds, I was going 65 mph and thought I was doing about 45.
  
• The Flint Mica paint is really nice and has a catchy sparkle/fleck in direct sunlight. I'm very pleased this was the color I ended up with. Because of the darker color, scuffs and dirt may show more easily, but I don't mind.
  
• There's less window area than I expected. When compared to my 2001 Chevy Malibu (the car I drove until a few hours ago), the Yaris is noticeably smaller (obviously), and I feel like the visibility is a little lacking. Even with my seat in the lowest position, I have to crouch down to see out the front when the sun visor is lowered. Also, half of what I see in the rear view mirror is back seat and ceiling. I still see the entire rear window, but the size of the window just isn't that big. I don't really feel like there are any major blindspots, though.
  
• 2009 models have a built in jack for iPods and such...that's a bonus I wasn't expecting.
• It has a tachometer, I also wasn't expecting that. Maybe because of the manual transmission?
  
• I'm still getting used to the gauges being in the center of the dashboard, rather than on the left/driver's side.
  

Anticipation - The Yaris Arrives This Week

I received a call from Boulder Toyota, where I'm purchasing a 2009 Toyota Yaris sedan, saying the car is in transit and should arrive this week. Excitement is pretty high, but anxiety creeps in too, as I've never driven a Yaris sedan before and this is a first-time new car purchase.

When I visited the dealership about a month ago, I was surprised at how limited these cars were. I wanted a very basic, no-frills sedan. My options were chosen and I entered the lottery of color options, rather than choosing a specific color as it expedited delivery of the car. Luckily, my first choice, Flint Mica, is what I will be receiving.

This is what the car should look like!