Daihatsu Terios  

The Terios is a compact, supermini with all wheel drive. The car has a rugged looking exterior design, supermini dimensions, and can adapt to overcome various weather elements, yet remains stylish and sophisticated. Daihatsu gave the Terios a taller cabin which changed its looks dramatically over what has become the traditional supermini. As odd as it looks the car has some real quality features worth taking note of.
The Diahatsu Terios has more cabin space than superminis of the past have had, and it provides a stable, comfortable ride. The car’s increased cabin space is more family friendly and increases the car’s potential list of buyers. The boot is now large enough to accommodate more family friendly items. The Terios's unique style allows it to compete more easily in its sector, its build quality rivals many of the better well known brands, and the four-wheel drive system makes it more of an all weather vehicle and that is bound to come in handy.
The Terios is a supermini, but that has not hindered it’s off road capabilities much. Despite its size, the Terrios can and does function in the capacity of a 4X4 vehicle. Daihatsu’s reputation for building reliable and durable cars is exemplified with the Terios.

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Honda Jazz  

Honda's Jazz is one of the cleverest superminis around. It's a thoroughly modern design that's innovative in its use of space, with remarkably good head and rear legroom, well specced, and fitted with frugal and characterful engines. It's at its best in town where it's both friendly and fun to drive. It's very nearly the complete package. The only criticisms are the high initial asking price (although Jazz holds its value well) and the lack of a diesel or headline model (like the Civic Type-R) to get the young driver market interested.



Comfort
Thoughtful use of space means that it seats five without anyone having to breathe in. The seats are comfortable for pottering around town, but not supportive enough for longer trips. Road noise can be a problem: it's tolerable at low speeds, but on the motorway the drone can become irritating. Despite its tall design, there's no problem with wind noise and the engine is well insulated.

Most are well-equipped which combines with the plush feel to help justify the price. Base model gets electric front windows, twin airbags and CD player. SE gets air-con.

Performance
The range kicks off with a 75bhp 1.2-litre, which was introduced to the Jazz range in late 2004 - just after Jazz got a few styling and comfort tweaks. It's a peppy unit that's well suited to town work; it's quick off the mark and nippy at low speeds. It certainly feels quicker than its 0-60mph time of 13.3 seconds suggests. The 81bhp 1.4-litre engine was the engine that Jazz was launched in 2002 and it suits most drivers' needs as it has no problems keeping up with traffic and acceleration is brisk enough for quick lane-changing. It's just as impressive on the motorway, cruising easily at 70-80mph.

Handling
An easy car to drive around town thanks to its light steering and controls. On A and B roads it feels sharp and composed, with firm and precise gearchanges and responsive brakes. It's not fun, but certainly safe and predictable. The Jazz is only let down by its harsh ride (especially on early models that had even firmer suspension), which can at times be jarring and very uncomfortable over potholed roads. Jazz is available with a five-speed manual or seven-speed Continuously Variable Transmission. The latter is an automatic with a manual override to allow you to change gear if you need to.

Safety
Euro NCAP awarded Jazz four star car for occupant crash protection, three stars for child protection and three stars for pedestrian safety. All have dual airbags (and sidebags on SE Sport), and ABS.

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Suzuki Crossover  

You may want to check out the all-new 2007 Suzuki SX4, a crossover that is set to hit showroom floors during the third quarter of 2006. A replacement for the Aerio, the SX4, a five-door hatchback, has a station-wagon like style with has a waistline that starts low and gets higher as it continues down the side of the car. There's a fashionable wedge shape design to it. The front end of the car has a resemblance to other members of the Suzuki family.

Priced between $15,000 and $18,000, the styling gives the SX4 a look that's different from the other cars it competes with, such as the Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris and ChevyAveo, which could mean better sales. But the other big advantage is that it has standard all-wheel drive. None of the other competitors in the field can say that, and for Pittsburghers, that may be all they need to know. Suzuki is fully aware of this advantage, and that's why the number "4" is included in the car's name.

The "intelligent all-wheel drive" system can be operated in three seatings using a console-mounted switch: 2WD for maximum fuel economy on dry pavement; AWD Auto mode, which controls the drive power distribution ratio to the rear wheels in the range of 0 to 50 percent depending on available traction; and AWD Lock mode designed to help escape from snow or mud with the drive power distribution ratio to the rear wheels in the range of 30 to 50 percent. When the car reaches 36 miles per hour in AWD Lock mode, the system automatically switches to AWD Auto mode.

The SX4 is powered by a 143 horsepower, 2.0 liter four cylinder engine backed by a either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic. Fuel economy estimates are 24 mpg city and 30 highway. Standard safety features include an electronic stability program that includes traction control, anti-lock brakes, side curtain air bags, side impact air bags, driver and front passenger side impact air bags and front seat air bags.

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Toyota Yaris Car Reviews  

Overview

Toyota's rise in becoming the world's second largest automaker has been marked by the excellence of its luxury Lexus line and hybrid engine program, but this new, second-generation Yaris is a solid reminder that Toyota earned its way into this elevated position by building good, basic transportation.

The Yaris, however, is better than just good. This replacement for the unloved Toyota Echo boasts the good looks, suave road manners, perky performance and well-tailored interior that establish new benchmarks in the entry-level game. And this will cause the increasing competition in that market many sleepless nights figuring out how to offset Toyota's deep well of talent, materials and technology.

The Yaris combines the economies of an inexpensive sticker, outstanding fuel mileage and the solid integrity that underlies every Toyota vehicle. Sure, certain aspects of the car, such as noise isolation and driving position, are far from ideal, but the Yaris owner will never feel as though he or she had to settle for second best, even if they didn't have to pay much to get the best.

The first generation of Toyota Yaris has been sold in Europe since 1999 and became Toyota's best seller there, and it also won many honors, including the 2000 Car of the Year. However, the Yaris that's coming to America is built off an all-new platform, and whereas the first Yaris was offered only as a three-door liftback, America's traditional indifference to the body style means we will also get a four-door sedan in the line-up.

On the Road: A great all-rounder

I managed put over 300 miles on the front-wheel-drive Yaris during the seven days I drove it in and around Toronto. It was mid-December and the weather was foul even by Toronto standards. I had to drive all manner of road conditions, mostly horrid. During both short hops and longer trips, the Yaris' road manners were exemplary and its handling nothing short of remarkable.

The Yaris is built on a new platform that produces quite a good ride. Speed sensing electric power steering works with the new suspension to produce truly remarkable turning and straight-line stability.

Power comes via an 1.5L, 4-cylinder engine producing 106 horsepower and 103 lb-ft of torque. If you don't know what that means, don't worry. It's enough power for most situations.

Driving at expressway speeds (75mph) in fierce crosswinds posed no problems for this little beauty. Very little road, engine or even wind noise intruded at those speeds even with the heavy crosswinds.

I recorded 32mpg – not bad given the low temperatures, bad roads and the preponderance of city driving, but not all that great either.

Journey's End: Subcompacts aren't as small as you think

I invite all you folks who remain unconvinced that any sub-compact can satisfy your space requirements to take a long, careful look at the Yaris. This one is a lot bigger inside than it looks.

There is a large storage space behind the rear seats and the rear seatbacks can be folded down to accommodate large or awkward objects. My friend’s wheelchair fit easily back there.

The flat cabin floor means three people can ride in the rear seats in reasonable comfort provided none are too broad of beam. And when they’re back there, they’ll have a great view of what’s going on outside. Tall doesn’t matter. I’m close to 6 ft and I had at least 4 extra inches of headroom.

By the time I returned the car to Toyota at the end of the test week, I had made up my mind that this is the car I will buy for myself if – God forbid – I should ever lose this gig and actually have to put down my own money on a set of wheels.

The Yaris is everything I need or want in a car. It’s attractive and it’s compact enough to tuck into almost any space. Yet it’s roomy enough for four full size adults plus their overnight bags and a weekend’s worth of groceries. It’s cheap to buy and economical to operate. And because it’s a Toyota, it’ll run forever.

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Toyota Yaris 1.5 S A/T Limited Edition  

TOYOTA YARIS


Penampilan design eksterior yang menawan dari Yaris dengan citra design generasi muda, menjadikan Yaris pusat perhatian dimanapun ia berada.

Yaris sebagai hasil suatu mahakarya desainer, memiliki kesempurnaan dalam ukuran dimensi eksterior yang memberikan kemudahan,kestabilan dan kemantapan pengendalian saat berkendara

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