34/40? A Corolla with a manual is rated at 32/41. Doesn't seem like an improvement given it's smaller engine, less horsepower and it's in a smaller car???

interesting note about the corolla.
what they should really do is bring the diesel over here. it's more lean on gas, spews out less emissions (apparently), and is still sufficiently powerful.

but european cars are more expensive as a general rule, even when they are equally packaged. check out the prius prices - that car is the same (if you price it fully upgraded) with the only difference being the suspension. it sells in europe, depending on the country, as much as $10K above the US price!

also the us yaris is stripped down as it is, no need to put a lame engine into it as well. just compare the interior photos on the european and us sites. the european model looks like a recent camry or avalon inside ;), with an LCD RPM meter (how damn cool is that??)
i think toyota seriously underestimates the US market. it's still beyond me why we don't have ANY of the european verso models.

"34/40? A Corolla with a manual is rated at 32/41. Doesn't seem like an improvement given it's smaller engine, less horsepower and it's in a smaller car???"

Probably because the Corolla has a 1.8 that is somewhat downtuned (ie. it can make more power in the XRS or Celica) for fuel efficiency, while the 1.5 in the Yaris is tuned to get the most torque and power out of it, so fuel efficiency suffers a bit.

But we also have to take into account that most people report that it is pretty easy in a Yaris/Echo/Echo Hatchback to get very close to EPA mileage, while it might be a bit harder in a corolla.

I'm really surprised that the highway MPG is only 40? I'll be purchasing a new car next year and I was going to consider the yaris, but the corolla gets better MPG. This is very disappointing.

I currently drive a 95 Escort Wagon (with little HP). Even a Yaris with a 1.3L would be more powerful than my car. I was hoping for the Yaris to have at least 45MPG highway.

I like good acceleration like anyone else, but why would I get a smaller car that gets worse gas mileage than the corolla?

I hadn't thought about the taller roof in the Yaris, that makes sense if it's more of a city car that the hwy milage rating is less than the Corolla's. I doubt the 1.5L engine is much smaller/lighter than the 1.8L in the Corolla, it really ought to be getting better mpg figures than stated in this article when larger vehicles with larger engines get similar gas milage.

I don't think a CD of .30 is "pathetic", I don't think it's good but it's not pathetic. I think it's poor for such a small econo car though thats for sure, even if it's more of a "city" car.

I also bet the list is pretty short of cars with a .27 or lower CD. The 2006 Civic Hybrid has a CD of .28 (according to a recent blog on hybridcars.com) and the 2006 Passat also has a CD of .28 (according to cars.com, they're usually good on their specs). The Honda Insight is at .25 and I think it's the most aerodynamic car out there. What was the CD of the EV1 electric car? I'm thinking it might have been below .20, ofcourse having no grill helped I'm sure. The 2nd gen Prius is at .26. The large Lexus LS430 has a CD of .26, I think thats really good for a sedan of that size and they did that in their last redesign back in 2001 or 2002 I think? Some of the Mercedes C-class sedans have a CD of .27.

Sure the Prius and Insight look funky to get their CD down but the LS430 and MB C-class look like regular sedans to me. So I'm sure theres a good deal of tweaks that can be made to make a car more aerodynamic without making it look like an EV1/Insight/Prius.

"Maybe if the Yaris sold too many vehicles then it would take away from other more profitable cars (Corolla and Prius)."
Exactly what toyota was thinking.

the yaris (2200 LB) in u.s. will use scion xa (32/38 mpg) drivetrain with 4.31 final drive ratio. engine will be turning about 3239 when it should be turning about 2300rpm with a lower ratio. even the echo(.29Cd, 2035 LB,35/42mpg) had a 3.53 final drive ratio. u.s. must want acceleration in lieu of outrageous mileage. this new yaris should/could get 50mpg easy. it would with a 6th gear. but then it wouldnt be 12500 either.

corolla turns 2574rpm top gear with Cd of .30 and weighs 2500 LB. 32/41mpg

honda insight turns 2212rpm in top gear with Cd of .25
at 1850 LB. 60/66 mpg

even the new corvette 1436rpm in 6 gear, 3179Lb, 400HP, .28 Cd, got 31mpg hwy according to consumerreports test.

seems to be all about final drive ratio.

I read somewhere that it only cost $150-$200 for some automakers to "upgrade" to a 6spd transmission from a 4 or 5 speed. Can't remember what article it was or what vehicle they were talking about, but it was some new/refreshed vehicle that has a new 6spd. I know the automakers pinch pennies to increase profit margins on the vehicles but that doesn't sound like too much. Instead of a Yaris cost $12,500 it cost $12,700, but could get mid-upper 40s hwy mpg instead of "just" 38-39mpg on the highway.

A 6th gear or taller gear ratio (more or less the same thing) would help this car, and a CD of .30 isn't too bad. It's not like this car doesn't make enough power & has too much drag to utilize a taller gear. A great majority of new cars have CD of .30 or higher.

I also don't get this whole "city" car thing, I mean I get the idea on paper but everyone I know who lives in a city doesn't have a car or rarely drives it and when they do it's only to get out of the city. All the Suburbia I've seen it seems like it's mostly 45mph roads with people driving 50mph mixed in with a good chunk of highway driving.

I bet far more people use this car for commuting around Suburbia and on the highway than "in the city".

Re-read hans gustaf's post about the gearing of the Yaris compared to the echo.

I can't imagine why there are so many posts concerning the 2007 Yaris. I tried the Echo and Scion last year before buying my Corolla. While the Echo and Scion were nice cars, the Corolla was a much better package for the price. My mpg is consistently in the low to mid 30s with an automatic and I have room for four adults and lots of luggage.