I have to say the Yaris Sedan’s downturned grouper fish face is growing on me, the subcompact four-door certainly delivering

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its own unique character in a class that hasn’t always been so risky. Then again, the Yaris Hatchback this new four-door shares its name with is no staid and conservative wallflower either.

Unlike the Yaris Hatchback, the new Yaris Sedan is the first Toyota I can remember that’s not actually a Toyota behind that elaborate new nose. The closest we’ve seen to this is the Scion FR-S/Subaru BRZ duo, the Scion known as Toyota GT86 in other markets, but this was a collaborative effort between two brands from the get-go, Subaru partially owned by Toyota no less, while the opposite has happened in year’s past with some Toyotas transformed into Pontiacs and Chevys, the Matrix remade into the Vibe and much before that the Corolla into the Nova (and Geo Prizm), but this is an entirely different scenario. The

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Yaris Sedan is actually a Mazda2 with a nose job, that’s it. It gets even more convoluted when going to the U.S. where the Yaris Sedan is badged as a Saturn iA, ironically the bestselling model that underperforming brand has had in a very long time.

That’s got to hurt. I mean, Scion tried to sell its (actual) Yaris-based xD for years and it flopped, but now this Mazda2-based upstart is a hit? That should make the folks in Hiroshima smile. It helps that the new Mazda2 is not yet available in North America, so we’re not familiar with its rear end design that’s essentially unchanged on the Yaris four-door. The big grille opening and headlight design are from Toyota,

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a dramatic departure from what Mazda offers in other markets, although the rear portion of those lights, where they meet up with the front fenders, is identical.

If it sounds like I’m complaining or in some way saying this is a bad thing, I’m not. If any company were looking for a partner to share its good brand name with, Mazda would be a smart choice. Fiat is doing likewise with the new Mazda MX-5 roadster, a resurrected Fiat 124 Spyder on the way as a result, although you won’t be able to see that the two share the same underpinnings as easily as you can with this car or the aforementioned FR-S/BRZ.

The

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Yaris Sedan benefits from chrome trim around the big grille’s edges and combination headlamps that look quite attractive, while its mirror caps and door handles are body-colour so as not to look too base, while the wedge-like Mazda2 taillights are nicely detailed. The car’s lines are swoopy from front to back, the side profile showing off its aerodynamic sculpting best. That’s where you can see how far the hood bends downward as it nears the grille, and get a good visual on the lower belt line that sweeps upward as it passes over the back door. Simple plastic covers over steel rims look nice from a distance, effectively hiding rear drum brakes that never look good when framed by more open alloy wheels.

Being that Toyota Canada decided not to make the Yaris Sedan a Scion iA, which poses questions about the future of the Scion brand in Canada, there was no need to follow

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Scion’s one-trim-fits-all business model, which in the end allows for more flexibility in pricing. The Yaris Sedan is still a “premium” product compared to the Yaris Hatchback, with a base price of $16,995 plus freight and dealer fees compared to $14,775 for the hatch, but Toyota is able to offer that entry-level trim as well as Premium trim that starts at $20,200. Still, even in base “no-name” trim the Yaris Sedan is likely nicer than you’ll be expecting inside.

Its Mazda overtones are impossible to miss if you’re familiar with the normally competitive Japanese brand. It starts with Mazda’s metallic edged wing-style primary gauge package, with a largish circular speedometer at centre, a tiny digital tachometer, odometer and gear selection display to the left and another digital

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grouping of gauges to the right, including fuel, average fuel economy (which was good at 7.0 L/100km) and an exterior temperature display. The steering wheel is also obvious Mazda kit. While not leather-wrapped the tilt and telescopic three-spoke design is quite sporty, with a metallic twinned spoke at bottom, while it’s filled with high-quality redundant audio, Bluetooth phone, multi-information display, voice recognition and cruise control switchgear.

Another Mazda-sourced asset is the tablet style infotainment display atop the dash, although this isn’t the full colour high-resolution system I usually find in Mazda test vehicles, my Yaris Sedan incorporating a narrower LCD display with a more rudimentary set of features. Still, with a power/volume knob at centre, a row of three presets to each side,

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plus Tune, FM/AM, Media (Bluetooth, Phone, Music and Text), Menu, Auto Memory, and a Folder toggle, it offers a lot of choice.

The stereo is actually quite good for this class, with plenty of power and decent tone. There’s no CD, but that probably won’t matter to the Yaris Sedan’s younger target demographic that will appreciate the USB port and Bluetooth streaming audio much more. The HVAC system is simple with three rotating dials and A/C, and while it was easy to operate it took a long time to heat up the car. Despite being only about two degrees Celsius outside it took 10 minutes before the car warmed up enough for us to feel relatively comfortable, and that was at full heat using the recycling mode when it worked. We had to wait about eight minutes before

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we could use that because each time we tried the car up so badly we had to go back to fresh air mode. It brought back memories of sitting up front with my dad in his ’66 VW Beetle wiping the windshield while he drove. I appreciate the endearing thought, but a heating and defog system like this isn’t good enough for Canadian winters let alone our moderate Vancouver climate. Also, I must admit to missing heatable seats now that temperatures are hovering around freezing in my area, although these are available in the aforementioned pricier Premium package.

As far as interior detailing goes, the Yaris sedan is similarly outfitted to the hatchback, especially the stylish contrast stitched

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leatherette dash pad that runs from the left side of the centre stack to the rightmost corner, but that’s it for soft synthetics. Still, the way the circular dash vents are visually tied together with a thin strip of metallic trim that acts as a directional controller for a hidden vent in between is downright artistic, plus the matte black carbon fibre-look surfacing on the steering wheel spokes, surrounding the power window switches, inside the cubby on the lower centre stack (the outside of the pillar-like buttresses are finished in a shiny version of the same treatment), etcetera, is almost as impressive as the blue patterned seat insert material, which I obviously like a lot. The black woven cloth used for the bolsters shows up on the padded door inserts as well, the entire interior coming together very nicely.

The

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front seats should be comfortable enough for most, I certainly had no issue, while those in the rear offer good lower back support. It’s a narrow car, par for the course in the subcompact class, which means there’s room for two adults or three kids abreast at best, although three adults can be squeezed in. There’s no centre armrest either, but the side armrests are rubberized for comfort like those up front and the woven cloth inserts I spoke of a moment ago continue into the back. Those rear seats split 60/40 incidentally, opening up the reasonably accommodating 382-litre (13.5 cubic-foot) trunk when required for longer cargo.

The Yaris Sedan stands out even more when it comes to standard and optional feature sets, the base model getting a host of equipment many subcompacts don’t even offer in top trim levels, with items not yet mentioned including keyless entry (and yes,

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the key fob is one of Mazda’s really upscale flip out designs), pushbutton ignition, powered locks and windows, powered heatable side mirrors, an overhead console with two very bright interior lights and a handy sunglasses holder, cruise control, rear seat heater ducts, and everything you’d usual find in Toyota’s Star Safety System such as ABS with electronic brake-force distribution, brake assist and a brake override system, traction control and dynamic stability control, plus front and rear seatbelt pretensioners with force limiters as well as front and side airbag protection, while security is enhanced with an anti-theft engine immobilizer.

All of this safety kit along with a super strong, well engineered body shell has resulted in the highest Top Safety Pick + rating from the U.S. Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), albeit for the identical Scion iA, whereas the U.S. National Highway

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Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) hasn’t rated it yet. As for Mazda’s overall reliability rating (remember it’s really a Mazda2 behind that grille), J.D. Power and Associates doesn’t rate the brand as high as Toyota or Scion, yet it was above average in the latest 2015 Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) that ranks brands and individual models after three years of ownership.

Back to features, if you want those heatable front seats you’ll need to step up to the previously noted Premium package that also adds fog lamps, twinned five-spoke 16-inch alloy wheels, a backup camera housed within the full seven-inch tablet style infotainment display atop the dash that I’ve experienced in Mazdas before, an excellent system that lets you control its features with an easy to reach rotating knob and set of quick access buttons on the lower console, while six-speaker audio offers better sound quality than the base model’s four-speaker system.

All

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Yaris Sedans get the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine good for 106 horsepower and 103 lb-ft of torque, which isn’t exactly powerful, or at least not initially. My six-speed automatic-equipped tester took a bit of time to respond to throttle input, but after revs ramped up it really liked to go, whereas Sport mode allowed the engine to rev higher towards redline before each shift, which can either be left to the transmission’s own devices or managed manually via the gear lever for a sportier feel overall. I imagine the base six-speed manual would make the Yaris Sedan even more fun to drive, but comments on such will have to wait for a future review.

Even on its base steel wheels the Yaris Sedan gets the same 185/60R16 all-season rubber that circles the Premium model’s alloys, and it handles pretty well, which is both a Mazda trait and an attribute I’ve grown to appreciate with the

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Yaris Hatchback. Both come equipped with a similar front strut and rear torsion beam suspension, yet each car manages to overcome some of the high-speed handling challenges encountered when compared to a multi-link rear design. This said, most subcompacts choose the torsion beam setup in back due to lower costs and less intrusion on luggage space, which as mentioned already is pretty good in this four-door. As for ride quality the Yaris Sedan was quite smooth and comfortable, while it tracked very well on the highway.

This car’s got the goods when it comes to fuel economy too. While the manual might be a bit quicker off the line the price you’ll pay is a five-cycle EnerGuide rating of 7.6 L/100km

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city, 5.7 highway and 6.7 combined, whereas the automatic gets a slightly more agreeable 7.2 city, 5.6 highway and 6.4 combined. I certainly could live with either.

That’s the way I feel about the entire car. While I experienced some trouble getting the heater to warm up as fast as I would’ve liked, which could have been something to do with the car I was testing, the rest of the Yaris Sedan was way above average. From the quality of materials inside and how everything was put together to its impressive load of features, not to mention its road-going performance, great fuel economy and top-tier safety rating, I’m impressed.
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