I test drove a Yaris 1.3 CDX auto on an 05 plate last year and it was that car which convinced us to buy the Sirion ( same engine/gearbox ).
It was comfy, smooth and perky. A really smashing small car I thought.
Havent driven the Micra, maybe you should check out the owners reviews for the cars your looking at on the Parkers website.
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Me being lazy again, I suppose, retgwte! Or rather I was hoping someone with experience of both model-ranges would be able to say that one variant or another is markedly nicer than the rest at m'way speeds.
Why would you go for the Myvi, by the way? I have been considering one most carefully just of late and, in fact, went to try to test-drive one yesterday. I prefer to 'just turn up', giving the garage no opportunity to nicely warm-up what may otherwise be a recalcitrant starter. Well, AllFumbs by name and nature, I'm afraid: I only chose to visit a franchised dealer (according to the Perodua website) who didn't have a single car of that make in the showroom or on the forecourt. He did have one, he said, "in the compound" but this being ten to three on a Sunday ? he closes at four o'clock ? he didn't even offer to let me see it. Hmm.
Anyway, I digress. I really would be interested to know your impressions of the Myvi.
Similarly, stunorthants26: thank you for your observations on the last-model Yaris auto. May I ask why you went for the Sirion, instead? (Duh: obvious; you wanted to buy new, and the latest Yaris petrol 'auto' isn't a torque-converter one, right? I'll get me coat.)
Thanks again,
AF.
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spend a lot of time in malaysia where they are made, slightly different spec to UK ones on the road out there but been in many and always been impressed
been in lots of micras and yaris over here and not impressed etc
lots on the forecourt of a main dealer i had a look around recently, bit too small for me otherwise i would have one
its the same old reliable toyota engine i seem to remember also
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search for one on autotrader, only bother to visit a dealer if you already know they have one from autotrader ?
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>>Similarly, stunorthants26: thank you for your observations on the last-model Yaris auto. May I ask why you went for the Sirion, instead? (Duh: obvious; you wanted to buy new, and the latest Yaris petrol 'auto' isn't a torque-converter one, right? I'll get me coat.)<<
We did look at the Aygo when also looking at the Sirion, but that also is afflicted with the MMT box and compared to the Sirion, its a bit cramped for the money.
The Yaris MMT petrol is silly money, the diesel even more so - list is upwards of £13k for the T-Spirit diesel we had as a hire car - it would have had to drop £4.5k to even be considered good value against the Sirion - and we prefer the Sirion in pretty much everyway - the misses cant wait to get her car back.
As I said, our experience of the last model Yaris auto coupled with the knowledge that it donated its running gear to the Sirion had us halfway sold even before we drove the Sirion and it didnt disappoint. The Sirion is what I would call an old-fashioned jap car - well thought out, well screwed together and has that feeling that it will be boringly reliable ( which I covet ).
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only 2 second hand automatic MYVI's in the whole country for sale according to autotrader
one in southend, the other in dudley
at simliar price to a new one anyways
just goes to prove mainly bought by private buyers who like them and keep hold of them!
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Thanks again, retgwte and stunorthants26.
I'm going back to the dealer tomorrow to try the Myvi ? I rang ahead, this time ? and hope to post my impressions in the evening.
AF.
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Do try the Sirion aswell for comparison - the interiors are different as is the spec on the latest models - one reasonw hy we reasoned the Sirion was worth £1k more than the Myvi - we agonised over the Myvi for weeks, but in the end, the Sirion had alot of detail differences that amounted to a nicer car.
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Thanks for that, stunorthants26, and I will have a close look at the Sirion: how impressed you (and your other half) are with yours impresses me.
I nearly got deflected from the Daihatsu because I was speaking with the DP of a car-dealer's lately, who swore blind that the Myvi and Sirion are the same car. (Car-dealers, eh?) Me, I'd thought the former was Malaysian-made and the latter Japanese, but then I was told that the Myvi automatic is £3,000 cheaper than the Sirion version and I suppose it was that that took my attention.
Whatever the truth of the matter, I will look at the Sirion. Thank you again.
AF.
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The Myvi and the Sirion are closely related but they are by no means the same car - not built in the same factory unlike other 'clone' cars.
Off the top of my head, the differences are: Dashboard has same controls console but the rest if totally different ( the Daihatsu has the instruments in a pod which moves with the steering column, totally different from the Myvi, seats are different shape, door panels different - the Sirion has a useful cupholder high up in the door for instance.
The Daihatsu has a far more comprehensive warranty - 5 years UL vs 3 yr 36k on Myvi.
Our SE Sirion also has alloys, remote central locking, mp3 socket and height adjustable steering. It also has the ability to turn off the passenger airbag if needs be, plus the suspension upgrades from the revision in 08.
The Sirion is also galvanised which as far as my investigations concluded, the Myvi is not. There are a few more things that I cant recall off the top of my head.
The deal we got on our Sirion was a pre-reg showroom car with 50 miles on the clock for £8300. When we were looking, there were 3 other similar cars for sale on Autotrader within 30 miles, so it would seem this is not an isolated practice.
When we considered that the Myvi was £7300, not taking into account the lower px they offered, we reasoned that all the extra advantages that the Daihatsu offered, were well worth the extra outlay. Even without the pre-reg, the dealer can sell an auto Sirion for around £9k, just have to keep at it.
Servicing costs from our local Daihatsu dealer for the first 5 services are as follows:
10k £113, 20k £195, 30k £160, 40k £195, 50k £113 and then back to the beginning again thereafter.
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Thanks very much for that (on the Sirion), stunorthants26. I'm just about to ring-around for an auto to try. Will post my impressions of this morning's test of the Myvi, later.
AF.
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Here are my 'thumbnail' impressions of the Perodua Myvi petrol automatic (though please bear in mind that my normal frame of reference is a brace of Saab 900 petrol automatics, 18 and 19 years old).
Very easy to drive around town due in part to its high-up seating-position, panoramic windows, and snub-nose ? I couldn't see the bonnet at all. Nor could I see traffic entering mini-roundabouts from my right, much: there was a blind-spot caused by the thick pillar to the right of the windscreen and the driver's-side mirror which is almost van-like. You just have to weave-about in your seat a bit to see safely at junctions and roundabouts and soon it becomes second nature.
The rest of the ease of town-driving was due to the soft, predictable engine and absolutely-right automatic gear-changes. Honestly, once I started that engine I didn't need to think about it again. (I feel that quite a lot of people would like that.)
Both wife and self did worry that the engine had cut-out at traffic-lights, however: it hadn't, of course: it was just that under-bonnet noise-deadening technology must have come on apace in the last near-twenty years.
The automatic gearchanges were smooth and almost as unobtrusive as the engine. Amusingly, the salesman could not explain what was meant by 'switchable overdrive' ? there's a button to press on the right side of the gear-lever ? so I left it on most of the time. Acceleration on kickdown was not rapid, improving slightly with the 'switchable overdrive' disengaged.
As my usual commute is a 20-odd mile thrum up a busy motorway I'd sought and obtained the salesman's permission to try the Perodua Myvi there. At 70 m.p.h. it was fine, wandering a little in the wind. Then I looked at the trees ? there was no wind. I think it fair to say that the Myvi is not a steerer; nor does the steering self-centre, much. When lorries would insist on pulling-out in front of you, indicating sometimes and then only after making their move, the Myvi was only a little stressed at 80 m.p.h. and above in accelerating past the dolts. Underbody roar is louder than that from the tyres; though the loudest source of noise is those Prince Charles's ears masquerading as mirrors. Speaking of which, the rear-view mirror vibrated throughout. (No, I would never get used to it.)
Over the Mare Non-Tranquilitatis that is the average British road today ? only worsened by the recent fortnight of ice ? one was aware of pretty much every crater; and that the Myvi is a lightly-built thing was only too evident. I think 'flimsy' is not the right word, and it is a little unkind: for what with the deals in place till 31st March this very useable, four-speed, torque-converter automatic car is available for around £7,000 (after you've jumped through the cash-back'n'voucher hoops).
Interior space? Vast. Boot? Tiny, with rear-seat passengers; but van-like, without.
Would I have one?
Let me try the Daihatsu Sirion first - then I'll tell you.
(And I hope that this has been of interest.)
AllFumbs.
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I dont know about the Myvi, but the Sirion has an adjustable backrest which does seem to increase the useable shape of the boot. True its not a vast space, but to be honest, few small cars this size have anything bigger. Ours also has a splitting backrest and seat base so you can add a bit extra if you dont have both rear seats in use.
These cars are light, no doubt, it contributes to the economy though as with my Charade.
Its funny but your test of the Myvi doesnt sound like our Sirion ( mirror vibrating etc ) so maybe there are build differences in terms of sound proofing aswell and minor fitments. Our car is very much vibration free. Your test is making me even more glad we went for the Sirion! I never drove one thinking it couldnt be that different, although the suspension changes perhaps do.
I must admit, when I looked around the Myvi, it did feel a bit tinny, but maybe it was just the trim.
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Glad my impressions of the (Perodua) Myvi helped to confirm your feeling that the (Daihatsu) Sirion is the better car, Stu. I didn't have time to see whether the rear-seat back-rests adjust to give a bit more boot-space (nor, truly, would I have thought to check). The rear-seats were split, though: tsk, those vandals get everywhere.
All in all, our recent correspondence (and that with retgwte, to whom I'm also grateful) makes me look forward to Monday when I hope to drive the Sirion. I'll post a comparison soon after.
Regards,
AF.
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One thing about the rear seats is that the squab slides forward and down a bit, filling the footwell - this gives a decent sized platform to put things on rather than have the roll around on the back seat - also contributes to a flatter loadspace as the backrest then folds onto it.
I also look forward to your comparison - having never driven the Myvi, it will be fancinating to someone who has also been looking at the same cars.
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the vibrating rear view mirror?
are you sure you didnt have the dipping mirror set to dip and then adjusted for normal rearwards vision? if you do that by mistake the mirror touches the pillar and you get vibrations? this is an easy mistake to make and ive done it a few times getting into cars where the mirrors are not set for me
just a thought?
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Good point - we had a rattle in the Sirion - turned out the sun visor wasnt clipped in and was vibrating against the clip.
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I have just had a week's use of a Micra Automatic, a hire car in Cyprus. It was a bit 'buzzy' and noisy when cruising at 60+ but the autochange was smooth enough and it also has the overdrive feature which I ignored ie left it 'On'. I did not actually understand the auto box - it it a CVVT type? I found that, driving on a motorway with varying gradients, the speed achieved at 3000 rpm varied between 60 uphill, 70 on the level and 80 downhill, making me think that it was not a conventional autobox. The boot was amazing - 2 cases which wouldn't go into my 307 went into the Micra. Just slid the base of the rear seats forward to increase the fore/aft size of the boot. Re buying 2nd hand hire cars, not from Cyprus even if they are right hand drive. This one was 24000 miles over due for a servicing! It had 36K recorded so I guess it has never been serviced at all. Well known UK firm and £73 for a week's hire - bargain!
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That is a very good point, retgwte, and I didn't mean to be overly critical of the Myvi's seemingly light build. I didn't have to adjust the rear-view mirror; it was fine as is, as luck would have it. So it could have been 'wrong' from the off.
However, over poor surfaces not quite a rattle, more a resonance, could be heard (felt?) from the Myvi's tail-gate area: totally absent in the Sirion, which I have since driven.
I'll post further comparisons and contrasts, later.
AF.
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