More Minor Automotive Adventures

After last week’s goose strike incident, we dropped off the Toyota RAV4 at the body shop and settled in to use our 14-year-old Dodge Neon.

That lasted until Wednesday when, while driving my wife home from work, I noticed a sharp burning smell in the passenger cabin. It wasn’t an odor I recognized. It wasn’t just overheated engine coolant (I’m familiar with that smell) or leaking oil dripping onto the exhaust manifold (I’m familiar with that smell) or a belt burning up from friction (I’m familiar with that smell) or frying electrical insulation (I’m familiar with that smell). This was something new. That’s a problem, because what if the part of my car that’s burning is one of the important bits?

I decided to play it safe and have my mechanic take a look at it. Unfortunately, this now meant that both of our cars were out of commission. Fortunately, because the RAV’s problems were covered by insurance, we had access to a rental car. The insurance company wouldn’t cover very much of the rental cost, so we had to take the cheapest car they had, which turned out to be one of these:

Larger ImageHello Yaris

That’s a Toyota Yaris. It’s a really tiny little car, which worried me, since I am not a really tiny little person. Surprisingly, however, I found it very comfortable. As near as I can tell, it’s roomy inside because it’s built like a giant metallic bubble resting on a set of wheels.

Even more surprisingly, the Yaris turned out to be kind of fun to drive. It doesn’t have a lot of power, but it doesn’t have a lot of weight, either, so it feels peppier than I would have expected from a 1.5 liter four-banger that puts out 106 horsepower. A lot of that comes from the sporty suspension: The car really sticks in the corners.

(You might think that a small car would be really lightweight and responsive, but small cars tend not to be as light as you might expect. At 2300 pounds curb weight, the Yaris weighs almost 2/3 as much as my RAV4, with only a little over 1/3 the horsepower. In part this is because small cars don’t have as much room for energy-absorbing crumple zones to protect the passengers, so much of the protection comes from armoring the passenger compartment, which adds a lot of weight. Thus despite the fact that a Smart Car is absurdly small–almost 4 feet shorter than the Yaris–the Smart Car still weighs in at 1800 pounds because parts of it are built like a tank.)

Probably the most awkward thing about the Yaris is its instrument cluster, which is mounted on the centerline instead of in front of the driver.

Larger ImageThe Driver's View

I lost count of how many times I glanced down while driving only to realize that there was no instrument cluster in front of me. On the other hand, I’m used to having the cup holders in the center console, not to the left of the steering wheel. That’s the sort of thing that really throws me first thing in the morning.

Anyway, the mechanics couldn’t find anything wrong with the Neon. And when I got it back, the smell seemed to be gone. I guess we’ll wait and see if the situation develops.

Meanwhile, my wife and I are now thinking we might pick up a Yaris as our next second car, after the Neon…catches fire or something.