Cycling UK Forum

Glad you're pleased with it Mick. Regarding the fuel consumption, do you use any particular brand? I find that I consistently get an extra 4 or 5 mpg from my Yaris Hybrid on branded fuel (Texaco, BP, Shell etc) compared to supermarket stuff (Morrisons). I appreciate that branded v supermarket petrol is a whole new can of worms. Honest John reckons something about the Toyota Hybrid benefits from premium fuels too.
Regarding the aircon smells, it's something I've been aware of ever since I first had cars with aircon, but never enough to bother us. One time when sevicing my Corsa the Vx dealer used one of those aircon debug / freshener aerosols and it did smell good afterwards, quite cheap too if you buy your own from Halfords or similar.
Steve.

Been busy for a couple of days, congrats on the new car Mick. Love the colour but I would because mine is white too Mines the Icon spec, so you will have a few nice extras.
Enjoy the relaxing drive, Steve.

Sorry for being late here, been up to Exeter today and cycled from the city to Topsham, Exmouth and on to Budleigh Salterton and back with my KTM Macina electric assist, I still have to pedal though so hybrid if you like
The Yaris just recorded 60.3 mpg from Exeter back to Bodmin at slightly over 70 mph all the way on a foul night. Regarding the engine all Toyota Hybrids are Atkinson rather than Otto Cycle engines. The Atkinson was an old (Scottish?) invention which is very efficient but has low torque at lower revs so was never developed, until Toyota utilised it because the electric motor (max torque at zero revs) compliments it very well.
The engine and motor can work seperately or together at the same time through the Synergy Drive. Bit like a large Sturmey Archer layout.
Steve.

Mick,
Regarding the point about buying new we had the same experience. After everyone telling me over several years, I was silly to buy new , we went looking for a nice one year old or "demonstrator" type car. But the deals on new with all the sweeteners meant there was barely any saving. Plus the latest Yaris at that time (March 2016) came with a spare wheel, the earlier S/H ones all had a can of gloop and the wheel would have cost me approx £140 extra.
Steve.

Hi Mick,
Thanks for the update. Good idea to go back to the Toyota fresh another day. Do have Mrs F drive it, she will find it really simple and wonder why all other non hybrids are so hard to drive, it's other cars which are "quirky"
Never driven the Jazz but heard good reports on them too. Speaking to a chap last week who's had the Dual Mass Flywheel break up on a Ford B Max less than 20,000 miles and around £1000 to fix. Ford totally disinterested.
Are you aware of the Honest John car review site?
Good luck, Steve.

Hi Mick,
I don't see any problem with the battery, please check these "facts" for yourself but I understand the entire car has a 5 year / 100k mile warranty and the battery is warranted for 10 years which is extended to 11 years if you have the "Hybrid Health Check" done as a free part of the Toyota dealer service. The health check can also be done (chargeable?) by a dealer if you have it serviced by an independent garage. Remember it's basically Prius running gear and many of them are on starship milages in the hands of cabbies with very few problems. No turbo, no Dual Mass flywheel, no clutch, no Diesel Particulate filter, no starter motor, no alternator, no drive belts.
What it's like to drive only you and Mrs F can judge. Mrs S would never want anything else except the Yaris or her own full electric car (Peugeot Ion). Do have a good long drive to try it.
Around town it runs mainly on battery but you are not really aware of the engine cutting in and out. There is a dash light that indicates if you are using battery or engine. It is capable of running battery only up to 43mph but uphill or hard acceleration soon fires the engine up.
When I bought mine (new) in April 16 I enquired about a tow bar but there didn't seem to be one for the Hybrid version. I now believe there is one but only for fitting cycle carriers and not actual trailer tugging. But please check the latest facts. My bike fits inside easily with the seat folded, front wheel removed, and my mates bike too, so I haven't bothered any more.
The Toyota owners club (independent not linked to Toyota UK) is pretty good for questions and research. By paying to be a Premium member, about £16 per year, I get a 15% discount card for Halfords which is well worth my while.
Steve

Hi Mick,
Another vote for the Yaris Hybrid. Visibility is brilliant plus you get a reversing camera. When my mate demonstrated the reverse camera on his Prius I kind of thought "meh whatever" but it feels really strange now to drive a car without one, you always think what if there's a child or animal right behind in my blind spot? The onscreen markings are brilliant for reversing back to walls or into bays too.
I always thought privacy glass was for "poseurs" in Range Rovers etc but it came standard on my Yaris and we love it. Makes no difference to seeing out but hides stuff from view and helps a bit with tail gaters at night too.
Take no notice of idiot journalists reports on driving Toyota Hybrids. In the real world (including here in Cornwall ) they are great to drive, really easy and totally relaxing. I get a true (brim to brim) 60mpg. OK others claim more but let them come and try to better it on our Cornish roads. My Corsa diesels did about 50mpg.
Never tried the Plymouth dealer mine came from Parklands down the road. Ten out of ten so far as I'm concerned for service.
Steve.

Whilst no specific mention of when the cycling restriction ends, local press are reporting the road works all finishing by Friday July 14th with the exception of one overbridge a couple of weeks later.
http://www.kier-a30cornwall.co.uk/
Steve.

Watching now, looks like another Porsche win. Really hoped Toyota could do it this year, I drive a Yaris Hybrid, but not to be again. Great racing though. Used to be a F1 fan, always watched on tv and went to Silverstone several times and Monza once ( I'm a Tifosi) but fed up with the Lewis this, Lewis that commentators.
Got Eurosport for the cycling and LeMans is a nice bonus. Carlton Kirby a great commemtator for both sports.
Steve.

Back in 2008 I bought a Ortlieb Ultimate 5 Plus Bar Bag for exactly the reason you mentioned, I was missing photos because I didn't want to get off and unload the camera from the back.
Worked well with my Nikon SLR and couple of lenses. I got some soft foam and cut it to roughly 3/4 fill the interior and then cut a hole quite neatly with an empty clean bean can, the edges are very sharp.
This allowed the camera to ride nose down on the foam. I cut more (smaller) holes for lens cleaning brushes etc.
When I upgraded to a Panasonic GX7 I just got a new foam liner and cut new holes to fit the lenses.
Steve.

Hi Mick
After around 20 years of driving diesel cars (Novas and Corsas) we got a Yaris Hybrid last April. Couldn't be more pleased with it. Really relaxing to drive and great economy and very quiet for us and everyone else around, noisy cars are a pet hate.
I hate the way cars are always bigger with each new model but the Yaris is slightly smaller than my last Corsa (2012 Corsa D ) but much roomier inside.
If you are ever in Bodmin you are welcome to a demo and I'll even let you try my KTM Macina electric assist bike but thats probably for another thread
I retire in two weeks and look forward to putting miles on both.
Steve.

Thanks steeley jake for the Eurosport info. I was hoping it would be on ITV4 now that cycling is in fashion, but probably long term contracts etc are restricting them for now. £4.99 is a bargain to see it (have a newish Panasonic TV with Eurosport available and fast internet) but will check out the cricket, rugby union and motorsport and perhaps go to a year at only £36.

deliquium, tell me about it! most of my family and friends are farmers and BT's talk of fast broadband here in Cornwall looks like a sick joke outside of the towns, most of them struggle for youtube let alone iplayer.
Steve.

I have read some books by Anne Mustoe which I find very good for both the cycling and the more general content.
Steve.

Pocket GPS World have a database of cycle shops under their POI section which is downloadable for free in TomTom or CSV formats. It is easy to add new entries or make corrections too. I have added and corrected many entries but all in other sections not cycle shops. If it becomes popular I'll start adding cycle shops here in Cornwall.
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/
Hope that makes sense, first ever post here
Steve.