I heard that toyota wants to offer the same warrantied trd scion supercharger package, but on the yaris? It was to boost sluggish sales at some dealerships stateside. If they could do this for under $15k OTD, i'd consider. there have been several k-series motor swaps done, but this would be a warrantied car rolling stock!
to those not in the know....this is a yaris http://www.toyota.com/yaris/exterior.html
i've always wanted a daily driver like those in the k-car class found in japan.

 

We were at the Toyota dealership this past weekend looking to replace our aged Trooper and my son happened to take the Yaris brochure. The hatch with the TRD wheels looks great. I always was a fan of Kei cars, my dad was one of the few that bought a Daihatsu Charade in the late eighties. It was a great zippy and fuel efficient car, but in Japan you could get one with a turbo. I tried to talk him into buying the Suzuki Swift GTi, but the Charade was fully loaded at a little over 9K so he went with the Daihatsu.

 

you know, if i was in japan, the suzuki swift sport would be my car. but USDM only has the aerio. So i'd take a honda fit. It really sucks filling up $250 a month on gas. but gas has been dropping lately. i filled up today 14 gallons cost me only $47!

 

Why would you not buy a real car like a STI RA?

 

Don't get me wrong Nate, I would still need a chest thumping car like an STi. But just having a small, zippy, and easy to park in crowded Japan would be too kewl. Back in the eighties there was a car called the Suzuki Alto Works that was turbo'd, and I loved the way it looked all decked out in white and blue. If I am not mistaken, there were also turbo'd and supercharged models. Are the kei-class tuner market still popular in Japan Nate?

 

I like the Yaris hatchback. My wife and I bought an Echo when we lived in Guam where the highest speed limit is 45 and it was fine but now that we are back in the states, I don't like taking it on the highway because it feels like I'm driving a tin foil car.

 

Oh yeah the Kei cars are a huge market here. They are the majority of the cars that are sold in Japan. Most are very tweaked out, and almost all are turbo. What is funny is that now the Kei cars are only sold for Japanese domestic use. From what I understand none are currently exported. Which is funny because Japan has the best GDP in Asia, but they don't export their most affordable cars. There are four things that make Kei cars so popular here: lower taxes (much lower total cost of ownership), much easier registration (you only have to go to your city office instead of your prefecture office), cheaper initial cost, and less gas hungry.

The thing is you don't want or need two different cars for two different purposes in Japan. Cars have an unbleivable amount of tax levied on them. You have to pay taxes at a minimum of once a year (road tax, and weight tax), and pay Government of Japan JCI tax every two years for most cars. Gas is also quite expensive here. For most areas of Japan people do not use cars to get to work, they use public transportation. So you would ride the train or bus to work, and for fun you would drive your STI. Since I am a gaijin and I have base access I get cheaper gas, so my STI is my only mode of transportation.

 

Oh yeah and the echo is called the Platz in Japan!