THE CAR
TOYOTA YARIS
In November 2019 I bought the car I am using now. Brand new, hot off the press! It is, once again, A Toyota Yaris. This time I have gone for the Nebula Blue colour, a stark difference to the burning red of the previous car. This time the car is a 1.5 litre engine, a larger sized engine than before. (With all these hills around here you can see the benefits.)
I chose the Yaris model again simply because of my experience with the previous 3 cars I have used for tuition and the unmistakable reliability with them. I cannot fault the cars at all. You may think I am overstating the fact but when you have a profession which relies so heavily on the car to teach in you don’t want a model which could cause you any concern, and experience in teaching in the previous Yaris’s told me to look nowhere else. Here I will thank Vantage Toyota in York for their continued customer service.
I chose the Yaris model again simply because of my experience with the previous 3 cars I have used for tuition and the unmistakable reliability with them. I cannot fault the cars at all. You may think I am overstating the fact but when you have a profession which relies so heavily on the car to teach in you don’t want a model which could cause you any concern, and experience in teaching in the previous Yaris’s told me to look nowhere else. Here I will thank Vantage Toyota in York for their continued customer service.
My previous two cars covered 229,043 and 244,919 miles respectively. I will say this though, you must try to keep up with regular servicing of the vehicles to get the best out of them. I would never want a fault with the tuition vehicle during a lesson, or before a candidate’s test simply because I hadn’t looked after the car responsibly.
So, this car suits all pupils. The seat adjusts as usual forward and back, adjustable height as well and with the steering column adjustable too, it aids the tallest to the smallest pupils to be seated comfortably and appropriately. This is of the utmost importance as a poor seating position can affect the way the vehicle is handled plus all round visibility is a must too. The wing mirrors are electric and have a large scope of movement allowing the tallest pupils to see as much to the left and right of the vehicle as possible.
The gear box is a manual transmission, with 6 forward gears and reverse, reverse is protected from a pupil selecting it by mistake, a reversing camera is fitted with warning sounds for when reverse is selected and for getting too near to other objects. The car has Satellite Navigation built into the central display on an easy to see screen, very easy to use and understand. I bought the car with it built in simply because since December 2017, Sat Nav has been incorporated into the test. 4 out of 5 tests will use it, so having it built into the car I felt was a must. It isn’t however and alternative to the ability to read signs!
So, this car suits all pupils. The seat adjusts as usual forward and back, adjustable height as well and with the steering column adjustable too, it aids the tallest to the smallest pupils to be seated comfortably and appropriately. This is of the utmost importance as a poor seating position can affect the way the vehicle is handled plus all round visibility is a must too. The wing mirrors are electric and have a large scope of movement allowing the tallest pupils to see as much to the left and right of the vehicle as possible.
The gear box is a manual transmission, with 6 forward gears and reverse, reverse is protected from a pupil selecting it by mistake, a reversing camera is fitted with warning sounds for when reverse is selected and for getting too near to other objects. The car has Satellite Navigation built into the central display on an easy to see screen, very easy to use and understand. I bought the car with it built in simply because since December 2017, Sat Nav has been incorporated into the test. 4 out of 5 tests will use it, so having it built into the car I felt was a must. It isn’t however and alternative to the ability to read signs!
The most important thing however is the fact we have dual controls fitted. This is a given. I use He-man dual controls, very reputable and the leading name in the field (click the link below to find out more). They were fitted when bought by a registered He-man fitter, and annually, the controls are checked again by a registered fitter. I cannot stress how important this is to the continued safety of my car and teaching.
Finally, I feel the size of the car is very useful to those who are looking to get a car whilst learning or soon afterwards. It isn’t too large plus also not too small. Some schools teach in cars such as BMW X5 series, where it is physically a big car, but once they pass and can only afford a small car, it will feel very different indeed. I would always suggest to a pupil that their first car is smaller, more suitable to a newly passed driver looking to build up experience behind the wheel. I feel that teaching in a Toyota Yaris makes it easier for newly passed drivers to select a car of similar size. It will be less challenging for those first few miles when you do not have somebody sat next to you.
Finally, I feel the size of the car is very useful to those who are looking to get a car whilst learning or soon afterwards. It isn’t too large plus also not too small. Some schools teach in cars such as BMW X5 series, where it is physically a big car, but once they pass and can only afford a small car, it will feel very different indeed. I would always suggest to a pupil that their first car is smaller, more suitable to a newly passed driver looking to build up experience behind the wheel. I feel that teaching in a Toyota Yaris makes it easier for newly passed drivers to select a car of similar size. It will be less challenging for those first few miles when you do not have somebody sat next to you.
