Took one for a spin last night on my regular test drive route (M3 from Wynberg to Town and back). To a large extent, I'll be comparing it to Ancalagon.

When you get in, you notice how high up you are. It's a tall car, falling shy of the stock RunX by 10mm. Even with the seat at its lowest position, you're high up, and you'll struggle to see anywhere close to the end of the bonnet. Grasping the handbrake requires you to reach almost straight down. The driving position isn't the greatest, purely because the feeling of sitting on the car is so pronounced. Height and reach adjustable steering helps, but doesn't solve the problem. The exterior mirrors are massive--I really wanted to use them. A lot.

The seats are slightly smaller than those in the RunX. I preferred them as a result. Tighter, but with similar bolstering (which isn't great). I tend to sit against the left bolster in my car, but this leads to sliding.

The Yaris driver's footwell is not size 12 friendly. My left foot got stuck time and time again under the overhanging plastic above the clutch. If there is one thing I can't stand during daily driving, it is having to select neutral at an intersection just so that I can re-adjust my left foot.

You get the impression that the Yaris has a smaller interior than a RunX, but it is essentially just as tall and just as wide. The location and size of the A-pillar lends to the illusion of reduced space, but also increases visibility. In the Yaris, I am looking out of the window where in the RunX I'd be looking directly at the A-pillar.

Driving.

I liked the sound. Compared to Ancalagon, the Yaris engine note is deeper and more refined. The tone is similar to that of the current 1.6-litre Polo's motor, just with added refinement. NVH is good, perhaps slightly better than a Corolla/RunX.

My example had 309km on it, so the motor was very tight. Still, not bad performance for a 1.3-litre powerplant in a heavy-ish body. Big dislike: accelerator feel. Spongey. Gear ratios seemed better than that of the RunX; the limiter seemed higher IIRC (closer to 7000rpm, it appeared). Gear action is a combination of notchy and spongey. No clickety-click over here, I'm afraid.

Steering. LOL. Compared to the Yaris, Ancalagon has razor sharp turn in and incredibly direct, informative steering. With the Yaris, there seems to be a few degrees of play before anything happens. This was alarming when I built up some speed and entered one of the medium-speed bends near UCT. It essentially requires you to steer counter-intuitively. There is no steering feedback. Nothing. Steering a Yaris is an unpleasant experience, if you plan on hustling.

So, you get to a corner and as required, you PITCH it in, eliminating the fake understeer. Unlike the lowered Ancalagon, it is easier to feel weight transfer; there is just so much of it. It was actually alarming how everything happened a few milliseconds after it usually does in the RunX. Body roll is huge in this car. It is a weird and unnerving experience: steer first, wait, then turn, roll and load up the outside wheel, but without feeling what the wheel itself is doing. Emergency lane change is more amusing than anything.

Ride is good. Dampers do a good job. The 175/65-14s naturally run out of grip without much provocation. The brakes are excellent, except for one thing: the Tail Wag. I have never experienced this in any car. Get hard on the brakes in a straight line, and the car thinks it might want to fishtail, but it is ultimately undecided. Like a half-hearted, apathetic tail wag. There's no real motivation to break the rear loose, but the car feels bad about disappointing in that regard. Odd. Still, the braking power is confidence inspiring. This is a good thing because the general handling/grip does not.

Lookswise, I really like the exterior. It has that chunkiness of the current Audi A4s. Really gives the impression that it is solid and well-built. IMO, the design is more sophisticated than the current Corolla, and I think we'll see very similar design influences in the successor.

In conclusion, the Yaris is less of a drivers car than the RunX. That is a funny thing to say out loud.