Virtual Mechanic

Apart from and ugly looking car it was lacking the bare essentials to entice a test drive
 If you are a tall person this is not the vehicle for you
It you are conscious of service interval costs then the gets gets up you as the price is between $330 and $700 ranging through the services at 10,000 km intervals
The driver seating was hard is it felt like a seat you sit on and sit into.
I would be concerned about the resale value of the gets given a bad track records of resale values as the interior seems to deteariate over time now of cause there is the now 8 year warranty and 200,000 km warranty to consider but let me ask how many people have the time to keep taking there car back under warranty and how many people give up only to accept faults as there occur.
There are many ways to achieve a high ancap rating for the people basing their decision on this factor.
A car maker can build a vehicle with enough airbags to achieve a high ancap rating or build a vehicle to a standard of quality this I may elaborate on later but for now
Without putting the salesman in I was not really impressed with the ability of the salesperson unable to even try to sell the features
If  Hyundia have such a fantastic product why is the cost of service intervals so high and the resale value so low.

Special Notes
The Hyundia Gets requires about 4 glasses of good wine if you are planning to park this car in your driveway as it may start to look better after this time.
This vehicle was not given a road test due to the fact that the head room test failed upon the initial inspection, not to mention the lack of interest displayed by the salesman on the day failing to sell the features if any, on the day

Written By Darren Gow-Brown, WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au

The Mitsu colt is at least a vehicle with the mitsu badge now to me this means a lot as Mitsubishi is a strong brand for many reasons
Sorry Mr. Mitsubishi but the contour design has something to be desired but step into the colt is where you need an open mind to realize the colt has the most comfortable seats for a vehicle in this price range, my client was shopping for a manual but we were given an auto to test drive, wow the Constant variable transmission was something to experience this 1.5 litre engine was giving me enough power to be satisfied. It was a wet day at the time but I never had to fight we the tyres spinning on take off
I was very impressed with the power produced from a 1.5 litre variable cam-timing engine
Basically this means that the ECU or electronic control unit is maximizing fuel and power efficiency in many more ways than just fuel injection.
The Mitsu colt is giving you a lot of value for you money
Note Mitsu is offering buyers fixed price servicing, at 15,000 intervals at a fixed cost of $195.00 per service.
Fixed priced servicing does not include sparkplugs, wiper blades, fan belts, globes, wheel alignment..
So why even offer a product if it does not cover all these hidden extras.
In my opinion the Mitsu Colt is a strong contender to the small car market.

Special Notes
The Mitsu Colt has the most comfortable seats out of all the small cars reviewed
This vehicle has plenty of power due to two factors
The CVT and the VVT however I would like to know if the transmission is reliable over the next 250,000 kms
Written By Darren Gow-Brown, WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au

Virtualmechanic overall rating 4.0 out of 5.0 
Toyota Yaris 2010
Date or Review
July 2010
PRICE
 $19,788 Drive away (using the online Pricing calculator)
FEATURES
VSC ,ABS, EBD, BA, Safe-T-Cell, EPS
Full Size spare wheel.
Driver and passenger SRS airbags.
Digital speedo.

MODEL
5 Door Hatch

ENGINE OPTIONS
1.3 litre Engine
1.5 litre Engine

IN MY OPINION
The Toyota Yaris ticks most the boxes
The diver seat is height adjustable the rear seats are able to slide forward and backwards, the spare tyre is a full size wheel meaning it is not sacrificed by an emergency wheel to which we will touch on later.
We had the opportunity to road test the 1.3 litre on my opinion if your planning to travel with anymore than 3 people I suggest considering a 1.5 litre engine as the 1.3 was lacking in power with 3 people in the vehicle, let me further explain here. If you are planning to drive the vehicle with one passenger then the 1.3 Yaris is suitable
If you plan to have some weight in the rear and drive around with extra passengers then you may want to consider the 1.5 litre engine.
Digress for one moment whilst shopping for a small vehicle I naturally ask as many questions as I can to be informed about my decision, and yes I’m critical about any level of service, and willing to observe good or poor service with feedback given.
When we were at the Toyota dealership at Frankston it was Joel’s positive and enthusiastic attitude that made it easier the make the decision to buy the Toyota Yarris
In my opinion the reasons why the Toyota Yarris rates 4.0, in the small car value for money are as follows.
Low service interval costs at $130 per fixed priced service every 10,000Kms but only up to 60,000 Kms or 36 months, what ever is first.
Good resale value history
Low engine noise whilst driving from 0 to 60
Adjustable driver seat height
Same size spare wheel, no funny wheel
Appealing exterior design, yes this car you feel ok to park in your driveway when you get home, you don’t need to hide it away as it wont win the ugly car competition
Plenty of room inside the rear if you need to rear passengers
Don’t stop there whilst we were looking at the Yarris the salesmen Joel, used this time extremely well as he added that apart from the fixed price servicing Toyota have a procedure where two mechanics are given the task to perform the service thus reducing the down time of your vehicle at the service center. It gets better it takes just ONE HOUR to service the Yarris this means anyone time poor would almost considering buying a vehicle just because they no longer need to leave their car at the service center all day.
SPECIAL NOTES
Take a close look at the terms and conditions when it comes to servicing.
What lets Toyota down is the BELOW AVERAGE customer service when ringing the head office, I was placed on hold for 28 minutes only to be told someone will return my call…..Oh what a feeling 
Written By Darren Gow-Brown, WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au