Rental cars can be fun! Some say a rental car is the ultimate off road vehicle. For me though, it’s a great chance to examine different product design philosophies, in some of the most expensive consumer products on the market. On this trip, my rental car was a bright blue Toyota Yaris…a class of rental car I usually avoid but have been curious about.
So, the good: drop this car into a low auto gear (3 or 2), and it’s a peppy, fun car that reminds me a lot of a Mini Cooper. Driving dynamics are downright decent.
The bad: everything else. No, really, the stereo is one of the most counter-intuitive I’ve seen. A peice of plastic trim came flying off when I removed my laptop bag from behind the driver’s seat. The brakes work eventually. The driving position is reminiscent of bad Italian design from decades ago, with arms extended and legs crunched up around either side of the wheel. The worst design detail though? The door locks, I haven’t had a car without remote locks in ages, but that’s not a big deal. What’s bad is how the locks work. Unlock the doors by rotating the key clockwise. Ok. Got it. Now unlock the rear hatch…by rotating the key *counter* clockwise. What kind of moron decided they’d actually ship a mass produced vehicle like this? Redesign the locks so they work the same, it’s just idiotic to do otherwise.
