T I N Y R I D E S
Alas, poor Yaris, I didn’t get to know you
quiteaswell.
Winterweatherwasnot kind to theYaris
test.Adayor soafter Igot thekeys, a storm
dropped ice aplenty — even SUV owners
had trouble getting around. But after the
soundsof spinning tiresdieddownabitand
some shovel-wieldingguys inmyneighbor-
hood helpedme unearth the car’s tires and
pushedme out of the spot, Yaris gaveme a
finedayoutinganda coupleof good errand
days. First, I headed out to Brooklyn for a
winter tour of theConey Islandboardwalk.
Yaris handled the bumps and serious pot-
holesof thewinter-wornhighwayverywell.
And, thehead-roomiest car of the lot, it felt
a lotairier(inagoodway)thananyof itstest
competitors. But Yaris really shinedwhen I
went on the big-box shopping circuit inmy
borough. This carholds a tonof stuff.
The VerdicT:
While Yaris doesn’t get a
bunchof stylepoints— it lacks thepizzazzof
theFit and the cute factor of theSmartFor-
two— it is themost comfortable, and some-
how it inspiredme to feel that Iwouldget a
whole lot done if I owned it. It doesn’t say
“go out and have fun,” but it does say “your
lifewill beeasier.”Not suchabad thing.
TheVehicle:
SegwayPerSonal
TranSPorTer
ThelengTh:
19 inches
ThePersonaliTy:
AsTAnd-upguywho
loVessunshine
MsrP:
$5,145
I named my Segway “Zeb.” Yes, of all the
wheeled things I tested, this was the only
one that inspired me to give it a name. I
have yet to figure out why I chose a name
better suited toaMennonite farmer than to
apieceof technology, but sobe it.
And I’m pleased to report that Zeb
provedmy initial fears wrong— I did not
inanyway feel foolish standing tall andzip-
ping through theneighborhood in searchof
the best price on tofu. Instead, I ended up
talking tomore people in the course of the
threedays I had the thing than I had in the
two years I lived in there pre-Segway. Both
866.DORA NYC
Australia &New Zealand:
1800 885 330
Belgium& Luxembourg:
3 226 7630
Netherlands:
029 7250055
South Africa:
11 268 2550
Turkey:
902124721770
United Kingdom:
0121 212 1652
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Love ismore than you ever imagined
Consumer ads 12/4/07 5:34 PM Page 1
