Vehicle: 2010 Toyota Ractis 1.3 Luxury
Price as tested: CDN$23000 (Estimated)

Performance: When you consider Ractis shares the same platform with Yaris, its base 1.3 liter 4-cylinder engine is basically the entry-level engine choice in the whole series. This little mill has 87 horses and 93 lb/ft of torque, which is a typical commuter car powerplant. While you won’t expect breathtaking performance from a small 1.3 liter, even with both DOHC and Toyota’s variable valve timing technology called VVT-i for intake. The engine sounds refined and smooth for the most part. That’s until you get to its CVT gearbox. When you need to accelerate from standstill to 100km/h, you have to live with about 14 seconds of noise generating from this CVT. We have always been big fans of CVT, the reasons being for its silky smoothness and fuel economy provided through gearless sensation. But Toyota’s CVT is definitely not some of the better ones we have experienced. Better yet, go with Ractis’s 5-speed manual which is a far better choice.

Handling: When pushed through corners, Ractis’s high driving position tends to exaggreate the amount of body rolls and understeer. Unlike the Yaris it is based on, you feel like driving on top instead of inside the car. That’s despite the fact that Ractis’s center-of-gravity is pretty low due to its hatchback origin. On the other hand, the electric power steering feels rather numb and dead. As one expects from Toyota appliance. However, the steering response is decent. The lack of electronic stabililty control is an oversight by Toyota. Perhaps its another corner cutting from Toyota when it comes to active safety feature.

Brakes:Even if the Ractis is standard with brake assist and electronic brake force distribution, the lack of ABS is another oversight in Toyota’s part. The front discs and rear drums provide good enough pedal feel. The pedal feels alive whenever driver pushed it into the bottom, with a couple of hard stops.

Interior: The single biggest difference between Yaris and Ractis is the amount of cargo space for the latter. It all begins with a completely squared cut-off for ease of cargo loading, then a low liftover which cut off on top of the bumper. The icing on the cake is the fold down rear seats which completely fold flat into the floor, which is something the Yaris is never able to achieved.

There are plenty of head and legrooms for rear passengers, once again, thanks to its boxy design.

On the front, I am still not fond of the center instrumentation gauges. The rest of the interior is typical small car layout, which means all the stereo and climate controls are logically placed for excellent ergonomics. Sadly, the use of nasty hard plastic has dampened the whole interior ambience.

Conclusion: With a proper 1.5 liter engine, a sportier suspension and a nicer interior; Ractis could well become a worthy Soul rival in North American market. In the meantime, we might have to stuck with those aging Scion Xa and Xb for a while.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2010 Toyota Ractis
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Performance: 2/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 2/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 2.5/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 4/5
Value-for-money: 2/5

Overall rating: 2.75/5