Ya-ahr, It's a Yaris

The good thing about renting a car from Hertz on a trip is that they usually assign me a pretty good late-model car that in essence allows me a test drive.

This last trip to California, I drove a tiny Toyota Yaris. The only rental car that was smaller was a Fiat 500 we rented several years ago.

And like that Fiat, we had to fold down the rear seats to accommodate our two pieces of luggage.

The Yaris had an amazingly good pickup with pretty frisky power. The ride was smooth and very quiet. It was easy handling, but most importantly, the wife and I could get in without slamming the tops of our heads on the door frame. The only thing that bothered me was that it didn't have a remote key; that was a little inconvenient.

She loved the car and for the first time since we started regular visits to family in California, she drove our rental all by her lonesome.

I wouldn't mind trading in my full-size 2000 Buick Park Avenue for this little bugger.