There’s only so much one can ask of a car starting at less than $11,000, especially one that comes with a Toyota badge and standard features such as air conditioning and power steering. A quiet ride, while nice, fails to compare to the comfort of keeping cool on a baking summer day.

To keep that introductory price so low, Toyota had to scrap some items, like a basic radio, which is all that’s needed to drown out moderate levels of road and engine noise in the Yaris. Sound intrusion is far from what’s required to cause a loss of hearing, but it’s there and pronounced on the grooved concrete highways passing our Southern California offices. Wind noise is kept to a minimum, while our Yaris S was free of any squeaks or rattles.