Used Toyota Yaris Verso review and buying guide (2000 to 2005): which one to buy and what to check

Which used Toyota Yaris Verso should you buy?

The gearbox matters more than the year on a Yaris Verso, so choose a manual or the four-speed torque converter automatic over the Freetronic. It's the version with the most serious weakness: fluid for its automated clutch can escape through the accumulator, and once the level drops the car can lose all gear selection, with no warning light on the dash to tell you it's happening.

There's only one Yaris Verso, sold from 2000 to 2005, and nothing shows a later car is better built than an early one. Age does change the recall picture, though. Cars built from 2000 to 2002 were called back for new rear brake lines, because the originals could freeze and leak fluid in very cold weather, so on an early car ask to see proof that work was done.

Which Yaris Verso engines and gearboxes are the safe choices?

The VVT-i petrol engines can start burning oil once they're past 40,000 miles, getting through as much as a litre every 600 miles. A short test drive won't show that, so pull the dipstick before you set off and ask the seller how often they top it up. A level near the bottom mark, or an owner who's never checked, tells you how it's been looked after.

On the petrol models, an ignition quirk can make the clutch feel as if it's slipping when you first move off each day, so a car that does this from cold isn't necessarily hiding a worn clutch. The quirk only explains that first move off, though: if the clutch still feels like it's slipping once the engine's warm, get it checked before you buy.

Of the gearboxes, the Freetronic is the one to be wary of, because its automated clutch relies on a fluid level that nothing on the dash monitors. The four-speed torque converter automatic's one noted drawback is a big step between third and fourth, which you'll feel on the change up. There's little written about the manual either way, so judge it on how the clutch and gear change feel on the drive.

What should you check when viewing a used Yaris Verso?

Walk round the bodywork first, looking closely at the bonnet, since its paint chips easily. The door skins are thin and the car has no rubbing strips down the sides, so look along both flanks for dents. The optional accessory pack added strips, but they sit too low on the doors to stop much, so don't take their presence as a sign the panels are clean.

On the drive, listen at the front for a clonk over bumps. The front anti-roll bar bushes crack after about four years, and every Yaris Verso is well past that now, so ask whether they've been replaced. The two-height rear parcel shelf is a source of rattles, so check whether any noise from the back is coming from it. On a GLS, look at the alloy wheels for corrosion and ask when they were last taken off, because they can seize onto the hubs and brake drums.

On a Freetronic, check the clutch fluid reservoir level first and ask the seller how often they look at it; owners were told to keep an eye on it, and a low level is the warning the dash won't give you. If the engine warning light stays on, ask whether the 2005 recall's ECU software update has been done. Ask too for proof of the 2002 recall on a small batch of gearboxes whose output shaft could lock the gearbox by engaging two gears at once.

Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.