Subcompact Showcase: Jake Brown’s Lifted Toyota Yaris

I’ve said it before: lifting is the new lowering. In fact, I wrote about this trend back in 2014. Five years later, I keep seeing cars that used to be typically lowered getting lifted. Heck, there are even Facebook groups that celebrate this, such as the Safari All The Cars group. Lifting cars is definitely a thing. 

Enter Jake Brown, who lives in Maine. Jake took his 2009 Toyota Yaris and gave it some extra ground clearance so he could better explore New England year-round. If you’re a long-time reader, you may remember the lifted Toyota Yaris Overlander I wrote about back in 2014. This is a similar idea. 

The car has been Jake’s daily driver since 2014 and was stock before the transition, as evidenced above. It spent most of its life in Mississippi but recently moved with Jake to the western foothills of Maine.

“I knew I’d need a heavier vehicle to handle the winter road conditions, but the Yaris is unparalleled for fuel economy, and it doesn’t hurt that you can park it in a tight spot,” says Jake. His brother-in-law, Matt, came up with the idea to lift the car. Matt, a car enthusiast and skillful mechanic, hashed out the details. This could help transform the vehicle into something that could better handle the harsh Maine winters.

Other Modifications

Here’s the full list of mods and supplies: