Which New Budget Car Better? Fit/Yaris/Versa?

nippononly

The Yaris actually has the potential to be the price leader in this segment, and when was the last time that was true of a Toyota?

Of course, the way it does that is by deleting all the convenience features people love that come standard in the Hyun/Kias and the Honda, as well as all the safety equipment (ABS, airbags).

When all are comparably equipped to the base Fit, I would imagine the Aveo retains its title of value leader, even the '07.

robertsmx

Toyota isn't going to beat Aveo... so it would be status quo since Echo. The real question is, how many of those Yaris's sold/available would be down to barebones trims?

Toyota usually offers a very low base price but then options (and sometimes necessary) packages take over.

nippononly

in what I would take as a VERY encouraging sign, most of the early delivery Yarii so far are unoptioned cars. I have seen both sedans now, the base and the S, and most have had no options at all except floor mats, while one had the power package and was just shy of $15K. The car I test drove was an 'S' with no options at all except the mats, sticker of $13,9.

Meanwhile, I have seen on-line inventory of the hatch with only the convenience package, with a sticker of $12,3-13,1. I haven't yet eyeballed any, as the local dealers haven't taken delivery on any of those yet.

I have been very surprised, as it is usually Toyota's habit to load to the gills the first few cars of a new model to arrive, adduing every conceivable option and package. But not this time. And not with the '07 Camry redesign either, BTW. It has been a very pleasant surprise.

If Toyota builds the bulk of the Yarii with a sticker under $14K, I think it will sell very well, as it will basically beat all the rest of the gang except the Aveo on price.

iluvmysephia1

did you say you test drove the new Toyota Yaris 4-door sedan? I may give the sedan a test drive. I optioned one how I would like on the dealer's website that also sells Scion's (Teton Toyota of Idaho Falls)and it came to only $14,415. The Kia Rio5 comes to $14,110 and the Scion xA with several bells and whistles that I would really enjoy comes to only $14,195. To this guy those are all very good and very competitive prices.

If I still like the 2007 Toyota Yaris 4-door sedan after test driving it it is so nicely priced that I may add it to my futures list. The latest entry to it. I have decided that it's styling is kind of interesting and it would take a horrid test drive of it to delete it off of my futures list.

More on this later, dudes.

nippononly

I most certainly did. It is a good drive, less peppy than my Echo because it is a couple hundred pounds heavier with the same engine (and the same engine as the xA, BTW, which weighs another 100 pounds more than the Yaris), but never wanting for power. It has a substantial feel for such a small car, and no longer has pinky-light power steering like my Echo, but rather has steering with some heft and road feel to it.

Better seat cloth and headliner this time around too, and the clock is standard as are manual remote outside mirrors, some trims get a tach, and sedans get driver's seat height adjustment. Considering this car is basically the same price as the Echo, I think it is a heck of a bargain. Just look out for the stupid cupholder design and tell me what you think! :-)

iluvmysephia1

make sure if you haven't already to go to the '2007 Toyota Yaris' thread here on Edmunds. Since I didn't have to go to work today I was up until early this AM configuring the 4-door Yaris sedan. I studied it pretty good and the car offers a lot for the $14,675. I'll chat with you over on the specific car's thread because it's a rather thorough look at features and options, etc. I did find the right "mix" for me.

One point I found interesting, though. Toyota adds a "luxury trim alloy look" on the dashboard. I will probably like this since I am one that likes this current trend of adding all the "faux aluminum" trims and touches the manufacturers seem to fancy adding these days. Do you recall seeing that in your test drive?

nippononly

You know what? Now I think of it, I HAVE seen a sedan with the power package, although the car I drove was not the one. My local dealer has a fully loaded one sitting in front of the showroom, and I sat in it for a minute.

That "luxury trim alloy look" is a kind of satin-finish silver plastic that covers the whole center stack and includes a little LCD screen for the radio display which I believe will also show tracks on your MP3 player or whatever. It looks nice, nicer than the alloy-look plastic in the Matrix I had, which began to look a little ragged in my car after only a couple of years.

You only get this center stack with the power package, I believe. I drove an 'S' with crank windows, and the stereo was just a standard Toyota CD stereo, no satin-finish alloy in sight!

drewmeister

Mirth,
I read that comparo. What I was disappointed with was the finish placing of the Caliber. I was hoping it would do better, as I like it's styling and LOVE the price point. However, if I was to consider it, I'd hold out for the Jeep version. I drive a Wrangler now, which is like admitting insanity, but I'm considering a small car for commuting duty. Love the ipod idea, and the stereo options look very good (haven't seen one outside of the auto show yet). My next choice in this range would be a Versa, or a Fit. We've put 85k on a Focus, and it's lost a fuel pump so far as for big issues, but every single thing on the car rattles, including stuff in the doors, and the electrics do weird stuff (interior dome light quit, bulb's fine, don't want to bother chasing the wiring), so no more Fords. Not too bad a car though, for the 8k I paid for it secondhand.

iluvmysephia1

Ford and it's electrical/wiring/bulb issues? My Escorts weren't that bad but my '65 Mustang was an electrical nightmare. Love the body styling, peeved by the electricals on that car.

Looking at the Yaris S sedan this morning I must say the bodykit "fits" the subcompact look of the car. So I am most interested in the Yaris "Base" sedan but won't nix all Yaris "S" sedan possibilities to look at, just for fun, of course.

b3nut

and mechanically as well, aside from the timing belt that went because I didn't change it at 120K like I was supposed to. Godd thing that Zetec 2.0 was a freewheeler and not interference... :surprise:

Of course, it was a Mazda Protege-platform car, but still.

Todd in Beerbratistan

boaz47

Until we get a chance to see how these vehicles hold up you almost have to bet on Honda. They have had the best small engines for some time. I don't care much for their attempts at bigger vehicles, the Ridgeline doesn't impress me at all but in small cars they are hard to fault.

And yes, timing belt problems with a free wheeler are a lot easier on you than things like the old double overhead cam in my old 124 spyder.

tomsr1

As an aging boomer I want some fun in my drive.I drove my son's Focus ZX3 5spd and it was a hoot but interior
quality sucks.Which Asian mark would be more fun?Mid range torque makes for fun but some engines don't have it.
I noticed the Caliber engine is a high revver and most Honda engines have to be wound up tight.As far as style
I don't know if spaceship looks will sell.The Caliber has that beefy American look.For reliability you have to go
with Toyota and Honda but is that all there is to it?

robertsmx

For reliability you have to go with Toyota and Honda but is that all there is to it?

Add to it, fuel economy which can be included in long term ownership costs, and flexibility (hatchback market is about utility, for flexibility there will help), and of course, refinement.

nippononly

have continuously variable valve timing, I believe. I know the Yaris and Fit do. Equipped that way, none of them will be super high revvers, and will have a fairly broad torque plateau that begins down low. One of the recent reviews of the Fit noted the Fit's "low" 6500-rpm redline.

robertsmx

In case of Fit, peak power arrives relatively early (5800 rpm)... some trucks these days don't see their peak power until about 6000 rpm.

Fit's engine is said to be derived from a family of i-DSI (dual sequential ignition, with two spark plugs per cylinder) unit that Fit gets in Japanese and European versions as the base engine. And those engines are designed to perform at lower rpm. The L15 in the North American Fit, however, is a VTECized version, it still isn't a high revving design, and in fact, not one of the latest engines from Honda either.

drewmeister

Yeah, it's hard to argue that C&D's test observed the Fit at the best performance AND the second best observed fuel economy (though at 35 to first places' 36, it's within margin of error).

In looking at them online, I like the Versa's styling and interior better. Also, it received better marks for ride.

My wife said the same about all the Honda's we tried at the auto show. Anything larger seemed to be one big expanse of plastic (CR-V, Pilot, etc.). The Civic and Accord don't quite seem that way. Kind of a deal breaker for her.

boaz47

I have owned a lot of cars and I have had one made by just about every country and manufacturer. I tend to lump them altogether at times which may or may not be fair to the car or manufacturer. But in small cars Honda has always impressed me. Small engines are their Forte from cars to motorcycles to power equipment. when looking at a new product to our shores it is hard to go against the experience Honda brings to the table.

That is not to say I haven't bought other small cars. Sometimes the execution of a particular car gets to me and the car wins a place in my heart. But in this case with the cars mentioned I would put Honda on top of my list until enough time has passed to convince me the others might be as good or better at what they are designed to do in this class as a Honda. Cars have to be pretty ugly to keep me from at least trying them out so any of these three are worth looking at. I'm just not at the point in life where cars this small meet my life style.

chrisducati

I'm just glad there are more to chose from now. I'm a small car lover. If I had to pick a car for styling alone it would be the Yaris hatchback. Unfortunately , Toyota has left out the tach in the U.S market. I drive stick only and while I know the rev limiter will keep me from blowing the engine I still use a tach to get the best performance and gas mileage. That one thing moves me to the Fit, even though I like the styling less. I was disappointed with the Versa sedan styling. As the car is basically a Renault Megane. I was hoping we would get a car based on the Megane II
What we end up with was a car that looks more like the older Megan



The Hatchback is closer to the Megane II but still you can tell it is based on the very up right Versa sedan.
If I thought there would be a sports version of the Versa hatchback or even dealer add on items I would give it a hard look. 120 hp is enough to make me look twice.

b3nut

is a pet peeve...DCX does it with the base Caliber and Ford does it with the S and SE Focus trim levels (unless you get the SE Sport Group option). Even the strippo Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent come with a tach, for crying out loud...I like having a tach even with an automatic like my Rio5 has, I like knowing what my powerplant is up to. The automakers are just being cheap here.

And what's with this new omit-the-coolant-temp-guage fad? The Scion xA and xB, Toyota Yaris, and Honda Fit suffer from this malady. The Chevy Cobalt almost does, but you can bring up the coolant temp in the display if you page through it enough. Again, it's nice to know what the powerplant is up to. I miss oil pressure guages too...I prefer proper guages to idiot lights...

Todd in Beerbratistan

iluvmysephia1

guages in the 2007 Toyota Yaris hatch or sedan? Say it isn't so! My two Kia's have had those, yes they have.

Not enough to dampen enthusiasm, but...I'll bet the 2006 Kia Rio LX sedan and 2006 Kia Rio5 do offer a coolant temp guage and for no extra charge, either! I guess it's time to compare the Rio value quotient over the Yaris, eh? Now's the time to do that, not after you purchase a Toyota and wish you had certain feautures.

That Rio5 is very, very nice.

b3nut

Nope, at least not an analog guage. Whether you can bring it up on the LCD or not, I don't know. But the Scions lack coolant temp display of any kind save for an idiot light that comes on if you're overheating. Bah.

Even the most base, strippo '06 Kia Rio and Hyundai Accent have a coolant temp guage *and* a tach.

Yes, the Rio5 is a darn nice car. I saw a Sapphire Blue one like mine the other day, and it had a full tint job. Dang, it looked sharp!

Todd in Beerbratistan

harrychezt

http://theautochannel.com/news/2006/04/10/003552.html

Says now 33 combined, down from 38MPG(I had read that the 38MPG was Hwy, on other sites,magazines, etc?).

nippononly

2700-pound car with a 120 hp engine - 38 mpg combined would have been pretty surprising.

dglozman

I just saw Suzuki SX4 on NY autoshow. It looks like a winner to me. Great looking car with AWD!

chrisducati

Yeah, Looks good. I was hoping for the New Swift but from the reviews I have read in the European press it is a nice car. The only complaints have been the back seat is not as roomy and it has less content than other small cars in its class. The saving grace is that it is a real 4x4 with locking 4 wheel drive. We will get a 2.0 with 143 hp. I think that is what the Aerio had when it first came out. Don't look for really high gas mileage because of the 4 wheel drive system.

reddroverr

The nissan versa site now says 32 mpg combined. Do I hear 31? 31 going once.....going twice...

iluvmysephia1

looks like a newer version of my 2001 Kia Sportage 4x4, even the paint job looks similar!

BTW-for those that it may interest, 4x4's retain their resale value better than cars, at least with the Kia brand. My Sportage is still worth around $4,200 with 111,100 miles on it. I was pleasantly surprised to KBB my little SUV and get that news! Should hold true with that Suzuki SUV as well. Of course, that is if you take great care of them, too.

dglozman

Suzuki representative at the show told me that the car is pretty much loaded with every possible future (US version)including climate control, stability control (option) and six airbags (standard). He said that they working on WRC version - turbo 320HP. That would be something....

chrisducati

Wow, that is in the Subaru WRX STI range. I wonder if we would get a street version. In the past Suzuki has been a very conservative company, automotive wise anyway. The standard Version looks like a great competitor for the Fit,Versa, Yaris, Scion group. Defiantly looks like a mini 4x4 instead of a economy car. From what I remember the 2.0 only gets in the low 30mpg range. That is if it is the same engine that was in the Aerio when it first came out. Maybe they will offer the diesel version in the future.

alex2d2

Well I'd to add that the Honda Fit lacks a temnperature guage as well. I guess over-heating is not a common problem for these sub-compacts.

rockylee

Aveo, is better than them all. :shades:

Rocky

carfanatic007

I think all three are good cars. The Fit is made in Japan. I'm pretty sure the Yaris is also made in Japan. The Versa will be made in Mexico. Call me what you will, I trust a car made in Japan more than a car made in Mexico. My brother had a 1999 Ford Focus ZX2 made in Mexico. It was a piece of junk. Very cheaply made. The current Sentra is made in Japan as will the new one. That is what turns me off about Nissan. The Yaris, while a capable small car, has had mediocre reviews. I'm sure it will run forever with few problems though. The Fit has had good reviews from Car and Driver and Edmunds. I'm waiting for Consumer Reports to do a review. As popular as the new Fit is, I'm sure it will be soon.

bumpy

Sentras have been built in Mexico since about 1994.

nippononly

those haven't been the greatest Sentra ever to emerge from Nissan Inc, that's for sure, although whether that is attributable to the Mexican assembly or merely to the fact that Nissan almost went broke and cheaped out on everything, is subject to debate!

The Versa is going to be the comfort-mobile with the lowest gas mileage in this group.

The Fit will be the sporty model that has a firm and more noisy ride.

The Yaris will be somewhere in between. It will also probably be the one of the three that is obtainable for the least money, since very basic versions (if you don't mind doing without some fairly basic features like a radio) are $2K or more below the stickers of the competitors.

And Rocky: the Aveo? PLEASE PLEASE go drive one, then drive the others, then tell me Aveo is the best. I beg you. I will send you a check for a day's rental of the Aveo if you still think it is the best. ;-)

Now the '07 Aveo? You could have something there, but alas it is not yet available to drive. And the '06 Accent and Rio5 are worth a look too, in that case.

rockylee

I was trying to "get your goat" well actually one of ya'lls nippononly. you happened to take the hook, line, sinker, because you know Rocky doesn't care that much about the crackerbox segment. :P

Rocky

kyfdx

I don't know when they started importing them to the US from Mexico, but I took a trip to Cancun in 1992, and they were already building them there for the Mexican market... they were all over... I just assumed that they exported them to the USA, as well...

204meca

Check out this link for a glowing review of Versa. http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/pw/07versa.htm

Sounds much more feature rich, larger & more comfortable than Fit. The penalty is handling & gas mileage.

This Canadian driver site is second only to Edmunds for excellent new car reviews. EDMUNDS IS STILL DA BEST!

chidoro

Aveo, is better than them all.

Rocky

is it really?
hook/lining or wasting bandwidth, story at 11

iluvmysephia1

Chevy Aveo may be worth taking a look at if you like small sedans. Early looks at the body put it ahead of the original Aveo in my book. Take a look at some of the pics of it, Edmunds probably has some right here in this site.

It looks to have a longer wheelbase and is a tad bit more substantial automobile. I wonder what Chevy will ask for it.

thatsmycall

Yaris will be best mileage. Fit is too much fun. Best cheapest car may be stripper Aveo, but you might have to fix it some. Nissan makes a good truck in AL, have to see how the mexican versa holds up.

bumpy

From what I've read, the Aveo sedan got a new skin but kept the same platform and drivetrain. It also bombed on the European and Australian crash tests. GM will probably have to flog them solely on price, just like the outgoing model.

nippononly

how long before we can actually see one in the flesh? About a month?

bottgers

...so why would I pay $13K-$16K for one?

wonderwall

why do you say they are $10K cars? because they are small?

robertsmx

Stop buying cars by $/lb.

bottgers

....these cars were designed and produced as subcompacts to be inexpensive and economical to not only purchase, but to operate as well. I don't know much about the Versa, but I think the Fit and the Yaris fall way short of what they should provide. The whole purpose of buying the smallest cars available is to be able to buy them at a considerably lower price, and to have a vehicle that provides superior fuel economy. The Fit and Yaris meet neither of these criteria. For example, to get a Yaris equipped with any of creature features that are normally found in most vehicles as standard equipment puts the price very close to a similarly equipped Corolla. Considering the Corolla is roomier, more powerful, more comfortable, and gets better fuel economy, why wouldn't anyone in their right mind spend the extra $1K to get the Corolla instead of a Yaris? The Yaris has to offer SOME advantage over the Corolla in order to get people to buy it. Is it considerably less expensive? No. Does the Yaris get 45-50 MPG? No. If it did, I might be interested. The same comparison applies to the Fit/Civic as well. Since these cars don't offer any benefits in the way of fuel economy, they should be priced much lower than they are.

crimsona

Here in Canada there is a far greater overlap between the Civic and the Fit (4 trim levels on the Civic, the out the door price on the Fit Sport matches the 2nd most expensive, the LX which comes with alloys here) - and yet the Fit is still selling like hotcakes.

I wasn't looking for a barebones car, I wanted a hatchback with a bunch of features. If I wanted barebones I could have gotten an Aveo for far less. Despite costing approx *22300* USD out the door (after sales taxes) for a Fit Sport Auto, I believe I will derive far greater utility than a Canadian Civic LX in the end. Many people have the same idea as I do, as waiting lists are getting well into July and later now.

bottgers

...then apparently so. I just know I'm not stepping DOWN from my Corolla into a Yaris unless the Yaris offers me SOME benefit by doing so. In its current form, it doesn't.

kato1

i agree with you. i am still scratching my head over this. in fact, when i bought my corolla, there were 4 other yarii on the lot. all three sedans cost almost exactly what my corolla costs, and the hatchback was only $800 less. after test driving 2 yarii and the corolla, it was obvious why the corolla is a class up on these cars. the corolla was equipped with everything i personally needed. the only plus for the yaris would be the unique looks of the hatch, which i kinda liked. the hatch isnt even all that versatile without a split rear seat that doesnt even fold flat. at a much lower price i would have gladly grabbed the yaris hatch. at similar pricing, why?

my idea of a subcompact is a cheap car that gets in the area of 42/48 mpg. and no, yaris "real world" mileage wont be anywhere near that. this was the one area where these subcompacts could have really made their case with the american public. i constantly read how americans hate subcompact and hatchbacks. i think alot of americans, with todays gas prices, would learn to love a subcompact that pulled 45-50 mpg. personally i wanted the best gas mileage and the most possible comfort in the $14-$15k range. yaris/fit/versa dont deliver on this, but at least yaris offers fair mileage. the versa's mpg numbers look pretty disappointing. no surprise; that car is awfully heavy for whats under the hood (2700+ lbs, i think?)

however, i cant fault toyota if people are buying yarii in great quantities. all the better for them. there are plenty of people who get so excited over new models that they are willing to pay sticker+ prices. overall, i agree with blottgers that these cars offer little to justify $13-15K prices.

bottgers

....of these new cars is mainly because they're new and different. Once the newness wears off and reality sets in, I think most people who are interested in these vehicles now will end up going back to the Corolla, Civic, and Sentra.