I've been toying with the idea of getting into something to replace the Civic of late. Just thinking and dreaming, really, since I know logically it would make more sense to hold off until I'm done school, but I've been thinking about taking a car back out with me in September, and if I do I would like something newer and more practical.
Anyway, that was enough to entice me out this afternoon to test a Yaris (sedan) and Fit. I appreciate hatchbacks and their versatility, but was surprised to find the Yaris hatch offers very little real cargo capacity: with the rear seats up, it seemed to have less than half the space of my current Civic hatch. In short: almost no space! The Fit seemed better, but not great - I put this down to these being four door hatches, whereas mine is a two-door. There was no two-door Yaris to compare too. The trunk space of the Yaris sedan was very impressive, though, and if I were to buy a Yaris, I would opt for the sedan. With better looks, a locking trunk, and more cargo room with four people in the car, it's the clear winner. And cargo room with four people is important, since if I did have this car at school for two years, roadtrips and shopping trips with four people would be a common occurrence.
Interior ImpressionsThe first thing I noticed in the Fit was how spacious it seemed. I'm not tall, and I had loads of headroom in the front. It seemed to be a good six inches taller inside than my car. It just felt very big on the inside, but despite this it was very easy to drive - it's still a small car, and it drives like one. The seats were comfy for the short test drive, and the positioning of the controls (especially the shifter) was good. The interior seemed of good quality for its class, and I had no complaints about material quality of hardness. I tested the LX model, with a gray interior, but I took a look at a Sport, too, and love the black interior exclusive to those cars. I really like the steering wheels in the newer Hondas, too. I love the look of the stereo in this car for some reason, it looks very high class compared to some of the cheap-looking factory decks I've seen.
The Yaris immediately seemed smaller inside than the Fit - much less headroom, and room overall. It was still comfy, but it felt much smaller to be in than the Fit. I'm not sure how the Yaris hatch would have compared to the sedan in this respect, but since I'm interested in the Fit vs. Yaris sedan, this is what I noticed. The interior of the Yaris is otherwise very well thought out, lots of storage - I especially liked the small cubbies on the centre stack, and the pop-up cup holders in the dash. The AC knobs were nice and big, designed according to the salesperson for use with mittens on. Heh.
Driving ImpressionsBoth drove very well, in my opinion. One thing I did notice was that the Fit felt much, much peppier. I'm not sure why: both are equipped with 1.5L, four-cylinder engines making 109hp and 106hp respectively, with similar torque figures, and both are equipped with some kind of variable valve timing. But whereas the Fit was eager to run up to redline (as Honda engines are), the Yaris seemed to take a more lazy approach to speed. In the Fit I looked at the speedo and found myself doing 80, in the Yaris I looked and found myself doing only 50... big difference in terms of power delivery. Since I'm a fan of high-revving engines like the Civic Si, I preferred the Fit, which had the illusion of more power. Whatever it was, the Fit seemed faster.
The Fit rode a bit rougher, though to be fair, the Fit was equipped with a dealer-installed 16" alloy rim and tire package, whereas the Yaris was rolling on stock steelies and tires. The Fit LX does not come with alloys normally, but this is an upgrade I would probably make. The Yaris certainly seemed to have that Toyota "floatiness" I've heard so much about compared to the Fit, but I was not disappointed with it. It road smoother but still had its share of sport.
The Fit does suffer from Honda's rev-hanging design that Rob talks about, and at first it was a weird feeling: until I realized what was going on, I thought I was doing something wrong when I was shifting. I'm not sure I like the sensation, but I could live with it in the Fit, and probably would get used to it pretty quickly. The Yaris did not have the same issue. The clutch in the Fit was lighter than I expected, with a high take-up point and longer throws than my car: I would probably install a short-throw shift kit, but I didn't drive it long enough to get a perfect feel for it, and I might change my mind after more time with it. Just an initial reaction. The Yaris clutch was a little heavier, but not a lot, and neither seemed quite as good as the shifter in my Civic in terms of how "solid" the shift action seems... again, this could be because I'm so used to my Civic and how it shifts, and more time with either car would likely eliminate this feeling.
Overall, I like the feel of the Fit over the Yaris: it seems more peppy - it's very eager to get up to speed! - and a little more "tossable". The Yaris feels a bit more solid, but not as fast nor quite as fun. I'm not surprised by this, since it more or less confirms what I had heard about Toyota vs. Honda's road manners, but I did expect a little more sport from the Yaris. Not a disappointing car, but imo not as good as the Fit.
OverallHonda added white as an option for the Fit for this year, a decision I am very, very happy with. Some might recall I was very excited before the Fit's release in Canada to buy a white fit with white rims - after testing the Fit, this dream has been renewed for me. While the Fit looks brilliant in pretty well any colour (imo, anyway), I love it in white. If I were to buy one, though, it would be a tough decision between white, gray, and dark blue - I've seen a few in this deep blue colour, and they look fantastic. The Yaris offers a very nice charcoal gray that would be my first choice for that car.
I think the Fit is a far more practical car than the Yaris: the magic seats are really quite ingenious, and love that they fold flat for big items. The Yaris sedan does have 60/40 folding seats, but they fold anything but flat: there's probably a 3-4" rise where the seat back is, and a relatively small opening. Though to be fair, I
am comparing a hatch to a sedan.
The Fit LX (not sure on DX) also comes standard with an auxiliary input for an MP3 player, a feature which I installed in my Civic and have come to love. The Toyota rep couldn't even tell me if such a feature was available on the Yaris, and suggested I buy an FM transmitter
, though it looks as though an iPod controller is available for the Yaris for $200, since it's listed as an option on "build your Toyota". Honda also offers an iPod controller to supplement the aux in for the Fit, but for something like $350.
I also appreciate that the Fit comes standard with so many airbags - they're all optional on the Yaris, and while I understand they are important, one can save nearly $1000 by opting out of side curtain airbags. With the Fit, you get them, whether you buy a base model or a sport.
So, if I were to buy today? I'd take the Fit, easily. I liked the Yaris a lot, and on its own I would be very impressed. But I drove the two back-to-back, and while the Yaris was good, I couldn't think of anything it did better than the Fit. Add to this that I prefer the road manners of the Honda over the Toyota, and it would be a tough sell to get me into a Yaris. But either one of these small cars would be great for anyone doing any commuting, especially in the city. For a highway commute, I would be a little torn between the Yaris' greater stability and the Fit's greater pep, but would likely still chose the Fit.
Cars I might also consider include a used Mazda3 (spotted a used manual GT listing at $19 995, didn't get a chance to drive it, though), a used Rabbit (if I can find one), and maybe the Pontiac Vibe or G5. Not really interested in the Versa or Sentra. Could be talked into looking at a Jeep Patriot, but only the Patriot with Freedom Drive II really appeals to me, and that's not available with a stick and is too expensive. No Cobalt/Compass.
