2014 Yaris SE or Corolla S?

[buda]

Hey guys, I'm in the market for a car. Looking to buy in the spring. However I have some questions, and I think it's best to ask here, since every time I look something up on google, there's always a yaris world page!

To cut to the chase, here are my questions/concerns that I'd like opinions on...

Firstly, both cars I'm shopping are 2014 models, and will be manual transmission. (Yaris SE, Corolla S). I live in Toronto, ON, Canada.

As we all know, the Yaris for North America is being assembled in France. This is my concern after doing searches on the forum, and out, people are tending to want to avoid these.

Are the French Yarii noticeably poorer quality than the Japanese? From what I understand, the French assembly plant has been manufacturing Yarii for Europe for quite some time... So if any Europeans with a French built Yaris could give some input? From reliability reports, they still seem to rank highly in Europe. So just curious if it is something I should avoid... because it has me 2nd guessing.

On the other hand, the Corolla is built here in Ontario. Concerns about going with the Corolla are, slightly more expensive, fuel economy is poorer (city at least (according to EPA) Highway mileage looks the same, though I hear many people are beating the EPA with their Yarii, could this also be true for the Corolla? Lastly, size, as all cars age, they seem to be getting bigger and bigger, and I am a single male, and will likely be just me in the car 80% of the time I drive, so unsure if I need the extra space of the Corolla.

I would just like some input on the Yaris/Corolla given the previous points I provided to help me with my decision.

Thanks for your time! All input is welcome, especially from those with a French manufactured Yaris!