Test drove Rio5, Fit, and Yaris all today

[kmf123kmf]

So I'm looking to take advantage of the CARS program later this month and spent the day driving possible replacements for my current "commuter" vehicle. (A '99 Ford Explorer with 127K miles)

In order of test drive:

I wasn't really enthusiastic about this car going into it, but since I already own a 2008 Sedona, which I like well enough, I figured I should give it a try. The Rio5 was competent, but the engine sounded unrefined to me and was a little rough when pushed. The car seemed pretty well equipped though and is definitely still in the running. Price will be a big factor in choosing this vehicle.

Next up was a base Fit auto. I'm a bit biased here as my last car was an 07 Civic Si sedan which was simply amazing and I've always been a fan of Hondas. (Don't ask how I ended up with a Kia minivan and an old Exploder instead of the Si...it's complicated) The Fit turned out to be everything I expected. Interior is very nice for its class. Handling was tight though there was a touch more body roll than I thought there would be. The sport trim is probably better in this regard but I didn't drive one since it's out of my price range. Engine is classic Honda, very smooth and loves to rev, even in the automatic. Torque takes a while to come on but is plentiful once you get there. After all was said and done the Fit jumped strongly to the top of my wishlist. The whole car just "feels" right in a way which is difficult to explain.

Finally I took out a Yaris 4dr LB followed by a sedan. Both base models, automatic, no power package. I was actually quite surprised by these little cars. After reading all of the expert reviews and comparisons I expected the Yaris to be some super floaty boat ride ready to fly off the road at any moment, but as it turns out, things weren't nearly as bad as I'd been led to believe. Engine feels stronger than the Fit where it counts. The power just comes on a bit earlier and is accentuated by the lighter curb weight of the Yaris. The dealer let me drive on my own so I got a really good run with each of them. (In hindsight, this is bit unfair to the Rio5 and Fit as I had the added weight of a sales person sitting in the passenger seat during those tests, oh well) Took the LB onto the highway and could find no major fault. It did seem to nosedive a bit more than normal when braking which is a slight concern. Makes me wonder what might happen during a hard stop. It was plenty quiet for my tastes, quieter than the Fit for sure. Passing power at speed was workable, good enough for commuting in any case. After that I took the sedan around town which includes some roads which approach highway speeds. Overall I preferred the handling of the sedan over the LB. The front end didn't dive like the LB did and I think the longer wheelbase makes it a bit less darty. The two were very close however and if I didn't know the sedan existed I'd still consider the LB. Where it loses to the Fit in handling it compensates for in ride comfort. So this is one point where I really have to decide what I'm looking for in a commuter car.

That's all for now. I got a few weeks before the cash for clunkers program goes into wide-effect, so I'll be weighing my options till then. Just thought I'd share my experience so far.

[MadMax]

Well, I am sure most of us on this site are biased towards the Yaris; but I had one as a rental for a week and was quite impressed as well. I ended up going with a liftback as I am partial to them (the rental was a sedan), and I was giving up a car I had owned for ten years and loved dearly (a VW Passat VR6 wagon with a Neuspeed P-flow). That car was sick fast but only got 23 MPG, and since I also own a Jeep I needed something that was 1) better on gas, 2) less likely to break and 3) inexpensive but still a good deal. I found all three in the Yaris.

I have good friend who has a Rio, his desires were close to mind but he wanted a really cheap car that got good gas mileage and that is what he got. But he ended up not spending too much less than what he could have paid for a stock Yaris (mine was mod'd a bit) and he didn't get as good of gas mileage in his Kia.

Since we already own a Honda Odyssey minivan, I didn't want its "Mini Me" (the Fit). I just don't like the looks of that car, and the fact that you can't get it in any other configuration than the five-door leads me to think Honda isn't targeting the same market for it. The Fit seems to be geared toward those who don't quite want something the size of a minivan; but still want a lot of practicality in their vehicle. But we love our Odyssey, so although I passed on the Fit if it is just as good as its twin big brother than I understand its popularity.

For the price, I got a sweet LB that handles nice and gets great gas mileage—37 mpg, the larger tires and auto kill it a little but I am still very happy! Plus there is a huge range of options to aftermarket this car whereas the Rio and Fit are somewhat limited as far as I know. Lastly, there are the great folks on YarisWorld, which have helped me tremendously in making my Yaris (“Sprocket”) unique. You won’t a better sub-compact forum out there in my opinion!

All the best in your decision, I hope you are happy no matter which route you choose!

Cheers! M2

[guzziknight]

I test drove the Rio as well and liked it. I was actually seriously considering a Rio5. I found one with low miles that fit my budget, around $10K. I was going to go look at it, when I found my Yaris. Since I got such a good deal on the Yaris S, $10,500, I bought it instead. The Rio did not have the power package, and the Yaris does.

I think the Yaris is a more refined vehicle, with a longer history of quality, based on the company. If I hadn't gotten such a good deal on my car, I would have had no problems buying the Rio5. I am partial to hatchbacks, and if I could have afforded it, I would have bought a Yaris 5dr in a heart beat. No used ones available here in the US since they just came out.

Yaniv

[kmf123kmf]

Yeah, I like the styling of the LB better than the sedan, but my practical side can't seem to get over the tiny (itty bitty) trunk in the LB. I rarely need to haul other people around, but when I do they usually come with luggage so a larger trunk comes in handy.

Then again, I do have my minivan, so I guess I could always arrange to have it available when things like that pop up.

One thing I like about the Yaris over the Fit is that it can be configured down quite a bit which keeps things less expensive. Adding the power package onto a Yaris brings it right up near Fit pricing which would be a deal breaker for me personally. Dealer discounts and Toyota incentives could tip the scales however. I'll have to wait and see what Honda and Toyota announce on July 7th.

[guzziknight]

Yeah, I agree with you. I ended up with the sedan, but I bought it used, so I went for price over what I really wanted.

I like the LBs because of my dog. I could fold down the rear seats, and let her have to whole back. Keeps the seats clean for the few times I carry a passenger back there.

[2+2]

I drove a Fit and a Yaris today. The Fit was an automatic and the Yaris a manual. The Yaris was much more fun to drive. Of course I plan on going back to the Honda dealer and asking to drive a manual so I'll have an apples/apples comparison.

I thought the Fit's dashboard including radio was much better. Higher quality and more user friendly. I thought the Fit's handling was a letdown. Taking an expressway entrance ramp really let me down. At the time I blamed the steering but everyone else blames the body roll and maybe they're right. All I know is that I felt the need to slow down more than I thought I should have had to at the apex of the curve leading to the expressway.

The Yaris seemed a lot more willing to have some fun entering the highway. This entrance ramp was a little steeper and still the Yaris seemed to have plenty of spunk and cornered nicely.

The Yaris has a less-is-more feel that I like and I love the short throw shifter. The Fit has the very cool USB port for the radio that would be awesome but the car feels to me like it's trying too hard (but with cheap materials).

Gotta try the Fit with the manual. If it's got a feel that compares with the Yaris it's going to be a tough call. But then the Yaris is cheaper...

Love lurking on the forum!

[kmf123kmf]

Was the Fit a base or sport? The addition of a rear sway bar makes a huge difference on tall cars like the Fit and Yaris.

Let me know how the manual Fit drive goes. Switching from auto to stick makes just about any car more fun to drive, especially when engine power is at a premium.

I too thought the Fit's dash was the better of the two. The Yaris dash just screamed "cheap" to me. But it's kind of in-character considering what the car is and what it costs. The entire Fit cockpit kind of made me think I was piloting a spaceship, a very corny spaceship unfortunately. I could live with either one. The only thing I really didn't like is the orange speedometer in the Yaris LB. For some reason that color on the gauges just annoys me.

[yaris-me]

Whatever you buy, be happy. If you buy a Yaris and become unhappy, don't come here to complain.

[jambo101]

Check the Auto Trader on resale values for each car,you'll notice any Kia product loses almost half its value as soon as you drive it off the lot.

[scape]

the prices are thousands of dollars apart (fit msrp $14,750 vs yaris $12,205) so I think you should factor that into the equation here ...what would you do with 2 or so thousand dollars in upgrades to a yaris? you can certainly buy a whole new audio receiver and amp, anti-sway bar, and probably better shocks...but you're right, the interior will always feel cheap, personally I like it b/c it holds up suprisingly well [the cupholders probably will never break the way they are designed, something no past car of mine can say haha]

[kmf123kmf]

Well, as of this morning Toyota and Honda have both dropped all cash and finance incentives on the Yaris and Fit in my region. I'm not happy about that at all. :(

[roxy1]

Originally Posted by 2+2

I drove a Fit and a Yaris today. The Fit was an automatic and the Yaris a manual. The Yaris was much more fun to drive. Of course I plan on going back to the Honda dealer and asking to drive a manual so I'll have an apples/apples comparison.!

the fit manual is more fun to drive than the auto, but the gearing in the fit manual is LUDICROUS. while the yaris manual is somewhere around 3000 rpm's at 70 mph, the fit is closer to 3400-3450 and you can really feel it and hear it. it ruined the experience for me and is what led me back to the yaris since i was determined to drive a manual.

[kmf123kmf]

Originally Posted by kmf123kmf

Well, as of this morning Toyota and Honda have both dropped all cash and finance incentives on the Yaris and Fit in my region. I'm not happy about that at all. :(

Oh wait! The zero APR financing on Yaris is back! Woo hoo! Still waiting to see what Honda announces, but unless they offer something crazy (which they never do) this pretty much closes the deal.

[guzziknight]

0% will save you a lot of money. Usually, it's a better deal than the cash back.

[Yaris Hilton]

When I bought mine in February, the cheap loan offer was for something like 2% instead of 0. At that I saved about $4 by taking the cash back instead.

[birdman]

I prefer the Yaris LB because it has more elbow room against the door than the sedan. It has more cubby holes to store stuff. I think the Sedan is a cool car but I prefer the LB. The Fit had the best rear seat design I've ever seen. I found the steering a bit too responsive where the Yaris is more damped down. Bottom line it was the cartoony looks, comfort and utility of the Yaris LB that won me over. I must admit the Kia was pretty cool too. The Aveo wasn't bad either if you like Deawoos.

[birdman]

Half a bubble, that's funny!