Toyota Yaris vs Ford Fiesta

[MacAttack7]

Ugh........my brain is in gridlock. I'm pretty sure I want either a Manual Trans Sedan Yaris or a Ford Fiesta, but I'm not sure which one. Here's a few questions on the Yaris:

1. How is it on fairly steep hills. I often go on weekend road trips up to the mountains, so that's important.

2. Is the sedan comfy enuf for somebody 6' 1'' with long legs?

3. It sounds like a great city car, but what about the highways? Will I get run over when I try to merge onto a busy highway from an entrance ramp?

4. Do you think a Ford Fiesta would be reliable? It sounds like a great, fun car, but I just don't know what to think of their reliability. Toyota's got the great rep, but Ford is all over the board........makes me a little nervous.

[tk1971]

The Fiesta fell off my short list before I got my 2Dr LB Yaris because:

1) 1st year model (test the car on my dime for the car company - got burned once, will never do that again)

2) Timing Belt instead of a timing chain (Don't really want to do another TB change, ever)

3) Price on a slightly used Yaris vs MSRP on the Fiesta (no deals, too hot at the time)

I find the Yaris surprisingly big on the inside. I remember reading about members here who are about as tall as you. No problems driving.

The Yaris with manual tranny is surprisingly peppy. I can pretty much go as fast as I want, even up hills.

Before the rains started here, I put my mountain bike on my hitch mounted rack and headed up the mountains for the first time with this car. Driving up to the trail was half the fun. I was grinning ear to ear.

[DebbyM46227]

I can only answer 2 of your questions but I have the 3 door liftback (also a manual).

3. I have no trouble merging, in fact, sometimes by the time I get ready to merge I'm going too fast and I have to back off the accelerator.

4. This is just my opinion, but I would never buy the first model year of any car....hmmm...maybe a Toyota or Honda but never a domestic car. I do think the Fiesta is very cute though.

[MacAttack7]

Originally Posted by DebbyM46227

4. This is just my opinion, but I would never buy the first model year of any car....hmmm...maybe a Toyota or Honda but never a domestic car. I do think the Fiesta is very cute though.

Ok........so far you both have me leaning toward the Yaris. The Fiesta has been around in Europe for quite a while I guess, but who knows what they changed for the USA.

I agree...................I'm kind of wary about getting the 1st year of the new USA Ford. I hear their quality has jumped way up, but you can't believe the professional reviewers. Word of mouth seems to heavily favor Toyota over Ford.

I could get the Fiesta I want about $1400 cheaper though which leaves it in the race, and it's a good-looking car I think. And all of the "professional reviewers" diss the Yaris & love the Fiesta. But when I read "user" reviews of the Yaris just about everybody seems to love it, so that's probably more realistic.

[brg88tx]

a used manual yaris sedan with low miles can be had for around $8k. unless you want to buy new, there is no comparison.

[annn]

I am 6'2" 240 and fit great...I could not even fit in a tc or xb I tested both before I got my yaris hb.my head was rubbing on the roof as my torso is very long.

I have had no issue with power, hot rod no !! But as far as normal driving never had a issue with stock car.

I have since added a cai,exhaust,header, etc...and it's more than enough power for normal driving. Is it the 450 horse of my lt1 stingray no way but I am impressed with the yaris and it's power .

[MacAttack7]

Originally Posted by brg88tx

a used manual yaris sedan with low miles can be had for around $8k. unless you want to buy new, there is no comparison.

That's not an easy thing to find where I live.........Portland, Oregon. Due to the "green", "granola", "earth-saving" people of Portland any worthwhile used Yaris from a dealer has an inflated price & anything that shows up on Craig's List is sold instantly.

I saw one good deal from a dealer & went to check it out, but it was mysteriously sold, but they had plenty of other "great" deals for me. They still have the Yaris for sale on their website 2 wks later. I even e-mail them a week ago & asked if they were ever going to take the Yaris off of their website. Idiots.

I saw another "good" deal on one & when I called some shady guy wouldn't come clean on it's condition. Finally he said a few buttons might be missing. And then the turn signal stick was gone & replaced with a pen or something. No way I'm buying a car that was taken care of like that.

Anyway if I want a used one here I have to pretty much get robbed. I'd rather buy a brand new one, but now that's not looking good either due to the earthquake & gas prices.

Heck, even the Ford Fiesta I was looking at may not work out. I really wanted a black car, and I saw an article today where Ford has told dealers no more black or red car orders because the paint ingredient came from a factory in Japan that has shut down.

I think I'm just going to end up keeping my Jeep Liberty for another year. It's a bad time to be car shopping it seems.

[MacAttack7]

Ok, I've talked myself back into the Fiesta now along with the Yaris. I was thinking since I'm getting a manual transmission that I'm not too worried about it being the Fiesta's first year in the USA. The thing that usually gets people with new cars is the auto transmission.

It's still a crappy time to be shopping though. Just talked to the Ford dealer guy & he said it's hard to find vehicles because they're flying off the lots. I couldn't even look at a Fiesta Sedan because there wasn't one anywhere around here unless I wanted to drive a couple states away.

[fnkngrv]

I had a fiesta for a car rental in DC a few weeks back. I own a stick sedan and after driving the fiesta for a week it still felt like my 1986 escort to me. I am 6'2" and until recently weighed 272. I have always been comfortable in my sedan even though I was pumped to drive the fiesta I pretty much decided that i only like the look of the fiesta and nothing more.

[nemelek]

My son-in-law just bought a Ford Fiesta. It seemed like a nice car. I never considered the car. I swore I would never buy a Ford after the 78 POS Courier I owned.

[dbudworth]

I just bought '09 Yaris Sedan w/ 43K miles on it, power package for $9k. Most yaris' around my area with the same specs were going for $10-11k. It was kind of hard to find a good deal on one around here too (WI).

I'm 6'1" and fit very comfortable in the sedan and love the car. It was my replacement car for the '95 Geo Metro that died on me. (currently rebuilding the head). I have fairly long legs and arms, and I don't drive with the seat all the way back. My legs are more comfortable with the seat all the way back on longer drives, but then I feel I am reaching too far for the steering wheel.

I can't speak for the Ford Fiesta, other than its a nice looking car.

I'm with the rest of the crowd here. I would never buy a 1st or maybe even a 2nd year new model from a domestic manufacturer. Ford had all kinds of problems with their redesigned Escort (specifically the 2.0L engine).

[rick996]

Here's a link to TrueDelta's reliability survey: http://www.truedelta.com/car-reliability.php. Log in as Guest, select Ford and then Fiesta.

You see the 2011 Fiesta shows 88 trips to the shop per 100 cars. If you are a member you can scroll down to the Toyotas. The 2010 Yaris shows 7 trips per 100 cars, the 2009-19, the 2008-14 and the 2007-18.

[HYang]

Fiesta vs. Yaris sedan- I went thru the same thing late last year.
Ended up choosing the Yaris, and have never regretted it.

Front legroom is a draw: Fiesta and Yaris both get 42.2 inches (source: toyota.com, ford.com)

But Yaris driver's seat comes standard with seat height adjustment. Fiesta: unavailable.

What was more important to me was the REAR legroom:
Yaris: Fiesta = 35.6": 31.2". (source: toyota.com, ford.com)

This is DESPITE the Fiesta sedan being more than four inches longer than Yaris sedan overall.
What's more, Fiesta's longer overall length doesn't even translate to more trunk space: Yaris sedan has that beat, too (albeit only by 1/10 of a cu. ft).

So I said to myself, "Why should I want to buy a car that's uselessly bigger (ie. longer and with a wider turning radius but with less rear legroom and trunk space), is 'Hecho en Mexico', as opposed to 'Made in Japan', and from a company with one of the worst reliability records in the industry, save maybe GM or Chrysler?"

Lots of reviews declare the Ford Fiesta to be the best thing since sliced-bread.
But you know they're paid to generate hype, for the benefit of people like you and me.

[brg88tx]

here you go macattack, black sedan, 5 speed, low miles
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/2283142874.html

[nemelek]

Originally Posted by rick996

Here's a link to TrueDelta's reliability survey: http://www.truedelta.com/car-reliability.php. Log in as Guest, select Ford and then Fiesta.

You see the 2011 Fiesta shows 88 trips to the shop per 100 cars. If you are a member you can scroll down to the Toyotas. The 2010 Yaris shows 7 trips per 100 cars, the 2009-19, the 2008-14 and the 2007-18.

Thanks for the research. Glad I got the Yaris.

[DMZ]

Originally Posted by brg88tx

here you go macattack, black sedan, 5 speed, low miles
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/2283142874.html

That represents a good buy for the PNW. Low mileage Yaris' (and Corollas) are not easy to find and are often premium priced because they are quick sellers.

[MacAttack7]

Originally Posted by brg88tx

here you go macattack, black sedan, 5 speed, low miles
http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/2283142874.html

I've actually looked at that one a few times. I e-mailed them twice but nobody ever replied. Called today & I just don't know. Car has been in a wreck, but I guess nothing serious. I don't think I'll drive 3 hours to look at it. It's really strange that it is still for sale for as long as it's been available. I guarantee something's wrong with it. It would be gone by now otherwise.

[MacAttack7]

One just popped up today right around here, so I'm going to go check it out. Looks like a pretty good deal, but I hate the color. I really wanted black, but it's a good price for around here.
http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/ctd/2287840305.html