Newbie questions: Yaris and child safety, buying used, compared to Scion, etc.

[yarro]

Hi, new guy here. I used to own a Scion xA and started missing it once gas prices soared. I now drive an SUV, which is great in the snowy mountains I live in but sucks gas.

Now I'm thinking about a Yaris LB. How does it compare with the Scion in terms of handling on the highway, interior space, build quality, and comfort on long road trips? I thought my xA was great on all counts.

I'll have to travel about 100 miles to test drive a Yaris, so any advance help I can get online would be appreciated. Has anyone compared the xA and the Yaris hatchback?

Also, does anyone carry young children in the Yaris? Do you feel safe doing this? On cars.com, the Yaris gets a "best bet" rating for safety, but I'd like to hear some reports from the real world.

Finally, has anyone bought a used Yaris from a dealer lately? There's a Chrysler dealer 100 miles from me that has a 2008 LB with 19K miles. It has MT, no power package, no cruise control. It's a base model, and the asking price is $10,900. Seems like a new 2009 would not be much more, especally if there's a rebate.

Would it be worth trying to haggle down to $9,000 or so on the used one? Or should I just look at new ones?

Thanks!