Yaris v Fit

[chocolab]

I don't like the look of the Fit at all. The shrunken minivan just doesn't do it for me. And Hondas have gotten so overpriced... The Fits I see cost a fortune even for used ones. In fact, Civics do, too. Hondas in general seem to have become very bland for the money lately, unlike years ago when they were reasonably priced and fun to drive.

Captain Slow, I agree with you on liking the Mazda2. I'm still a prospective buyer, but the M2 is about the only other competition for the Yaris for me. I finally was able to test drive a used one that only had 25k miles on it, and was pretty disappointed. I've always liked firm rides, coming from German cars that are biased to handling, and like you I favor tossability over a ride that's too soft. But the M2 was *extremely* rough and uncomfortable, especially on the highway. The Yaris I test drove was four years older and had 110k miles on it, and wasn't like that at all -- it rode just great on the highway and was still pretty fun to drive around town. Was your Mazda2 jarring like that? I wonder if I could've gotten one that had been abused or something -- it was a rental, after all. But I don't see how it could have been ruined after only 25k miles, either, no matter how it was treated.