Yaris vs. Fit thread
 

most of you know where i stand, and if you don't all you have to do is look at my garage to see what my preferences, interests and uses for the cars are.

also understand that when i take my opinion as absolute truth, i am joking.

i picked the fit for a couple reasons. namely, utility, aesthetic appeal, and honda is better than toyota.

Toyota is cheaper and gets better gas mileage.

exactly. its not just less expensive. :P

i will admit, i wish honda could squeeze some more efficiency out of the fit engine. 33-38mpg seems a little weak

how come you are getting trash mpg with yours? how many miles do you have now?

I get horrible MPG because I bought it in October and have been on winter gasoline until just last week.

Also, most of my driving is short trips to pick up the kid from school, so you can see how the combination of those two would kick my car's butt.

yeah the fit has 5star safety the yaris has 4 star idk if that matters to some people. i wold get the yaris

I now have 7000 miles, after 7 months, on my Yaris 5 speed hatchback. Not a problem in 7 months, and an excellent 44.3mpg (90 day average). I drive less than 5% highway. I will be averaging 46 in the near future. I think it is an excellent car for me, now that my children are grown, and living on their own. Love my Scanguage II, great product.
If Honda offered a car just like this, I would have bought the Honda! I have owned a Honda Civic hatchback, and a Honda CRX, both great cars.

I don't know the actual cD numbers... but just from inspection, the yaris appears to have a bit of an advantage... I don't have anything against either mfr. but, from a marketing standpoint, the Yaris is more of my demographic. That really shouldn't matter - but I'm just saying it :D

I agree. I bought the Fit for a few reasons:

1) It's a four door. Try getting a 4 year old in the back seat of a two door.

2) Honda - I love my hondas

3) I was under the impression that the difference was minimal between the Yaris and the Fit. My impression was incorrect.

The Fit ended up costing me more than I wanted to spend, and the MPG is much worse than I expected. If I could do it over I'd buy a used Prius, Civic Hybrid, or just a slightly used Civic for a lot less.

When I was car shopping it was a tough choice between the Fit and Yaris. I slightly prefered the Fit because it had 4 doors and I liked the 60/40 seats that came standard, however the price kept me from buying it. I was able to get invoice price on the Yaris and I just couldn't bring myself to spend the extra money on the Fit when I felt that they were both great small cars. After almost 2 months I'm happy with my choice, I love my Yaris.

This seems to be the general consensus I'm seeing on other forums (I just did a little google searching). The fit delivers exactly what Honda said it would -- but the buyers that wanted higher FE aren't as happy because they wanted more [FE] for their money. Don't get me wrong, I found plenty of happy customers too :p

Perhaps it goes back to the advertised demographic? The Fit was advertised "is Go" while the yaris was advertised as "don't break the bank - don't eat lots of gas" - even though in the yaris commercial, it broke the piggy bank :p

If I had to pick (price not being an option) - I'd probably go for the Yaris. Mostly because I have always driven a sedan or wagon... Just to change things up :)

I think for most purposes, comparing the Fit and Yaris is like comparing Apples and Oranges - yet I see EXACTLY where you're coming from :D .

IMO, comparing a Matrix to the Fit may be more along the line of a somewhat even comparison. I haven't checked lately, but I heard they were making a 2.5 standard in the Matrix in '07.

I still like the Yaris 3dr. Maybe in a few years I can find a nice low mileage one...........

I personally have no idea why Honda didn't offer the 1.3L engine here in the states. They could have easily appealed to the FE crowd with that option.

i dont think the fit compares to the matrix. the matrix has a larger motor and is a much larger car, but i see where you are coming from.

i think comparing the fit to the yaris is like comparing apples to pears. there are some similarities but now i think you are right, they are different.

i also agree with matt, i wish they offered the 1.3l engine. i also wish that 5th gear was a little longer.

in generic "niceness" i think the fit is a nicer car. i know for some people that is a down side because some people dont want power windows or power locks, but the fact that honda didnt even consider making the fit without lots of those creature comforts and conveniences seems to say something about what their base model is.

i think toyota is really gunning for the true 'gassaver' while honda is going after people who have saving gas 2nd or 3rd in their priorities

Comparing Yaris to Fit is apples to oranges. Yaris should be sloted against the little Korean Chevy. Or against others like MINI and such. Or say past US cars like VX, Festiva, Justy and so on.

Fit should have been a Civic Wagon. Or came a shore with the 1.3 or a oil burner. Id sloted as a Civic Wagon it would look much better in the eyes of the consumer. And it cost way to much for what you get as a micro hauler. Paddle shifting means little to Americans and means huge margins for greedy Honda. Couple that with the cost of the car. Keeping a used Ranger, Yota, Chevy or Nissan Pick up parked around back for semi real hauling when needed means much to me. A Fit or Yota box is very unappealing over all. I would rather have a Civic or Accord Sedan and a old Ranger than a Fit or Yota box. Im very thankful for the gas eating Ranger when I need it. Or,,, the heck with it. Some times I just want to drive a truck. It maybe a gay truck. But it works its *** off to try and be a real truck. I sure wouldnt want to haul my new furniture home in a box on wheels or go to the lumber yard in one. And I wont rent or pay for something I can do for myself.

psy

For the first part... It really doesn't say much about the base, but it does say something about the target audience ;) Which brings me to that second part -- I absolutely agree :thumbup:

I drove a Mercedes 240 diesel for a little while... Really, the only reason you see ANY of those on the road nowadays was because it didn't have power windows, power locks etc. Well, it had vacuum locks, which was pretty cool (until you lock/unlock too many times with the car off :p). It was built like a tank, had the comforts of a tank, sounded like a tank -- and when the door shut -- chachunk! - like a tank :p

I was originally going to say the Xb or Xa. That would be more of an Apples to Pears comparison. When putting the Xa up against an Xa, Fit is hands down a nicer car, but the Xa is a true gassaver. I'm not brand loyal between Toyota or Honda, owned just as many - maybe leaning towards Toyota because I've had but-load of Tercels.

Any Versa owners to add that into the mix?

Fit should be compared with the Versa, Matrix, Aveo, Rio5, XB and PT Cruiser: cars that can haul considerable stuff in cargo area. (The Fit can carry more than the CRV believe it or not, thanks to the "magic seats"!) It gets the best gas mileage of any of the above. If all you need is a one-person commuter, the Yaris is better. If you need a powerful engine the versa or matrix is better.

hehe... you said need a powerful engine :p If there's one thing I need (it's a haircut), it's not a powerful engine :D

The mission of the Yaris Lift-Back is:

Get-To-Work or Get-To-School

...and in the process save lots of $$ on gas, maintenence, depreciation, and insurance.

It's mission is not much more then that. I realize one can use it other ways, but I think what I listed is it's core values. And for these requirements, it is better then the Fit because it provides higher MPG, and the Yaris is better then all the Korean brands because it's Japanese (more dependable), so the Yaris is the best of both worlds. Also the Yaris is a little more $ then the Korean brands, but less then the Fit. Also, the Korean brands often have bigger engines, less power, and lower MPG!

The Yaris is not for someone that needs to haul lots of stuff, although it's 40/60 seats can be folded down to provide more space then you might expect.

The Yaris is around $2,500 cheaper then the Fit having comparable features/add ons.

Get a Fit if you need the extra room...this requirement aside, I find no other reason to get a Fit over the Yaris. Both cars are equal in build, quality, and reliability/durability.

Having said all that, I love the Fit, think very highly of the Honda, and basically have nothing against the Fit....but for my purposes the Yaris Lift-Back is a better way to go...and besides, I don't think the Fit is worth $2,500 more then the Yaris, even if it provides more room...

The Yaris is a commuter car...the Fit is more, but if all you need is a get-to-work/school car, get the Yaris.

Other than that last statement i agree with everything you said.

I dont think toyota can get a car to handle as crisply as honda. reliability and durability sure they are equal, but fit seems to love abuse, also contributing to worse mpg:).

The more i think about it the more it is clear it is definitely is a matter of personal preference.

Let me inject some more fun into the debate
 

Annually the ADAC (largest German auto club) publishes comprehensive breakdown data for all models for which they have statistically significant data. The ADAC Pannenstatistik for calendar year 2006 was published a little while ago.....

The data are expressed as breakdowns per 1000 vehicles on the road. It is broken down by model year. The results for the last two model years follow:

• Toyota Yaris: 2005 = 6.1 || 2006 = 7.5
• Honda Jazz (Fit): 2005 = 5.5 || 2006 = 3.4

For comparative purposes, I add the following models:

• smart fortwo: 2005 = 6.0 || 2006 = 1.7
• Toyota Corolla: 2005 = 6.2 || 2006 = 8.0

So the Toyota is twice as likely to break down in the 2006 model year compared to the Fit. And the Fit is twice as likely to break down as a 2006 smart fortwo :cool:

If anyone wants the original source data, email me and I'll send it to you.

I like the look of the fit better. I haven't been in either car so I don't know what the interior is like. The yaris seems to get better mpg (based on the gassavers numbers). The yaris just seems a little plain to me (especially the sedan).

Having said that I would rather own a Xa or Xb then either of them.

My Fit is doing well, at 24K my MPGs are in the 36-40 range even with highway speed at 75-80 mph.

Like the looks of the Yaris, but with no 5 door in the states and not wanting an orpah Scion (having owned my share of orphans) I bought my first Honda.

The best FIT 90 day average is 36.0 mpg.
The best gas YARIS 90 day average is 45.3 mpg.
I am surprised that the FIT cannot do better than that.

The fit's geared way, way too short for both the auto and manual iirc. Kinda like the Element. If it had the gearing of the Accord 50mpg+ would be np.

its because of the gearing, the type of driving, and/or the type of driver.

i put less than 1/4 of the miles on my fit and its mostly stop and go.

i think the fit is easier to get worse mpg just because of the gearing. it allows for very quick acceleration, but it also allows the non-gassaver(my wife) to keep the rpms a little too high to make a great difference in saving gas. also keep in mind the amount of miles of the best performing fit and the miles of your yaris. that effects it too.

i do agree, i was expecting the fit to respond better to conservative driving than it does so far.

Actually, some of the guys on the FitFreak board have found that the car returns better economy when not babied.

Not sure what the complaint is about the gearing, the 20MPH per 1K RPM in top gear is identical to every European manual shift car I have ever owned excluding Volvos with M41 gearboxes.

interesting... i havent tried driving it like my old civic...

yea... there is a reason my wife and i bought the fit for her.

Now the few arguing against the Yaris for not being a 5 door have no arguement that they brought the 5 door to the US!

So now, I think other than the Fit owners, the Yaris is the general concensus. At least, I've been on the fence about buying one for over a year now.... but I understand the difference between 45mpg for 10 years at a purchase price of $13k vs. 35mpg in my Saturn w/ a purchase price of $500.... the more frugal person would choose to keep rollin the Satty 'til the wheels fall off, which is the route I'm going.

Even then, once the wheels do fall off, I may just repair everything and re-ring and keep it alive, or I would probably opt for an '01 or '02 SC1 5sp.... hopefully in silver or yellow.... I'm drooling just thinking about that sharp little econobox. lol

The problem I had w/ the Yaris was, I don't like the styling and appearance of the 2 door hatch compared to the Sedan. The sedan would be my ideal choice, only problem is, I liked the dash and console in the hatch better than what the Sedan had.... lol I didn't want to settle, so I just didn't buy the car.

I still think the Yaris is probably the best value car offered today in terms of resale, maintenance (Yota's reputation), mpg, and safety.

i should be clear about why my opinion is unbiased. my wife and i both drove both the yaris(4door) and the fit before purchasing the fit. now that we own the fit, when we travel we try to rent a yaris. the too clearly dominate their segment of the car market so it really was just a choice between the two.

the fit has a MUCH sportier feel all around: the brakes, the steering and the pickup at higher rpms. the fit also has A LOT more cargo room both with the rear seats up and down.

now that the yaris has the 5door, it still does not beat out the fit as you are stuck with an auto tranny. both my wife and i agree: we will never own a car with an auto tranny. the funny thing is that she is more adamant about it than i am now.

dont get me wrong, the yaris is more comfortable and gets mildly better mpg. the gauge cluster in the center took us a couple days to get used to, but definitely would not count as a strike against the yaris.

for my wife and i the fit wins and that is unbiased.