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What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

9838 messages,  Last post on Feb 07, 2013 at 10:28 PM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, smart fortwo, MINI Cooper

Messages Page 742 of 985

#7402 of 9838 Re: 2009 Honda Fit [andre1969] by nippononly

Mar 26, 2008 (12:16 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Mar 25, 2008 5:34 pm)
"Now that you mention it, I've been seeing more of the Yaris 2-doors around, too. Not that long ago, they were a very rare sight, although the sedan seemed to be a hit right from the start"
 
Originally, Toyota chose to build only 20% of the Yarises as hatches, anticipating that would be the demand from the public. Now that they have realized the error of their ways, they are busy building many more of the little 3-doors.

#7403 of 9838 Re: 2009 Honda Fit [nippononly] by ateixeira

Mar 26, 2008 (12:17 pm)

Replying to: nippononly (Mar 26, 2008 12:16 pm)
The sedan it too close to the Corolla in size and price. Once you equip it well, may as well get the Corolla.

#7404 of 9838 Re: 2009 Honda Fit [nippononly] by kyfdx HOST

Mar 26, 2008 (12:32 pm)

Replying to: nippononly (Mar 26, 2008 12:16 pm)
Toyota's biggest problem with the Yaris, is that they didn't bring over the much more useful 4-door hatchback... Scion had the nearly identical xA, so I guess they didn't want the overlap..
 
Now that the xD has replaced the xA, and moved up in engine size (and ugliness), they should bring in the 4-door hatch, and the FIT would have some worthy competition...

#7405 of 9838 Re: 2009 Honda Fit [ateixeira] by andre1969

Mar 26, 2008 (12:47 pm)

Replying to: ateixeira (Mar 26, 2008 12:17 pm)
The sedan it too close to the Corolla in size and price. Once you equip it well, may as well get the Corolla.
 
Considering how close the Yaris sedan and Corolla are in size and price, I'm surprised that the market was able to reasonably sustain them both. Doesn't the Yaris pull in something like 100-120K units per year? And IIRC, the Yaris really didn't put a dent in Corolla sales when it came out, either.
 
The Corolla has really stepped up in price, though. One of my coworkers just bought a 2009 S model, and it had an MSRP of something like $22K! I think he paid about $20K for it though.
 
I guess if you got a fairly basic Corolla, you could still get in around $15-16K though?

#7406 of 9838 Re: 2009 Honda Fit [andre1969] by ateixeira

Mar 26, 2008 (1:09 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Mar 26, 2008 12:47 pm)
Mama-mia! $20k?
 
I guess with NAV and all the goodies, they get up there.
 
Wow, though.

#7407 of 9838 Re: 2009 Honda Fit [andre1969] by thegraduate

Mar 26, 2008 (1:10 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Mar 26, 2008 12:47 pm)
The Corolla has really stepped up in price, though. One of my coworkers just bought a 2009 S model, and it had an MSRP of something like $22K! I think he paid about $20K for it though.
  
I guess if you got a fairly basic Corolla, you could still get in around $15-16K though?
 
The cheapest Corolla has an MSRP over $15k. The XR-S model I priced didn't have leather, but cost over $25k. I'll just take a V6 Altima over that one, thankyouverymuch.

#7408 of 9838 Re: 2009 Honda Fit [andre1969] by nippononly

Mar 26, 2008 (1:25 pm)

Replying to: andre1969 (Mar 26, 2008 12:47 pm)
No, as surprising as it may seem when you do the numbers on paper, the Corolla and Yaris have coexisted pretty peacefully. In the first full year of Yaris sales, Corolla sales were up to a historic high for that model.
 
There is a world of difference between these two models if you drive them back to back. Neither is a sports car, but the Corolla is the real snoozer of the pair. The Yaris has much more lively steering, is several hundred pounds lighter and consequently much more nimble, and can be had with the usual amenities for the same street price as a stripped Corolla. Not to mention that Yaris drivers experience notably better gas mileage. The EPA ratings are very misleading there.

#7409 of 9838 My Yaris Hatchback Experience by podred

Mar 26, 2008 (2:01 pm)

As you regular readers know, I have quite a collection of cars from the extreme exotic car end of the spectrum, Ferrari F50 & Bugatti Veyron to the opposite extreme 2008 Yaris Hatchback S.
 
I must say that I'm truly shocked at just how much I am enjoying the Yaris. I originally bought it for my daughter, who just had to have what she described as "this cute little red car". Well like most young people that lasted about 3 days until she rode in her girlfriends Saturn Sky. So the following weekend we went down and bought one of those for her.
 
Now I must admit that I have always loved small 2 dr hatchbacks and other small sporty cars. But I already have my 2006 Mini Cooper S with a serious amount of horsepower and all the John Cooper hop up parts, suspension, body kit etc. So my plan B was to sell the Yaris to a friend who wanted it as a commuter car.
 
Well, while driving it to his house across town (30 miles) I found that I really liked the high seating position, the funky look, the center stack dash with tachometer and speedometer, the overall simplicity and the fact that my daughter and I both love the color Red, which is the color of this Yaris.
 
Thus being the complete hopeless car addict I am, I whipped out my cell phone, called my friend and said that I changed my mind and was going to keep the car "at least for a little while". A little while turned into six months yesterday and I find myself zipping all around in this car. Perhaps its the fact that unlike my other daily drivers like my M6, I can simply park this and forget about worrying about door dings. Or always finding "just the right spot to park it far out" or looking for an "end spot in the lot. Or perhaps it's the performance that is so compelling. It's no Mini Cooper S, but it does have great off throttle response, great 0 to 50 performance for a tiny 1.5 liter engine. And the handling isn't half bad either. In fact I have a friend that has a 2007 Yaris Hatch, and I can tell you that Toyota made quite a few tweaks to the 2008 version. After exchanging cars, he and I both agreed that the 2008 is much stiffer around corners and while it still has some body lean, it's nothing compared to the 2007. The chassis feels stiffer and the steering more responsive. Finally the brake pedal is much more firm and does not have the semi mushy feel of the 2007. This was a very fair comparison as well, as his car only had 4,000 miles on it since it's used as a commuter to his office just 3 miles from his residence.
 
Being another BMW owner, and having done several track days with his M3, over the last 2 years, we were both quite surprised at the value in this "entry level" car. Even the Yaris's sport seats offered a decent amount of support for what they are. Of course this is no sports car, but conversely it certainly does not drive the way one would expect of an entry level car. The car has a bit of character (Very rare for a Toyota) and charm, the funky look is growing on me.
 
Overall I would suggest this car to anyone who wants the legendary low maintenance cost of a Toyota, combined into a car that is quite fun to drive. In fact I have decided to turn this into a "Keeper" by installing some nice 18" wheels and tires and use it just for a fun car.

#7410 of 9838 Re: My Yaris Hatchback Experience [podred] by lostwrench

Mar 26, 2008 (2:56 pm)

Replying to: podred (Mar 26, 2008 2:01 pm)
I like the Yaris also, but that 3 star side impact rating keeps me away. The Corolla gives you a 5 star side impact rating.

#7411 of 9838 Re: 2009 Honda Fit [kyfdx] by tiff_c

Mar 26, 2008 (5:57 pm)

Replying to: kyfdx (Mar 26, 2008 12:32 pm)
Toyota's biggest problem with the Yaris, is that they didn't bring over the much more useful 4-door hatchback... Scion had the nearly identical xA, so I guess they didn't want the overlap..
 
I saw a Yaris 5 door overseas and the Scion xD IS a Yaris 5 door with most things the same except it has the Corolla engine and a different dash, same mechanicals, different body style.
The 5 door Yaris is an ugly bugly compared to the 3 door. I like the xD much better, too bad they can't put the xD engine into the Honda Fit!

Messages Page 742 of 985

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