CD Article: 2008 Toyota Yaris CE hatchback

[Honda Owner]

pretty sure the 07 Fit (ie. last gen fit) did offer side curtain airbags etc., as add ons, so i you do hafta give points there over the yaris for sure.

Every Fit that has been brought into North America has side and side curtain airbags, as well as ABS with electronic brake force distribution.

The last generation Fit is not a car for the mainstream. It is just to frenetic for the average buyer. The automatic was not a good match for the car. You'll either love it or hate it. The new generation Fit is designed to address the issue.

I also drove the Yaris before I bought my Fit. It is a well made car and feels like it will last forever. Certainly the dealers are moving tons of them. That is what it is all about.

[Seafoam]

pretty sure the 07 Fit (ie. last gen fit) did offer side curtain airbags etc., as add ons, so i you do hafta give points there over the yaris for sure.

Every Fit that has been brought into North America has side and side curtain airbags, as well as ABS with electronic brake force distribution.

The last generation Fit is not a car for the mainstream. It is just to frenetic for the average buyer. The automatic was not a good match for the car. You'll either love it or hate it. The new generation Fit is designed to address the issue.

I also drove the Yaris before I bought my Fit. It is a well made car and feels like it will last forever. Certainly the dealers are moving tons of them. That is what it is all about.

I think all small 4 cylinder cars always suffer with an automatic not just the Fit. I have an automatic Fit because my wife doesn't drive a standard. It really isn't that bad and has it's benefits in congested city traffic[a standard can be  a pain in this respect] . In general i would always choose manual in this size car. My other car is a standard shift.[can't imagine a miata in an automatic]

[Honda Owner]

The Fit is particularly bad in automatic because of the high torque peak of the motor. I have driven both and the 5-Speed is way better.

[Greg B.]

The Fit is particularly bad in automatic because of the high torque peak of the motor. I have driven both and the 5-Speed is way better.

That has always been a deficiency of Honda engines. It appeals to the boy-racer types who buy the brand but is really unsuited to the mainstream buyer. Yet since Honda sells eveything they make due to its cultlike status they have never had to bother to redesign their engines to suit the way most North Americans like to drive. Bizarre.

[safristi]

..NOW this is bizzare.......and i hear he is  H**G like Brad P*TT ...................


    moving Right along @ 5,000 REVS...why do FOLK keep buying the HONDAS then after ONE BOY RACER vehicle,,,then anuffer ...then anuffer...I'm in MY Element here....

[Honda Owner]

That has always been a deficiency of Honda engines. It appeals to the boy-racer types who buy the brand but is really unsuited to the mainstream buyer. Yet since Honda sells eveything they make due to its cultlike status they have never had to bother to redesign their engines to suit the way most North Americans like to drive. Bizarre.

This is rather odd. The Civic has been one of the top selling cars in Canada for many years. At the moment the Civic is the top selling car in North America. I hardly see this sales record as "unsuited to the mainstream buyer."

    * 1- Honda Civic (1) 70,838
    * 2- Mazda3 (2) 48,236
    * 3- Toyota Corolla (3) 40,474
    * 4- Toyota Yaris (4) 34,424
    * 5- Chevrolet Cobalt (5) 32,613
    * 6- Toyota Camry (6) 28,218
    * 7- Pontiac G5 ( 25,211
    * 8- Ford Focus (7) 24,013
    * 9- Honda Accord (--) 22,102
    * 10- Nissan Versa (--) 21,940

As for the assertion that Honda "never had to bother to redesign their engines for the way most North Americans want to drive," the R series was designed in 2006 and the L series in 2001.Honda cars are indeed "mainstream" since they are the top selling brand and have been for many years.

Here are the figures for the USA for May 2008:

Top 10 May 2008 Sales USA

    * Honda Civic: 53,229 (including hybrid)
    * Toyota Corolla: 52,826
    * Toyota Camry: 51,291 (including hybrid)
    * Honda Accord: 43,728 (including hybrid and coupe)
    * Ford F-Series: 42,973
    * Chevy Silverado: 37,020
    * Nissan Altima: 34,428 (including hybrid and coupe)
    * Ford Focus: 32,579
    * Chevy Cobalt: 26,702
    * Chevy Impala: 23,803

The R series motors were specifically designed for the North American market. The L15A was also designed for this market. Another fact is that one size does not fit all. If consumer wants a product that is economical to run but still has reasonable power, the only way to get that is smaller displacement and more rpm. If you want a big, torquey V-6 or V-8 they are available but there will be a considerable cost in fuel consumption. For example, a Chevrolet Cobalt 2.2 litre is rated at 9.2 l/100 km with manual transmission and a Honda Civic 1.8 litre is rated at 7.4 l/ 100 km. If you want a nice torque producing V-6, an Impala 3.9 litre is rated at 11.5 l/ 100 km.

So, it is up to the consumer. There are many choices but Honda cars do seem to provide the people who buy them the attributes that they want. They may not be what you want but there are other options for you in this case.

[alienc]

In reading over the comments most people either want a good handling car or one that is well equipped for the price.

There are many people that are not into cars and basically want a car that's new and under warranty.   I see all kinds of Base model Accents/Yaris/Rio on the road and for these people is all comes down to price.  In my case I bought a 2005 Accent Hatch with whatever it came with standard (it has power steering!) and it's get me where I want to go (Orlando/Toronto).  I intend to drive it until it's worht nothing so resale means nothing to me.

I do enjoy driving but simply can't afford anything else and didn't want to go with a used car as any major issues come out of my pocket (along with the car payment). 

Also, it's another part I don't have to pay to fix later (any car I owned before with power windows they always fail and that's at least $200 to fix).

I definitely understand everyones opinion and needs, but there is certainly a market out there for base-model cars and if there was not then car makers wouldn't sell them anymore.

[Rupert]

I would not call this class of vehicle economy...base... or any other name that levels a stigma of lower class to it. They are simply small vehicles and I would suggest that many buy them because of the economy of resource usage. I drive the Accent as it happens and do not think that I am occupying a prison cell when I am in it. In fact I think that the appointments inside are at least equal to more expensive vehicles that I have owned and superior to some. It has some nice attributes and so does the Yaris. Since the base Accent comes with the same materials inside as the ones with power everything at a starting price below $10,000 it seems to me that it is a very good buy and after three years of operation of mine I would have to say that satisfaction is the very least that I can report. Then again I do not drive around worrying about plastic door panels in a vehicle where lightness of construction is a design requirement. The automatic on this nice little car works very well indeed. I don't mind the centre instruments on the Yaris and tend to think that this is a good place for them to be. I just do not like the design and do not think that exactly on the centreline needs to be the place. A large round speedo, similar to the Mini, just to the right of the steering wheel, as high up on the dash as possible, I think would be better. Latteral vision is more accute than vertical and in order to see the instruments you do not have to lower your sight below road level. Since I have no requirement for a tach, just the speedo would be fine. I suppose that this config. leaves a void behind the stearing wheel where we have become accustomed to seeing dials. I have to admit that it looks a little odd. Put a glove compartment there with a nice little door. Or make provision for a tach to be mounted for those who need to have one.