Which ~15,000 economy cars would be the best value?

[pyroza]

Yaris, Versa, Smart, Scion, Fit, etc etc. Which would be the best value for, say, commuting 30 miles to work and back each day?

This is for a friend who is sick of driving his truck every day with gas prices as high as they are now.

[Eken9]

Test drive them all, what one might like another wouldn't.

From my experience, I've driven the Yaris and Fit both auto.

New yaris is one ugly sob, if you can get over the looks you're good to go. Had a 2005 Toyota Echo H/B (Vitz) very quiet motor, great on gas and the transmission was really nice. Handles really nice too. Had high road noise however and a cheap looking interior.

The Fit has more engine noise, handles ok. Tranmission honestly felt like a slushbox. Never had problems with auto Honda transmissions but after driving an auto Toyota I now know what they mean when they call them "slushboxes" The fit has a really nice interior though, very high quality and very nice fit. Road noise better than Yaris for sure.

Havn't driven Scion, dont have them here. A smart car is pretty impractical for California. I say that because you guys live so much farther away from things so i'm sure your friend would want to have the option to transfer things like extra clothes or grocery bags because of far distances.

[Sorath]

get a manual fit, they manual transmissions are way better than the autos

i also like the versa too, they are a little bit peppier than the yaris and fit

[4doorj]

i would choose the versa or fit
supposedly the versa gets amazing fuel economy

[Kavy]

3rd to the versa, best bang for the buck right now in that price range, not sexy but great gas mileage and a bulletproof platform.

This is coming form a guy who hates Nissan.

[tabouli]

The Fit is a really nice car, and would be my choice.

[eglove]

another +1 for the fit.

[Eleanor]

Parents were looking at the same cars and went with the Versa, more power & torque then the others. Fuel economy was pretty close across the board with the Yaris coming out on top, but it's too short. Fit was a close second, but they got a deal on the Versa cause they had already bought an Altima from Stadium and got a better deal on it, I think there's also 0% financing OAC on it right now too. Personally I would've gone with the fit if I was looking at these cars, simply for the fun to drive factor and I really liked the manual transmission, the best of the bunch. The Versa has a 6-speed, but it felt clunky.

[Skyline_Addict]

I have a Fit and it is a great little car. The MT on it is what you'd expect from Honda quality, can't speak for the auto though as I have never driven one. The 100% folding down rear seats is really dandy and I think the car looks much better than a Yaris, inside and out. Ride quality is OK for the type of car it is, and I think it has exceptional handling for its class. Since I bought the car, January of last year, gas prices have gone up 50% and I have been very happy, if not lucky with the choice! Saving all that money on my gas has enabled me to pick up an s2000 :D

[analbumcover]

Originally posted by Skyline_Addict
I have a Fit and it is a great little car. The MT on it is what you'd expect from Honda quality, can't speak for the auto though as I have never driven one. The 100% folding down rear seats is really dandy and I think the car looks much better than a Yaris, inside and out. Ride quality is OK for the type of car it is, and I think it has exceptional handling for its class. Since I bought the car, January of last year, gas prices have gone up 50% and I have been very happy, if not lucky with the choice! Saving all that money on my gas has enabled me to pick up an s2000 :D

did you get one already?... or are you just saying you now have the ability to buy one?

[spikerS]

don't go with a versa. i spent 3 weeks car shopping for my wife's best friend, and one of the cars on the list was a versa.

Don't get me wrong, I love nissans, but the Versa is the most underpowered car for it's size i have EVER seen. this car needs either better transmission gearing, or at least another 0.8-1.0L displacement.

I put the gas pedal to the floor in that thing, and began to understand the 0-60 in 3 years statement.

[ExtraSlow]

I was looking at the Fit with my sister-in-law and I was really impressed with it. I'm now considering it for myself.

[culebra]

Did you try the CVT one?


Originally posted by spikers
don't go with a versa. i spent 3 weeks car shopping for my wife's best friend, and one of the cars on the list was a versa.

Don't get me wrong, I love nissans, but the Versa is the most underpowered car for it's size i have EVER seen. this car needs either better transmission gearing, or at least another 0.8-1.0L displacement.

I put the gas pedal to the floor in that thing, and began to understand the 0-60 in 3 years statement.

[nj2Type-S]

fit! :D

[heavyD]

Get the Fit. The Versa won't age near as well.

[spikerS]

Originally posted by culebra
Did you try the CVT one?



I tried both the CVT and the 6 speed manual.

She wanted the auto as she can't drive standard, and the CVT felt wayy too underpowered. for giggles, right after, I took out the 6 speed manual, and only found it marginally better. I took out both in the resedential areas around stadium nissan and on Crowchild, and it was scary. the car had very little get up and go.

Either the car is too heavy for the engine or the gearing is seriously messed up. either way, I would stay away from it.

[Skyline_Addict]

Originally posted by analbumcover


did you get one already?... or are you just saying you now have the ability to buy one?

well, I have the capacity to get one and I will certainly do so in the near future....does it matter? ;)

[RATM]

how about a Yaris? absolutely amazing on gas, and very reliable. They are pretty 'gutsy' too. pm if you'd like me to hook you up with one.

[alloroc]

Just bought a Yaris for the wife.

We had an echo from 2000 - 2005 and loved it. The Yaris is a teeny bit roomier and a teeny bit heavier so it is a bit slower, but the gas milage is very close to the same.

Test drive them all, not every car is a perfect fit for every person.

[ToastiER]

I work for Nissan

-1 for the versa

[old&slow]

^If the first part is true the second part is gold!

[Xtrema]

Fit - Versa - Smart - Yaris in that order.

Yaris is the one of the worst car you can buy, at least according to Consumer Report:

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2008/autos/0802/gallery.2008_cr_worst_cars/7.html

[RATM]

The Yaris is the smallest and least expensive car Toyota sells in the United States. It actually ranks at the top of the list in both reliability and low cost of ownership, but those factors are not included in Consumer Reports' basic vehicle score.

they're rated really well....

[us722]

what pisses me off the most is chevy aveo, I've got no idea why anyone would buy that car.
I would say Versa!