Monday, January 26, 2009

CarReveiw.com : Versa vs Fit vs Yaris


The folks over at CarReview.com have compared the Nissan Versa, Honda Fit, and Toyota Yaris. It's an entertaining, informative read. Although I don't agree with the outcome necessarily, I think the author's points are all pretty valid. I would've love to have seen the Rio5 and Aveo5 thrown in for good measure, too. The article also kind of makes you wonder where the Scion xD falls in the Subcompact fray.

I won't spoil the outcome, but it's interesting to me is how most automotive journalists will place the rankings in order with CarReview.com's order, yet, when you look at overall sales, it's almost the exact opposite.

LINKS
The New Big 3's Little 3 (at CarReview.com)

3 comments:

totalrecall98 said...

Why are sales in reverse order of reviewers who compare the Fit-Yaris-Versa? Is Toyota's marketing machine so powerful and convincing that they are able to overcome the Yaris' shortcomings. Or are the differences between the three top contenders really small enough such that winning combination only appears when closely scrutinized?

Andy Lilienthal said...

I don't know, Derek. I do, however, know that the Yaris outsells both vehicles by a hefty margin, even though the Fit typically finishes first in comparisons. Toyota rarely advertises the Yaris, too. I do see commercials for the Fit and Versa, though.

nlpnt said...

There was a Fit shortage and waiting list throughout the first generation, too- one of the reasons I passed on the Fit in January '08 was that I didn't want to wait two months for a base manual Fit and pay full price for a car that would be obsolete in just months.

If Ford had kept the hatchbacks in the 2008 Focus redesign, I probably would've bought one over the Yaris (but they didn't so Detroit last another sale...); as for the Versa, at the time it was considerably pricier than the Yaris, and didn't feel like it justified the extra expense.