Considering Yaris vs. Elantra

[businezguy]

The alternator on my Ford Focus ZTS (purchased by my wife prior to our marriage) has died, and was replaced by another dead alternator a couple of years ago. In addition, I had to do extensive repairs to fix an issue with the car overheating, and it's beginning to demonstrate the same issue as before. Needless to say, with only 98k on it, I'm fed up and need to replace this car ASAP (the next two the three weeks at the latest). I am forced to drive my wife's 1995 Ford Explorer getting 19 MPG driving 55 MPH.

I'm trying to decide between an Elantra and a Yaris, and I've pretty much made a decision to go with the Yaris. While the Elantra has by far the best interior of the two, and quite honestly is the better vehicle overall, I love the minimalism of the Yaris, and most importantly the better MPG I'll get from it. There is nothing I would love more then to spend less of my money overseas supporting terrorism and saving about $50 a month at $2.50 per gallon.

So I need your help! I would be getting the base Sedan with the convenience and power package, and added on Bluetooth. However, can somebody break down all of the storage compartments that come with this car? I do a lot of commuting (132 miles round trip 5 days a week) and need to have storage readily available for my MP3 player, toll money, cell phone, organizer (can put that in the glove compartment), etc. Also, I love a huge thing of coffee during my commute. How large of a cup could I fit in the cup holder that's in front of the air vent? Could I for example fit a 1 quart bottle of Gatorade in it as an example?

Sorry for all of the questions, I am going to be making me purchase soon, and this will be the first new car purchase I'll make (paying cash so I'll own it outright).

Thanks!

[rningonfumes]

Storage:
Non-locking glove box,
arm rest (small),
pockets behind the driver and passenger seats
coin box underneath the driver's cup holder.
and Valet locking Trunk-60/40 folding rear seats(they don't fold flat.

Cupholders:
two on dash-- under the vents-can hold up to a large/xltra large of Carl's Jr/Hardee's drink cup.
Driver's and front passenger has an indentation in the lower door pocket that can hold the standard water bottle.
Rear of the arm rest is one more cup holder that flips out.


It looks like you've done your homework. I would pick one or the other of the packages to save money. I hope you are thinking of the manual too-- more money saved. The advantage of the Yaris over the Elantra is the price.... don't option out the Yaris any where near the price of the Elantra. If we were talking Hyundai competitor for the Yaris, it would be the Accent.

When you say you're going to save 50 bucks a month, I'm going to assume you mean over the Focus and not the Explorer. I say you're gonna save a lot more than that if you drive it right.

How large a laptop do you have? Bare with no bag, it should fit with other things in the glove box.

I hope I addressed most of your concerns, Good luck on either car.

Feel free to ask more questions.

[businezguy]

Originally Posted by rningonfumes

Storage:
Non-locking glove box,
arm rest (small),
pockets behind the driver and passenger seats
coin box underneath the driver's cup holder.
and Valet locking Trunk-60/40 folding rear seats(they don't fold flat.

Cupholders:
two on dash-- under the vents-can hold up to a large/xltra large of Carl's Jr/Hardee's drink cup.
Driver's and front passenger has an indentation in the lower door pocket that can hold the standard water bottle.
Rear of the arm rest is one more cup holder that flips out.


It looks like you've done your homework. I would pick one or the other of the packages to save money. I hope you are thinking of the manual too-- more money saved. The advantage of the Yaris over the Elantra is the price.... don't option out the Yaris any where near the price of the Elantra. If we were talking Hyundai competitor for the Yaris, it would be the Accent.

When you say you're going to save 50 bucks a month, I'm going to assume you mean over the Focus and not the Explorer. I say you're gonna save a lot more than that if you drive it right.

How large a laptop do you have? Bare with no bag, it should fit with other things in the glove box.

I hope I addressed most of your concerns, Good luck on either car.

Feel free to ask more questions.

Thanks for the information you've provided, much appreciated. I read on some threads that folks were losing coins that were going behind the dashboard when storing them somewhere. Does the coin holder you describe have that issue?

As for the price, I need to get the automatic transmission and power package. Since the Yaris has no incentives and the Elantra does, a comparably equipped Elantra with more features standard, actually costs a few hundred dollars less. However, I figured that I would save about $50 in gas per month with the Yaris vs. the Elantra because I drive so much. VS. the Explorer I'll be saving about $232 per month. VS the Focus I'll be saving about $78 per month. All of this is assuming $2.50 for gas of course. If gas goes up, the savings obviously go up as well.

I have a large laptop bag, so I'll just put my laptop in the rear of the car while commuting and obviously if I stop that the market or something on the way home, throw it in the trunk. I'm more concerned with what to do with my toll money, MP3 player, and cell phone. Believe me, when it comes to toll money especially, I feel like I risk life and limb just to get the correct change for the toll.

[voodoo22]

One thing to consider if you do a lot of highway driving at higher speeds is the handling of the two cars.

You will find the Yaris does not handle so well at highway speeds, on uneven surfaces or crosswinds. Although it's better for the sedan vs the hatch, this is definitely an important thing to compare between the two cars before you buy. I never go over 55 mph and find the handling good enough, but a couple times a crosswind has nearly blown me out of my lane.

If you stick at 55mph; like you state; you will get about 45-50 MPG in the Yaris auto. I am unfamiliar with the Hyundai, but can guarantee you will not come close to that with the Elantra AT.

[scape]

like you said, the elantra is better build quality; tbh the corolla might be a closer match of comparison shopping-- notwithstanding, i still like my yaris ;D
but highway driving does get a bit hairy sometimes, this car is so light (and the hatchback is so tall!)

[businezguy]

Originally Posted by scape

like you said, the elantra is better build quality; tbh the corolla might be a closer match of comparison shopping-- notwithstanding, i still like my yaris ;D
but highway driving does get a bit hairy sometimes, this car is so light (and the hatchback is so tall!)

I've basically decided that saving $50 per month on gas is more important then the significantly better interior/design of the Elantra. I believe the Elantra would be about 20% less efficient in gas then would be the Yaris (despite EPA estimates stating only a 10% difference).

I really want to be hitting the high 40's to low 50's in this vehicle. I'm looking forward to saving some serious $$$ so I have more money to spend on myself.

[businezguy]

So I just sent in a counter offer on a 2008 Yaris sedan this dealer still has in their lot. Obviously I'll get a better deal for that car then I would a '09 model, and my last attempt at getting more from the dealer is to have free bluetooth installed.

Anyway, I am expecting the offer to be accepted, and I just looked everywhere and realized that I have lost my driver's license after coming back from vacation in Florida. I'm so pissed! I have no idea where my birth certificate and marriage license are, and I doubt I'll find them over the next couple of days.

Now I'm trying to figure out, do I need to have my driver's license to buy a new car? This is so ridiculous!

[Goose]

I'm not sure if you'll get in "the high 40's to low 50's" on the highway with the Yaris. Although people have posted that they've gotten above 40MPG highway, you'll be happier if you set your expectations at around 40MPG.

The Yaris is one of the best values on the market. Although Hyundai has been making great strides lately, their lower resale value tends to wipe out any savings up front. I recently dumped a new Genesis Coupe for another Yaris due to poor customer service from Hyundai - although your experience with Hyundai might be better. Based on my experience, I think Toyota has more advanced powertrains than Hyundai, too.

Based on your storage requirements, you may have to create some storage for change, etc because the Yaris sedan doesn't have many storage areas in the dash. Check the storage gadget section of your local auto parts store - you can find many things (like ashtrays) that can be used to store change for the commute.

EDIT: I'm not sure about needing a driver's license to buy in PA, but I'll bet you'll need to have it (especially if you're going to finance).

[supmet]

Originally Posted by scape

the elantra is better build quality

Look up some resale values on similar toyotas and hyundais with similar miles. Hyundai doesn't know the meaning of the word quality.

[businezguy]

Originally Posted by voodoo22

One thing to consider if you do a lot of highway driving at higher speeds is the handling of the two cars.

You will find the Yaris does not handle so well at highway speeds, on uneven surfaces or crosswinds. Although it's better for the sedan vs the hatch, this is definitely an important thing to compare between the two cars before you buy. I never go over 55 mph and find the handling good enough, but a couple times a crosswind has nearly blown me out of my lane.

If you stick at 55mph; like you state; you will get about 45-50 MPG in the Yaris auto. I am unfamiliar with the Hyundai, but can guarantee you will not come close to that with the Elantra AT.

I'm sure this is the case, and I'm sure the Elantra would not be effected nearly as much as the Yaris, so I'll keep that in mind. But it also occurs to me that having had to drive the Ford Explorer for the past couple of weeks I ran into that issue once. Nothing like driving a tall, huge box. It's quite possible the Ford Explorer would be worse in that respect then the Yaris.

When I do a test drive, I'll have to try going 65 MPH on the highway. It's not like I plan to stick to 55 MPH ALL of the time.

[id3379]

Originally Posted by voodoo22

One thing to consider if you do a lot of highway driving at higher speeds is the handling of the two cars.

You will find the Yaris does not handle so well at highway speeds, on uneven surfaces or crosswinds. Although it's better for the sedan vs the hatch, this is definitely an important thing to compare between the two cars before you buy. I never go over 55 mph and find the handling good enough, but a couple times a crosswind has nearly blown me out of my lane.

If you stick at 55mph; like you state; you will get about 45-50 MPG in the Yaris auto. I am unfamiliar with the Hyundai, but can guarantee you will not come close to that with the Elantra AT.

The sedan does not do well when there's alot of wind on the highway too, it gets scary at some points with stock sus/wheels.

[scape]

oh, and yes the cup holders are awesome in this car! haha

[rbell]

Gald to see you're picking the Toyota. I just purchased a Yaris 3dr hb 3 weeks ago. I don't have any issues tooling around between 70-75 mph. I think it handles fine. Previous vehicle was a 2004 Tacoma. It now has 225,000 on it. I only had to replace the front brakes and change oils and fluids. Toyota quality is fantastic. Hate to be harsh, but I wouldn't consider buying a Hyundai or KIA piece of crap.

[TinyGiant]

i paid less than that on my yaris and i added the paint/interior protection, spoiler, and some other stuff

wait till the last day of the month like 4 hours from closing and then go talk price. the dealers have quotas they need to fill.. play hardball. there are people on the forums paying 12-13k for a brand new yaris

[TinyGiant]

bring quotes from out of state dealers too.. you can always tell them "look i could drive two states over and pay $X. But i would rather buy local ..so what are you going to do for me?"

[scape]

i waited til july 4th or 5th, expecting some kind of deal... no such thing with toyota haha.
either way, corolla is much more comparable to an elantra, and the corolla will get awesome gas mileage as well, and much, much better resale (it appeals to new families as well as singles of almost all ages). i still like my yaris though ;D

if you're so uncertain about buying, lease for 2 years, a yaris lease is like 100$/mo or something silly...it's a complete waste of money, but hey if you really like the car you can always pay it off to keep it.

[businezguy]

For the record, I wouldn't be frustrated if it wasn't for the fact that I loved the Yaris. I love the car, it's just that in the current environment the car is actually costing more then other cars, and is actually appearing to cost almost as much as the Corolla.

I'm really not concerned about resale or trade in value. I will drive the car into the ground. I want to have this car for at least 200k miles, and would love to get 250k to 300k out of it. Even with all I've stated, I'm STILL considering the Yaris.

I think that those who are getting these cars for 12 to 13k are getting less features then I am.

I don't remember if I mentioned this or not and I don't feel like reading everything I wrote, but my wife has MS and she doesn't always have the best motor function as a result. So I need a car with automatic door locks/windows, and an automatic transmission. If it wasn't for that, I'd be considering a manual transmission to save on the price.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but with a manual transmission wouldn't I expect even better gas milage?

[supmet]

Originally Posted by businezguy

I'm really not concerned about resale or trade in value. I will drive the car into the ground. I want to have this car for at least 200k miles, and would love to get 250k to 300k out of it.

Well you just made a decision on a yaris then. Elantras WILL NOT make it to 200k without rebuilding the entire thing. A yaris will.