GOOD-BYE YARIS, HELLO FIT!

[stuffy]

it's pretty clear to me that honda has raised the bar as far as subcompacts are concerned with the release of the new fit,
the yaris is still a great car and when considering overall price (from sticker to operating costs) is still the better choice.

i think the future of subcompacts is that they will be outfitted with more of the amenities of larger, more expensive vehicles and people will pay for it in the name of better fuel economy,
the fit clearly is moving in this direction.

i don't think it's too subjective to say that the new 09 fit is the better car, but it is more expensive.

[marcus]

mpg = yaris is better
price overall = yaris is better
looks wise= yaris rear end is better..i kinna like the new front for the phit.
0-60= as far as i know the yaris can do 8.5 sec which is same as the new phit

now if we gonna talk about interior then the phit win that foh sure..

[blktiger60]

Originally Posted by voodoo22

Good points.

I chose a car with what in my opinion is a less comfortable steering wheel made with what appears to me to be a little lower quality materials because when I'm buying an economy car total cost of ownership is the major deciding factor for me.

The Yaris costs less to:

buy
maintain
fuel

Buy what you want, but if I was buying a small car for it's fun value I would have bought a mini, which blows the Fit out of the water in every category which matters in a segment like that. In my opinion the Fit is a car with an identity crisis. It costs more than a Yaris, and is geared irresponsibly so that it gets worse fuel economy. The Fit has no where near the performance level or luxurious amenities as the Mini which costs more than the Fit.

If you're into compromise (or just like the Fit) the Fit is perfect, but if you want economy or luxury it's far from the best choice in the compact segment.

The mini doesn't compare to an MR2 and they are way cheaper in all aspects.

[bobby]

The Phit is an economy car...the Mini (much more expensive) is essentially a sports car. You're comparing apples & oranges. If you want to compare, you need to look at the Yaris, Versa, Aveo, Accent & Phit. The Mini (which I love, I think it's terribly cute) is in a different class.

[nsmitchell]

Originally Posted by marcus

mpg = yaris is better
price overall = yaris is better
looks wise= yaris rear end is better..i kinna like the new front for the phit.
0-60= as far as i know the yaris can do 8.5 sec which is same as the new phit

now if we gonna talk about interior then the phit win that foh sure..

I think I have figured out the Yaris / Fit MPG Pros and Cons for AUTOMATICS ONLY, since that's what I own.

The Yaris seems to get better city MPGs when NOT hypermiling. Normal driving by normal people. (ie - Folks who would never want or use a ScanGuage, like my wife)

The Fit shines in MPGs on the Highway when NOT hypermiling.

The Fit has 5 gears with what seems to be overdrive as well since my RPMs will drop when cruising eventhough i'm already in 5th gear.

My Yaris, with cruise control wont get much above 40MPG at 65MPH.
The Fit just loves 65MPH and gets close to 50MPG at 60 MPH with cruise control.

If you do mostly highway travel, the Fit may be your buddy, by about 10MPG. If you are city mostly, the Yaris is the car for you.

[marcus]

i did not know that.. the new fit with 118hp can do 50mpg on hwy.. wow.. then again i did 45 mpg going 100 km/hr 95% on hwy on the way to camping last summer ..and thats me not using hypermill though..

[nsmitchell]

Originally Posted by marcus

i did not know that.. the new fit with 118hp can do 50mpg on hwy.. wow.. then again i did 45 mpg going 100 km/hr 95% on hwy on the way to camping last summer ..and that sme not using hypermill though..

I got 46.6 MPG going through mountains with my Fit. This MPG was calculated at the pump, not using the Fit's MPG guage.

My jaw dropped to the ground when I calculated this.

I may be doing a Roanoke trip shortly so I can do another pure highway test. I will be going through rural highways with some lights. My Yaris has gotten wicked MPGs while hypermiling this route, like 46 MPG. This will be an interesting test.

[nsmitchell]

voodoo - Were you using crusie or foot control. With Foot Control you can get better MPGs. I am using cruise control in both cars to be fair. Now I do have Michelin HydroEdge tires on my Yaris that are slightly wider than stock, so that may be affecting my MPGs. On my Yaris they are pumped to 44PSI. On my Fit I have not touched the stock tire pressure. Haven't even removed a valve stem cap. With the Fit Sports low profile tires, I don't think I'm going to inflate them over the reccomended PSI just for ride comfort. The Fit is a little rough over rough roads, but in a good way.

[nsmitchell]

Good Point. My brother has a nice Craftsman digital tire gauge and I just bought a new tire pump.

[stuffy]

Originally Posted by voodoo22

That makes some more sense. I don't have cruise control. So you're possibly taking a double hit with cruise control and wider tires on your Yaris vs ours which is still on oem Bridgestones.

I know around here, it's just hilly enough that MPG would suffer a lot with cruise on, not so much in the prairies.

Thanks for helping me figure out what you're saying.

I'd still check your psi on your Fit if I was you. Who knows what whomever was smoking when they filled your tires. I just got the Yaris from an oil changed they pumped my tires between 30-36 psi.

are your numbers all highway miles?

the best i've been able to achieve on the highway in my yaris (manual) is 45 mpg (u.s. gallon), that's travelling a top speed of 110 km/h

are you saying that you aren't adjusting your driving to get such good numbers?

[stuffy]

Originally Posted by voodoo22

Most of my tanks are a majority of highway miles, but I have some where I've achieved high 40 US MPG in mostly heavy traffic in downtown Toronto. That does involve thinking about FE to achieve. Turning the car off at long lights, accelerating slowly and coasting to red lights.

However, my highway mileage often includes bumper to bumper traffic jams (you are probably familiar with the 401? I drive Markham Rd to Mississauga Rd, everyday to work). The worst one was last year, it took me 3 hours to get to work instead of the usual 40-50 minutes.

To get over 40 US MPG on highway driving takes no adjustment to my driving at all. I can get between 40-44 mpg (depending on other coniditions) even if I'm going 75 mph the majority of the time. Usually closer to 40 and a few times below that, but barely.

For me to get over 50 US MPG consistently I do have to drive slow, the weather has to be warm and I can't do much more than 50% city driving on a tank. Going over 55 mph very often, will kill a 50 + US MPG tank for me.

In the warm weather, you may be surprised how easy it is to get over 50 US MPG if you aren't driving all city, as long as you try to stay between 50-55mph and don't drive in the mountains like Bailout.

i'd love to see how you get such good numbers in the city, i drive like a grandma, coast to lights, shut off engine on long lights but the highest i've gotten in the city is high 30's.

my trips are usually fairly short though, so this could be where i'm really taking a hit on the FE.

i can achieve the mid 40's on the highway, but not travelling faster than 110 km/h (that would be around 70 mph i think), anything over 110 my FE drops significantly.

i've had the yaris now for 3 years and have tracked the FE since the car was new, so i pretty much know what to expect depending on driving conditions and the time of year- that's why i found your numbers a bit high.

[KCALB SIRAY]

Fruit Fly

[stuffy]

that's probably what it is, my city trips are probably under 20 km round trips.

i don't have a scanguage either, but you're probably going to get a more precise reading by just crunching the numbers after filling up-

i would like to try out a scangauge to see specifically what kind of driving is giving me the best FE, but to spend a couple hundred bucks on it is not worth it even in the long run.
it would be nice to buy one as a group and give everyone a month with it to help them improve their driving, then pass it on to the next person.

[SilverBack]

I'd choose my silver egg over any other car in it's class anyday. It's small, inexpensive, good on gas, reliable, ..and surprisingly a chick magnet (wasn't expecting that, but I'm not complaining)

[Jem_hadar]

Originally Posted by voodoo22

Good points.
and is geared irresponsibly so that it gets worse fuel economy.

LOL. Way to make an over-the-top comment.

Its fuel economy is 1-2 mpgs off a Yaris (Canadian ratings anyways). And that equates to "irresponsible" gearing. C'mon hahahahaha that comment's a joke.

[nsmitchell]

Yaris EPA Estimates are 29/35
Fit EPA Estimates are 28/35

1MPG off in the city... WOW! Not much difference there.

We all know these numbers are not real world, but it does mean they are close in MPGs.

[stuffy]

i did read that while the new fit has more horsepower, the engine is more efficient now and gets better fuel economy than the previous generation despite having more power.
i'm not sure what technical changes were made to achieve this.

[gid]

less emissions too . There's days I could use a catalytic converter . Especially after fast foods . . Roll down that window !!!