As part of the emerging B-Class subcompact category, these three cars are arriving at just the right time. High fuel prices and a desire for less reliance on foreign oil are causing Americans to dump their large SUVs and start thinking that maybe, just maybe, small can be sexy.
Weve been down this road before, that road being small, cheap, fuel-efficient cars that felt, well, really cheap. The difference now is that the three you see here come from manufacturers known for making well-built cars. But the question remains: Would you really want to live with one of these petrol-sipping penny-pinchers day in and day out?
The 5-door Honda Fit is new to us, though its well-known in other markets as the Jazz. Its Japanese city-car styling was universally enjoyed by all on staff, the sloping roofline and Sport trim pieces helping it look like a fun piece.
Nissans Versa (known in Japan, China and Mexico as the Tiida) is available as either a 5-door hatchback (as tested) or a 4-door sedan. Its built on Nissans B platform in Mexico and its styling looks like it came straight from the Renault Megane, meaning its very French; whether thats good or bad is up to you.
Toyotas Yaris, like the Versa, is available in either hatch or sedan configurations, except in this case the hatch is a smaller 3-door designed in Europe, while the sedan was designed in Japan; some on staff feel its styling still looks a bit cartoonish, like the Echo it replaces.
Although the Versa competes against the subcompact Fit and Yaris for sales, its actually classified as a midsize. And it feels about one size larger when you drive it.
Comparing interior volume, the Versa is the roomiest, backed up by its EPA-assessed 94.4 cu. ft. of passenger volume, versus the Fits 90.1 and the Yaris 87.1. Looking at their trunk volume, the Yaris, though surprisingly large for such a small car, only has 13.7 cu. ft., versus 16.9 for the Versa and a whopping 21.3 for the Fit. Plus, the Versa and Fit have even greater loading ability due to a fifth door, allowing for total luggage volume of 41.9 cu. ft. in the Fit (with the rear seats folded) and 50.4 in the Versa. The Yaris rear seats do fold down to allow large items to be stuffed from the trunk through its rather smallish pass-through.
But when it comes to user-friendly loading, the Fit is simply one of the best uses of space since the dorky-but-handy-as-heck Honda Element. The Fits rear Magic Seat is pure engineering genius. Not only does it fold completely flat (unlike the Versas) due to the collapsing seat cushion supports, but the cushions can also be folded up and out of the way to fit large items in the seat area.
Hop inside any of these cars and youll be amazed at the level of refinement and sheer lack of cheapness. The Versa, for example, elicits praise like, Wow, this is an entry-level car? Not bad. The Yaris feels even better, with extremely comfortable front seats and a stylish waterfall-effect center console. But we could do without the central-dash-located instruments; they simply dont make sense. Ultimately its the Fit that impresses the most, with blue backlit instrumentation, first-in-class levels of material quality and the sportiest feel of the group. You get in it and say, Yep, its a Honda all right. Its that simple.
Even though these are economy cars, you still care about power, right? Well, not too much, we hope, because none of them is going to press you into the back of the seat with thrilling acceleration. The Fit and Yaris get their drive from tidy 1.5-liter 4-cylinders, but dont think these are low-tech pieces: the Fit makes its 109 bhp and 105 lb.-ft. of torque from a VTEC-equipped all-aluminum 16-valve sohc engine. The Yaris counters with double-overhead cams and VVT-i to make 106 bhp and 103 lb.-ft., its torque peak at a lower 4200 rpm vs. the Fits 4800. The Versa does them one better, going the big-displacement route with its 1.8-liter dohc aluminum 16-valve 4-cylinder making 122 bhp and 127 lb.-ft. of torque, the latter at 4800 rpm.
At our test track, the Yaris flat-out smoked the other two to 60 mph, taking 8.5 seconds against the Fits 9.0 and the Versas 9.1. Aside from its obvious lack-of-weight advantage (it weighs only 2295 lb.!), that quick time was achieved because the gearing of the Yaris 5-speed manual transmission allowed it to hold 2nd gear to 60 mph, while the 6-speed Versa and shorter-geared 5-speed Fit required shifts to 3rd. Things start to even out by the quarter mile, and by the time these cars hit 100 (wait for itand then wait some more), the Versa edges ahead with a 25.5-sec. run, beating the Yaris by 0.2 sec. and the Fit, which feels dead-slow at that speed, by 2.1 sec. Although none of them will set your hair on fire with speed, all three are quicker than the Toyota Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid, Scion xB and Volkswagen Jetta 2.5.
In real-world driving the Versa feels the strongest due to its larger-displacement engine. The Fit has the most sporting engine note, and its fun-to-drive factor is enhanced by its slick-shifting gearbox, though the boxes in the Versa and Yaris are more than adequate.
In real-world handling, the nimble-feeling Fit Sport is the only one that elicits the desire to throw it at a highway entrance ramp curve with semi-reckless abandon. Its steering is noticeably quicker, and the grip from its 195/55R-15 Dunlop SP 31 all-season tires (the Versa had 185/65R-15s and the Yaris 185/60R-15s) is better than the other two.
This was borne out by the Fits huge margin of victory through the slalom, though its skidpad was only slightly better. So as we headed to the Grange kart track in Apple Valley, California, to put these diminutive cars through their paces on its diminutive 8/10-mile road course, we figured the Fit would cream the other two.
Not so. While it did post the best lap time of 1 minute, 15.5 sec. and was the easiest with which to snake around the tracks super-tight corners, the Versa kept things surprisingly close with a 1:16.0. For what had seemed a squirrelly car on the street, with slippery tires, loose steering and lots of body roll, the Versa became the most fun car on the track because of its penchant for induced oversteer. The Fits advantage lay in its comparatively light weight and well-sorted chassis and steering, allowing it to take a tighter line through most corners.
The Yaris suffered the most on the track (on the flip side, its road isolation is the best), with slow, dead steering that left you wondering what the front end was doing. At Grange, the Yaris wider-spaced gearing was a hindrance; its best lap was a 1:17.6.
One area we cant leave out when comparing economy cars, of course, is fuel mileage. The Yaris has the best EPA rating, at 34/40 mpg city/highway. During the cars stay with us, which included instrumented testing, a day at Grange and generally pretty hard driving, the Fit averaged 28.5 mpg, the Yaris 32.3 and the Versathe heaviest and most powerful of the groupreturned the best average of 32.5. Not Prius levels for any of them, but on the upside all three are a lot more fun to drive than Toyotas hybrid.
Of course, we cant omit price, the Versa being both the bargain of the group in terms of base price, at $12,450, and in terms of price-as-tested, $14,005. The Honda Fit Sport, with a base price of $15,170, borders on not really being that cheap of a car.
But we kept going back to the Fit Sport. At first you want to drive it because it looks neat. Then, after utilizing its fantastically thought-out interior, you respect it for its usability. But in the end, its the driving that wins you over, with sharp handling, an excellent gearbox, proper heel-and-toe pedal placement and a top-notch interior. Its also the most fun to drive.
And unlike Justin Timberlake, the Honda Fit Sport actually is bringing sexy back. That its sexy to be small, that is.
[RoadandTrack]
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