2011 Car Comparison: Honda Fit vs Toyota Yaris vs Ford Fiesta

The Competitors
In this subcompact car comparison we compare the 2011 Honda Fit, 2011 Toyota Yaris, and 2011 Ford Fiesta. These are popularly priced and fuel-efficient small cars, each with its own approach to basic transportation. This 2011 Honda Fit vs. 2011 Toyota Yaris vs. 2011 Ford Fiesta comparison picks a winner based on price, features, and performance.

Base prices for the 2011 Fiesta and 2011 Yaris start under $14,000 while the least expensive 2011 Fit model begins at $15,180. These base prices are in the middle of the subcompact class, a category in which the 2011 Hyundai Accent GL is the lowest priced car at $10,715 and the Mini Cooper line tops the list with a $20,100 starting price. (Base prices in this comparison review include the manufacturer’s delivery fee; note that Toyotas sold in some Southeastern and Gulf states are delivered by independent distributors and may carry different destination fees).

The 2011 Honda Fit, now in its fourth model year, was redesigned for the 2010 model year and for 2011 electronic stability control is standard for all Fit modes. The base Fit also adds remote keyless entry, cruise control, and an iPod compatible USB interface. The 2011 Toyota Yaris, also in its fourth model year, gets an electronic brake override system to allow the brake pedal to override the accelerator if both are applied. The 2011 Ford Fiesta is an all-new model and a true “world car.” It’s based on a platform from Japanese automaker Mazda, has exterior and interior styling by Ford’s European operation, and is assembled in Cuautitlan, Mexico.

The Similarities

• The 2011 Honda Fit, 2011 Toyota Yaris, and 2011 Ford Fiesta are all front-wheel drive cars powered by four cylinder engines. They’re available with a five-speed manual transmission or extra-cost automatic transmission. Output is similar at 117 horsepower and 106 pound-feet of torque for the Fit, 106 horsepower and 103 pound-feet for the Yaris, and 120 horsepower and 112 pound-feet for the Fiesta. (Think of torque as the main ingredient in acceleration and horsepower as the energy that sustains momentum.) Though the horsepower and torque figures are modest, these are lightweight cars – the Fiesta tips the scales at around 2,550 pounds, the Honda at 2,489, and the Yaris at just 2,311 – so none feels egregiously slow. Each accelerates 0-60 mph in around 9 seconds; longer than that and a car feels taxed when merging onto a freeway or passing a slower vehicle.

• Fuel economy is a major subcompact-car selling point and these budget buggies don’t disappoint: all three are rated in the high 20-mpg range in city driving and in the mid- to high-30s on the highway. And yes, today’s automatic transmissions can deliver better fuel economy than their manual counterparts. For gas mileage, the 2011 Fiesta edges out the Fit and Yaris, with EPA ratings of 27/38 mpg city/highway with the manual transmission. Automatic-transmission Fiestas do even better, at 29/38 mpg -- with a class-leading 29/40 available from the SFE (Super Fuel Economy) package option, which costs $395 on the Fiesta SE sedan and $695 on the SE hatchback. The 2011 Yaris comes in second, rating 29/36 with manual transmission and 29/35 with automatic. The 2011 Fit rates 27/33 mpg with manual transmission, 28/35 with automatic.

• All these cars have seatbelts for five passengers, but that doesn’t mean five “adult” passengers. Each more appropriately accommodates four grownups, though the long-of-leg will be most comfortable in Fit’s rear seat and least comfortable in the Fiesta’s. If you’re toting wee ones in the back, each offers the LATCH child system for the outboard positions. Booster seats fit well on the cushions of each vehicle, but infant and child seats can be somewhat difficult depending on whether they are rear or front facing.

• The 2011 Honda Fit, 2011 Toyota Yaris, and 2011 Ford Fiesta may be small in size but they’re big on safety features. Each comes standard with active and passive equipment that a few years ago was found only on cars costing three times as much. All three save money with rear drum brakes instead of discs, as on the front wheels, but anti-lock technology is included for better control in emergency stops. Each also comes with an electronic stability control antiskid system to help minimize chances of sideways slides.

• Passive safety gear in the 2011 Fit, Yaris, and Fiesta includes dual front airbags, driver and front passenger side-protection air bags, and curtain side airbags for both seating rows for head protection in side collisions and rollovers. The Fiesta plays one-upmanship with a driver’s knee bag, which goes beyond the obvious of protecting knees by helping keep your body in the correct position so the seatbelt and steering wheel airbag can provide optimum protection.

• Like all new cars sold in America, Fit, Yaris, and Fiesta come with new-car warranties, which defray the cost of maintenance and repair during the initial ownership period. Basic and powertrain warranties are identical at 3 years/36,000 miles, whichever occurs first. The basic warranties cover everything except items subject to wear, such as wiper blades, oil filters, and the like. The drivetrain warranties cover most of the parts that make the car move: engine and most its internal parts, transmission, drive axles or driveshaft. In addition, each car comes with a corrosion warranty that covers sheetmetal rust-through problems for 5 years/unlimited miles. Unlike the Fit and Yaris, however, the Fiesta’s warranty includes a peace-of-mind advantage in the form of 5/50,000 Roadside Assistance, which covers certain costs associated with towing and repairs if you have a breakdown. On the other hand, if you add dealer-installed, factory-approved accessories when you buy a Fit or Yaris, these items are covered by a 3 year/36,000 mile warranty. The Fiesta offers no comparable coverage for such add-ons.

The Differences

• All three cars come standard with a five-speed manual transmission but their optional automatic transmissions are different. With transmissions, more gear ratios are almost always better, allowing more efficient extraction of engine power and better fuel economy. The 2011 Yaris’s automatic is the least advanced here, with just four speeds. The 2011 Fit continues with a five-speed automatic and, on Sport models, is the only car in this group to feature steering-wheel paddles that allow the driver to mimic manual-gear control. The 2011 Fiesta’s automatic has six speeds, though it is not a conventional automatic but what’s known as a dual-clutch transmission. Designed to be lighter, simpler, and more efficient than a traditional automatic, this is essentially a manual transmission that lacks a clutch pedal and for all intents and purposes, behaves like a regular automatic. In the Fiesta, the dual-clutch does aid fuel economy but it’s also the least-satisfying “automatic” here, seeming to sap more engine power than the conventional units in the Yaris and Fit, and representing the biggest drop-off in driving fun compared to the manual transmission.

• The 2011 Toyota Yaris offers three body styles, the Focus two, the Fit just one. Yaris comes as a two- and four-door hatchback and as a four-door sedan with a longer wheelbase and body. The Fiesta is available as a four-door hatchback or a four-door sedan. The Fit comes only as a four-door hatchback that’s actually a small wagon. In cars this size, the more doors the better. The two-door Yaris’s rear seat, for example, is particularly difficult to access, though if you rarely carry more than one passenger, its $13,755 base price – the lowest here – might offset that fault. No matter the number of doors, a sedan body style is a good choice for urban dwellers who want the security of a trunk to eliminate prying eyes. Hatchbacks, by contrast, have a swing-open tailgate and far more cargo versatility than a sedan. In that regard, Fit is the hands-down versatility champ here, featuring 57.3 cubic feet of cargo volume with its rear-seat folded; by comparison, the Fiesta hatchback has a maximum 26 cubic feet and the Yaris hatch 25.7. Better still, Fit’s rear seat is cleverly configurable to fold down or flip up; in the latter position, Fit will accommodate surprisingly tall objects – flat-screen TV boxes, some bicycles -- stowed sideways behind the front seats.

• Styled under Ford’s “kinetic” philosophy of design, the 2011 Fiesta is has the most adventurous exterior styling in this trio. The 2011 Fit favors function, maximizing interior space via an abbreviated nose and a long, tall body. The 2011 Yaris is by far the most conventional-looking of the group, with little visual flair and some odd proportions. Interior surroundings are noticeably different among these three cars. The hard plastic materials used in the 2011 Toyota Yaris shout “basic transportation.” And Toyota mounts this car’s gauge cluster in the top center of the dashboard rather than in front of the driver; it’s quite unconventional and can divert attention from the road ahead. You won’t mistake the 2011 Honda Fit’s cabin for an Audi’s, but the look and feel of materials is decidedly non entry-level. The gauge cluster has a refined, modern look and switchgear operates with a solid feel. The 2011 Fiesta’s cabin incorporates some flamboyant “kinetic” shapes and may be a bit too busy to some eyes, but Ford takes budget-buggy interior materials to a higher level. The grain on plastics gives an appearance of quality and padded surfaces are used in places where it counts.

• Each of these automakers takes a different approach to the comfort and convenience features it offers and how it makes them available. The Toyota Yaris is a la carte style. Want to listen to music during the commute? — AM/FM/CD audio is part of a convenience package that costs $840-$960, depending on model and transmission. Except for the automatic-transmission option, the Honda Fit is a Prix Fixe menu — each model in the lineup has a set suite of features; factory options are unavailable. Ford’s Fiesta is a combination of the Yaris and Fit approach, with generous standard equipment but also a host of available options. If a navigation system is on your list, don’t look to the Yaris; none is available. Exclusive to the top-of-the-line Fit with Navigation model is a nice GPS system with a conventional dashboard screen that displays maps and other data. The Fiesta does not offer a traditional navigation screen, but Ford’s laudable Sync infotainment system can convey turn-by-turn directions via text display or audio prompts. Sync is optional on Fiesta SE and standard on the SEL or SES models and features Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio connectivity, which is not offered on the Yaris or Fit. Fiesta also is the only model-year 2011 subcompact car to offer leather upholstery.

• Each of these cars has different ride and handling characteristics. Fit excels as an urban daily driver and tackles twisty roads with precise steering and only slight body lean, though noseplow in turns is evident as speeds increase and big bumps register with a jolt at any speed. Like the Fit, Yaris is a great around-town car and feels solidly built. It’s the best of these three at smoothing out pavement imperfections but the least at home on the open road, with steering that requires lots of corrections to maintain your intended path. Justifying its European tuning, Fiesta delivers the best all-around road manners here, carving corners with verve and feeling as settled on the open road as a much larger car. The ride is more absorbent than the Fit’s over sharp bumps, but the European-influenced suspension may still be too firm for some.

• With no options to complicate the bottom line, the 2011 Honda Fit is easiest to price. The base model costs $15,850, the Sport is $17,610, and the Sport with Navigation is $19,990. The only extra-cost item is the $800 automatic transmission. The 2011 Ford’s Fiesta sedan comes in three levels of trim. The base S starts at $13,995, the SE at $14,995 and SEL at $16,665. The 2011 Fiesta hatchback offers just the SE model at $15,795 and the SES at $17,795. Each Fiesta trim-level step-up adds standard features but there are a variety of option-package choices. Every 2011 Yaris sedan and hatchback is technically a base model, with the two-door hatch starting at $13,715, four-door hatch at $14,015, and the four-door sedan at $14,475. Air conditioning is standard, but most every other amenity must be ordered via options packages. These range from a Convenience Package ($840-$960 depending on model) with an audio system, split/folding rear seatback and hatchback rear wiper, to a Sports Package costing $3,055-$3,235, depending on body style.

The Winner

The 2011 Honda Fit: The Fit edges out the Fiesta in this comparison. On a day-to-day basis, the Honda performs its driving duties admirably. It scoots about town with little effort and when it hits the highways, has no problem keeping up with the flow. Where the Fit really shines is inside. Seating is comfortable, knobs and controls are easy to reach and operate, and that trick rear seat expands the already-generous cargo area to a space that rivals small SUVs. Fiesta has an international look and feel, rides and handles remarkably well for a car its size, and its list of available tech gizmos is unequaled in this class. Performance of the dual-clutch transmission is a demerit, though, and so is the tight rear seat and relatively limited cargo versatility, even in hatchback form. In this comparison, the Yaris looks and feels dated, with an out-of-fashion four-speed automatic and an interior design that needs updating.