hiwayman17
07-02-2006, 08:21 AM
Over the past two days I've had the chance to drive the Yaris 4 door 5 speed, Fit 5 door 5 speed and the Versa 5 door 6 speed.
Exterior ranking:
1. Fit--best overall design
2. Versa--seems so big compared to Fit
3. Yaris--slightly weird, incoherent design
Interior Design ranking:
1. Fit--interesting, functional, no major problems, great seats with good shape that hold you while driving, plenty of head/leg room for 6"5" tall person--even in the back seat.
2. Versa--by far the most interior room of the three--rear seat legroom is incredible. Versa is the perfect example of a dashboard design done in hard plastic that looks great. The look and fit and finish seem flawless--though maybe a little busy with so many lines intersecting. But I found many design flaws. Some universally accepted design norms shouldn't be messed with. The seat back recliner lever should be on the outside of the seat--by the door. Nissan put them on the seat next to the center console...not very intuitive. And those recliner levers worked with alot of ratcheting noises and adjusting the seatback was not a smooth process...very jerky and had to try numerous times to get it where I needed it to be. It's a good thing there are lots of cup holders because the ones in the door are extremely awkward to use since reaching for that area is blocked by the front end of the door armrest. The tranny shift lever seems overly tall/long. While extremely easy to shlft, the process of shifting was noisy. The glove box is deep, dark and very narrow. The door pockets on the back doors are an odd shape with an opening much larger than the bottom of the pocket--weird. After reading the hype (yes, I can now say it was nothing but hype) about the memory foam seats, I have to say that seat design is the biggest interior flaw. The Versa's seats are best compared to overstuffed easy chairs...that you sink into. The fabric is excellent, but the appearance overall is similar to the Quest's seats--an appearance I do not like. But the seats aren't comfortable to me--I like firm, well shaped seats. I'm thinking the dashboard style and the seat design were meant to attract senior citizens--weird. Versa also has the largest blind spot looking out the back.
3. Yaris--falls far behind overall in this category. I don't like center mounted gauges, but would put up with them if the rest of the interior were great. Yaris has cheap looking hard plastics inside. The seats get good marks for being the most firm of the three, but for someone 6"5", Yaris lacks the interior room I need.
Driving experience ranking:
1. Fit--Fun, light, nimble handling. Seems powerful, maybe a bit noisy. 5 speed shifts are light, easy, quiet. Good balance between ride/handling.
2. Yaris--Though Yaris feels somewhat less nimble, it feels like a light, small car. 5 speed not quite as nice as Fit. Feels powerful--about the same as Fit. Reminded me alot of my 1987 Corolla--I think that's a bad thing because a brand new design shouldn't invoke thoughts of a 20 year old design.
3. Versa--Like other magazines have said--feels like a much bigger, heavier car, which it is. Doesn't feel light, nimble. Not sure if it felt more stable or not. 6 speed has long, but easy, throws. Quiet, soft ride. Because of weight and size, the most powerful engine among the three went unnoticed as such. Like the others, it felt adequately powerful--but didn't feel like the most powerful.
Overall:
1. Fit
2. Versa
3. Yaris
I have yet to test drive the Yaris 3 door.
Exterior ranking:
1. Fit--best overall design
2. Versa--seems so big compared to Fit
3. Yaris--slightly weird, incoherent design
Interior Design ranking:
1. Fit--interesting, functional, no major problems, great seats with good shape that hold you while driving, plenty of head/leg room for 6"5" tall person--even in the back seat.
2. Versa--by far the most interior room of the three--rear seat legroom is incredible. Versa is the perfect example of a dashboard design done in hard plastic that looks great. The look and fit and finish seem flawless--though maybe a little busy with so many lines intersecting. But I found many design flaws. Some universally accepted design norms shouldn't be messed with. The seat back recliner lever should be on the outside of the seat--by the door. Nissan put them on the seat next to the center console...not very intuitive. And those recliner levers worked with alot of ratcheting noises and adjusting the seatback was not a smooth process...very jerky and had to try numerous times to get it where I needed it to be. It's a good thing there are lots of cup holders because the ones in the door are extremely awkward to use since reaching for that area is blocked by the front end of the door armrest. The tranny shift lever seems overly tall/long. While extremely easy to shlft, the process of shifting was noisy. The glove box is deep, dark and very narrow. The door pockets on the back doors are an odd shape with an opening much larger than the bottom of the pocket--weird. After reading the hype (yes, I can now say it was nothing but hype) about the memory foam seats, I have to say that seat design is the biggest interior flaw. The Versa's seats are best compared to overstuffed easy chairs...that you sink into. The fabric is excellent, but the appearance overall is similar to the Quest's seats--an appearance I do not like. But the seats aren't comfortable to me--I like firm, well shaped seats. I'm thinking the dashboard style and the seat design were meant to attract senior citizens--weird. Versa also has the largest blind spot looking out the back.
3. Yaris--falls far behind overall in this category. I don't like center mounted gauges, but would put up with them if the rest of the interior were great. Yaris has cheap looking hard plastics inside. The seats get good marks for being the most firm of the three, but for someone 6"5", Yaris lacks the interior room I need.
Driving experience ranking:
1. Fit--Fun, light, nimble handling. Seems powerful, maybe a bit noisy. 5 speed shifts are light, easy, quiet. Good balance between ride/handling.
2. Yaris--Though Yaris feels somewhat less nimble, it feels like a light, small car. 5 speed not quite as nice as Fit. Feels powerful--about the same as Fit. Reminded me alot of my 1987 Corolla--I think that's a bad thing because a brand new design shouldn't invoke thoughts of a 20 year old design.
3. Versa--Like other magazines have said--feels like a much bigger, heavier car, which it is. Doesn't feel light, nimble. Not sure if it felt more stable or not. 6 speed has long, but easy, throws. Quiet, soft ride. Because of weight and size, the most powerful engine among the three went unnoticed as such. Like the others, it felt adequately powerful--but didn't feel like the most powerful.
Overall:
1. Fit
2. Versa
3. Yaris
I have yet to test drive the Yaris 3 door.