The Nissan actually ranks higher than the Fit in some things, like capacity, but I think the engine size is smaller. (Don't quote me on that -- I can't recall now, but I think it was the Nissan with an engine size smaller than CP's Harley-Davidson and that's just... all kinds of wrong.) That said, the Nissan got decent mpg, and the interior styling is really thoughtful, but it's also designed (IMO) for someone with much shorter legs than me -- I have a 34" inseam, if that tells you anything. It's a high-chair kind of design, much like the Toyotas, which means you're sitting up higher. If that doesn't bother you, then you might like the Nissan, which has high marks in plenty of other areas including mpg and reliability.
The Toyotas... I couldn't do them, not with their dashboard being in the center of the console. The notion of my passengers knowing how fast I'm going just... well, let's just say my mother would probably never get in the car with me again. There are enough backseat drivers in this world; we don't need to give them fodder by making it possible for them to easily see the concrete details. Otherwise, though, the Yaris is an adorable car and a zippy little city car -- I wouldn't take it on the open highway unless I were really in the mood to rattle in a tin car careening along at a desperate 65, but in the city? It'd probably be excellent, especially if small parking spaces are a bane of your existence. Same, really, goes for the Nissan, though it felt a little more solid in terms of highway, but still rather tin-can-like.
The Kia is like the Hyundai in terms of false economy: cheap to buy, expensive to own. But its interior design (at least in the smaller slightly older ones I've driven) is incredibly well-designed, possibly one of the best I've seen since the mid-90s VW Fox. And it's rather plush feeling, for being otherwise economy, and can handle quick pickup at low speeds & dead stops. Not a car for the highway, again, but if you're doing mostly local driving, it might work for you.
The Hyundai, Kia, and Toyota all seem to have much looser play in their steering wheels, from what I recall. Honda, not as bad; VW is among the tightest you can find. In other words, from a quarter-turn in the Hyundai's wheel is the same as a tenth of a turn in the VW's wheel. That's just one of those things that you have to go by what you personally like, y'know?
Plus, if you're used to Nissan, then chances are you already either know a good Nissan mechanic, OR you've dealt with the local dealership and can say whether you want to keep dealing with them. (One of the reasons I didn't push for a second VW was because our city's VW dealerships are absolutely rotten, one of the rare complete wastes of space among the so-many VW dealerships I've known... and that was enough to make me lean away from a new VW, especially given CP was liking the Fit.)
So if you already have a good Nissan relationship, then when you toss everything else up into the air, that long-term relationship is plenty justification for putting more weight on Nissan as a possible. That's what I'd say, at least, because you can buy a car that's more than decent, but if you hate your mechanic or you can't find a good mechanic, it doesn't matter what you bought. You'll find yourself dragging your feet on the annual check-ups, and next thing you know, you've got a car that isn't half as good anymore, due to wear and tear without enough care. But if you like your mechanic and feel respected as a customer, it translates to being more willing to take care of the car, and it may not be the deciding factor, but the long-term awesomeness I've had with VW dealers in, uhm, five states! was a big part of the car's upkeep. I could catch things early because I felt like, when the car did misbehave, I could stop by the dealer/mechanic and say, "it's doing this! help!" and I never felt like I was just one big dollar sign to them.
But! If you're really far from enthused about the local Nissan options, then my suggestion would be the Honda Fit, pretty much hands-down. It drives tighter and cleaner than the rest, it's not tin-can noisy like the Toyota or Hyundai, it has better pick-up and more spunk than a Kia, and more than almost any other car, it will keep its value a lot longer, and it has almost the top for reliability for any make or model, really. Hondas are this generation's VW bug: they go and go and go. Plus, just about any mechanic anywhere will have Honda-experience, because they're so ubiquitous.
Otherwise, my suggestion would be to compare the Nissan and Honda, if you'll be doing any regular highway driving. If you're all city, then toss in the Hyundai and the Kia, because those are at least decent in-city cars. The Toyota... I dunno. A little too high off the road for me, a little too tin can, and of course there's that whole "middle of the console" thing that's really hard to adjust to. You don't realize it is, until you're driving it at night and look down and after years of the dash always being right there, suddenly THE CONSOLE IS DARK. At least three times you will probably panic at having lost all your lights, before you remember to look over to where the radio is.
Frankly, I get the economics of the design, but I think it's also the stupidest thing ever. We have conventions in cars, and you mess with them at your peril... but if it's a convention you're willing to put up with, for some other benefit, then that's the call you make.
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Date: 13 Feb 2011 01:07 am (UTC)The Toyotas... I couldn't do them, not with their dashboard being in the center of the console. The notion of my passengers knowing how fast I'm going just... well, let's just say my mother would probably never get in the car with me again. There are enough backseat drivers in this world; we don't need to give them fodder by making it possible for them to easily see the concrete details. Otherwise, though, the Yaris is an adorable car and a zippy little city car -- I wouldn't take it on the open highway unless I were really in the mood to rattle in a tin car careening along at a desperate 65, but in the city? It'd probably be excellent, especially if small parking spaces are a bane of your existence. Same, really, goes for the Nissan, though it felt a little more solid in terms of highway, but still rather tin-can-like.
The Kia is like the Hyundai in terms of false economy: cheap to buy, expensive to own. But its interior design (at least in the smaller slightly older ones I've driven) is incredibly well-designed, possibly one of the best I've seen since the mid-90s VW Fox. And it's rather plush feeling, for being otherwise economy, and can handle quick pickup at low speeds & dead stops. Not a car for the highway, again, but if you're doing mostly local driving, it might work for you.
The Hyundai, Kia, and Toyota all seem to have much looser play in their steering wheels, from what I recall. Honda, not as bad; VW is among the tightest you can find. In other words, from a quarter-turn in the Hyundai's wheel is the same as a tenth of a turn in the VW's wheel. That's just one of those things that you have to go by what you personally like, y'know?
Plus, if you're used to Nissan, then chances are you already either know a good Nissan mechanic, OR you've dealt with the local dealership and can say whether you want to keep dealing with them. (One of the reasons I didn't push for a second VW was because our city's VW dealerships are absolutely rotten, one of the rare complete wastes of space among the so-many VW dealerships I've known... and that was enough to make me lean away from a new VW, especially given CP was liking the Fit.)
So if you already have a good Nissan relationship, then when you toss everything else up into the air, that long-term relationship is plenty justification for putting more weight on Nissan as a possible. That's what I'd say, at least, because you can buy a car that's more than decent, but if you hate your mechanic or you can't find a good mechanic, it doesn't matter what you bought. You'll find yourself dragging your feet on the annual check-ups, and next thing you know, you've got a car that isn't half as good anymore, due to wear and tear without enough care. But if you like your mechanic and feel respected as a customer, it translates to being more willing to take care of the car, and it may not be the deciding factor, but the long-term awesomeness I've had with VW dealers in, uhm, five states! was a big part of the car's upkeep. I could catch things early because I felt like, when the car did misbehave, I could stop by the dealer/mechanic and say, "it's doing this! help!" and I never felt like I was just one big dollar sign to them.
But! If you're really far from enthused about the local Nissan options, then my suggestion would be the Honda Fit, pretty much hands-down. It drives tighter and cleaner than the rest, it's not tin-can noisy like the Toyota or Hyundai, it has better pick-up and more spunk than a Kia, and more than almost any other car, it will keep its value a lot longer, and it has almost the top for reliability for any make or model, really. Hondas are this generation's VW bug: they go and go and go. Plus, just about any mechanic anywhere will have Honda-experience, because they're so ubiquitous.
Otherwise, my suggestion would be to compare the Nissan and Honda, if you'll be doing any regular highway driving. If you're all city, then toss in the Hyundai and the Kia, because those are at least decent in-city cars. The Toyota... I dunno. A little too high off the road for me, a little too tin can, and of course there's that whole "middle of the console" thing that's really hard to adjust to. You don't realize it is, until you're driving it at night and look down and after years of the dash always being right there, suddenly THE CONSOLE IS DARK. At least three times you will probably panic at having lost all your lights, before you remember to look over to where the radio is.
Frankly, I get the economics of the design, but I think it's also the stupidest thing ever. We have conventions in cars, and you mess with them at your peril... but if it's a convention you're willing to put up with, for some other benefit, then that's the call you make.
Not sure how much help that is, but there ya go.