Toyota Yaris

[bigbootch]

My girlfriend is getting a new car. She is on a very limited budget, and she has a long commute to work each day (30 miles each way or so). The top 3 priorities are, in no particular order:

1. Safety - no motorcycles, etc.
2. Low price
3. Good gas mileage

After researching on Edmunds.com for a bit, we thought the Yaris 2-dr hatchback would fit the bill. Also the Scion xA, they are very similar cars. They both go for 13-14k, and get like 38 mpg highway. Does anybody have any experience with either of these cars that they would like to share? Or also feel free to recommend another car that would fit the bill.

Some other candidates that were rejected:

1. New Civic - too expensive (17.5k)
2. Used Civic - a 4-year old with 50k miles is going for 12.5k, and for that price she might as well get a new Yaris
3. New Corolla - at 15.5k, the Yaris seems like a better buy
4. Kia Rio and the Hyundai Accent - no cheaper than Yaris, so might as well get the Toyota

[ChipWrecked]

A guy at work just got one, he likes it very much. He is tall and likes the mid-dash display.

[daveymck]

Is the Mini out in the states?

[Slider]

Minis are expensive dave.

[The Glidd]

My fiance just bought a Honda Fit, which is similar to the Yaris. It's a four door and is a nice car. The four doors were nice for her, and the thing has tons of storage space - much more than my four door Civic.

[daveymck]

In the same price range over here, well the Mini starts towards the top of the Yaris range, guess the exchange rate is the killer.

[acoustix]

My fiancee and I just bought a new Chevy Cobalt for 13k. 34mpg, and not a bad car for the money. Also very good safety rating.

[punkass]

[ QUOTE ]
My fiancee and I just bought a new Chevy Cobalt for 13k. 34mpg, and not a bad car for the money. Also very good safety rating.

[/ QUOTE ]

Psssshhhh. Chevy.

[MrSmurf]

Price doesn't always correlate with value/depreciation in the car market. If you check out sites like cars.com and ebay consistently with a range of 2-4 models that you like, you will find a "value" deal better than just going to a dealer and buying your Yaris. Further, if a Civic really depreciates 5k in 4 years, its hard to believe Yaris would beat it, so saying that Civic is too pricey is probably incorrect. Look at value.

[Ray Zee]

corolla is much more stout than the yaris and scion so the extra bucks is worth it and they get the same mpg. but the scion and yaris are the best of the very cheap cars that get the very best gas mileage. you cant go wrong with any. bigger and more airbags is generally more safe. corollas will depreciate the least. corrolla you can get about 10% off sticker the others are full price cars.