The question relates to the European (UK) market, but I would like still your opinion. Earlier this year I bought a 1.2L Vauxhall/Opel Corsa from 2011 at 79k miles from an individual, piece of junk broke 2 months later and I had to scrap it. Next car is going to be Japanese for sure. A small car will suit my needs just fine. I plan on using it purely socially, going to shops, going on trips etc
I'm considering either a 1.33 dual VVTI (100hp) Toyota Yaris from around 2009-2011 or a 1.4 iVTEC (100hp) Honda Fit/Jazz from 2009-2011, both manual transmissions. This time buying low miles (30k to 55k depending on what I can find), full service history and from a dealership with some kind of warranty. On paper their performances are almost identical, but I heard things such as the Yaris gets worse fuel consumption than stated and is not as well built as other models like the Auris/Corolla, and the Honda handles better, has a better engine and are more comfortable. The Yaris is assembled in France and the Honda in either UK or Japan.
What do you think? My greatest concern after my first car experience is bulletproof reliability, which both models should have, right? I am leaning more towards the Yaris because I like its shape and esthetics a bit more, and I can find a few more in great condition. Should I go for the Honda instead?
piece of junk broke 2 months later and I had to scrap it.
Really? What was the issue? These aren't reliable, but they're dead easily to repair.
1.33 dual VVTI (100hp) Toyota Yaris from around 2009-2011
1.4 iVTEC (100hp) Honda Fit/Jazz from 2009-2011
My advise would be upgrading to the 2012 Yaris - it's worth it, much better than the old Yaris and the Jazz.
One like this with a non-hybrid engine and a 4 speed auto / regular manual would be the best option:
full service history and from a dealership with some kind of warranty
Avoid dealers.
Performance? Handling? these are small city cars with good efficiency...
My greatest concern after my first car experience is bulletproof reliability
Well, it's a small cheap Japanese city car - it's reasonably reliable, not super reliable.
The generations you're looking at both were short-lived, between them I'd go with the Honda but I think you should consider the 2012-up generation of the Yaris.
Thank you for replying!
One day the Corsa started and immediately died, and the engine would only crank. Was hoping it would be the crankshaft sensor, but the mechanic said low compression in cylinder 4. Taking off the cylinder head would be too expensive relative to what I paid for it, let alone repairing it. Mistake on my part, trusted the seller too much. I'll be taking all cars to a mechanic to check them from now on.
I'm just curious in what ways is the 2011 generation better than the previous? Overall build quality? From what I saw it uses the same 1.33 engine and transmission, did they also improve it?
I will consider then 2012 Yaris too. But I mostly care about not having to worry about the engine, and some previous comments said the 1.33 engine isn't the best. Is it better in the third generation?
when an engine doesn't have compression, you go to a junkyard and get a cheap used engine.
The upgraded Yaris went from this mess,
to a rather nice interior:
It just became a much flusher car, it's actually genuinely nice to be inside.
The 1.33 didn't get any better, but the Yaris became so much plusher.
even the steering wheel changed sides! {black}:shocked:
😉
😆🤣
I would get the Honda
Thank you Scotty! That's what my dad thought as well. And thank you for all the hours of information and entertainment, I learned so much from your videos!
It depends howlong do you want to keep it. You can have in mind that 1.33 Toyota engine will wear out at about 100k miles and start burn oil well before that. Perhaps @dan can tell you more bout this and Honda engine.
Yep, Am not a fan of the Toyota 1.33, it's quite crappy engine.
But I have never heard of the Honda 1.4... I think that's possibly a 1.3L (actually 1.33) L13A, and that would be a superior engine, but I'm unsure if that's the one OP's looking at...
@dan I looked used cars ads. Interesting those with 1.339L engines are labeled as 1.4 and those with 1.318L ones as 1.3. What is your experience with those L series engines (L13A, L13B, L15A ...)?
That's interesting, so the 1.4 is the L13B, the 1.3 is the 1.3L L13A.
On the non-turbo L-series engines, there's no serious issues I can think - it's still not a perfect engine, but it's not bad at all.
The real issues are with the turbocharged 1.5L variants.
Thank you for your replies! Strange that a Toyota engine would wear out at 100k. Would that be the case even if its maintenance was spotless?
The Honda engine is either a L13B (Japan) ot L13Z (UK), depending where the car was made. I've also heard good things about this engine, so I'm happy to hear you agree
One of my friends was saying that the electronics on the Honda are not the best, like his entire dashboard was not working. Sounds like an isolated incident, but what do you think? I seriously doubt it's worse than the electronics of European cars
Yep, Toyotas for Europe don't hold long. @dan has been writing a lot about that here. Perhaps he knows something about Honda trobles too.