Yaris - why bother?

colm_mcm

I have experience of both cars in question, as i bought a 00 Punto new. it was very solidly build inside, and everything felt well put tgether, the plastics looked of a higher quality finish to that of the Yaris. However, a lot of the interior plastics on my car were quite brittle and marked or broke easily. The Punto has a very quiet engine, and insulation is better than on the Yaris.

The Yaris is good in other areas though. it's easier to manouver, the interior is far more durable, road tax is lower, it doesn't need a timing belt, and reliability is top notch.

RobAMerc

cpoh1 wrote:

What exactly are you buying a car like a punto or yaris for? To drive the beans out of on backroads and sit back and admire its lush interior while boasting of its performance capabilities? Or maybe just maybe you are buying a reliable, economical, cheap to insure little hatch that will get you from A to B and not give you a days trouble.

I think you'll find most people here in Ireland with one of these cars would end up having to use it to go on journeys outside of cities too, and I am saying the Yaris is not as capable as others on the open road. And again, I am saying as a motoring enthusiast I would rather have a car that handled and rode well than buy a Yaris simply because its a reliable car!

cpoh1 wrote:

If its the latter then a yaris is the one to buy, a female friend has had one from new back in 2000 and bar servicing it for €80 worth of parts that I put in for her and spending on tyres every 2 years the car has never missed a beat. if I want a decent handling car ill buy one that is designed to do just that, not a bloody punto. After doing over a dozen punto head gaskets in my friends garage over the years in cars less than 4 years old I know what my money would be on.

Irrelevant

cpoh1 wrote:

And I wouldnt agree about the handling and ride of the punto being superior comments either, but thats down to personal preference. The reliability I am sure of.

What a cop out ! A car handles and rides well or it doesn't, your happy to disagree with me that the Yaris is not as good to drive but only Kali has given any reason as to why, what is it that ye find so good about a Yaris OTHER THAN reliability thats better than its competitors ?

cpoh1

Robamerc are you for real?????

How is it irrelevant that the yaris is reliable and the punto is not? You are aware that 90% of people out there have no interest in how a car handles and performs and are more interested in having a reliable motor that gets you from A to B without hassle, is cheap to run and maintain and holds its value. I bet my gran has no interest in whether you think the punto is better on the open road and is more concerned about the temp guage rising unexpectedly and whether its going to start in the morning before she goes to mass.

Finally youre asking me why I think the yaris handles as well as the punto? Do you want me to spout the usual rubbish about holding corners well, minimal body roll, front end tucks in nicely? To be honest I noticed feck all difference between the two, theyre both underpowered cheap runarounds that handle like boats and are equally as boring to drive. And I wouldnt expect anything else from them!

The yaris is better than the punto and its competitors because its

More reliable
Holds its residuals miles better
Cheaper to tax (1L)
Cheaper to insure (1L)
More interior space and back seat area
Has longer service intervals and timing chain over belt (cheaper to maintain)

And that im afriad is all anybody who buys a little underpowered hatch wants from a car. If I want a hatch that performs ill buy a 106gti or even better an old 1.9L 205gti, not a punto or a fiesta.

RobAMerc

As your on a motoring forum I expected you'd have an interest in which was the nicest car to drive and other "rubbish" rather than which is the most reliable.

I picked the punto as an example because its the complete opposite of the Yaris a decent drive/ride with questionable reliability. but theres loads out there that do alot better than the Yaris for driver appeal.

Reliability is not all people who buy a small car want - including me!

And lastly I doubt you'd be able to tell the difference between the handling of a Yaris and a fork lift truck.

dcGT

If we were to remove the following from the equation: -

a) Reason for buying either car
b) Reliability of either car
c) Cost of buying or running either car
d) All other cars

THEN, how would you compare, contrast & rate the Yaris & Punto. If we just take them at face value, and look at the driving experience & interior, what would your opinions be?

DC.

D:

I work next door to a garage and i can promise you, there's more puntos in and out of that place than any other car.

I've driven an 00 punto for an hour, it was horrible.. even compared to my 1l 98 VW Polo.

dcGT

wrote:

I work next door to a garage and i can promise you, there's more puntos in and out of that place than any other car.

Once again, reliability of the Punto over the yaris was not in question

wrote:

I've driven an 00 punto for an hour, it was horrible.. even compared to my 1l 98 VW Polo.

That's comparing the Punto to a Polo, not a Yaris

cpoh1

RobAMerc wrote:

As your on a motoring forum I expected you'd have an interest in which was the nicest car to drive and other "rubbish" rather than which is the most reliable.

I picked the punto as an example because its the complete opposite of the Yaris a decent drive/ride with questionable reliability. but theres loads out there that do alot better than the Yaris for driver appeal.

Reliability is not all people who buy a small car want - including me!

And lastly I doubt you'd be able to tell the difference between the handling of a Yaris and a fork lift truck.

You see I disagree with you, the yaris is just as (un)capable on the road as the punto, I cant see where you got this notion in the first place, both are equally crap on the road. Both have very similar wheelbases, suspension setup and weights. If I wanted a small car that handled id be looking at a 106gti as a cheap modern alternative, I certainly wouldnt bother with a punto.

I have a massive interest in cars, but when it came to choosing my daily driver all I wanted was a car that was cheap to buy and run, never broke down and had a bit of room too. The majority of people only want this in a car. If I want a spin in a car that handles I have my gtr.

bazz26

While I agree that reliability should not be the be all and end all factor when choosing a car it should however still be an important factor imo. After all an unreliable car will deminish the ownership and driving experience, no point in having a car with great driving characteristics and soft touch plastics if it is stuck at the side of the road. Nothing worse than a troublesome car imo, it takes away the pleasure of owning a car and you end up hating it.

Alot of people out there don't see their car as anything other than a to b transport or it is an unimportant part of their daily life, so they want to get where they are going with as little hassel as possible. The likes of the Yaris do this very well and there is nothing wrong with that. If you want something else from a car then simply look at something else. It's a no brainer imo.

With the likes of the Punto it is hit and miss, unfortunately it is the troublsome ones that give Fiat the bad reputation it has but unfortunately bad reps are easier to earn than get rid of.