The Critic's Choice 2014 Yaris vs 2015 Accent

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I started a business trip in Denver with a Yaris. That's what I get for trying the "mystery car" option with Advantage. The seat was comfortable. The ride was rough. It had a mildew smell, maybe the common drain tube clog? Also, had serpentine belt squeal on start up. The dash left alot to be desired. I was already late for a meeting so I opted not to wait in line for 30 minutes to argue my way into something else. Later I realized that none of the ports worked; cig/usb. That was a problem since my phone was being used heavily. So I race back to Advantage, a mile above sea level the power was none existent. I started thinking I would rather drive my Accord or Cavalier than this Yaris.

The replacement was a base Hyundai Accent sedan. What a huge improvement. Pleasant interior lighting, a tachometer, little info center with mpg etc, better materials, smoother ride, quieter cabin. Just all around a better car. Then on the road, a bit more power, or atleast the appearance of more power. It may have been better gearing.

The Yaris did have two advantages; a more effective A/C system, and better brakes under hard braking.

I read that both cars cost the same. If you had asked me which I would pick prior I would say the Yaris for sure. After driving both, I don't care how much more reliable the Toyota is, it's not worth difference in comfort.
 
I wonder which one The Critic would choose. That's what I thought this thread was going to be about. How many miles on each? The Yaris is as spartan as you can get. I had one as a long term rental. I didn't like it at first but it did grow on me or maybe I just became used to it. The sport version was much better with the slightly wider and lower profile tires. Didn't seem like it was on wagon wheels.
 
The Yaris had 30,000 and newer tires, the Accent had 20,000. I put about 80 miles on the Yaris and 250 on the Accent.
 
Originally Posted By: Jetronic
they're not in the same class though, the yaris is a subcompact....


They are both subcompacts and priced the same..............

Copy past from their own website:

2016 Hyundai Accent - Overview | Hyundai
https://www.hyundaiusa.com/accent/
Hyundai Motor America
If you're looking for an affordable subcompact with unbeatable mileage, loads of style & plenty of safety, look no further than the 2016 Hyundai Accent.
‎Specs & Trim - ‎Gallery - ‎Interior - ‎Exterior
 
The Yaris (and other subcompact small cars) have never really been Toyota's shining star. I kinda think it is the example of Toyota pulling GM's move of building to a pricepoint. Yes, they do last ungodly miles, but going back from the Yaris/Echo/Paseo/Tercel, kinda got a weird "reliable" item that was completely stripped of all other "features". If it was not a Corolla (when they were subcompacts) then you were getting a spot-filler product.
 
I had a yaris a number of years ago in CA for a very long drive, and liked it better than the Honda Civic that I had subsequently.

That said, there is very little improvement on the Yaris, while the accent has become notably better than it was a few years ago. I just had an Accent rental a few weeks ago and it was surprisingly good, including the stereo.
 
I think the Accent is a bit of an underrated car that flies under the radar of some shoppers. I'd agree that it's too bad that the Yaris seems to be perennially behind the curve as a substandard choice to a lot of the competition.

Consumer Reports ( admittedly not the grand arbiter of auto info ) had the Accent as one of the highest rated subcompacts a few years ago but now doesn't recommend it because it didn't rate an acceptable in the offset frontal crash score but was OK everywhere else. That wouldn't be my priority to not recommend a vehicle but...J.D. Power had the Accent as the fewest problems per 100 car subcompact for, I believe, the last two years for whatever it's worth.

I've had my 2013 for three years and I can say that although it may not do everything great, it pretty much does everything well in my mind...which is probably high praise for a subcompact. Zero issues and 40 mpg and decent power with the 6 speed manual...I'm happy. I was actually really happy I could still get one with a manual, but that's another story.
 
The Toyota dealer here doesn't even have a single, new Yaris in stock. But has 124 new Corollas in stock. Searching Autotrader it appears there's only a $1,000 difference in price between a similarly equipped Yaris and Corolla. There's a very small discount on the Yaris since supply is so tight and a larger discount on the Corolla.

The Kia Rio is nice as well. Both the Accent and Rio have come a long way. They don't appear to be such a penalty box.
 
Most interesting.
Who would've thought that Hyundai's cheapest was better than Toyota's?
If I ever need a bottom buck fuel saver, I'll keep this in mind.
 
Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
The Toyota dealer here doesn't even have a single, new Yaris in stock. But has 124 new Corollas in stock. Searching Autotrader it appears there's only a $1,000 difference in price between a similarly equipped Yaris and Corolla. There's a very small discount on the Yaris since supply is so tight and a larger discount on the Corolla.

The Kia Rio is nice as well. Both the Accent and Rio have come a long way. They don't appear to be such a penalty box.


because the yaris will cut into the corolla profits. this is not new, was the same 8 years ago when i bought my yaris sedan: only 4 on the lot, no financing deals available, but they where flying from the lot. corollas where available with 0.6% at that time. wish i have been more brainy and choose the corolla/camry wiht more interior space.

also completely agree with kia rio/accent eval
 
Originally Posted By: Gasbuggy
Originally Posted By: Jetronic
they're not in the same class though, the yaris is a subcompact....


They are both subcompacts and priced the same..............

Copy past from their own website:

2016 Hyundai Accent - Overview | Hyundai
https://www.hyundaiusa.com/accent/
Hyundai Motor America
If you're looking for an affordable subcompact with unbeatable mileage, loads of style & plenty of safety, look no further than the 2016 Hyundai Accent.
‎Specs & Trim - ‎Gallery - ‎Interior - ‎Exterior


The Yaris competes with the i20 here, the Accent looks to be the size of an i30?
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Most interesting.
Who would've thought that Hyundai's cheapest was better than Toyota's?
If I ever need a bottom buck fuel saver, I'll keep this in mind.


You do that and report back if you bite.
 
Not likely at this stage of the game. I can retire as early as this November although I'll likely do at least another couple of years.
I've had work buddies who accepted nice promotions with really long (like 80-100 mile +) commutes.
Most were eventually able to promote or lateral their way back closer to home. I've also known some who accepted laterals with long commutes just to keep their jobs in periods of headcount reduction. I've known a few to accept long commutes for a promotion and then spend years on the road. One of these guys was actually able to lateral his way back close to home and then took a one range promotion on the other side of the state largely because he clashed with his boss.
Ten years ago, I seriously considered a fat promotion with a long commute.
I passed.
Was it more important to me to gain a lot of status and very little net income after accounting for the cost of the drive or to be able to be at home every night?
I opted for being home early every night and don't regret it at all.
 
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