# My first new car: Toyota Yaris or FIAT 500? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 4, 2012, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865 "2012-11-04T17:04:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/21 "2012-11-06T17:40:44Z")
I’ve never been impressed with the Yaris and after having a rental I don’t think I could buy one. There are lots of other options out there (Accent, Fit, Rio, Mazda2, etc.) that are rated higher. Consumer Reports gives the Yaris a 41, which is 19 points lower than the next best rated car in that class. Have you looked at the Hyundai Veloster? ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/22 "2012-11-06T17:51:24Z")
Test-drive both. Your mind may make itself! ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/23 "2012-11-07T21:35:47Z")
My biased opinion: I wouldn’t own a Fiat if you gave it to me and paid me to keep it. Now, that’s probably irrational, but I owned a Fiat in the early 80s: my parents bought it used from some friends. They had rather a soft spot for the brand (though they never owned one themselves!) I think because the local Fiat dealer was a member of our church, and used to let the parish hold Mass in their showroom while the church was being built. It was a while before I forgave my parents. The car was a complete piece of junk. Actually, calling it a piece of junk is pretty insulting to any self-respecting junk heap. Pretty much everything but the steering wheel had to be replaced at one point or another - often multiple times. I went broke keeping it running - every time I started to save up some cash for a down payment on a replacement, the fucking thing had another 300 dollar repair bill. One of my brothers had owned one (purchased _new_) and it was not a good car. Both cars stranded us multiple times. So, even though the brand has been completely reworked for its reintroduction into the US, I can’t get over my previous bad experience. More rationally: how long have the new Fiat models been around? I mean, they’re new in the US but what about other countries? This will give you some more data on reliability. The Yaris has been around for several years in the US, and is more of a known quantity. Either car will be new to you, and cool just for that alone. The Fiat may have prettier models in the ads (hell, I’m a straight female and I find them nice to look at!) but there’s a lot to be said for a car that you’re confident won’t let you down. Plus you can pimp up the Yaris with a sweet sound system, nicer seat covers etc. with the difference in purchase price, if that’s the model you choose. Editing again: I see someone mentioned that the Yaris isn’t getting very good reviews from Consumer Reports, so it may _not_ be the better choice for you. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/24 "2012-11-07T21:46:45Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > Ever wonder why the Fiat needs a lengthier warranty? > > Fiat has a reputation. So does Toyota. Night and day. Concur. There is, to my knowledge, no universally-recognized “my car’s broken again” phrase that anagrams to TOYOTA. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2012, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/25 "2012-11-07T21:59:20Z")
If you like driving at all, get the Fiat. The Yaris is a horrid thing to drive. I borrowed a circa 2006 Yaris from a family member once and it’s the only car I’ve ever spun accidentally - with no warning at all I was suddenly going backwards around a roundabout. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/26 "2012-11-08T00:05:53Z")
I’ll add one more pro-Yaris anecdote. Mine has consistently gotten better than advertised MPG over the 4.5 years I’ve had it. I am not a leadfoot, but I’m not a hypermiler either. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/27 "2012-11-08T00:15:59Z")
Go the Fiat says the guy in Australia with a 2011 Jeep Wrangler, 1985 BMW 325 convertible and a Ducati 1096. I am paying out to much in repairs and petrol but by god I enjoy them all… Yaris, Japanese for boring… ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/28 "2012-11-08T00:17:28Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Plus you can pimp up the Yaris with a sweet sound system, nicer seat covers etc. with the difference in purchase price, if that’s the model you choose. Lipstick on a pig… oh and maybe get some of those stick family stickers as well :p:p ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/29 "2012-11-08T00:20:45Z")
Super-safe & reliable, but only Ok mileage is the Volvo C30. Comfy , great resale value, etc,. fast as a greased lizard on a hotplate. Ask Rick. The Yaris is one of the few Toyotas that Consumer Reports does not give a good rating to. ---
**Author:** ![Simple\_Linctus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Simple\_Linctus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simple_Linctus)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/30 "2012-11-08T00:25:45Z")
> [@Simple\_Linctus](#): > > If you like driving at all, get the Fiat. The Yaris is a horrid thing to drive. > > I borrowed a circa 2006 Yaris from a family member once and it’s the only car I’ve ever spun accidentally - with no warning at all I was suddenly going backwards around a roundabout. Oh and just to be really clear on this the Yaris is REALLY REALLY REALLY slow. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/31 "2012-11-08T01:35:15Z")
The Fiat may not be quite as reliable as the Yaris, but will be nowhere near like the pure automotive masochism of driving an air cooled VW. I think if you’ve been generally happy with the Beetle, the Fiat will exceed your wildest dreams of how reliable and cheap to operate an automobile can be. While the Yaris may be slightly more so, if you’re comparing it to your old Beetle the difference is infinitesimal. The Yaris will also likely bore you to death. [QUOTE=Simple Linctus] Oh and just to be really clear on this the Yaris is REALLY REALLY REALLY slow. [/QUOTE] Not compared to a '74 Beetle! ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/32 "2012-11-08T01:44:19Z")
Another thought: have you looked at any of VW’s current offerings? The Jetta and Golf are in the same ballpark as the Fiat, and even the New Beetle isn’t that much more. They’ve had their ups and downs, reliability-wise, over the last couple decades but they seem to have been pretty on-the-ball the last few years. They’d give you a bit more fahrvergnügen than the Yaris without being a totally unknown commodity like the Fiat. Maybe you’d even get a loyalty discount! ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 10:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/33 "2012-11-08T10:53:26Z")
People are still reading my thread? I am grateful and a little humbled. > [@Rachellelogram](#): > > Test-drive both. Your mind may make itself! In fact I test-drove a Yaris before starting the thread, and this past weekend I drove another Yaris at a different dealership. Then I went down the street to my county’s only FIAT studio and test-drove a 500 Pop. Both makes were easy to operate, as much as I could determine from short spins around the block that never exceeded 40 MPH. Trivia: the FIAT has a flip-down center armrest; the Yaris does not. > [@echo7tango](#): > > **plankter** , if you’re choosing only between the 500 and Yaris, based on what you said then it’s obvious: get the 500. _ **It stirs your soul!** _ > > My first car was a 1979 Fiat X1/9. I took good care of it and it lasted many mostly trouble-free miles. It was a very fun car. Take good care of your 500 and it’ll last a long time. I have a 50-year old Porsche 356 convertible that still stirs my soul. > > You are what you drive! > [@leftfield6](#): > > Completely agree. Says the owner of multiple cars that are less than practical, but soul stirring. I have a Fiat X1/9, a VW Vanagon camper, and a Mini Cooper S Convertible > > BTW, I drove a Fiat Spider all through college. It was a car that required a little loving (maintenance), but it never once left me stranded. > > If you want a car you can just drive and never have to do anything other than stop for gas, by all means, get the Yaris. If you want a car that will make you want to give it that last “over the shoulder” look as you leave it in a parking spot, get the Fiat 500. Both will be very competent at getting you from point A to point B Very good points. I expect to keep my next vehicle for as long as it will carry me, so starting out correctly and being diligent about maintenance should improve the odds of reliability for either choice. Which means “breaking in” the engine, a whole other controversy, but I digress. And while I can neither confirm nor deny possessing a soul, I have already admitted to having emotions. 😉 > [@GreasyJack](#): > > The Fiat may not be quite as reliable as the Yaris, but will be nowhere near like the pure automotive masochism of driving an air cooled VW. I think if you’ve been generally happy with the Beetle, the Fiat will exceed your wildest dreams of how reliable and cheap to operate an automobile can be. While the Yaris may be slightly more so, if you’re comparing it to your old Beetle the difference is infinitesimal. The Yaris will also likely bore you to death. Your whole post is good, but “pure automotive masochism” is the best summation I’ve ever seen. I am so stealing that phrase. Thank you again to everyone who replied. I may be writing a check as early as this coming weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/34 "2012-11-08T12:20:13Z")
You’re buying a new car with a warranty. Don’t worry about “reliability”. The reliability of pretty much all mainstream car brands, except VW/Audi/Land Rover/Jaguar are very good and much better than even the best cars of 20 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@Throatwarbler\_Mangrove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Throatwarbler_Mangrove)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/35 "2012-11-08T12:26:47Z")
…that being said I don’t think the base model FIAT 500 (not the Abarth) is really all that much to write home about. It’s at this point a fairly old car (debuted like what, 2007 in Europe?) and it won’t do as well in crash safety as the Yaris, which is certainly not a bad choice in this price range. By all accounts GM has this segment sewn up with the Chevy Sonic though, especially with the turbo engine, but it’s also the most expensive in the segment. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/36 "2012-11-08T16:26:39Z")
I have a Yaris. Best money I ever spent (on a car, anyway). Word of advice: if the battery dies, **take the car to the Toyota dealer**. I [foolishly] installed a new battery and fried… something that cost me $1000 to fix. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/37 "2012-11-08T20:20:12Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Yaris is a Toyota, known for reliability. Fiat is a Fiat, known for breaking down. Huh. I’ve been driving my Fiat since 1980, where as the only car I’ve ever hauled to the junkyard was a Toyota Tercel. And about that whole “Tony” thing: The problem is\* Tony\*, not the Fiat. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/38 "2012-11-08T21:55:38Z")
Hate to be the guy who chooses none of the above but might I suggest a 2nd hand mini cooper s? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/39 "2012-11-09T15:48:03Z")
Yaris if you want a reliable vehicle (and you said you did.) IMO if you can deal with more frequent problems down the road the Fiat would be fun. Be prepared to have a way to get it to/from the garage and live without it sometimes. FWIW I had a 1974 Fiat 124 Spyder for a few years, really neat car and it was more reliable than my 1978 MGB. But not that reliable. ---
**Author:** ![plankter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ba0ec/32.png) [@plankter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/plankter)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2012, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865/40 "2012-11-10T11:39:17Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > […] Be prepared to have a way to get it to/from the garage and live without it sometimes. No worries, I’ve had years of practice. 🙂 No new car yet, but possibly by tomorrow night. I just wanted to thank the dopers who offered suggestions of other makes and models. Some of them were indeed on my list of candidates before I narrowed it down to two. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-first-new-car-toyota-yaris-or-fiat-500/639865.md?page=3)