Buying a low priced new or lightly used car: Yaris Any Good? Any Others?

[Doc Holliday]

I'm going to be buying a car soon. I like the look of the Yaris, and I'll be taking it out on a test drive, but I was wondering if anyone owned one and what they thought of it. The reviews I've been reading have not been extremely positive, but they admit that it has great gas mileage, which is a must in my profession.

Anyone else buy an economy car recently? I was also giving some thought to the Accent and the Elantra.

Any other suggestions welcome for a new or slightly used economy car.

Thanks.

[openeyes]

The Yaris is a Toyota, so I imagine it's fine. The reviews I looked at seemed quite positive:

"The Yaris, however, is better than just good. This replacement for the unloved Toyota Echo boasts the good looks, suave road manners, perky performance and well-tailored interior that establish new benchmarks in the entry-level game. And this will cause the increasing competition in that market many sleepless nights figuring out how to offset Toyota's deep well of talent, materials and technology.

"The Yaris combines the economies of an inexpensive sticker, outstanding fuel mileage and the solid integrity that underlies every Toyota vehicle. Sure, certain aspects of the car, such as noise isolation and driving position, are far from ideal, but the Yaris owner will never feel as though he or she had to settle for second best, even if they didn't have to pay much to get the best.

"The first generation of Toyota Yaris has been sold in Europe since 1999 and became Toyota's best seller there, and it also won many honors, including the 2000 Car of the Year."

2007 Toyota Yaris Review, Prices, Photos: New Car Test Drive

[rene_stpierre]

I used to own a Mazda Protege, the predecessor of the Mazda 3. It was a great car, never had any problems with it. I know a few people who own a Mazda 3 and they are very pleased with it.

René

[Kristoffer]

A friend of mine has a Toyota Yaris and she is very happy with it.

[zpivat]

I can personally recommend you Nissan Versa .

[Ibanez]

My friend has a Yaris. It's a nice car, however, for someone my size 6'1 riding in the back seat becomes problematic and the car seems a little smaller when compared to some america vehicles. But it is an extremely fuel efficient car and it's a toyota so if taken care of it will last for a long time.