TED LATURNUS
From Tuesday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Tuesday, Apr. 07, 2009 02:03AM EDT
This year, there were five contenders in this category. All, it should be noted, were priced just a whisker under the maximum and came fairly well equipped. They are: Honda Fit LX, Hyundai Accent GS Premium, Nissan Versa Hatchback, Pontiac Wave, and Toyota Yaris four-door.
The main thing I look for in cars of this type is driveability. People buy economy cars because they plan on spending a lot of time in them for everyday, commuter transport. Fuel consumption is also right up there and so are creature comforts and decent power — maximum bang for the buck, in other words.
My pick for this year is the Nissan Versa, but not by much. Hot on its heels is Toyota's Yaris four-door.
What nudged Versa over the top was its interior elbow room and ergonomics. It doesn't feel like a small car to me and overall quality was good.
The Yaris, with its centre-mounted instrument pod and massive expanses of plastic dashboard, put me off right away. I would not want to have to face the interior of the Yaris on a daily basis.
The Versa also had, at 122 horsepower, the most powerful engine in this class. Most of its rivals were, quite frankly, slugs. My test car had a four-speed automatic as opposed to the optional CVT transmission, but that is still a point in the Versa's favour, as far as I'm concerned; it shows a willingness to try something different on Nissan's part.
Some of the other models in this group had a high equipment level. Hyundai's Accent, for example, came with heated front seats, which, for an under-$18,000 car, is pretty impressive. Still, I'll take power over a warm butt every time, thanks.
Nor was the Versa the thriftiest car in this group, with fuel economy of 8.5 litres/100 km in town and 6.2 on the highway. That honour goes to Honda's Fit, but, in all fairness, the Fit was the only manual gearbox-equipped car in this group.
Last but not least: cost. The Versa had an as-tested sticker price of $17,398, which actually made it the cheapest car in this group — not by much, mind you, but in the econobox sweepstakes, every penny counts.
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