Long Term Comparison: 2012 Mazda2 vs 2012 Toyota Yaris vs 2013 Honda Fit

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c7scayman

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96 Mazda Protege DX 1.5L
Long Term Comparison: 2012 Mazda2 vs 2013 Toyota Yaris vs 2013 Honda Fit

I plan to do a long term review/test with the:
2013 Honda Fit Sport
2012 Toyota Yaris LE
2012 Mazda 2 Sport

I may even start a youtube series comparing the three cars over a couple of years.

These competing sub-compact cars all have 1.5L Inline-4 engines.

My wife and I bought the Honda Fit Sport with 1700 miles on the odometer about 12 months ago with an extended 7 year, 100,000 mile warranty. We have driven it from Philadelphia to D.C., Virginia, and Maryland several times bringing the current odometer reading to 28,000 miles.

My step sister bought a 2012 Toyota Yaris LE about 8 months ago with 19,000 miles on the odometer. She has driven it from Philadelphia to Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. a few times. She now has 27,500 miles on the odometer.

I bought a 2012 Mazda 2 Sport earlier this month with 32,200 miles on the odometer. I have driven about 650 miles so far. I will be driving it to Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. this weekend so I will update you with long distance driving impressions.

The Honda Fit Sport is the top of the line version. It has sporty bumpers and side skirts, fog lights, rear spoiler, paddle shifters, cruise control, cargo net, arm rest, average fuel economy gauge, chrome muffler tip, steering wheel radio controls, and nice sporty allow wheels.

The Toyota Yaris LE is the mid level trim with fog lights, distance to empty gas tank gauge, average fuel economy gauge, volume controls on steering wheel, and cruise control.

The Mazda 2 Sport is the base level trim, as you know. The only option I have installed is the arm rest/storage console. The rest is all barebones. It even has the 5 SPD Manual transmission.

Feel free to ask me any questions about these cars.
 
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Maintenance & Repair Costs

2013 Honda Fit Sport over 12 months
-Pot Hole bubbled one tire. Replaced one tire. $150
-Nails in two tires. $35 to plug tires.
-Three Oil Changes. Synthetic 0w-20. $110
-Dome Light Bulb and Headlight Bulb Replaced under Warranty. $0
-New issue started developing yesterday. 2 second whine noise when unlocking doors using power locks.
-Cabin Air Filter and Engine Air Filter replacement. $35

2012 Toyota Yaris LE over 8 months
-Two Oil Changes. $70
-Air Filter Change $20

2012 Mazda 2 Sport over 1 month
-Squeaky plastic arm rest replaced with leather arm rest under warranty. $0
-Brake Rotor Dust Shield was touching brake rotor, causing scraping noise. Fixed by bending dust shield out of the way. $0
 
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Driving Impressions

The Honda Fit Sport is the most powerful and quickest with 117hp, but the engine is loud under hard acceleration and it feels like the engine is working hard. The Honda is also the quietest at highway cruising speeds and the most comfortable for short and long distance driving. It is also fun to drive quick through the twisties. This car has the best brakes of the group by far.

The Toyota Yaris Sport has 106hp and it feels like the slowest car. It is barely heavier than the Mazda 2 and it does feel light, but the engine buzzes loud under acceleration. It is a smooth highway driver and handles well, but without any driving excitement.

The Mazda 2 Sport is the lightest and it feels the lightest. The 100hp engine feels strong when accelerating because of the light weight. It is also quieter under hard acceleration. On the highway, I feel like the Mazda 2 is more stable in windy conditions when compared to the other two heavier cars. Maybe this is an aerodynamic advantage, or maybe it's just in my head. The Honda's steering is quicker to react, but the Mazda's steering provides more feedback. The Mazda's brakes felt like the heaviest, making the car feel heavy when slowing down. It feels like the Honda and Toyota stop quicker.
 
Observed Fuel Economy

Honda Fit Sport. The best I managed with this car is a 44mpg highway average over 5 miles of highway. Driving 70% city and 30% highway, I average 28mpg. When I used to drive 50% city, 50% highway, I averaged 32mpg.

Toyota Yaris LE. My step sister averages 28mpg driving 60% city, 40% highway. When I drove the car on the highway, I averaged 35mpg.

Mazda 2 Sport. So far I have been driving mixed 50%/50% city/highway with this car, averaging 32.6mpg. This includes some spirited driving from time to time.
Update 3/3/2015: I drove on the highway for about 4 hours between 45-60mph in 5th gear (snowy conditions). I used almost half a tank of gas at 4.6 gallons and I averaged 43mpg.

Here is the weird part. The Honda has the smallest gas tank and the Mazda 2 has the largest gas tank. But it feels like the Honda has the largest gas tank and the Toyota has the smallest gas tank. I think part of it is the gas level gauge design and how far the needle needs to move.
 
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Passenger Comfort

These three cars have the same issue for rear adult passengers not sitting in the center seat. Everyone's heads hit the ceiling at the top of the back seat windows.

The Yaris is the worst when it comes to rear seat headroom. My neck was soar after sitting back there for more than 30 minutes. As a 6 foot tall guy, I had enough leg room in the back, though my step sister does sit dangerously close to the steering wheel, as most women do. The seats themselves are comfortable. They do not feel like cheap hard seats like you get in the 2014 Mitsubishi Mirage.

As expected, the Honda is the best when it comes to leg room and headroom, even with my driving position sitting far from the steering wheel. Some passengers complained about the rear headrests and bumpy ride in the back.

The Mazda 2's headroom is slightly better than the Yaris, but the legroom is worse. With my driver seat position in place, I cannot sit behind myself. My feet do not fit. The rear seats were found to be more comfortable than the rear seats in the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris.
 
Cargo Capacity and Storage

The Mazda 2 has the smallest storage space while the Honda has the most storage space.

With it's magic seats and flat folding rear seats, the Honda is really amazing when it comes to storage. It has two storage compartments in front of the front passenger. It has storage under the rear seats and storage compartments built into the back seat cushions. It also has 8 cup holders. (Potentially 9 if you use one square cubby as a cup holder)

The Mazda 2's cup holders are not practical since they are awkwardly located behind you, or under the arm rest (if you have one installed).

The Yaris has a larger trunk than the Mazda 2 in terms of width since the car is wider and it has more conveniently placed cup holders. But the trunk has less space than the Mazda in terms of height. Depth is about the same.
 
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Radio Controls

Honda's radio is the easiest to read and use. The buttons are spaced apart to prevent you from incorrectly pushing the wrong button and the controls are ergonomic and feel of a higher quality. This radio also tells you the song and artists name, but not always. Blue Backlit.

Toyota's radio is borrowed from the Scion FR-S, Scion tC, and Subaru BRZ. It is an aftermarket-looking radio that is difficult to use at first. It has small buttons and looks like a cheap fast & furious style radio. Orange Backlit.

The Mazda 2's radio is easy to use, but the programmable buttons are all bunched up together on the far side. It is a long reach and does not feel right. Programmable buttons are usually laid out from 1-6, Left to Right, in one neat horizontal line. The radio controls also feel on the cheap side. At least the radio says "Hello" to you when you turn it on. Red backlit.
 
Noise Quality Issues

Honda Fit Sport
1. When you go over a speed bump or hit the brake at slow speeds, you can hear the gas in the fuel tank swashing back and forth.
2. In cold weather, the front suspension bushings squeak.
3. As previously mentioned, there is sometimes a short whine noise when unlocking the doors using power locks. It seems to only happen in cold temperatures.

Toyota Yaris LE
1. The engine is very loud when accelerating. It always feels like it is struggling.
2. Serpentine Belts screech on start up.

Mazda 2 Sport
1. The stability control makes weird loud noises when it is activated in snowy conditions. Sounds like something is breaking.
2. Window Washer Fluid makes a loud noise when activated. You can feel the washer fluid pump's vibrations through the gas & brake pedals.
3. Update 3/1/15. The Mazda 2 also makes a short whine noise when I use the power locks in the cold. Same problem as the Honda.
 
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c7scayman said:
Mazda 2 Sport
1. The stability control makes weird loud noises when it is activated in snowy conditions. Sounds like something is breaking.
Click to expand...

As far as I know, the 2 doesn't have stability control. I get mine sideways every snowfall (and love it). The ABS is probably what you're talking about. It's *definitely* loud, but no worse than the noises from cars in a higher performance bracket like my Subaru WRX.

I test drove Fit vs Fiesta vs 2, and the Fit just barely lost out. Yaris didn't make the list, as I feel toyota stopped engineering good cars several years ago.
 
deadlydave said:
As far as I know, the 2 doesn't have stability control. I get mine sideways every snowfall (and love it). The ABS is probably what you're talking about. It's *definitely* loud, but no worse than the noises from cars in a higher performance bracket like my Subaru WRX.

I test drove Fit vs Fiesta vs 2, and the Fit just barely lost out. Yaris didn't make the list, as I feel toyota stopped engineering good cars several years ago.
Click to expand...

What is that logo for on the top left? I thought stability control was required on all newer cars by law.
mazda-2-2015-malcolm-flynn-8.jpg


Yes it could be the ABS making noises. My Mazda 2 also went sideways in the snow, and a yellow light that looks like this logo was flashing on the dash.
 
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That is the stability control switch. The matching indicator coming on on the dash means either the DSC (stability) or just the TSC (traction) has engaged. It's on pages 5-20 and 5-22 of my 2011's owner manual.
 
c7scayman said:
What is that logo for on the top left? I thought stability control was required on all newer cars by law.
Yes it could be the ABS making noises. My Mazda 2 also went sideways in the snow, and a yellow light that looks like this logo was flashing on the dash.
Click to expand...
You're right, the law says 08 and up. I remember bitching about subaru's poor implementation of it on the 08 wrx.

Kumquats said:
That is the stability control switch. The matching indicator coming on on the dash means either the DSC (stability) or just the TSC (traction) has engaged. It's on pages 5-20 and 5-22 of my 2011's owner manual.
Click to expand...

Today I learned that my 2's stability control is a joke. And I'm ok with lift-off oversteer in the snow.
 
deadlydave said:
Today I learned that my 2's stability control is a joke. And I'm ok with lift-off oversteer in the snow.
Click to expand...

Yes it is pretty bad. I was driving for about 4 hours yesterday on the highway with the freezing rain and snow in Maryland and PA. Every highway overpass I drove under had black ice, and the car slipped at each one. I tried different techniques to avoid sliding under these overpasses. I tried letting go of the gas to coast through it. I tried maintaining my speed. I tried accelerating slowly. I kept the wheel as straight as possible, but I still slid every time.
 
No amount of stability control is going to save you when your tires are rolling on ice. Unless you are riding on studded tires, you are going to skid.

Reduce speed and drive safe.
 
Cool new safety feature discovered in the Honda Fit. When the front wipers are on and you put the car in reverse, the rear wipers will automatically turn on.

Mazda 2 - Does anyone else hear 1 or two ticking sounds after starting the engine? It happens about 2-5 seconds after turning the car on. I can't replicate it but I feel like it always happen while I am steering the wheel immediately after turning the car on. (Like when I am getting out of a parking spot. )
 
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