Buying A Car!! ... Honda Fit , Insight Or Toyota Vitz?

[Junkfriend]

Hii guys...

I'm planning to buy a car for my wife. I'm kinda having a hard time choosing a one from the following specially since I'm buying it without her knowing. Its really hard to make a choice(have to think in a girls point of view .... .... I'm looking for a car with good looks (both inside and out), average maintenance costs and good on fuel for about 4mil. so far I have manage to narrow down my search to the following 3.

Honda Fit Hybride 2010/2011 Fully loaded - 3.6 - 4.1 Million (Unregistered or Registered)

Honda Insight EZ2 2009/2010 Fully loaded - 3.5 - 4.1 Million (Unregistered or Registered)

Toyota Vitz - 2009/2010 - Full option (8 Airbags) - 3.6 - 4.1 Million (Unregistered or Registered) - The reason I like this is that I have the impression that it would have low maintenance costs and better safety.

Any thoughts??

Edited December 7, 2012 by Junkfriend

[Supra_Natural]

You're comparing apples and oranges man, the Insight is a completely different category of car.

Between the other two, the Vitz will be slightly more economical and slightly cheaper to run probably, but the Fit looks a bit more interesting...

It all depends on what your wife needs, so perhaps you really should involve her in the process as well.....

[xlr8r]

you would be better off with a Fit hybrid than a Fit. Economical and it looks great...

[Junkfriend]

You're comparing apples and oranges man, the Insight is a completely different category of car.

Between the other two, the Vitz will be slightly more economical and slightly cheaper to run probably, but the Fit looks a bit more interesting...

It all depends on what your wife needs, so perhaps you really should involve her in the process as well.....

I wish I could man!! but its a gift for her b'day so I cant really ask her what she like ... yhh you are right I'm indeed comparing apples and oranges that's what it makes a hard choice .. I think Fit would score in all departments as its a very good well rated car but the only downside is its size..

Edited December 7, 2012 by Junkfriend

[Junkfriend]

you would be better off with a Fit hybrid than a Fit. Economical and it looks great...

yhh looking for the FIT Hybrid. Think I forgot to mention it in the post

[defendertdi]

u cn get down Honda Fit Hybrid for 33 lkhs ....it looks nice.....better than Vitz

[chan5]

According to what my one says.

They find prius and insight as nice car brand call "HYBRID".

With your budget,

i assume you can go for demio instead of vitz ,

it's cute looking in their book.

And peugeot 308 , yes i've seen few on your reach.

Sedans, they don't find it handy by the additionl boot always a problem for them when reversing.so a good looking hatch will does the job.

Vitz is used by all sort of el-chepos so i don't think that it'll give any personal feeling rather than a work horse,

and don't forget the automatic gearbox one with reverse sensor or camera.they are musts. :) .

Also the best thing is just randomly show and ask her "is that car nice?" when you drive.

So you can get a rough idea :)

[iRage]

The Fit is a lot more fun to drive than the Vitz. The Vitz suffers from the typical Toyota feel of numbness which is sometimes a bit worry some. Wife used to have an old Fit which she loved...so test drove the new version hybrid a few months ago and some how didn't feel as fun as the old one. Also hated the paddle shift. Can't figure out why they would put it if the gear box does what it wants.

According to the sales/tech rep who drove around with us, the way the Hybrid system works will be economical if you drive alot, as unlike Toyota's Hybrid it does not switch over but merely assists the gasoline engine by a % ? Strange I thought...anyway..the way I drove it and the fact that the place I live in now has plenty of mountains the Hybrid didn't do so well on the economical side.

Either way....yes you would be right in thinking that the Fit will be a better all rounder...has more of the puppy dog effect too

[GTAm]

Guys just heard something about Honda Hybrids from a Honda guy whom I have no reason to doubt. According to him the battery suffers from inadequate cooling in our climate and thus sharply reducing the battery life. The problems are just beginning to show their faces so it's early day, but it could be the first few sneezes before the avalanche.

The Toyota hybrids do not have this problem according to him.

[xlr8r]

The Fit is a lot more fun to drive than the Vitz. The Vitz suffers from the typical Toyota feel of numbness which is sometimes a bit worry some. Wife used to have an old Fit which she loved...so test drove the new version hybrid a few months ago and some how didn't feel as fun as the old one. Also hated the paddle shift. Can't figure out why they would put it if the gear box does what it wants.

According to the sales/tech rep who drove around with us, the way the Hybrid system works will be economical if you drive alot, as unlike Toyota's Hybrid it does not switch over but merely assists the gasoline engine by a % ? Strange I thought...anyway..the way I drove it and the fact that the place I live in now has plenty of mountains the Hybrid didn't do so well on the economical side.

Either way....yes you would be right in thinking that the Fit will be a better all rounder...has more of the puppy dog effect too

Maybe your sales person didn't know how to use the paddle shift.. Its really awesome when u want drive a lil fast.. It does down shift/up shift perfectly..

"According to the sales/tech rep who drove around with us, the way the Hybrid system works will be economical if you drive alot," Wtf that means? When u drive more its economical?

"as unlike Toyota's Hybrid it does not switch over but merely assists the gasoline engine by a % ? Strange I thought"

Guess u need to update your knowledge on Honda and Toyota Hybrids before u start shopping

"the way I drove it and the fact that the place I live in now has plenty of mountains the Hybrid didn't do so well on the economical side."

It may not do well when ur going up hill, same as Prius. It can come down only with the hybrid motor assist. That's where u save fuel. unless of course your planing to stay back in the hills.

[xlr8r]

Guys just heard something about Honda Hybrids from a Honda guy whom I have no reason to doubt. According to him the battery suffers from inadequate cooling in our climate and thus sharply reducing the battery life. The problems are just beginning to show their faces so it's early day, but it could be the first few sneezes before the avalanche.

The Toyota hybrids do not have this problem according to him.

You mean if driven with the A/C off?

[Dinukap4]

Wouldn't a Nissan march be a better choice for a girl ? May be in Light Pink But if you have ticked that out, then the Honda Fit Hybrid would look nice.

Cheers

Edited December 7, 2012 by Dinukap4

[GTAm]

You mean if driven with the A/C off?

Not sure what you mean xlr8r....

[The Don]

You mean if driven with the A/C off?

What GTAm says has nothing to do with the air conditioner because the battery is not cooled by the air conditioner. It will be through a series of air vents or heat pipes possibly over heat stinks if they are used.

[VVTi]

You mean if driven with the A/C off?

[soulja]

Honda Fit Hybrid is thumbs up. Try searching AL for a Mugen edition if your lucky. Comes with the complete kit.

[terrabytetango]

You mean if driven with the A/C off?

He means cooling of the batteries, not the passengers. The NiMh batteries and the inverter have their own cooling system. But yeah, next time take a moment to understand the written word before posting a question about it.

[xlr8r]

What GTAm says has nothing to do with the air conditioner because the battery is not cooled by the air conditioner. It will be through a series of air vents or heat pipes possibly over heat stinks if they are used.

Nope.. The vents are inside the car and it takes air from the cabin... so if your comfortable that means the batteries too are comfortable...

[xlr8r]

Honda Fit Hybrid is thumbs up. Try searching AL for a Mugen edition if your lucky. Comes with the complete kit.

Better yet with Panoramic Sunroof.. ;-)

[xlr8r]

He means cooling of the batteries, not the passengers. The NiMh batteries and the inverter have their own cooling system. But yeah, next time take a moment to understand the written word before posting a question about it.

looks like u have no idea about whats discussed here... aren't NiMh and Inverter little too big words for u?

Edited December 7, 2012 by xlr8r

[Crosswind]

Nope.. The vents are inside the car and it takes air from the cabin... so if your comfortable that means the batteries too are comfortable...

seriously?

that must be one hell of a technology eh? especially if the batteries only feel nice and comfy when the AC is on.

[The Don]

Nope.. The vents are inside the car and it takes air from the cabin... so if your comfortable that means the batteries too are comfortable...

Now, I'm not familiar with the insight enough to dispute your statement. But I will find it rather odd if the batteries are maintained at cabin temperature. I would be surprised if the optimum operating temperature of the battery would be reliant on what a user of a car determines to be comfortable and a car manufacturer designed a system to work that way.

I mean what if the user of the car fancied a bit of a tan and fresh air and had the windows down and turned the AC off?

[iRage]

Its really awesome when u want drive a lil fast.. It does down shift/up shift perfectly..

Actually, it was I who was driving and I have driven plenty of paddle shifts. Thanks for asking Just that the one on the Fit was a bit annoying...I loved the Stream's; personally I think it was more or less the combination of the teeny 1.3 ltr engine with that tranny that makes it annoying.

Since we are being technical and nit picky about the exact semantics....a paddle shift won't strictly mean faster...but I think we all know you meant "to be quick" instead :| Now granted you ability to be "quicker" might lend to you being able to achieve a higher speed (thus faster) within a specified distance than you would with a standard auto or a manual (albeit the latter would depend on the driver and the car)

Guess u need to update your knowledge on Honda and Toyota Hybrids before u start shopping

Sorry I should have emphasized more on the essence of what I wanted to say...too late for that now anyway...

Thanks for the advice and I did for quite some time actually as I had to cycle out my old car <which has been cycled out by the way> I am glad you seem to be so well versed in the intricacies of how IMA and HSD works and hope I can revert back to you for your valuable insight if needed. But if I may be so bold..might I recommend you look in to the parameters and thresholds for switching between the motor and the IC engine for the IMA and HSD ? Then you will see what I meant (well the sales/tech dude

) But...I apologize for not emphasizing the point directly.

As for shopping, the luxury over here is that the agents do not play a game of "Let's see who rips you off better and faster" with you when you shop for car.

It may not do well when ur going up hill, same as Prius. It can come down only with the hybrid motor assist. That's where u save fuel. unless of course your planing to stay back in the hills.

Okay...this is my bad..maybe I should have put it in better terms. The overall fuel economy of the hybrid did not justify the extra 300,000yen over gasoline variant. The initial tax breaks are quite attractive but when it is time to get the shaken done up after the first 2-3 years the taxes are exactly the same

@JunkFriend : My apologies for deviating from your original question...let it be hybrid or gasoline the Fit is much nicer than the Vitz.

But then it is a matter of personal preference as well...

Edited December 7, 2012 by iRage

[VVTi]

seriously?

that must be one hell of a technology eh? especially if the batteries only feel nice and comfy when the AC is on.

we had a kid in school machang, used to draw pictures of robots he claimed came and plucked coconuts from the trees around his house.... and then drew some insane looking cars he claimed was his dad's... Wonder if he had a kid past few years....

[Junkfriend]

According to what my one says.

They find prius and insight as nice car brand call "HYBRID".

With your budget,

i assume you can go for demio instead of vitz ,

it's cute looking in their book.

And peugeot 308 , yes i've seen few on your reach.

Sedans, they don't find it handy by the additionl boot always a problem for them when reversing.so a good looking hatch will does the job.

Vitz is used by all sort of el-chepos so i don't think that it'll give any personal feeling rather than a work horse,

and don't forget the automatic gearbox one with reverse sensor or camera.they are musts. :) .

Also the best thing is just randomly show and ask her "is that car nice?" when you drive.

So you can get a rough idea :)

Tnx bro! the only reason I liked the Vitz was that I felt it would be a safe place for her and my kinds with the 8 Airbags. I have manage to show her few rides while we drive and it seems she likes the Insight followed by da FIT. The insight is a decent car but I'm bit worried about the cabin space and it doesn't feel that cool to drive it in traffic in the other hand I drove a FIT yesterday (first time) and it felt absolute beauty to drive. Edited December 8, 2012 by Junkfriend

[Junkfriend]

Better yet with Panoramic Sunroof.. ;-)

I found one with a Panoramic but it was sold 1 hour ago and the sad part was it was sold only for just 3.9M ...