2016 Toyota Yaris vs. Its Competition

John Voelcker

The 2016 Toyota Yaris comes only as a three- or five-door hatchback, meaning that competitors with hatchback and sedan models do better.

Most cars in the segment have more room inside, more cargo flexibility, better gas mileage, and/or more appealing driving characteristics.

The segment champ continues to be the Honda Fit, with the superb ‘Magic Seat’ layout that provides adult-size rear-seat space or a very low, flat seat-folding arrangement.

The fun-to-drive Ford Fiesta is among the smallest in the segment, and it's getting long in the tooth now, but Ford has continued to refine it—and its three-cylinder 1.0-liter engine delivers 37 mpg combined.

The Nissan Versa sedan and Note hatchback have unimpressive interior trims and a powertrain that can sound boomy and not very responsive (due its CVT tuning), but they're huge inside and ride smoothly.

If you're seeking comfort and refinement along with driving feel, the Chevrolet Sonic may be the pick of the litter, and its sticker price and EPA ratings remain competitive.

Finally, the Scion iA subcompact four-door sedan is the complement to the Yaris hatchback-only range, but because it's a new-generation Mazda 2 underneath, it's great fun to drive and gets superb fuel-economy ratings—37 mpg combined—that we expect it to deliver in real-world use.

We'd take it over the Yaris any day.