Comparison test: Toyota Yaris MT vs Honda City MT vs Hyundai Verna MT
The Honda City is a success story unlike any other sedan in India. It has been around for two decades and has been the best seller for the better part of those twenty years. In fact it is only last year that Hyundai managed to pose a serious threat to it with the new Verna. The Verna petrol automatic also won our comparison test with the City automatic, which speaks a lot about how Hyundai has upped its game. But now, the City (and the Verna too) must fend off a fresh challenge, from the Toyota Yaris.
As a brand, Toyota stands for bulletproof reliability and excellent comfort, virtues that have had buyers hold the brand in high esteem for really long. It was thus a given that when launched, the Yaris will ruffle a few feathers. And now that it's here, it is time for a face off against the Honda City and Hyundai Verna. Given that the good old manual gearbox still a thing, we thought it's best to let the petrol powered, manual versions of the three cars slug it out against each other.
Let's face it, all three cars are good looking. In fact, despite being around for a good five years the current generation Honda City still looks very handsome. LED headlights accentuate the design's sharpness while the sharply raked windscreen gives the front a dash of sportiness, though the rear has started looking dated now. The Yaris meanwhile follows Toyota's conservative approach. The styling isn't aggressive and Toyota has played it 'safe' once again. You cannot dislike the face but at the same time the design does not stand out in this company. I'm not a fan of Yaris's high-set headlights and tail lamps either and I also wish the gap in the wheel wells not as big as it is.
The Verna looks very European and more upmarket on the other hand with its rakish looking headlights, sharp grille and aggressively styled front bumper. The design and positioning of the tail lights is the piece de resistance though, thanks to the intricately styled LED clusters. The Verna is the best looking car here then â€" fresh, bold and aggressive. All three cars boast solid build quality, premium paint finishes and high fit-finish levels with pretty much no chance to complain on the build quality front and are matched evenly.
Interiors and spaceI have to give it to the Honda City in this department, be it for the sportiness of the beige-black interiors or the space. The dashboard looks particularly appealing with its black-grey plastics and I also like the 7.9-inch touchscreen's gloss black surrounds, as they make it look bigger. The flip side? The gloss black panel is a dust magnet. The Honda is the most spacious car in this test, particularly at the rear, as it boasts more leg and kneeroom by a significant margin. And the City's beige-hued seats accentuate that feeling further.
The Yaris also sports a beige-black-grey combination inside, but the lighter shade of its grey does not look as classy. Quality of plastics is good but the dash layout doesn't feel very premium, neither does it feel as spaced out as the City's. The steering wheel in the Yaris is large with a thick rim and I would have liked a slightly smaller wheel. What's more, despite being the second most expensive variant in the Yaris line-up, the V version you see here makes do with fabric upholstery unlike the VX variant of the Honda City here that gets leather seat covers. The Verna gets leather upholstery, but only on the top variant again.
The Yaris also does not feel as spacious as the City. The front passenger area feels slightly cramped in comparison and there's barely any space for the driver to rest his left foot in the foot well. The Yaris loses out to the City by a bigger margin in terms of rear space, as its cabin simply does not offer as much leg and kneeroom. What I did like about the Toyota's rear seat though was the angle of the seatback and the seat's contours which make it comfortable. But then, the Yaris isn't exactly a five seater like the City, and egress from the backseat isn't easy too, as the B-pillar restricts movement for your feet. The Yaris also offers the least amount of headroom at the rear â€" at nearly six feet tall I had my hair brush against the roof in the City and Verna but in the Yaris I could feel my head touching the roof.
The Verna's interiors follow the black-beige theme as well, and while I didn't particularly like the dashboard layout Rohit seems to like the design. The infotainment screen is a 7-inch unit but looks smaller, as it is flanked by air-conditioning vents and unlike the other two screens the Verna's unit is also more prone to picking up finger prints. Talking about the rear bench, the Verna only manages to feel as spacious as the Yaris but no match for the City. The Verna's boot is also the smallest, followed by the Yaris, while the City has the biggest boot here.
Feature and equipment levelsAll three cars boast elaborate feature lists, but each car has some features exclusive to it. For instance the top of the line variant of the Verna features ventilated seats which is a boon in Indian summers. The Yaris has the longest equipment list, though several features are on offer only in the top of the line VX variant. The Yaris also betters the Verna and City on the safety front, as it comes equipped with 7 airbags as standard. The City and Verna only get two as standard and even their top variants get six airbags only. The V and VX variants of the Yaris get disc brakes all around, unlike the City and Verna that do not offer the option.
The Yaris is also the only car in this test to come equipped with front parking sensors while its infotainment system offers gesture control, a first in the segment. One of the biggest highlights inside the Yaris cabin though are its roof-mounted rear air-conditioning vents. Having spent time in its rear seat I can confirm the vents do a better job of cooling the cabin as compared to the rear air-con vents in the City and Verna both. That however means that the Yaris does not get the option of a sunroof, unlike the City and Verna. In our books though, the roof-mounted air-conditioning vents are the more practical offering.
Engines, performance and efficiency
The Verna has the largest engine and highest outputs in this test, as its 1.6-litre engine offers 123PS and 151Nm. The City and Yaris are both powered by 1.5-litre engines. The Honda offers 119PS and 145Nm, while the Toyota is the least powerful at 107PS and 140Nm. The Yaris was the slowest in our acceleration tests, taking 12.37 seconds to get to 100kmph. The City is the quickest and clocked 10.85 seconds while the Verna is slower by just three-tenths at 10.88 seconds. That said, the Yaris does not feel excruciatingly slow thanks to the way its engine builds revs and its sporty exhaust note.
All three engines are excellent in terms of refinement and smoothness but the City takes the cake here. It also sounds sporty, especially once VTEC kicks in and the Honda engine is my favourite given its eagerness to build revs. The Hyundai and Toyota motors are up there in terms of refinement but aren't as quick to rev. The Honda gearbox is also the slickest â€" shifts slot in precisely with a reassuring click. The Verna's gearbox simply isn't as slick, while the Toyota 'box has a notchy feel, especially when downshifting from third to second.
But, the City gearbox is a five-speed unit which is a significant disadvantage in terms of fuel efficiency, as both the other cars use six-speed gearboxes. The City managed 8.34kmpl and 15.83kmpl in city and on the highway respectively in our tests, both being the lowest numbers here. The Yaris is the most efficient on the highway, returning 19.53kmpl though the Verna is surprisingly close at 19.1kmpl. The Verna surprised us even more in urban conditions by returning 10.19kmpl, which is higher than the 9.53kmpl the Yaris managed.
Ride and handlingThe new Verna is a massive improvement over its predecessor and I am really impressed with how well its suspension handles broken roads. The suspension is also stiffer now which has helped in improving handling and high speed stability. The Yaris one-ups the Verna though, especially when it comes to bump-absorption abilities. Its suspension offered a cushier feel going over the same bumps and the Yaris cabin also felt quieter over the bumps with barely any thuds. That said, the Verna's cabin feels quieter on the go as there was a fair bit of road and tyre noise inside the Yaris cabin.
The Yaris claws back some advantage in terms of handling though, boasting a more confident feel around fast corners and also feeling more planted at speeds. The Yaris thus comes across as a sporty, confident yet comfortable car as you would expect of a Toyota. The City continues to feel as sporty as ever and its handling does not disappoint, but it isn't as impressive as the other two in terms of soaking up bumps and potholes due to slightly tauter suspension setup. Going over the same set of bumps the City's suspension soaked everything reasonably well, but made for a noisier experience. The City thus comes across as the sportiest, though it trades off ride comfort ever so slightly in the process.
But, the City betters the other two cars significantly when it comes steering feel and feedback. Its steering offers a more direct and connected feel which makes it the most communicative of the three. The Yaris comes in second in this department, followed by the Verna. The Verna's steering has improved a lot but it still has an artificial feel, and you know the weightage has been dialed in on purpose. The Yaris also boasts better braking prowess, as it gets disc brakes all round and offers instantaneous bite, followed by the City in second place.
Verdict
Despite being the oldest car the Honda City has a lot going for it with its sporty demeanour and spaciousness. It continues to woo buyers and also brings with it the trust and reliability the Honda badge is renowned for. That said, the current generation City feels dated on several fronts now, especially in the company of the Yaris and Verna. It desperately needs a six-speed gearbox and higher equipment levels both. The Toyota Yaris is immensely impressive especially when it comes to equipment levels and it also has the best suspension setup. And goes without saying the Yaris is sure to ride high on the Japanese manufacturer's reliability quotient. However, the Hyundai Verna manages to come across as a better package overall. It is just about as spacious as the Yaris (though not as spacious as the City) but more importantly, the Verna matches its Japanese competitors move for move on the dynamics front now.
The Hyundai is also the best looking car here which adds to its desirability quotient, beside the fact that it boasts an impressive feature list too. What truly helps the Verna seal the deal though is its pricing. The fully loaded petrol manual version retails at Rs 13.49 lakh on road Mumbai, which is significantly lower than the Yaris VX petrol manual that costs Rs 15.34 lakh. The Honda City VX petrol on the other hand (top of the line ZX is available only with an automatic transmission) costs Rs 13.99 lakh which is higher than the Verna by a small margin. To sum it up, all three cars are pretty closely matched in terms of their packaging but the Verna's yawning price gap to the Yaris and superior equipment levels to the City help it win this comparison test.