Mazda2 vs Toyota Yaris 02/24/2011
Hatchbacks are some of the most affordable cars on the market today, with some available for less than $15,000. We recently compared two of the cheaper options, the Mazda2 and the Toyota Yaris, to see which offered drivers the better value.
The Mazda2 retails for $14,180, while the Yaris is notably cheaper at $12,855. Both vehicles are backed by a 5 year/60,000 mile powertrain warranty.
In many ways, these cars are evenly matched. Both vehicles skimp on the extra features in favor of saving drivers money, and have little standard features to talk about. They also both feature manual transmissions, with an automatic costing extra. However, there's enough of a price difference between the two cars that the automatic Yaris actually still costs less than the manual Mazda2.
Neither cars offers much under the hood either. Both feature four-cylinder engines. The Yaris gets 106 horsepower, 103 lb-ft of torque and 29/36 mpgs. The Mazda2 just trails in every category, with 100 horsepower, 98 lb-ft of torque and 29/35 mpgs.
Looking at the two vehicles side-by-side, we can't figure out why the Mazda2 costs more than $1,000 extra. The Yaris is the better buy.