Honda City vs Hyundai Verna vs Toyota Yaris vs VW Vento – Shootout

Driving Dynamics – The Toyota Yaris rides really well and it is safe to say that its ride is the best in segment and it feels very plush. Sharp potholes, broken roads, none of these bother the Yaris and it just glides on smoothly. The City has a flat and comfortable ride at high speeds but at low speeds it feels a bit stiff. It’s not uncomfortable by any means though. The Verna gets a mildly stiff setup for low speeds but the suspension has a tendency to thud when you encounter bad stretches. The Vento’s ride is again on the stiffer side but the suspension is quite pliant.

The Volkswagen Vento is the best handler here with great body control and sharp reflexes. Following the Vento are the City and Yaris. While the City is known for its fun to drive nature, the Yaris comes across as a surprise because it holds its line nicely on corners but the downer here is that the steering is devoid of any feedback while the City’s steering feels much better. The Verna has improved over its previous generation but the steering still doesn’t generate the kind of confidence that we’d want. In braking, the City, Verna and Vento have almost similar stopping power but the Yaris has an upper edge with its all 4 discs.

Safety and After Sales Service – Toyota has excellent service with low running costs and unbeatable reliability. Hyundai and Honda also offer very good service and are known to be trustworthy in the long term too. It is here that the Volkswagen feels lacking because service isn’t as great. In the long run, the Yaris is likely to be the cheapest car to maintain but spare parts on even Honda and Hyundai cars are known to be a bit on the pricier side, especially after the warranty is done and dusted with. Volkswagen cars are known for their niggling issues but there shouldn’t be anything utterly troublesome with the Vento because it isn’t as complicated as its bigger siblings.

Safety kit on these 4 sedans is more or less similar. The City and Verna get 2 airbags on the lower variants and 6 airbags on the top variants. Meanwhile, the Yaris gets 7 airbags on the top variant while the Vento gets only 2 airbags on every variant. ABS, ISOFIX mounts and seatbelt pretensioners are standard on all cars. In addition, the Vento DSG comes with ESP and Hill Hold while the Yaris also gets TPMS, Hill Start Assist and Vehicle Stability Control.

Verdict – Picking a winner is tough because all of these cars have something different to offer. I’ll try and sum it up neatly – if you’re an enthusiast who loves driving and wants strong performance but you don’t care about rear seat space or getting a slightly older car in the segment, get the Vento because it is the most fun to drive car here. If you’re someone who wants a car that is engaging to drive yet offers a complete package in terms of space, practicality and features, I’d recommend the Honda City. The Verna is also a very good package and the diesel variant is highly recommended if you don’t mind the less space at the rear. The Yaris doesn’t offer anything extraordinary, it is a no-nonsense car that will comfortably take you from Point A to Point B and who knows it’ll never even break down but it is priced at a premium and the petrol variants are actually priced closer to the diesel variants of its rivals.

Further Reading –

Honda City Review
Hyundai Verna Review
Toyota Yaris Review
Volkswagen Vento Review
Hyundai Verna Video Review
Toyota Yaris Video Review