I just bought a car last month. I had also been looking at the Fit and the Yaris. For me, the Yaris was a bit too small and didn't have as many features as the Fit. The Fit I test drove was an '08 model, not an '09. However, I had the same concern over the price. In the end however, I ended up buying a Nissan Versa. The initial attraction was that I was able to get it for over $3000 less than the Fit. Other pluses were that it had almost 4" more rear seat legroom, much better drive quality (less noise and vibration), and did not seem as cramped on the inside. Some other points that were pluses for me but maybe not for others were that it was available without power windows (break too often) and the sedan I bought was 7" longer than the hatchack and had a huge trunk for daily storage. Now for the drawbacks. The better ride comes from extra rigidity and thus weight so the gas mileage is a little lower than the Fit. And the Fit wins the appearance battle too, the Versa is just a plain little car. And although the Versa's front seats recline fully and the hatchback's rear seat folds down, neither has the fold flat seats like the Fit. The "swiss army knife" versatility of the Fit wins the interior storage battle also.
For me, styling was a side issue and the ride quality vs. mileage balanced the two cars out. I didn't figure the interior versatility and styling benefits of the Fit was worth paying $18K instead of the $15K for the Versa. The one thing that did make me consider spending the extra $3K was some of the reliability ratings I saw online. But deeper research on the Versa showed a lot of the initial quality problems reported were for the 2007 model, specifically a batch of bad fuel pumps, that seemed to have been mostly corrected in the 2008 model. And I saw no specific problems reported for the '09 modes, so I figured it probably wasn't worth the extra $3K since any initial problems such as were reported with the '07s should bbe covered by the warranty.
I have been very happy with the Versa since I bought it. Going from a V8 F-150 to the Versa did take some getting used to. But it was just the strangeness of a new vehicle after 10 years in the truck. Some differences due to the size, but nothing actually uncomfortable or objectionable. My only real complaint is the placement of the cupholders. The ones for the rear seat are fine sandwiched between the back of the front bucket seats. But the ones fro the front are not comfortable for me. I have the seats fully back, so the front cup holders are too far forward and awkward to use. You have to go over the gear shift lever and under the overhang of the dash. Temporarily, I am using an aftermarket cup holder that wedges between the passenger's seat and the parking brake. But that bloks the 12V power point and the brake, so I am looking for something better.
