I guess since I haven't seen any comparos on anything other than the Scon which is not available in the Philippines, and seeing as I now live here I thought I'd post my thought on all the models I drove, and my eventual decision.
I'm not trying to start any kind of flame war just my personal impressions on these models as they felt to me. I wanted a economy car that got better mileage than my 1984 BJ40 Toyota Landcruiser as well as a much more comfortable ride as the truck is really for hardcore off-road and is very harsh on the streets. So on the suggestion of a friend I drove the Kia Picanto 1.1L supposed to be P335,000 ($5,983USD) but they bumped the price up to P435,000 ($7,768USD) according to the dealer they were selling a lot of them so they boosted up the price P100,000. Anyway undaunted I finally got a test drive the route the deale wants you to drive is basically over the old bridge to Mactan Island. The bridge is not all that steep but steep enough for the Kia and I had to notch it down into 1st gear to make it over the bridge. Pretty gutless engine it felt like a fully loaded multicab and those are only 660cc engines! I gave the Kia a pass as it had not enough power for my needs.
Next up was the Hyundai Getz and Hyundai Matrix. First the Getz.
I'm not a Hyundai fan, never have been, seen too many reliability issues from friends over the years, nonetheless I drove one as the price was P477,000 for the Manual transmission Getz 1.3L ($8,518USD) This car was leaps and bounds over the Kia powerwise and the cost was reasonable. It was ok for power but the handling was poor and I drive a truck with 33" tires! But it was Ok lang. The seats only folded flat but were raised and you had to fold the entire back seat not a 60/40 split type. The ride was ok and in fact everything was just ok, nothing more.
So I drove the Hyundai Matrix with the new CRDI Diesel engine. This is the new 4 cyl. not the older 3 cyl even tho the displacement was the same. The price was P695,000 ($12,411USD) The matrix was comfy over the bumps which are all too common here. The speed bumps where I drove it were fairly gastly and no problem, the engine had a rubber band feel to it that some diesels tend to have where the engine spools up and then Zooom! you're off! Kind of disconcerting in traffic and my Landcruiser doesn't do that but then again it is a 3.5 litre diesel. The handling at about 45-50 mph (hard to get used to the instrument Pod being in the middle of the dash like that) was terrible! The tires were squealing in protest I'd hate to have had to take any sort of real corner at speeds that were higher and I am not a slow driver. The pregnant turtle loos didn't appeal to me, so it was off to see the Honda dealer.
Honda Jazz 1.3L CVT; M/T - 1.5L CVT; M/T
I didn't get to these dealers all in the same day it was over the course of 2-3 weeks and I drove the Jazz 1.3L CVT as they had no demo for the 1.3L Manual. Well it was ok but I dislike any sort of automatic trannys no matter how sophisticated they are so when a Manual came in I drove it, lots of power, great handling but I had some trips top go on to think about it and when i got back teh price had been up to PP624,000 ($11,143USD) up from P604,000. The dealer had a leftover 2004 model and I drove that. It had teh ABS and the Airbags for P664,000 ($11,858USD) However as it was a year end model I got a P40,000 discount so it was P624,000 ($11,143) This basically meant I got the ABS and the airbags for free. The power of the 1.3L was really quite good on the steep hills I tried it out on and teh handling was spot on and it was just such a better feeling car to drive and the Hyundai's had a truely awful horn in the middle of the wheel that you had to take your hand off the wheel to use it not so the Honda. Those of you in the USA don't use the horn much but here you'll use it all the time and i do mean all the time. So I decided on the Jazz 1.3L, but wait, what about the 1.5L? Well They had a black 1.5 CVT and of course I've have a chronic case of the speed bug, so before plunking down the Pesos I took it for a spin. What a car! it was all the 1.3 had plus 4 disc brakes much better seats a much nicer antenna that won't snag in parking garages and the suspension was much tight albeit a bit harsher and the steering wheel was not nearly as light to turn but quite nice. So I decided on the 1.5L Manual and I was told the next day not until late October, so as much as I really liked the 1.5L I wanted something sooner as the price was bound to increase for reference the cost of the Jazz 1.5L M/T was P724,000 ($12,929USD) For me it was worth the difference. I plunked down in cash P620,000 ($11,072) and I take delivery either today or tommorrow. If the 1.5L had been avauilable I'd have grabbed it as the power is quite a bit more especially on steep hills.
I broke the cars Pros and Cons down this way for my own use and I'll post it here so you can see what was going on. The main reason for getting the Honda Jazz over the considerably cheaper Hyundai Getz? I just don't have faith that a Hyundai will outlast a Honda and I have a friend who owns the Hyundai Matrix CRDi Diesel and if you drive one you'd understand the unusual power delivery is just a bit much, anyway here is the list:
Fuel Economy: I only care about City mileage as I know they are all better on the highway but I took all the city figures I could find and averaged them out.

Hyundai Getz 1.3L Gas
Pros: Cheap to buy, good on gas
Cons: horn is hard to use, rough ride, poor suspension, uncomfortable seats
City Mileage: 14k/l
Cost: $8,518
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Hyundai Matrix 1.5L CRDI Diesel 5 spd manual
Pros: Great Gas mileage, good power, diesel engine, comfy seats, soft ride
Cons: Poor handling, notchy shifter, rubber band engine response, Expensive to buy horn is hard to use
City Mileage: 13k/l
Cost: $12,411
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Honda Jazz 1.3L 5 spd
Pros: Power is good but not great, inexpensive to buy, great fuel economy, reliable, great shifter, great handling, Sporty, Popular so lots of parts, horn is easy to use, inexpensive to maintain,
Cons: kinda rough ride quality, 2004 model, no color choice
City Mileage: 13 k/l
Cost: $11,143
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Honda Jazz 1.5L 5 spd
Pros: Great Power, great handling, comfy seats, slick 5 speed, can pick the color we want, good economy, Popular so lots of parts, reliable, horn is easy to use, inexpensive to maintain
Cons: kinda stiff ride, most expensive to buy! fuel economy not as good as the others
Mileage: 11 k/l
Cost: $12,929
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That's the way I saw it and I made the choice and I'm happy with it.
I tend to over research things but I'm usually happy with the result. I think if someone just couldn't afford the Jazz 1.3 then the Getz would be an ok choice but not for me, just didn't feel good driving it. The Honda was just so superior in form, feel and fit.
I hope this info can help people in some way.
Steve

 

Steve, you should be a car magazine writer! :-) You did a great job reporting on the various cars. I think you did the right thing buying the Honda. Your report made me think of when I bought my Honda Civic Si some years ago. I had a Ford Fiesta that I really liked, but it started to fall apart after 100,000 miles. I bought the Honda, and my first impression was that it did everything the Fiesta did, but it did it so much better. I ended up having the Honda for 13 years and almost 200,000 miles, and it was a great car. If I end up buying the Fit, I'd hope that it would last as long as my Civic. Can't wait until they get here.

 

Thanks, I just wanted to write a comparative review. The Philippines has a limited amount of new cars to compare and since I drove them all but the new Suzuki Swift which I will drive later on. I thought a review would help. I've had about 3 Civics great commuter cars although I never owned and Si version. I did drive a 1998 Civic Type R about 2-3 weeks ago, Probably be great on American or Japanese roads but not on roads here. I think those looking for a nice economy car should at least look at the Jazz/Fit it's much more impressive than the cars I drove. Size wise I lifted up the rear seat and put in 2 11 kilo cooking gas tanks. No drama at all. Gotta love the way the seat setup works.
So is it time for you to replace you other Honda?

 

I sold my Honda in 1999, and the wife & I bought the Weak Dog Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. :-) I call it the Weak Dog because it has a 4 cyl and automatic. It's fine for daily driving to and from work, but getting on the freeway is sometimes a problem - not too much power. The truck is a 1996 and now has 117,000 miles on it, but it's pretty faithful (except for the starter - had to replace it twice). I like the looks of the Fit and would love to get one. Have to see what happens next year $$-wise and then go from there. I hope your car is a good one and gives you years of trouble free driving. :-)