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I am curious about these vehicles that I am seeing more of these days. I've seen 2002-2004 models of the above on TM but feel the low list price maybe is hiding problems. Can you comment on them please. Visibility, reliability, fuel economy, parts availability etc.

Many thanks.

Hi there,
These cars are a little unknown and not something we have had the opportunity to test out. Specs for imports can be a little tricky to obtain, as for parts I imagine they would be ex Japan or used on the off chance there has been any wrecked in NZ.
The Porte is based on a Toyota Vitz, doesn't seem to have a cvt transmission and would be my pick of the two (imports can vary so check the transmission type). The Honda has a CVT transmission and could potentially be problematic like the Honda Fit of the same years.

Thanks. I thought parts may be an issue because they are relatively new to the NZ market. I have been doing research and there are so many complaints about the Honda CVT in all different Honda models, so I am staying well away from them. I think I will stick with our all round favourite Mazda Demio. They are so popular now that it is difficult to buy one as they are snapped up so quickly. Cheers