Toyota Yaris Cross vs Ford Puma vs Skoda Kamiq: 2021 Small SUV Comparison Australia

Forgive you for not keeping up here, there's been so much activity, so many brand new name plates in the last 12 months that it is genuinely hard to keep track. But what you need to know for this video is we've got the three most recently launched examples which we're going to stick head to head over. Here we have the much hyped toyota yaris cross over. Here we have the important for the brand ford puma and here behind me, we have the skoda kamik, which we think flies under the radar a little bit and we know what the comments are. Gon na say mazda cx3 where's that give us the volkswagen t cross ram 1500 review that, but remember there'll, be the kia sonic launching into this segment shortly and we'll want to stick that in a comparison test too so stay tuned. Also, we have reviews of every single car mentioned so far over on carsguy.com dot. A? U, where you'll be able to read the full written review of this comparison test as well, so check that out and as always, remember to hit like hit subscribe, hit the bell notification icon, if you're watching on youtube to stay up to date with all of our Latest videos let's take a look at how much each of these cars costs and which specs we have today. For this, video we've also included chapter markers for each key section and if you're watching on youtube, there will be links in the description below Music.

First off we'll, look at the skoda kamik. As with all skodas. It gets less airtime than perhaps it deserves and shares its underpinnings with the yet to launch scala, hatch or the more familiar volkswagen t cross. Ours is in base 85 tsi guys and wears a before on road cost of just under 30. Grand next up is the ford puma, an important model for the future success of ford in australia. The puma is based on the fiesta hatchback and has the brand's latest design language and also offers its latest features. Ours is a base model, simply called the puma and wears a matching price tag to the kamik of just under 30 grand. Finally, we have the yaris cross it's, based on you guessed it, the new generation yaris hatch and at over 30 grand it's, the most expensive car here, that's, because we have it in mid grade. Gxl hybrid two wheel drive guys because we wanted to find out if toyota's signature, hybrid tech would really set it apart from the others. All of these cars are incredibly well equipped, so to go through. Every spec item would take an eternity, but here are some important ones. Every car gets a multimedia touchscreen, although the yaris cross has the smallest unit at seven inches, while the others both have eight inch units. They are also all apple, carplay and android, auto compatible, but only the skoda can have wireless carplay, albeit as an option.

The puma and yaris cross also score built in sat nav but again it's part of an option pack on the skoda, while the yaris cross is the only car here to miss out on wireless phone charging. All cars have digital instrument screens, but only the puma misses out on a fully digitized dash. The skoda easily takes the win in this department, with its truly impressive virtual instrument, cluster that it shares with volkswagens and audis. All cars get push start ignition, but only the puma misses out on keyless entry. The skoda is the only car to score a powered tailgate and comes with a whole bunch of other goodies which we'll explore in the practicality section. The puma is the only car to score a massage function in the seats and the yaris cross is the only car with a standard front and top down parking camera. Finally, each of these cars gets a pretty healthy safety. Suite and we'll take a closer look at that later too Music, despite each of these cars, trying to appeal to a very similar demographic at a very similar price point, each one takes quite a different approach to its design language. While we know that this is a bit of a subjective area, we'll take a closer look at each one and point out some notable things. First, up let's take a look at the skoda at first glance, it's the most conservative of the three but the more.

I look at it the more i like it. There are so many little details like the pattern work in its led light clusters and the detailed grille element which is made up of tasteful materials down the sides of the car. I like its stout top and tail. It also has huge wheels and is the lowest writing of the three here, giving it the sportiest demeanor round the back it's brought together neatly by those pattern: tail light clusters and skoda letterwork. In fact, this car looks so much like a hatchback that it's really for someone who doesn't want to look like they're driving an suv. I love that, but it is the most serious business of the cars here. Next up, we'll take a look at the ford puma, which wears the brand's latest design language out of europe. It certainly looks european with all of its bubbly curves and it's the kind of car that just demands your attention. You just can't, stop looking at it. How can you turn down its smiley face? I like the line that starts with these bubbly led clusters, then works its way over the wheel, arches in the roof line and descends into the profile for a coupe style. Look round the back. It finishes compact, with equally quirky light clusters height wise. The puma falls in the middle of the three then finally there's the yaris cross. It brings some of that youthful attitude of the yaris hatch, while clearly fitting into toyota's busy suv lineup in the office, though its face proved controversial, so maybe it's not quite for everyone.

It is the most suv like of the three cars here with its tall boxy roofline and tiny alloy wheels there's a bit of intrigue in its looks, and some may prefer its japanese style compared to the euro designs of the other two. If nothing else, it represents an alternative to the conservative, looks of the skoda and the overly attention grabbing style of the puma, which do you prefer tell us in the comments, but let's go. Take a look inside Music. Now before we start. I want you to remember that the yaris cross is the most expensive car of these three and for the money it's hard not to be disappointed. Now, don't get me wrong. There are some cool things in here. I like the funky dash cluster. I, like the cascading cutaway of the dash design. I like the wheel too that's really cool, but the seats proved to be the least comfortable over the long term. There'S no padded surfaces for your elbows, and this is also the only car without a center console armrest box and that really kind of lowers the cabin ambience in here, which is a bit of a shame. There is a good reason for that which we'll get to later, but the real killer is the quality of the plastics they're. Just the cheapest nastiest feeling plastics of the three cars on this test and well for the most expensive car here. That'S a shame. Now the back seat of the arrest cross does have a few issues, and one of the main ones is that door doesn't actually open very far, which could be really annoying if you're trying to fit a child seat or something like that load some luggage.

Now, behind my own seating position, it is quite tight: i've barely got room for my knees, and the headroom is a little low too, especially with this descending roofline and that conspires with these windows here, which are heavily tinted, and this high belt line here. It just makes it feel like a bit of a claustrophobic space, the seats aren't that comfortable either and there's no power that's all vents for rear passengers, but the yaris has something that the other cars don't get and that's this lowerable center. I don't know what you call that back of a seat. It has some cupholders in it and it acts as a bit of an armrest too. So that could be a little bit more comfortable over a longer trip here in the ford, and the first thing, you'll notice is how narrow and tall it feels and while you'll definitely get used to it after spending some time behind the wheel once you're hopping in And out of the other cars on this test, it is a notable downside for maybe a larger person, a taller person. One of the other things we noticed here is none of that is helped by how close all of these dash fittings are. The screen is very close to your face, but for that reason it is quite ergonomic with all these buttons and toggles and everything's really easy to use while you're driving. The other thing i like is how spongy and solid the wheel feels and it's it's quite fun to hold while you're driving, although there is a bit of a wow factor missing here, it's, just one big slate of gray material.

It doesn't have a digital dash, like the other two cars and it's missing a bit of the fun factor of the yaris's interior or the classiness of the skoda it's. Just a bit plain. One thing that is good is the seats, are the only ones here that have a massage function as standard in this base? Car and there's nice padding for your elbows and a small console box too in the back seat of the puma. Here the doors do open a little bit wider than they do in the yaris cross, but you still need to duck down quite a bit just to get under that descending c pillar. There. I have a little bit more knee room and maybe a little bit more head room in this car than i do in the aris cross 2. But because of these black cladding pieces, it is still a little bit claustrophobic in here i'm pretty comfortable. The seat. Cladding is pretty good, although there are cheap sort of nets on the backs of the seats and again there's no adjustable air vents or power outlets for rear passengers either. The skoda feels as much like a hatchback on the inside, as it looks like from the outside there's, also, a notable jump in interior quality and seat quality in this car than there is over the other two. All the materials in here are excellent. There'S varied textures. Nice leather touches and even like little bits of suede on the seats here with excellent padding too.

The multimedia system is really easy to use with shortcut buttons, but our car. We actually found that the apple carplay and android auto system didn't work we'll, be forgiving. We'Ll put that down as a glitch, but it does have a big wow factor, especially with that virtual dash cluster in there it's just the best by far of the three cars here now. The other thing you'll notice is you've, got excellent, padding for your elbows. Even the door in here it's, just really nice, like there's, a solid layer of it and the center top box console it's got one of those as well with a little bit of room too compared to the other two cars on this test. The skoda is luxurious. I'Ve got miles of knee room, i've got miles of headroom, and the door here opens the furthest by a long shot. I also feel like it's a bit of a glass house in here with all this window space, so it feels the least claustrophobic. I also feel like it's the widest here too, and it continues with the nice seat, trim and padding for your elbows as well it's, also the only car of the three which gets adjustable rear, air vents and two usb c ports: excellent Music. Okay. So how about cabin storage? The skoda gets a small triple cup holder in the center, none of which could fit our test bottle large bottle holders in the binicals in the doors and a large area, with a charging bay for your phone under the climate controls, but bring a converter because there's Only usbc there's also a decently sized center console box and bottle holders which also couldn't fit our test bottle in the rear doors.

Of course, the skoda comes with its collection of simply clever tricks, including an umbrella hidden in the door, a particularly useful in australia, ice scraper in the fuel cap and an absurd amount of nets for securing objects in the boot. Next up is the puma, with a similar small, triple cup holder on the transmission tunnel, small bottle holders with binacles in the doors, a tiny center console box and an odd little angled nook with a wireless charger for your phone there's. Also, a tiny bottle holder in the doors for rear passengers and nets on the backs of the seats. Finally, we have the yaris cross. It has two large cup holders in the center, a third one accessible for rear passengers, a large bin under the climate unit and a shelf under the media screen both suitable for a phone annoyingly. Neither of these are rubberized, so they could easily disgorge their contents. There are also small bottle holders and binnacles in the doors while in the rear seat. The yaris cross is the only car to score a set of large drop down bottle holders and a single bottle holder in the door that only just fit our test bottle. How about boot space? Well, this one's too close to call with all three cars landing very close to each other in terms of sheer capacity. Each one also has its own trick. The skoda has the aforementioned nets and little extras. The ford has a huge underfloor area, while the yaris has a floating floor and individually folding rear seats.

Two of our competitors here have very similar engines. The skoda kamik and ford puma both have one liter, three cylinder turbocharged petrol engines with healthy outputs. They sound like fun but we'll get to that shortly. The really different option here is the yaris cross. It has a slightly larger three cylinder engine with no turbo but it's mated to an electric motor as part of toyota's hybrid drive. It still has the lowest overall outputs of all the cars here, though, how much of a difference will this make behind the wheel let's find out so here in the puma? I feel like we're sitting quite far off the ground and just like how narrow this car is. I think it's something that you're going to get used to over time if you actually owned one, but it is a little weird getting out of the other two cars and into this next up is the steering which is fast and direct, but it's almost too much. So it almost makes this car feel a little twitchy. I was surprised to find how confident it was through the corners. This is definitely the corner carver of the three cars we had here and when we had it on a bit more of a spirited drive loop in the national park, it was the most fun of the 3 2, so it kind of does live up to its Exterior promise a bit, it is the most powerful of the three cars here too, and that dual clutch doesn't mess with the formula too much, and it also seems to have less turbo lag than the skoda.

The ride is on the firm side, but not uncomfortably so, and it really does help that it has sensibly sized 17 inch alloy wheels as well got to say as well. The puma has the most satisfying engine tone of these three too it's, really cool, it's kind of graph and unexpected that having been said, it's also really quiet in here. In fact, i think it has the quietest cabin of the three cars on test and so that's really good too. So i think overall, if you're buying a small suv that you want to have a bit of fun in. You could do worse than the puma. It is really quite a bit of fun and it lives up to that exterior promise really well Music. So the skoda looks like a hatch. It feels like a hatch and i'm pleased to report. It drives like a hatch too it's, not for someone who wants that big commanding view of the road it's more for someone who wants to ride low down and feel like they're a bit more connected. The kamik has really nice light, steering that's really friendly around town, but it doesn't lack that feel either. So it can still be quite good on the freeway when it comes to the kamik's ride. It'S really well settled over almost every surface. The only area where it approaches its limits is when you hit those really sharp bumps and that's, not because of the ride at all, it's more because of those giant 18 inch alloy wheels.

The 18 inch alloy wheels are also the only thing in here that takes away from the cabin ambience, because other than that, this car is pretty well silent, but it's just a little bit of tyre noise coming in and a little bit of noise. When you hit those harsher surfaces that just comes through the wheel comes through the suspension, you can hear it in the cabin i'd really like to try this car with something like 16 inch, alloy wheels just to see how that feels so that 85 tsi engine doesn't Sound like much, but it gets along really well once you're in that torque band, which doesn't take long – and i bet you're wondering – is that volkswagen sourced dual clutch automatic going to be a problem, and the answer is well only a little bit it's. Only at t junctions, where you get caught out because there is quite a bit of turbo, lag to get over and it can conspire with that. Stop start system to cost you a precious few seconds. One of the other small things we noticed about the skoda's drive was that when you're on those more uneven surfaces, there's a little rattle coming from some of these plastic fitments in the dash that's a little annoying. But i don't know if it'll get better over time and so altogether the ride is less fiddly, not quite as firm feeling as it is in the puma it's quite settled just over all surfaces and probably the quietest and the best on the freeway too.

And despite its flaws, it really makes it out of the three cars on this test. The most upmarket feeling drive experience, and that was a surprise to find. So here we are in the yaris cross. I have to say again it's a little bit disappointing behind the wheel. It'S got that signature. Toyota hybrid drive, which i was hoping in front drive, would feel just like the corolla, but it just doesn't it doesn't quite cut it it's silent and then suddenly that harsh three cylinder engine cuts in and just takes you out of the immersion and it's. Such a shame and that's, because otherwise there's a lot of characteristics about this car, which are perfect around town it's, got really light. Steering we did a reverse park test in this car and it was by far the best one from a low speed. Steering point of view it was the easiest to park, and it also has that electric torque from a get go that is just unbeatable like even though the other two cars don't quite have that glitchy dual clutch take off that you might expect them to this car. Just takes the cake from that instantaneously, silently available torque, but then again that engine cuts in and just takes you out of it, especially under heavy acceleration, which you're going to need to do a lot of. Because this car has by far the least power. And you can feel it. This car also feels the most like an suv of these three, and so, if you are after that commanding view of the road, i think this car has an even better view than the puma in terms of overall ride and handling.

I think the yaris cross doesn't feel quite as good compared to its competitors as the yaris hatch, and that was a real surprise to find too there's also a harshness to its ride compared to the other two cars here. It seems quite soft over the front, but then it's quite harsh, over the rear, and that leads to some uneven moments. A lot of the road is also communicated to the cabin and that's, despite this car having by far the smallest wheels of the three on test here. But all that having been said, you'll also get the excellent hybrid drive and it is really sipping fuel around town, and this is where it's going to be at its best, not out on the freeway. So overall, where does that levi yaris cross? Well, it has a lot of really positive aspects really honed in on driving it around a city. But then, once you step out of its comfort zone, it becomes the worst of the three here by quite some margin, and that was a bit of a shame to find, but doing the grocery run. This car might still be perfect for you, Music. One car should be a clear winner here, the yaris cross with its hybrid system, and it easily took the crown. Not only does it have by far the lowest claim, but it also landed the closest to that target. Number in our real world driving loop, it has the added bonus of being able to run on 91 unleaded.

The puma had the highest claim, but in the real world landed between the others, while the skoda had the highest real world consumption and variance from its claim. But was still within reasonable bounds, considering our test loop, both the puma and skoda require mid grade 95 unleaded for their turbocharged engines. All three cars here score well for safety, although at the time of filming only the yaris cross was yet to receive an ancap rating. The puma and kamik, on the other hand, have 5 star ratings to the 2019 standards. All cars have healthy, active suites, considering the fact that none are top spec variants, all have freeway speed, auto emergency braking and all have land keep assist with lane. Departure warning blind spot monitoring is standard on the yaris cross, but optional on the puma and kamik, while only the yaris cross misses out on driver retention alert and only the kamik misses out on traffic sign recognition. Adaptive cruise is standard on the kamik and yaris, but is an option on the puma. The yaris cross has eight airbags with two centre ones for front passengers emitting a center console box, while the kamik has seven, including a driver's knee airbag, and the puma is left with the standard array of six for full breakdown of our safety items. Hit pause for the table on screen: all cars have five year and unlimited kilometre standard warranties. All cars also have twelve month or fifteen thousand kilometer service intervals.

You get one year of roadside, assist with the kamik or coverage for the length of each pre purchase service pack, it's included with genuine ford servicing on the puma, but you have to purchase it separately when it comes to the yaris cross. All cars have cheap cap price servicing, with the yaris cross being by far the cheapest. The kamik's low service costs require you to pre purchase five years of servicing up front, while the puma is slightly more expensive than the others for a full breakdown of the ownership. Facts hit pause on your screen to see our table Music, while all three cars here have a really similar intent, it's clear that each one also has a distinct personality. The skoda is conservative and sensible. The ford is fun and new and the yaris cross is economical and really honed in on that city purpose, but against our eight review criteria, which you can read all about over on carsguy.com dot, a? U we did have a winner and it was the skoda kamik. It just feels a cut above the other two cars on this test in most areas, and we did the old office poll, which one would we rather actually own over six months, no other cars, and it was the kamik by quite a clear margin. What do you think did we get it right? Let us know in the comments below and as always hit like hit subscribe, hit those bell notification icon buttons to stay up to date with all of our latest Music reviews.