I dont think so. A friend got an Altis 1.6 X manual back in April. It has neither of those things. And if I am being honest here, it has much less grip than the Yaris 1.5 AND the old City. Friend wants to sell his Altis and get an Aspire after today's launch. He's a frequent highway traveler and needs the cruise control.
You are more than welcome to compare the two. The thing is, Yaris does not have stuff that comes installed from the OEM manufacturer. And for the person who needs basic features, the Altis is not a good purchase. The Aspire has weirdly wedged itself here with more features than both Yaris and Altis, but at a price higher than Yaris, lower than Altis.
The Yaris is nowhere near powerful enough to compete with the city. The Altis is, but is completely barebones as it is the lower spec for the 1.8. It's going to come down to what you value more in a car. Personally, the comfort issue is not really an issue I have noticed, having travelled for long distances in both cars. That might be due to me being younger than a lot of the users here.
To conclude, depending on what you need, both the City and the Altis can be a good choice at this price point. If you want something below 3 million, go for a Yaris eyes closed. Above that bracket, choose whatever you need. My personal preference leads me to choose the Aspire over the Altis 1.6, compromising size for creature comforts.
