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New smaller car
badpoet
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I'm looking at several smaller cars. I will be buying new, not used, and I live in America. I want good mileage (over 30 highway), good reliability, and good styling and interior comforts (moonroof would be nice, cruise is really wanted). In that order.
So far, I've looked at the Honda Civic, Fit, Hyundai Elantra, Nissan Versa, Volkswagen Rabbit, and Scion XD and TC. Of them, I've driven the Civic, Versa, Rabbit, and Elantra. Fit Sports are hard to come by around here, and the model changeover will be taking place in October.
I'm trying to keep it under $17,000 (the Civic is pretty sparse at that price), including Tax, Title, and License.
Am I missing any cars that I should be taking a look at? Anyone have good or bad experiences with the models I'm considering?
Thanks in advance.
So far, I've looked at the Honda Civic, Fit, Hyundai Elantra, Nissan Versa, Volkswagen Rabbit, and Scion XD and TC. Of them, I've driven the Civic, Versa, Rabbit, and Elantra. Fit Sports are hard to come by around here, and the model changeover will be taking place in October.
I'm trying to keep it under $17,000 (the Civic is pretty sparse at that price), including Tax, Title, and License.
Am I missing any cars that I should be taking a look at? Anyone have good or bad experiences with the models I'm considering?
Thanks in advance.
badpoet on
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Also, why buy new? Used is cheaper, easier and more environmentally sound.
I'd rather buy new. After looking in my area, used smaller cars aren't noticeably cheaper and I can get exactly what I want in a new car.
Hmm. If you aren't saving much money it's a tougher argument. Also, I only think in terms of hatchbacks, so we're probably thinking of different models of the cars.
edit: I'm talking about the 4dr sedan.
The dashboard seriously looks and feels like a spaceship sometimes. Which I enjoy.
-great milage
-the 2door coupe is pretty sharp looking with the rear spoiler
-you can get one brand new for 14 and can upgrade to the next class for under 17.
- Onstar
-great interior
Take a look. I think you'll like it.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Chrysler has nothing to offer. Dodge has the Caliber, which is a piece of shit. And the Ford Focus... I don't know what the hell they were thinking when they designed that. That chrome side grille is just terrible looking, as is the ass end. I almost wish I could wait awhile and buy a new Fiesta when they start importing/making them in '09 but I don't think that my current car will last that long (it's a Neon Sport that I got stuck with in my divorce and it has 193,000 miles on it).
Getting a Carolla with zero options would work, but wouldn't make for a great driving experience. It's a step higher than I want to spend. The Yaris is in my price range, but whether 4 dr. or 2 dr. hatch, it's the ugliest car I've seen in years.
Honestly, I think the appearance of your car matters too much to you. An under $20k car isn't going to impress anyone ever anyway, so you might as well just get a reliable, fuel efficient, comfortable car and screw the appearance. People who make snap judgements based on car appearances are going to make one based on how cheap your car was anyway.
The Versa is a good car, more spacious than you would think. It would be my second choice behind the Astra
But to be honest, just tell us what direction you're going in. Too many times these car threads turn into the poster just wanting his or her opinion re-affirmed.
The only thing is I'm not sure about the moonroof option. I will second the amazing gas mileage on the thing - I'm not hitting 40 yet but it is getting over 100 degrees here for the summer, so AC is an absolute must. One fun thing about the Yaris interior is that it has tons of places to put stuff. Three cup holders, three glove boxes (one right in front of you, two in front of the passenger), a couple trays next to the stick shift, a little hidden slot that you can perfectly fit an ipod or other mp3 player next to your wheel, and two areas where standard cup holders would go that you can store other stuff. Seriously, take one for a test drive and before you go anywhere, do a little exploring around the interior and find all the little places they give you to put stuff. I actually found a couple of places my salesman hadn't found yet.
To be fair, the Ford Focus is actually a EUROPEAN car, so blame them
PSN: Broichan
I would get the Versa with the CVT, sunroof, etc.
You know, I never really looked at the Versa much. I didn't realize they had a CVT model that they're selling in the US. The Fit has one but they only sell it overseas. Not sure why. Also, I see both the 2008 and 2009 Versas have dealer incentives and 2.8% on 2008s and 3.9 on the 2009s.
Hmm, now I will have to do more homework.
Thanks!
PSN: Broichan
1. Honda Fit
2. City Golf (tie)
2. Versa (tie -- she preferred the Golf to the Versa, but the Golf was at the top end of her price range)
3. Kia Rio5
4. Hyundai Accent
5. Yaris
So yeah, she's trying to track down a Fit now as well.
they rent the Mini Cooper, Honda Civic, Honda Fit, Mazda 3, Scion xB, Rabbit... and it's worth trying the cars out for a longer drive when you're investing in buying a new one
Here are my experiences:
i previously loved the Mini, but after driving it for a day, i'd never buy one... the cabin noise was overwhelming at highway speeds, and the visibility/blindspots were horrible even though it's basically a tiny glass bubble, and the stock radio/climate controls were atrocious... the handling is still droolworthy tho
the Fit is surprisingly spacious inside... great drive too, and great visibility
the Rabbit really works well...the 5 cyl engine, and the 6spd auto tranny really make it shine.. the interior was quite nice too, for an inexpensive car
but the overall winner in my book is the Mazda3.. it's hard to explain, but after a day of driving it, i was not tired, the seat still comfortably supported my butt, the controls were in logical places, etc.
No it is not.
The US model Focus is not the same as the Euro Focus, they do not even share body panels. Now the Mazda 3, that is a similar(the same) platform, to the Euro Focus.
I am another guy that will argue for the Mazda 3. I race autocross, in Dmod with a Scirocco(1st in the last three run events). Based on that, the Mazda 3 (I drive the wagon everyday) is a great car. I beleive it to be the best car you can get for 18K. I get 30mpg in a 15 mile route with 22 traffic lights. Good acceleration and great brakes. The car is comfortable. The AC is excellent(And this is NC with 100 degree days) Good storage with the wagon. Excellent stereo for the money and there is an aftermarket adaptor that will let you run your Ipod thru the wheel controls. I searched and tested the hotrod econobox segment and the 3 is the winner. The Honda Fit comes close. It is cheaper, gets a little better economy, has a little more storage space. But it is a lot(A whole lot) slower. I have yet to hear about someone compliment how slow their car is.
What is this after-market adapter of which you speak?
First, I know I'm not getting a Jaguar or Porsche, I just want something that I don't hate to look at. I don't feel like that's too much to ask.
Second, thanks all for taking the time to chime in. Lots of Yaris love here. I might go drive one and see, would have to be the 4 door sedan though. Also, I'll take another look at the Mazda 3. The Astra would be on my list if they offered air conditioning with the $16,000 model. I'm also going to take a look at the Focus, there are some nice cash rebates out there and Ford dealers appear to be much more willing to deal than Toyota or Honda dealers.
I'm really amazed by the number of smaller foreign cars that don't even offer cruise as an option. It's just strange.
http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=126602
Personally, I think it's a blast to drive even though it only has 138 hp in a 4 cylinder engine. I average 35-40mpg in a mix of semi-aggressive city and highway driving. I also like the fact that I have front, side curtain, side seat and rear curtain airbags, wheel mounted cruise control/stereo controls, air conditioning, power windows, remote power door locks w/ alarm, heated seats, 6 speaker cd/mp3 stereo w/ auxillary jack, power sliding glass moonroof, foglights, 16" alloy wheels and a rear spoiler. All but the foglights, alloy rims, sunroof and spoiler are standard on the GLS version which is the trim level most commonly sold. We opted for the next level up to get the extras.
I disagree that you cannot get a good looking car for < $20k.
Here are a couple photos of mine. (which has been tinted by a third party, not factory)
http://www.yarlan.com/images/avante7.jpg
http://www.yarlan.com/images/avante8.jpg
Basically, I only have the Suzuki SX4 Crossover left to test.
I disliked the Yaris S Sedan. The ride was nothing to write home about but the price was good. The Civic was a great little car, but a bit on the expensive side. The Fit is fun, but something is missing for me. I tried the Mazda 3 out and liked it. It turned out to be my runner up tied with the VW Rabbit (but the mileage on the Rabbit killed it for me).
My winner (unless the Suzuki completely blows me away)? An American/European car. The Saturn Astra (Thanks to the folks that suggested it in here). They've got some great deals right now that will allow me to get the incredible moonroof in my price range and it's a great feeling car. Nice interior. Seems to handle as well as the Mazda 3. Doesn't have the best power, but gets decent, not great mileage. Good powertrain warranty (although, the 3/36 basic is meh). And, even though it looks okay to good in pictures, the car is downright awesome in person. Both the 4 door and 2 door are really nice looking vehicles. The lack of MP3 input isn't a dealkiller for me (sure, it'd be nice, but I have my FM transmitter from my current car), and I guess you can add in a factory center console on it, so that's a concern that's addressed.
I'm still planning on checking out the SX4, because I really want to feel like I've given everything a fair shot, but they didn't have a manual at the dealership I checked Saturday. So, hopefully this week I try one out (there are only like 4 Suzuki dealers in the area).
http://www.scion.com
Gas mileage isn't mind-boggling, but it will get over 30mpg if you drive reasonable. The trade-off is that it's actually pretty quick. Mine is an automatic, but I would highly suggest getting a stick. The automatic gets the job done, but this car would be hoot in a stick.
As for options, I doubt you can beat it - it comes absolutely loaded and even has stuff like tire pressure sensors and brake distribution. The stereo even sounds great and has an iPod connector charges your iPod and interfaces with the dashboard controls (but don't worry, there's also an aux jack if you're iPodless like me!).
All in all, if I had the choice and I needed a new car I would just buy my car again in a stick.
The one thing you should note, though, is that it's not a small car. It's not huge, don't get me wrong, but it's deceptively large. It's not a problem (I live in San Francisco even), but it's fairly wide and longer than you'd expect. The plus side to that is that it can haul quite a bit of stuff / people. The roof line is weirdly low, but I'm 6'3 and it doesn't bother me. Backseat passengers should take advantage of the reclining rear seats to combat the low rear ceiling slope. Nobody has freaked out in the back seat (so it's not a Mustang), but it's worth mentioning.
Go test drive one! It's really worth giving it a shot.
But the European Focus is better than the US Focus anyway. Ford is bringing it over and eliminating their current US focus in a year or two.
Hmmm. Well most small cars with diesel engines would still make up for the price premium with gas consumption savings. At least my car does (Citroen C3). This is in Turkey though, where we pay $11 per gallon. Crazzzyyy.
Edit: Do you have the Fiesta in US?
It's really dumb -- Ford has had a significant lineup of small cars in Europe for a very long time. I remember the first time a euro buddy mentioned the Ford Ka and I was like "wtf are you nuts that's not a car that exists." Now that Ford is losing tons of money, they're bringing over their small car lineup, years, YEARS too late if you ask me.
And the difference here between diesel and unleaded has been pretty significant for a while. Unleaded's at around $4, maybe a little less right now, and diesel has consistently been 75¢ more since prices started going up over $2. But even if you wanted to pay more, you can't buy a car that runs on diesel now. There's a couple cars coming out in 2009 & 2010 that run on diesel and do get good gas mileage, but it's likely to have similar problems to many of the "standard" hybrids -- paying a significant premium in order to save money in the long term isn't appealing to a lot of people here.
My wife doesn't want a car that runs on unleaded, but she doesn't like any of the alternatives -- diesel is still gas, and hybrid is still gas. None of them are future-proof, so we'll just end up with our next car being a boring-but-cheap unleaded vehicle.
I'm not really a car guy; I just keep an eye on small or cheap cars because my wife and I will have to replace our aging corolla at some point in the near future. Our options aren't exactly inspiring, sadly, which is also why I've been keeping an eye on this thread.
I am glad American manufacturers are slowly understanding we are gonna run out of oil soon or later and people are now fully aware of large engines not being good purchases. I had an Audi A4 with a 1.8 liter engine in Virginia and most of my Americans made fun of the engine size. Now they are all emailing me to ask about some cars "that would save them gas money"
I would recommend Tesla for you wife but I guess that would be a little out of range :P I guess its best for you to wait a little longer. If Ford really is bringing those cars to the U.S., one of them would probably fit the bill.