Small car shopping... Confused! What are you driving?

[BenoA]

Hey guys,

Was a lil' off from the forum lately. Took a vacation and been busy since I've been back.

I hate car shopping! I keep my cars for a long time. Been driving my Honda Accord for the past 9 years.

My wife got a new job and will need to a car to go to work. I've been looking at small cars. Damn these things are not sexy. Trying to keep my budget as low as possible...

Only 3 things I need to have are: room for 5 (even if it's a lil' bit cramped), A/C and auto tranny (wife prefers auto when stuck in traffic). Kinda weird that the options bumps the price on these thing so quickly. It's crazy. Even worst here as you gotta add our 15% sales tax.

Some models I've been looking at:

Honda Civic (fugly outside and even more fugly dashboard)
Honda Fit (looks like a inflated frog and there is a 2 months waiting list)
Toyota Yaris (also ugly and only 4 speed auto!!! My old van had this in the 90s). :think:
Mazda 2 (also only 4 speed auto)
Kia Rio (another blimp-frog looking car)
Chevy Sonic (as expensive as a Cruze)
Ford Fiesta (like this one except for the gizmos inside)
Mazda 3 (new Sky active thingy bumps the price!)
Hyundai Accent (kinda like this one)

Anyway, I'm just curious about: if you own a small car, what do you drive and do you like it (any comments about your car)???

Next week, I'm going to do a blitz of test driving many of these small cars.

Any comments welcomed!

BTW if fuel was not sky rocketing here at the moment, I would be getting a Jeep Wrangler 4 doors, but I gotta save some money for future gear!

[markD]

i drive a cadillac and a volvo, but i have a few friends with small cars. of your list, i like the mazda 3. it is comfy on longer trips, reasonably quiet inside, and looks "less cheap" than some other smaller cars.

[Electric]

I have a 2007 Mazda 3 and I like it. The mileage is pretty good and it is comfy (as far as small cars go) for 4 adults. 5 adults would be cramped to put another person in the middle of the back seat, but kids would be fine sitting 3 in the back. My wife is actually looking for a new car in the next month or so and we are looking at getting her one of the new Mazda 3's with Skyactiv.

[Mr Sandman]

Only 5 litres of Aussie muscle will do for me but for the list you mentioned I say the Mazda as well... They are the most comfy and handle great. Also you`ll notice on your test drives the acceleration is also quiet impressive compared to it`s competition.

[84sups]

Have you checked out any of the Scions? They come loaded with features you have to pay to upgrade on other brands. And if the Chevy sobn ic costs as much as the Cruze why not get the Cruze instead? They are actually built pretty nice too.

[DonP]

How much more is a Sonata? We use this as a rental car for trips between Cinci and Nashville. Gets good gas milage and has descent room.

Might be out of your budget, but during the winter we had a Mazda CX9. Seems like a lot of people are making cars that look just like these. I guess minivans are out and crossovers are in?

[Drake S.]

Take a Look into the Suzuki SX4 Crossover, or I would suggest The Scion Xb. I have the Suzuki SX4 & it came with alot of extras .
It seats 5 they come in 5 speed & automatic. I'm 6'6 & I fit into this car with ease & it is a 5 speed stick. I fill it up every 2 weeks.

[BenoA]

> Mazda 3

It's on the top of my list. Will be heading to a dealer near my job on lunch time Monday.

> Scions

I've checked them, here in Canada, they are in the same price ball park as the others and they are mostly fugly cars. You don't see them much on the road around here.

> Sonata

I kinda like the "upscale" look they give this car, but I already have a 4 door sedan, a Honda Accord, that I plan keeping a lil' bit longer than I thought as I had to put a lot of money into it after a transmission failure (see http://www.carcomplaints.com/).

> CX9

A bit over the price what I was planning to put into a new car. And I'd like the car to offer some good gas mileage.

Thanks everyone for your comments and ideas.

[Shawn Lutz]

Back when gas spiked really in 08 and cost me $100 to fill up my V8 F-150 SuperCrew I got rid of it and bought a new Honda Civic coup (two door model). I have factory wrap kit, biggest rims it can take and wide tires. Only option I didnt get were leather seats and the Nav system. I love the thing. It gets up and moves for a little i4. I blow by all the hyper milers out there starting slow as a snail to save fuel consumption. I get on it and she moves but I still get about average 27 miles to the gallon and most of that is city driving. Its supposed to 25c/35hwy. I actually like the heads up dash.

I was pretty much in the same market as you. A lot of thos i4 just seem so cheapy made. My primary motive was MPG's and of all the cars I thought the Civic EX cpe looked the bets. The Mazda 3 was a close second but I picked the Honda, fun car to drive and with the wrap kit and tires it is a one of a kind little sports car. I would buy another one too and I might do that next year and give this one to my son.

[sully]

My wife has a Fit and my son has an Aveo (which is now the Sonic).

When I traded in my Element (which I really liked), she decided she'd get something that the three of us could fit in, along with being able to fit the dogs in from time to time.

She test drove a Mazda 2 and a 3, a Ford Focus, a Kia Soul, and maybe a couple of more things that I'm forgetting. She got the Fit; of the cars she drove, it had the most interior room, and the fold up "magic seat" in the back is awesome for the dogs. It's a little tough for me to drive because I'm just slightly too tall to be as comfortable as I like, but I like the car just fine. It also feels more solid than the others that she tested out.

Sully

[stevieb91]

A friend of my wife had a Hyundai Sonata that was in a 60 mph collision. A pickup pulled out in front of her daughter and she slammed it without having any time to react at all (no braking), and the only injury to her was minor whiplash and some bruising from the seat belt. As far as the car goes, it is totaled, but for the size and type I am amazed at how in tact the vehicle really is. Might be worth a look if you are so inclined..

[BenoA]

Thanks guys!

I looked at the Civic but can't get over the super ugly dashboard in the 2012 model. Who the hell designed this? I know Honda are reliables (I own one and except for the transmission failure it's been quite reliable), but, why that Star Trek interior?

For the Fit, a friend of mine owns one. I tried it and really like it but I was told at the dealers I visited that there is a 2 months (even more) waiting time before I could get one and I will need the car in early May.

As for the Sonata, as I said above, I already have a large 4 door sedan and I'd rather get something else as I will keep it.

[Axegrinder87]

In my experience, Honda makes some of the best cars on the road, and the worst automatic transmissions.

I remember the Mazda 3 being the best in class for quite some time, and the hatch is quite attractive.

For me it's a toss up between the Mazda 3 and the Ford Fiesta.

[DonP]

A friend of my wife had a Hyundai Sonata that was in a 60 mph collision. A pickup pulled out in front of her daughter and she slammed it without having any time to react at all (no braking), and the only injury to her was minor whiplash and some bruising from the seat belt. As far as the car goes, it is totaled, but for the size and type I am amazed at how in tact the vehicle really is. Might be worth a look if you are so inclined..

With the way my boss drives, this is good to know. I was in a head-on just like this back in 2007 when I was driving a small car (Saturn SL2). I looked like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces gone. Spent all of April 2007 in the hospital. After that, I decided if I'm going to go out, I'm going out in style. I bought a 2007 Acura TL Type S. Lots of room, fast, good gas milage (30 on freeway cruising). I don't like the current TL's. I'd go for the TSX that looks like my old TL, but damn, they are close to $40K now. Mine was $38.5K back then, and I got them to take $4K off of that.

And I know it has nothing to do with this thread, but I fucking love my year old car!

[RacerX]

Benoa, do you absolutely need to buy a new car? How about a slightly used 2009 or '10 model, with a lot of the depreciation hit taken by the first owner? Try a 2 year old Fit or Mazda 3...