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

[BenoA]

@DonP

Congratz Don! I like those cars and if it was not of my need to have 5 seatbelts I'd be looking at the Challenger, the Camaro or the Mustang (a friend of mine got a 'Stang and it's fun to drive!)...

I've looked at the Volks Golf GTI but at that price I'd rather go for a Jeep (see the last part of my post)

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

Same here. This week I'll be going out test driving a few: Mazda 3 5 doors, Ford Fiesta 5 doors, Hyundai Accent 5 doors... And wife made me add the Chevy Cruze (almost same price as Sonic for similar options).

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...

Used Fit are very difficult to find here at the moment (I checked) or the owner asks too much for it. Some are simply stupid.

I'd go used if it was only me involved but the missus got a bad experience in the past and is afraid of buying used again. Anyway, some manufacturers are offering 0% financing these days. That may help but will not finalized my choice.

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There is still a lil' devil inside of me that keeps telling me to get a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited!

I know it's a gas guzzler... It's more expensive... But, I rented one during a trip in October and the fun factor is on the "high" side. You can remove the top and sit 5! And I bet that during winter it must be a blast to drive.

Also, I've read that owning a Wrangler brings a discease as strong as GAS is for guitar... Modding a Jeep can be very addictive!

In our times of economical distress, my rationnal side is telling me to buy cheap and good mileage... But the other side of me is saying WTF!

[goodwood]

Kia Rio (another blimp-frog looking car)
Hyundai Accent (kinda like this one)

These two are particularly outstanding IMO.
The Rio (5 door) is all new and has been labelled as the most fuel efficient small car. I can imagine that it is quite nice although somewhat unrefined. I drive the 2010 model so it was before the redesign...it was built on the Hyundai Accent platform (Hyundai owns KIA). The car cost $1000 more than the Hyundai Accent that I bought new 9 years prior.

I am 6 feet tall and I weigh 210+ pounds. the car is comfortable (although somewhat unrefined in the ride department) and came with a lot of features with a decent stock sound system and blue tooth built in so that when I get a call it rings over the stereo system. there is a mic in the dash to pick up your voice when you are responding to a caller or whatever. If I am going 110 km/h at highway speed people on the other end have said that it is pretty noisey but under those speeds there haven't been any complaints.

I have had the vehicle for over 2 years and have not had it in the shop for anything other than the normal service (8000 km or 4 months between service intervals). Bang for buck? Yes. It does tend to burn more fuel at 110 km/h and over...at 80 going steady, you could drive forever.

The Hyundai has to be very similar, and I think they have 6 speed automatic transmissions so that would be good for the fuel economy. My impression is that whatever works under the Hyundai banner gets 'passed down' to the KIA brand. Look for winter rims and tires in your purchase plan if you decide on KIA as many dealerships will add them to the deal, and right now there is no pay for 3 months going on (or ending very soon) with low financing rates.

[BenoA]

@goodwood

The Accent (with the Mazda 3) are both at the top of my list.

For 21k$ including our 15% sales tax here, I can get a somewhat loaded Accent(AC, 6 speed auto, powered windows, USB...). And that price was not yet negociated.

I've not drove it yet as when I stopped at the dealer I was on my lunch time, but from all the price for the various models in the past days, the Accent seems the best bang for the buck for sure.

And if you're telling me your Kia has been reliable... That adds to the equation. Hyundai/Kia are also offering full warranty for 5 years. They are the only one out there doing this.

I don't like the look of the 2012 Kia model but the Hyundai looks better. But that's from me and others may see it the other way.

[dg]

We bought my mother-in-law's '04 Civic (5 speed) from her recently to have an economical option for when we hit $5 a gallon. Not very inspiring to drive or much to look at, but we did get 43 mpg on a trip to MA last month. My neighbor brags about getting 48 in his Prius, but I don't see the point of paying the extra upfront cost or risking the unknowns about long-term maintenance once that warranty is up for 5 more mpg. Those Korean cars have gotten much better in recent years, but I'd still recommend the Honda or Mazda as known quantities that have a track record of great resale value and reliability.

[stevieb91]

@goodwood



I've not drove it yet as when I stopped at the dealer I was on my lunch time, but from all the price for the various models in the past days, the Accent seems the best bang for the buck for sure.

And if you're telling me your Kia has been reliable... That adds to the equation. Hyundai/Kia are also offering full warranty for 5 years. They are the only one out there doing this.

My understanding is that for those warranties to be valid, the only thing you are allowed to do to them is add gas and windshield piss, everything else has to be done at the dealer (oil changes, brakes, tires, etc,etc)...

[DonP]

Might want to check out Car and Driver or Consumer Reports just for fun.

[RacerX]

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/best-small-cars-two-great-two-good-and-two-more-comparison-test

http://www.caranddriver.com/comparisons/11-chevrolet-cruze-and-12-ford-focus-vs-jetta-elantra-and-mazda-3-comparison-test

[xenophobe]

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

That's nice. I considered getting the SRT Charger, but I didn't like the latest body change.

Someone should start a member's car thread!

[BenoA]

Thanks Ron! Will do some reading tonite!

[Drake S.]

Hey sent you a PM but I'll post this here also.

[Grim]

I'm driving a Mazdaspeed 3 for the time being and love it. Better than my G6 for sure

[BenoA]

Thanks everyone. @Drake thanks for the PM and everything related to your Suzuki. There is a dealer not too far from my place. I will go check them later this week.

Stopped by the Hyundai dealer on lunch time. Drove an Accent GL 5 doors auto.

For around 20.5k$ (including everything and our sales taxes) it had all the equipment I have in my car at the moment (A/C, auto tranny, powered windows, keyless entry...).

I'm not a big or tall guy so the driving position was easy to set for me and it felt confortable.

I was not expecting much about that car but did enjoy the ride when I test drove it. It's more geared toward confort that sportiness. You know, it's the kind of car that you get out and have nothing to rave about but also nothing to complain about except, let's say, that engine was a bit noisy under accelarations. The car felt solid on our bumpy roads here, steering wheel feel was decent and when I tried it on the highway, I can say it was stable and I would do long trip in it, not too much wind noise and a confy driving position.

I'll keep you all posted.

Next trip is the Mazda dealer.

BTW, guys, remember, here in Canada, our cars, even for the same model, are sold at a higher price than south of the border. It's weird but it's that way here. And then in Quebec, you gotta add 15% sales taxes over the final price!

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I managed to kill that lil' devil that kept bugging me about getting a Jeep. This will be a more "rationnal" buy than usual. As I don't want to break the bank, I think that keeping the expense low and getting something that offers a good mileage is the way to go.

[goodwood]

My understanding is that for those warranties to be valid, the only thing you are allowed to do to them is add gas and windshield piss, everything else has to be done at the dealer (oil changes, brakes, tires, etc,etc)...

No...I do my own tire rotation, I sometimes get the oil changed at WalMart and just keep the receipt. Brakes? Definitely a dealer thing. With such little maintenance it hasn't been expensive even when I do visit the dealership. In Canada, we also have safety inspections which vary province to province.

Suzuki is a killer here in Nova Scotia...not the great mileage that other small cars get and expensive parts. If under warranty, no problem but I lijke to have a car for years after it is paid for - I'd still be driving my 2001 Accent if 83 year old dude didn't T-bone it.

[BenoA]

@goodwood You are a Hyundai owner?

I'm like ya and would like to keep this one for a long time.

[j2379]

my nissan altima was great car. no complaints, no problems lasted 200K, i bought it with 40K, and had no major problems ever. i had a new alt and power steering pump done at some point, but other than that, oil changes, tune up and brakes. my sister had a mazda3 or 5, it was a nice car, drove great and has a much tighter ride feel than my altima.