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All this time I’ve had my heart set on the cube. Its clean corners and funky windows captured my little car-freak self.
But, I know I need to be realistic and try multiple options.
So I’m open-sourcing my car decision.
I’ll accept any comments, personal experiences, offers to go test-driving with me, etc. I have the month of March to weigh all the options, and then will purchase the car for my birthday in April.
Let me introduce you to the players:
Honda Fit
Nissan Cube
Nissan Versa
Ford Focus
Toyota Yaris
Hyundai Accent
Hyundai Elantra
Pontiac G3 (being shut down by GM)
Scion
Suziki Sx4 (been eliminated by Dad)
Chevy Cobalt
Here are the parameters:
- Must be under $17k
- Monthly payments must be less than $300
- Must have 4-doors, fold-able back seats
- Better than average gas mileage (i.e. over 30 city)
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Check out consumer reports if you haven’t already. It’s fairly inexpensive to just pay for one month. But they recently did an article on cars and the Honda Fit was very highly rated. My parents just got one and they’re very happy with it. Plus I just love the orange color.
The hubby has a Ford Focus and I think it’s a great car as well. It’s held up really well over the years.
I love my Scion xB but it is just over your price limit and does not get 30mpg in the city. More like 24 and 30 on the highway. Maybe the xD is cheaper and better millage, I don’t know.
Since Scion may be out on price, I’d do the Cube or the Fit as preferences from your list.
Hey Katie – So knowing you have good taste in high-end cars, I’m glad you crowd-sourced your small car list cause it’s a little lacking.
I think my biggest surprise was that the Mazda 3 didn’t make it on the list. I know the list price is just outside of your price boundary at 20kish but with the rebates an incredible 0% apr the payment is only ~$30/month more for a lot more car still getting 29mpg (~$333) (assuming you’re credit’s stellar since you’re shoppin new cars)
I noticed that your criteria doesn’t specify that you have to buy a new car.
So that puts preowned Mini Coopers within range, 07′s got 30 city 37 hwy.
But heck, I think you might even be able to snag a Mini Cooper S which are wicked fun and still eek out 29 / 36 hwy (supercharger actually gives you MORE fuel economy on the hwy). Cars you will love. Not cars you will put up with. *sigh* i just re-noticed your 4-door requirement.
Life is too short for econoboxes.
Alright but going down your list:
Honda Fit – awesome car but wait list, not doing deals
Nissan Cube – no way, ugghhhfhfhhhhjgjjgfjhjhdghfghfdgdfh too many reasons to hate this thing. will get keyed in parking lots.
Nissan Versa – yes. these are fun to drive and the 2 ppl i know who have them love them
Ford Focus – the outgoing model is unimaginative but reliable. The incoming model is nice but if u can wait a little longer the sportier hatch will be on the way. – Have you checked out the coming Fiesta? Top Gear gave it a pretty good show.
http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/fiesta/
See this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLhnLJl4TZA
Entire Proper Road Test part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Zy78tFPQwQ&feature=related
Most expensive road test part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYIyCmcuQno&feature=related
Toyota Yaris – hard to get, no deals, great but tiny, over-rated, overpriced. fun to drive.
Hyundai Accent – yeh, no.
Hyundai Elantra – meh – i think u could get a Sonata and have a much better car, but not really what u want.
Scion – bloated and heavy now, kind of lost it’s soul imho. A preowned ‘box’ older one would be better.
Chevy Cobalt – no no no, please god, no.
I’m not a fan of Fords, but I really wanna check out the new Ford Focus with all the cool new features. I’ll test drive with you!
Also? My coworker has a Yaris and it feels like I’m riding in a paperclip.
Kia Forte Coupe, Kia Soul – both have same mileage as Cube does.
Nissan – 36-month / 36,000 mile limited vehicle
Kia – 10 year / 100,000 mile warranty program
Kia – Five-star frontal crash rating
We have two cars in our household that are on your list. My original Scion xB and my wife’s Toyota Yaris (4 dr sedan version).
Here is my observations based on our cars:
Mileage: Yaris (>35mpg) over xB (~30mpg)
Price: xB (3k less) over Yaris….both under 17k for new, out the door
Monthly Payments: Really based more on the interest rate and term. You can shop for auto loans as there are plenty of great low rates to be had.
Doors: xB (5 doors, rear seat folds for almost 40 cft of space) over Yaris (4 drs, limited storage due to smaller sedan shape)
Fun: If you’re going to share Yaris with a tall block with long legs, you might be in for a rude surprise…guys like me or Joe cant drive this thing for too long without hurting our kneecaps. xB isnt much more fun to drive with its distinctive styling causing bad aerodynamics.
Safety: They’re both as safe as a car can be.
Standard features: xB over yaris simply because of how Scion line is sold as one style one price concept. yaris sells along the more conventional ways of base model and optional packages.
If I were to expand that list, I’d include Mazda3 as they’re pretty good as well. I’m not sure of their prices though.
And if you’re brave enough, there are good bargains to be had on Toyota Corrollas and Camrys at the moment with their recall beating they’re taking in terms of consumer confidence.
I drove a Versa for a long time (Hatchback version) loved it. Seems to hit all your points. The new Cube is pretty awesome and built on the same platform so it will drive and handle similarly. The cargo space in both is surprisingly large.
Also the new Fit is pretty nice but some people don’t like the visibility caused by the shape of the rear end.
The Cobalt is a POS and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. The Focus is nice and I’ve not played much with the new one but it looks great – Ford has done a good job making the Focus its best car on the road.
The Hyundai’s are a decent choice and if you’re going to look at those as mentioned above the Kia’s aren’t a bad choice. Both brand’s quality has extended beyond their reputation at this point.
Not a fan of the Yaris – especially because for the same pricing you can get a Versa for more stuff.
Basing on payments is a bad idea (at least up front) as there are lots of ways to get a payment to a certain number. First pick the car you want
I have owned a Yaris for 2 years. Amazing gas mileage, comfy, inexpensive and NO PROBLEMS. I recommend!
Eliminate anything that’s not foreign if you don’t want your car breaking down near 70-100K miles — unfortunately American cars still do not have a great track record for longevity. (That eliminates the Ford, Hyundai and Chevy, although I think Ford is the best American brand of those three.)
I’m not an expert though. This is just my observation from owning American & foreign cars myself (and from friends & family). Whatever you get, see if a good warranty is available and check to see that it doesn’t have any major recalls:
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/recalls/
(click on “search for a recall”)
Best of luck! Neat idea, I’ll have to try this when the time comes for me to get another car.
great you are posting this! having to make some car decisions soon as well, this will be a great reference!
Buy the Consumer Reports magazine and look into all these more. Opinions are opinions, but trusting “the experts” like CR could do you some real good.
I won’t tell you what I like off your list. Check the reviews, test drive and look at insurance and resale too. Pay more for insurance but resale is better? That doesn’t make sense because you’ll be spending your resale savings. Right? Think of everything and get back to us.
Everything Matt Clower said is right on, so I won’t repeat but I will add:
VW Golf or Jetta TDI
Used BMW 3 series
Subaru Impreza
Stick with well built quality cars with conservative styling. The crappy little econo-boxes are cute but will be out-dated in a few short years. Then they start to fall apart. You’ll be embarrassed to be seen in it and back in another showroom to sign up for more car payments. New cars are not worth it unless they are something really really special and you just can’t wait.
Reconsider the 4-door. You’re too young. A used Cooper S convertible would be right up your alley.
Thank you everyone for the comments. They’ve been incredibly helpful!
I do want to speak to two points made in the comments. It has been suggested that I should consider 2-doors, as well as leases and used cars.
The reason for the 4-door requirement is a result of my owning a 2-door Ford Coupe the last 6 years. While sporty, I move lots of stuff for work and personally, as well as often take my dog when traveling. I desperately want the extra space, as well as extra doors so Layla doesn’t have to step over my seat to get into the back.
As to why I am not considering leases or used cars, I’m incredibly hard on my car. I drive 300 miles a week and have driven my current car cross-country 7 times. A lease is not practical financially, and a used car may not live up to my needs.
Mustang. And it must transform on command.
Dodge Caliber appears to sit just on/outside of your requirements but I rented one and loved it. I’m a truck guy (b/c I use them as trucks hauling big stuff)
and this is one of the few cars I would consider buying. I packed three welders, a generator, and a plasma cutter in one driving back from Kingman. Gas mileage was good both ways (with A/C on), handling was great! (especially for the weight 1,000+ lbs) in the mountains, and the car doesn’t look half bad.
Wow thanks Kevin.
Okay knowing your situation better I have some more notes:
Re kevin’s list -
VW Golf or Jetta TDI – I just want to take this opportunity to bash VW, I’ve got a $60k VW Touareg in the garage and it is the most overengineered, unreliable pain in the ass ever, and I can’t recommend any VW product because of it and if you want backup stories ask @tambre about her Jetta. Did I mention that both her Jetta and our Touareg both had gasoline leaks the same same month last year (ours flooding the garage… with gasoline… honestly, if it had resulted in the loss of that thing, I wouldn’t have been sad, just saying)
Used BMW 3 series – I have one of these in the garage as well, it’s awesome, but out of the price range sadly, and you have to be committed to these things once they are out of warranty and it won’t be convenient with your use model, you really need to have friends who fix em.
Subaru Impreza – Man if only the hatchback Impreza was a little cheaper, this thing might be the perfect car for you knowing how you use cars and the reliability you expect. I’ve crewed on 2 rally teams with Imprezas and they are bulletproof… wonderful excellent cars. My buddy has 350k miles on his Legacy. Could score one pre-owned in the price range and have a couple years of warranty, but you won’t need it.
The case for slightly pre-owned is extra-dramatic depreciation right now, there is just a glut of driven cars out there and few buyers, so there are massive bargains to be had, with ‘almost’ brand new cars.
The Kia Soul is cool, 24 city /30 hwy tho (in use probably higher). Big fan of Hyundai/Kia (close partners as Hyundai is the largest shareholder in Kia, many cars share platforms etc) and their reliability numbers and customer satisfaction are up there encroaching on honda/toyota. 10year/100k miles has to be tempting since you drive a lot.
I think all things considered tho, I’m gonna stick with the Mazda 3 advisement
This is fun, I like talkin cars.
Couple quick thoughts….
I agree with the folk suggesting to look at Consumer Reports. I have always found them a great resource for purchases like this.
With that being said, I didn’t look at Consumer Reports before I bought my previous car which was a Ford and it was far and away the worst car I have ever owned. It was in the shop 8 times in 2.5 years. It was terrible. I found Ford’s quality to be well beyond bad.
I have always had very good luck with the big three from Japan when it comes to quality: Honda, Nissan and Toyota. I know Toyota made some bad decisions and is getting beat up in the press but I love the Toyota built vehicle now that I am now driving. It is a great vehicle. I would look at the cars from those three automakers on your list.
I’m not a fan of Fords, but I really wanna check out the new Ford Focus with all the cool new features. I’ll test drive with you