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car shopping; advice needed
Topic Started: Sep 9 2011, 02:26 PM (1,227 Views)
Kassandra
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fwiw, I have test drove the Yaris and Ford Fiesta. The Yaris feels MUCH smaller and less stable than the Fiesta to me.

And with regards to the Prius, if you drive it like a "normal" car you slash the gas milage, so paying the premium for the hybrid is a waste of money. Stepping on the pedal or going 70mpg in the Prius totally negates having the electric drive, you wont get any better gas mileage than a compact gas car at half the price.
Edited by Kassandra, Sep 11 2011, 05:16 PM.
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DoubleWhammy
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I just did the car shopping as well, and ended up with a 2011 VW Jetta TDI...and I LOVE it. I've driven my fair share of cars, and it's more fun to drive than any of them. As mentioned above, these diesel sedans get excellent gas mileage. Even though I don't commute for work, I drive 70 miles round trip 4-5 days a week to ride, so I wanted something that wasn't a hog. Can't comment on longevity and such at this point, but I have zero complaints with it thus far.

Oh, and brother has an '09 Tiguan that he adores as well, although his isn't diesel.
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Kikki
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I would look at the Nissan Murano... While I don't have one, trainer does and they LOVE it, drive it A TON (I've driven it too and ridden in it a lot and quite like it), and it has never had a single issue
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SnackPack
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Kassandra
Sep 11 2011, 05:16 PM
fwiw, I have test drove the Yaris and Ford Fiesta. The Yaris feels MUCH smaller and less stable than the Fiesta to me.

Just out of curiosity, Kali...did you test drive the two-door hatchback or the 4 door hatchback (or sedan?). It just makes me wonder because anyone that has ever been in my car, front or back seat, comments on how roomy it is and that it doesn't feel like a small car at all. I know they aren't for everyone, but...I'm pretty darn loyal. :innocent:

(and goodness is the new Fiesta cute...still can't get over the name, though. the old Ford Fiesta's were sooooo ugly and didn't have great reputations).

onwego, the subcompacts definitely aren't for everyone. I think they are easiest to get used to if you have another car to fall back on. If you're doing the "I need an inexpensive second car with great gas mileage for commuting" purchase, they are easier to buy. And then you fall in love. At least that's been my experience.


Now...if I can just get two new "hubcaps" so I don't look like I'm driving the jalopy, it would be all good. :teehee:
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Onelanerode
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Kassandra
Sep 11 2011, 05:16 PM
fwiw, I have test drove the Yaris and Ford Fiesta. The Yaris feels MUCH smaller and less stable than the Fiesta to me.

And with regards to the Prius, if you drive it like a "normal" car you slash the gas milage, so paying the premium for the hybrid is a waste of money. Stepping on the pedal or going 70mpg in the Prius totally negates having the electric drive, you wont get any better gas mileage than a compact gas car at half the price.
Do you have a Prius? Have you driven one for more than a day or two? It doesn't sound like you really have that much experience with them, at least not the newer models.

I've never done better than about 42 mpg in a compact car, and that was all highway miles (up I95 heading to Washington). I average 50 mpg in my Prius, and that's city traffic and highways, usually in rush hour traffic, and I don't drive it any differently. The week I spent in the mountains I was getting close to 70 mpg with all the lovely coasting down hills.

But I didn't buy it just for the gas mileage. I bought it as a way of supporting a technology that was not wholly dependent on non-renewable energy. The electric motor is only one component of the technology, and yeah, it's "negated" at high speeds, but you don't drive at high speeds all the time. Every time you brake, you recharge the battery. Every time you coast, you recharge the battery (and your gas mileage goes up).

I'm not sure what "premium" you're talking about, honestly. We paid about $23k for our Prius; a Civic with similar features will go for not much less than that. I am not aware of any new compact car with similar features, performance and ride/handling that goes for half the price of the Prius. Even the Honda Fit we test drove was still $16k, and it wasn't the top trim line for that model/model year.
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Onelanerode
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onwego
Sep 10 2011, 06:47 PM
One concern I have is that these tiny cars that are very light weight will be a nightmare in bad weather. Has anybody found that to be the case?
Having good tires on a small car will make a big difference. My '99 Corolla was not fun to drive in bad weather, but the '10 Prius is not bad (I think having the battery's extra weight helps). My friend's '10 Corolla feels much heavier than my older model. But then the Honda Fit we drove felt rather light to me.

It is a tradeoff you make, unfortunately. Lighter, smaller cars do better on gas mileage, but they don't have the mass of larger vehicles and are not as solid in high wind/heavy rain.

If you're concerned about it, see if you can schedule a test drive on a rainy day. Then at least you'll get a feeling for what to expect before you buy it and are tooling down I40 during a summer thunderstorm. ;)
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Twiceshy
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Onelanerode
Sep 12 2011, 03:40 AM
Kassandra
Sep 11 2011, 05:16 PM
fwiw, I have test drove the Yaris and Ford Fiesta. The Yaris feels MUCH smaller and less stable than the Fiesta to me.

And with regards to the Prius, if you drive it like a "normal" car you slash the gas milage, so paying the premium for the hybrid is a waste of money. Stepping on the pedal or going 70mpg in the Prius totally negates having the electric drive, you wont get any better gas mileage than a compact gas car at half the price.
Do you have a Prius? Have you driven one for more than a day or two? It doesn't sound like you really have that much experience with them, at least not the newer models.

I've never done better than about 42 mpg in a compact car, and that was all highway miles (up I95 heading to Washington). I average 50 mpg in my Prius, and that's city traffic and highways, usually in rush hour traffic, and I don't drive it any differently. The week I spent in the mountains I was getting close to 70 mpg with all the lovely coasting down hills.

But I didn't buy it just for the gas mileage. I bought it as a way of supporting a technology that was not wholly dependent on non-renewable energy. The electric motor is only one component of the technology, and yeah, it's "negated" at high speeds, but you don't drive at high speeds all the time. Every time you brake, you recharge the battery. Every time you coast, you recharge the battery (and your gas mileage goes up).

I'm not sure what "premium" you're talking about, honestly. We paid about $23k for our Prius; a Civic with similar features will go for not much less than that. I am not aware of any new compact car with similar features, performance and ride/handling that goes for half the price of the Prius. Even the Honda Fit we test drove was still $16k, and it wasn't the top trim line for that model/model year.
What she said. ;)

I can get better fuel economy on ANY car (including the F350 at an avg of 16 mpg :o ) by driving more conscientiously... cruise control, speed limit, easing away from a stop... and Snacky's right - people are shocked at how roomy it is.

My commute is 52 miles round trip, roughly 1/3rd local roads and 2/3rds highway (at 75mph). My average fuel economy is currently 54mpg in the Prius.

They're not for everyone, just like I know with some degree of certainty the Smrt Car is not for me either. Drive many, narrow your choices and get what feels right for your situation!
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jillincolorado
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onwego
Sep 10 2011, 06:47 PM
One concern I have is that these tiny cars that are very light weight will be a nightmare in bad weather. Has anybody found that to be the case?
Ok here's the skinny on our VW's...we have a 2001 sedan V6 (pocket rocket). It was a great car got good mileage, BUT things did fall apart on it (door locks, auto windows...) We still have it but I HAT to drive it because of all the rattles and such, but it is still a good car.

When we went to buy the new Diese VW wagonl, I did some research when we were looking. The ENGINE in that car will last forever and it gets such spectacular gas mileage that it is saving us a ton. I would only buy it with the extended warranty (about 1,000 extra) and I am NOT a warranty person, but the one they offered us is awesome. 5 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first bumper to bumper. We also get our first two years maintenance free (oil changes, tire rotations, tune ups...) AND if we don't use the warranty we get that 1,000 back, so that's why I agreed to it. I am concerned about the body holding up, but to date I have had a BRAND NEW 2001 Dodge Durango that fell apart (transmission, auto door and locks...) and a Ford F250 crew cab truck (we all know how that ended) and several other used nice vehicles along the way. Not ONE of them has held up for longer than ten years. NOT ONE.

Bottom line is that I think modern mechanization and assembly practices have changed the auto game. The gap between "luxury" cars and "working models" has grown smaller and smaller.

FWIW Suburus are very popular here in Colorado and the people that have them LOVE them. I see lots of the older models around looking great and they handle the snow beautifully. That being said I also see a TON of the 2001 modle VW sedan that we have driving around. THey handle the snow very well too (front wheel drive) and we haven't had any problems with our new model on the serious snow either. It's very grippy on the roads.

I was also very happy with my Honda shaggin wagon and would buy a Honda again in the heartbeat (but hubby is die hard german car fan because of the engineering...his family works for VW in Germany). We test drove the 4wd honda CRV and is was fabulous!! Looked at Suburu but in Texas anyway they were pretty high priced with less "bells and whistles" compared to the Honda or the VW.
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Delia
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We have a Honda CRV and an Outback wagon. Love both of them -- good gas mileage (CRV gets better mileage -- averages around 30 -- but I think that's because my Outback is a V6 and CRV is a 4-cylinder). And both are very reliable. Mr. D drives the CRV and has a long commute, so he puts at least 30,000 miles on it per year. It has almost 100,000 now and hasn't needed anything but routine maintenance. It's AWD, and excellent in snow, heavy rain, etc.

This is my third Subaru wagon -- they just keep going and going. Sold my last one when it hit 160,000 miles, only because I was sick of driving the same car for 7 years! It had a manual transmission and I only had to replace it once, at around 110,000 miles. That's the only major repair I had on it, and obviously it's going to happen if you have a stick and hold onto it long enough. So a used Outback would be a good option. Not sure if a new Subaru Imprezza would be in your price range, but if so, check it out as well. Also 4-door and AWD. I have friends with Huyndai and Kia SUVs and they all are very happy with them.
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AstonMartin
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Kassandra
Sep 10 2011, 07:16 AM
The WV diesels have great motors, it is the fit and finish of everything else that is the problem. My DH is a German car mechanic, he wont let me buy a VW/Audi, not because they aren't good cars, but mainly because they are very difficult to work on and tend to fall apart more quickly than the others.

The real shame is that BMW does not import their small diesels. The 1 series diesels are awesome, they even have a 4 door hatchback.

But none of the diesels are less than 20k. The Ford Fiesta can be had for a lot less than 20k plus gets near 40mpg.
I have an Audi, and thus far, the first service (8k kms) was flawless. They took care of everything, i didnt pay a cent and they were so kind and helpful in getting me to and from work

I love my car so far. Its just a great little zippy thing. Most people who get in it love it as well.

The only drawback is that Marley (her name) takes premium fuel which is excy especially commuting a bit as I have been lately. It is about 85 dollars to fill and it holds just under 500 kms full (on the gage - not sure about reality).

It also has fun features I like that were standard ;)

I know they aren't 20K....I also know they aren't really well regarded before 2009 (they upped their game a bit in 2009) .....but German isn't always baaaad.

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Kassandra
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Is the meadow on fire?
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For the Prius, I was only making the point that when/if you step hard on the gas, and drive with a lead foot, you are negating the electric motor. Once you are driving off the gas motor your fuel economy will drastically decrease. So if you are looking for performance, and drive the Prius like a performance car and stomp on the gas all the time it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to drive a Prius! It's a pet peeve with me because we have all these idiots driving around in a Prius driving the damn thing like a sports car.

Maybe you bought one for 23k, but the cheapest around here was about 27k. You can get a base model Fiesta or Yaris for 13k, which is half the price. That pays for a lot of gas.

Oh and Snacky, it was a little Yaris (2 door hatch) about 3 years ago. It was roomy, but felt like it had less car around me than the Fiesta. fwiw I like both! I have been shopping for a new car but it's really hard to go from a BMW M3 to a sub-compact (I owned a Geo metro for several years, so I have driven tiny cars). I am really waiting for the tiny diesels to make it to the US.
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Buryinghill1
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Onwego, you drive really fast you use less gas, no?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/458-ITALIA-Coupe-4-5L-CD-Locking-Rear-Differential-/360386424433?pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item53e8b46e71
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AstonMartin
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BH1 - i think thats a scientific fact.

Today on the road i hit horrible traffic driving from TO to suburbia and I was able to do my makeup as I went. I think that is also another way to save in costs.....time = money right?
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Trixie
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I have a Mazda Tribute - the same as the Ford Escape. I adore it in comparison to my last vehicle, which was an Oldsmobile Alero that got decent mileage. The Mazda doesn't get great mileage, but I feel a lot safer - people kept hitting that damn alero and it was scary. I don't like commuting around DC in a tiny vehicle. Been there, done it, and done.

I had some rental car that was smallish and AWFUL in the wind. I also don't want to do that again.

Did rent some new Chevy not that long ago - it drove quite nicely. The Cruze, I think. Nothing fancy, but handled well and had nice pickup.
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onwego
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Buryinghill1
Sep 12 2011, 10:13 AM
And it's right down the road from me :clap:
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