Hey guys, I have been driving my 1999 Toyota Corolla around for 6 years now and I think I am in the market to get something new or newer. We also have a 2005 Honda Pilot that the wife typically drives (she takes care of 2 kids in addition to ours during the week so she needs something bigger). Right now the Corolla is just my personal to and from work car which explains why it has 95000 miles on it at 12 years old but the next car I want to be a little bigger so the wife can drive it on the weekends so we can get better gas millage and save some miles on the Pilot (it is up over 140,000 miles already).

Both cars are paid off and I am not looking forward to a car payment but something a little larger and a that feels a little better is a requirement to make this work. I cant go too big because I have to be able to get it into the garage beside the Pilot.

I went and took a look at the Cruze tonight, mainly because I was curious and needed to start somewhere. I think the size is about right and I like the idea of onstar. I know the other typical recommendations will be another Corolla and the Civic, The Corolla is off the table because my mother in law got one a few months back and is having some problems with it (so the wife says they are all off limits). I am planning on looking at the Civic but wanted to know what else you guys recommend. I would be looking for something three years old at most and relativly low miles (if we start using this as the family car we can really rack up the miles) we can afford the car payment of the Cruze at its $18,000 but lower is of course better. Not really looking for performance and good gas mileage is a plus. Thanks for your input.

11/22/2010 8:39:51 PM

I really like my Civic. It's a 2008 EX model with about 16k on it. I get around 32 MPG normally and don't exactly pussyfoot it although I don't rag on it like I have nearly every car before it. The driver/passenger seat are way more comfy than I expected from anything in that class. It's not a luxury vehicle by any means, but everything seems very tight and high quality for the price of the car. The stereo is decent, but not great...4 or 6 speakers + a sub iirc. It has aux inputs for your MP3 player, sunroof, remote locks, cruise control, etc.

I think Car & Driver or Road & Track did a shootout a few years back that put the Mazda 3 GT as the top car in that class, so you might want to look for that by searching their websites. It had quite a bit more horsepower and better handling than the other cars it was up against iirc.

[Edited on November 22, 2010 at 8:53 PM. Reason : l]

11/22/2010 8:52:17 PM

Civic, Mazda3 or Hyundai Sonata (the new model). That car is just badass.

11/22/2010 11:33:57 PM

If you want something bigger, how about moving up a class? Accord 4cyl would be a logical starting point. I've also heard really good things about both the Malibu and the Fusion of recent vintage. You should be able to get into any of those at a year or two old and low miles for under $20K.

11/23/2010 8:39:46 AM

As it is we can fit the old school Corolla into the garage but the passenger side of the car is typically too close to the wall for people to get in and out easily. I have some very narrow shelving on that side I can remove but it isn't going to gain me much which is why I am looking on the smaller segment size. We do need to be able to fit 4 comfortably and squeeze in 5 occasionally so the fit size vehicles are out. Length isn't an issue, I might have to move the freezer but the garage is plenty deep for anything I would be considering.

As far as the Sonata, the new ones look to be priced a little higher than I want to put into it. Is the new model just the current model year or do 2010s fit into that as well? It looks to have significantly more power than the other cars I am looking at but still has good gas mileage. I will have to check it out.

In previous car searches I honed in on a particular model or brand pretty early in the search and I am trying to stay more open in this search.

11/23/2010 12:31:18 PM

Sonata is going to be closer to Accord/Camry/Fusion/Malibu/Altima in size. The comparable Hyundai to the Civic/Corolla/Cruze is going to be the Elantra.

11/23/2010 2:38:53 PM

^^The 2010 is the current "new" model I believe. I think the standard motor is the 200 hp 2.4L I-4.

A new Elantra is coming out shortly that puts the current model to shame. If interested in that model at all I'd wait to see the new one; either to buy it or buy the previous gen after it's resale plummets.

11/23/2010 3:37:26 PM

Quote :

"Hyundai Sonata (the new model). That car is just badass."

My wife and I just got a 2011 Sonata after our 08 Accord was totaled in a rear collison. I love the looks of the car and you get a lot of bang for the buck.

Good warranty, excellent gas mileage (35 mpg on the highway), good trunk storage, good leg room, 5 star crash rating (very important to me as my wife and daughter could have been killed in the Accord accident). I was actually surprised most by the space. Headroom is limited though. Interior is somewhat cheaply made, but I can live with that and it's not worth another $5-8K to me just for nicer interior finishes. Interior styling is nice in IMO, but there is just a lot of plastic and the cloth on the seats is cheap.

The car comes with some nice basic features like Ipod/Bluetooth hookups, keyless start/stop and doors, 200 hp inline 4 Cylinder engine on the SE model (196 on the base model). The turbo 4 cylinder get 274 which is impressive. The SE model we got also has power seats and you can add navigation and sunroof for another ~$2K. We did not on our vehicle though. We paid $20,700 with 2.9% financing for 60 months. Per bang up deal in my mind on a vehicle with 6 miles when we test drove it.

Here's a pic of the car in our garage:

http://thewolfweb.com/photo_photo.aspx?user=11296&photo=518279



[Edited on November 24, 2010 at 8:42 AM. Reason : gh]

11/24/2010 8:41:55 AM

I've got a 99 Corolla. Those things are tanks, 95,000 miles is nothing (I've got about 190,000 and very little has failed on it). I don't understand why you want to replace a reliable paid off shitbox with a shitbox + car payment. If you're not going to move up a class what's the point?

11/24/2010 10:00:44 AM

four can't sit comfortably in my current "shitbox", infant car seats won't even go in the back seat unless you move the front passenger chair all the way to its front-most position. 1999 year model small car != current generation small car. The Cruze was clearly a good deal larger than my Corolla and so is my mother in Laws current generation Corolla. The idea is to be able to split time or maybe even switch the family car.

11/24/2010 2:47:45 PM

How about a couple years old Ford Fusion? I can't vouch for the seating size, but I'm pretty sure its better than a corolla.

Regardless of what you do...i'd keep the corolla for a daily driver. You'll be wanting it back when the economy recovers and gas goes back up towards $4 a gallon.



[Edited on November 25, 2010 at 11:54 AM. Reason : .]

11/25/2010 11:51:14 AM