new econo box?
 

I'm considering the purchase of a new car for the wife. I drove the Ford Focus and Toyota Matrix but didn't have time to drive the Golf or the Jetta. Knowing this board, I'm sure there will be some strong opinions hopefully coupled with real world experiences.....any input? The Focus drives very well, has all kinds of bells and whistles and is the cheapest of the four. Top Gear loves it but my concern is about the complexity (ABS, traction control, electronic stability control, etc...) and therefore the long term reliability of it. Thanks

The Focus would be my first choice for that type of car. Get the manual gearbox if you can.

My brother drove a 2001 for 120,000 miles with nary an issue, just the consumables. he just bought a 2010 to replace it.

I drove the Pontiac Vibes(aka Matrix) for a few years as company vehicles. The newer ones may be better but I didn't think it was all that good in the snow/slush even with new tires installed.

You're worried about the reliability of a Ford, but looking at a VW? Now that's funny.

I assume you're looking at hatchbacks? If so make sure you drive the Honda Fit, it's one hell of a nice car and pretty fun to drive. The Versa is nice as well, not sporty but HUGE inside.

Mazda3 or Ford Focus, can't go wrong with either...

Ummmm..... where are you going to find a NEW car without ABS, traction control, electronic stability control, etc???

They are/will be MANDATED by the US Govt (which means Canadian Spec too)

You won't got far wrong with a Focus or Mazda 3

Also consider the new Chev Cruz, or (my personal choice) wait for the upcoming Hyundai Elantra

Honda Fit is a nice car. If you want a little more funky, you could go with Subie Impreza but you'll likely pay a bit more. What about the new Ford Fiesta?

I love my corolla. Very good car and gets hella mileage with a stick shift. Just boring as hell.


I would love to have a new golf, just not out of warranty.

I'd also consider the Mazda2 . . .

Mazda 3 or Fit or Sentra SE-R VSpec

Since the OP is in BC, this may be a very good suggestion. I purchased a DD last year and looked at everything out there. For me, I couldn't pass up on a Subie because of its functionality, room, AWD and price. Also, it is a lot of fun to drive.

Around here, right now you can pick up a new 2010 Impreza Outback Sport for under 18K with 0% financing.

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I thought it was your moms car?

Its become apparent that I am stuck with the damned car. I never got a dd after the VW and now mom has the M3 to drive...

My brother has a Mazda 3, 4 dr hatch, sweet little car, not soul less, like a barn in there with the seat folded down. Fit is like that too, but the Fit is Slow

Mazda3 is another good suggestion. My little sister-in-law has a 2004, despite the best attempts of a teenage girl to destroy it she's gone 75k with zero issues. Hers is just a base model automatic but it's still damn good to drive, excellent steering, brakes, and ride/handling balance. The interior reminds me of an older Audi, high praise for an econobox.

Thank you gents, I didn't know the VW has such reputation for unreliability...hmmm, they are the most expensive of what I saw as well. I must say, I like most German cars seats though, and although I didn't wheel in one yet, the Golf is supposedly a nice drive. I own two Land Cruisers (one work vehicle, and one family trip car) and have had many Toyota's over my driving career. I drove the Focus first, and I have to say, it kind of set the bench mark high for the Matrix to overcome as a driving "experience". Four wheel drive (the Subie) is nice but perhaps more money and complexity than I need.....and in Canada (in the past) I've never seen one for sale at anything close to 18k,...but maybe I should investigate. Considering the two LC's that are in the house anyway I put the four wheel drive issue as a fairly low priority. The suggestions of the smaller cars (the fit...etc) is certainly on the table but I was considering the long term, (namely phasing out one Cruiser) and using the new car as the reasonable, economical, trip car....that is,when the Porsche is not appropriate.Thanks

As a former FJ80 and 4Runner owner I'm also a big Toyota fan, but having driven several of the Matrix I can honestly say I'm not impressed. Maybe it was the co-development with Pontiac, because they always feel a little cheap. I was much more impressed with some of the other cars mentioned, and the new Focus and Fiesta both look impressive.

I'd second Matt's recommendation for a Mazda3. I'm pretty happy with the Civic I chose over the Mazda, but they're fairly equivalent. The Mazda is a bit sportier. The Civic a bit more economical. I was looking to maximize economy, with the miles I drive every year. If you're looking for just an appliance with more room than a Fit or Matrix, I don't think these can be beat. It's a Honda, so it's likely to last longer than anything else out there in econobox-land.

Ford--I'm still leery of American long-term reliability. Obviously, that's my prejudice. And it'll have the resale value of any other Ford product. VW is a great chick car. Looks decent. Seems to offer a lot of initial value for the buying dollar. But from past experience ('97 Jetta) I'd never want to own one out of warranty. If your wife enjoys auto mechanics, though, have at it.

Enthusiasts say these cars have no soul (except for the hotted up versions). But I enjoy driving, so I'll have fun (albeit in varying levels) no matter what I'm in.

2009 Jetta wagon TDI DSG. 30K miles. So far, oil changes only.

I knew diesels got good fuel mileage, but wow, oil only? That's impressive. :p

Rofl.:D

Let me chime in with the 2010 Golf, 170hp, great room, great ride, more power, four wheel disk brakes, Fits and some others don't have it plus they have what,120hp? Great transmission, did I say fun to drive. Good gas mileage. We got the best you could get, big wheels and all the stuff, next thing up was a GTI and this was under 20k. A GTI would have been around 28k. I looked at and drove everything out there for 20k and nothing came close to the Golf. The Mazda 3 was a maybe, maybe more power but not as much room in the back plus I just didn't like driving it. I thought it felt cheaper. You just feel better driving the Golf around.

Meh...marks its territory by weeping fuel out the top of the filler...makes so much I'm heating my home with it!;)

My 2 cents worth:

I went through this just over two years ago.

Focus: The NA car is NOT what they have in Europe, so Top Gear's review was probably of the 2005 to present Euro version of the car, which I must say I liked a lot. Nothing in common with the NA version which is a re-skinned first gen Focus.

Honda Fit: I am 6'3" and the Honda seats were a PITA after about an hour. A friend has one and a trip to the city and back (4 hours) with him killed that option.

I also looked at the Civic, but found the styling (looks like someone dropped a wall on the hood) and the gearing/torque characteristics (row that gearbox or be slow) were not to my liking.

Versa: Loved the room and the 6 speed. Hated the seats.

Mazda 3s: A real contender. Both my wife and I liked the car. (previous model, they fuglied the current one). We almost bought one.

Ended up with another VW, a Jetta TDI. We have around 135,000 km on it now. Aside from oil and filter changes every 16k, the front discs and pads were done around 110,k and the rear discs and pads last month. The current Golf is the same platform although the current diesel has more power and torque than mine. The 2011 Jetta is slightly bigger but de-contented somewhat (ie: back to the twist-beam rear axle, 2 liter gas and harder plastics in the dash.)

Happy hunting
Les

New Hyundai Elantra

40 MPG!! out of 148 horsepower AND 131 pound-feet mated to a 6 speed auto

And it's great looking
And it's priced competitively
And you get a 100,000 mile warranty

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I also like the VW diesels .My wife had a 2000 for 10 yrs .Amazing fuel economy and only major repair during that time was a ABS controller at about $1000 with a new timing belt and oil change combined. If you drive high miles the VW pays off and if you don,t then it,s still worth good money when you trade or sell. I have heard the gas VWs are unreliable but our diesel was great. My second vote would be the Mazda 3 or Ford Focus(which I think are one and the same.)

OldE, the new Focus is the same as the euro ones.

Kaisen has a good suggestion with the Hyundai. My parents are on their 3rd Hyundai with zero issues, their Sonata was a very nice car.

I have a Focus as a driving school car. Needles to say it gets the living daylights beaten out of it. So far 100,000 kms with only an alternator replaced (apart from brakes). It is an automatic. I have driven some standards and they are an even better drive. The auto does not seem well matched to the ztech engine. However, it's not that bad!

I will be replacing it soon. Probably will go with another. I like the Matrix, but you can't see the speedometer from the passengers seat, so it's a no go for me!

Not saying this is necessarily true with your parents (just teasing with this post), but I always thought it was funny that people would say how much they loved their super-reliable car, as they had bought x number of them. Well, if the car was so darned reliable and chock-full of quality, why'd you have to go through so many of them? :D

I,m on about my 10th 911

I bought an '03 Corolla back in May of '02. It has 125K miles on it and has given us no issues. Even manages to pass a car every now and then . . . while carrying a 17 ft. kayak on top.

Can't go wrong- except for the fact that it's an utterly generic car. Building the 914 and the 911 to supplant the e36 as a getaway vehicle.

My other advised candidate:

2011 Chevrolet Cruze Eco

42 MPG!! out of 138 horsepower AND 148 pound-feet 1.4L TURBO

And it's great looking
And it's priced competitively (under $20K)
And you get a 100,000 mile warranty

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Because the Echo, Yaris, and Corolla are oozing that quality feel? They're all very plasticky. And it's not Pontiac's fault. They are way more Toyota than GM. Like 90+%. The new 2008-up Matrix is a big fail. If you drive it back to back with the modern competitors, you'd only buy one if it were 1) way cheaper (doubtful) or 2) you've guzzled the Toyota Kool Aid and buy it for the laurels of the brand, not the car itself. Okay, maybe 3) want all wheel drive and have had four Subarus blow head gaskets so you'll never go there again, but can't afford an Audi A3... or something like that.

If you love Toyota, forget the Matrix and buy a Scion if you need a hatch.

For the rest of us, there are much better cars named here (Mazda 3, Hyundai Elantra, Chev Cruze, VW Golf, Ford Focus, etc)

Anybody try the Honda CR-Z? Looked kinda fun. Don't know how much snow the OP sees...maybe that makes a difference?

I really like my Volvo C30. Bought it new in '08; compare to Mini, Mazda (3?) and GTI - MUCH more car for the money. Great ride, 3.0l, 5cyl turbo, 227hp, 6spd.

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They're the type that like a new car every 2-3 years or so (even though they can't afford it). Think of it this way though - if the first Hyundai was crap, would they have bought two more?

I'm off this week so I think I'll do some test driving. We are not looking(well, the wife wants to go back to an SUV:rolleyes:)currently but I would still like to check out a few of the cars mentioned.

I would rate the Corolla as boring but decent, I haven't driven the Echo and Yaris. The Matrix/Vibe not only felt cheap, but it was especially boomy inside with the hard plastic cargo area. While I know there's a lot of Toyota made parts content, neither of us know who made the decisions regarding design, material choice, etc.

I've spent a lot of time in a 2-door Yaris. It's boomy. And I notice a difference in quality of materials and fit-n-finish between that and my Civic.

The Volvo C30 rides on the same platform as the Ford Focus and Mazda 3 (P1, C1, BK respectively). And that's a good thing. The Volvo is sexy, powerful, and quirky (styling, ergonomics).

True dat. I bought it on impulse (hooked on the styling), and much to my surprise, grew to really like the car.

Quirky? Dunno (I'm too quirky to judge), but the AC/heater/radio are super intuitive w/o TFB (tiny fkng buttons) to frustrate my ham hands.

Damn thing goes 0-60 in 6.2sec (my SC is kinda pissed - but can still lead it thru the twisties handily :)).

They're pretty good sellers in Canadia and Europe, I'm told. But I've only seen maybe six on the road in SOCAL in the three years I've owned mine. :confused:

I take automag blather with a grain of salt, but one comparo I read (between the C30, GTI, Mini and...I forget) described the C30's quiet ride as "the "TempurPedic" of the bunch.