Mrs NOHOME seems to be zeroing in on a new car. I am not sure if she is frugal and only buys cars every ten years, or if it takes her that long to make up her mind on what toaster to buy.
That said, she wants to visit the dealer tomorrow to look at a Corolla with autogearbox to replace her Versa. Her concern is that it should last another 10 years without making friends at the service department.
Any caveats to be aware of?
Horrible seats, interface and ergos. I had one for 30 days recently. The A pillar was in a horrible spot for me and my seating position. It also used as much fuel as a CX5. It is honestly a car for people that hate cars.
The hybrid model is basically a less expensive Prius. It should run forever.
AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) said:It is honestly a car for people that hate cars.
That's hilarious.
He said she has a Versa. I rented the Versa sedan once and this sums it up.
What she really wants is a GR Corolla.
Yes.
She.
Does.
The corolla sounds like the perfect next step from a versa. I would definitely look at the hybrid though.
You can get AWD this year. This combined with the aforementioned hybrid make it a low-profile, 47 MPG, all-weather reliable appliance for less then $30K (maybe?).
But will an AWD hybrid economy car stay out of the dealer for 10 years? The answer very well could be yes, but not knowing much about them, I'd pick a conventional drivetrain and omit the AWD unless it's really needed if durability (which in my head in modern stuff = simplicty) is a key metric.
Never understood the need for AWD? Sounds like expensive to fix stuff. We live in the snowbelt and my car resume has been Miata and FRS. Mama has always had FWD toasters like Mazda Protege and the Versa. Puts about 70k miles on them in 10 years. Snow travel has not been an issue for 30 years so far with good snow tires.
Had not even considered the hybrid option. I always saw that as another system to fail and mentally blanked out the technology as being of no interest to learn about. So I confess to hybrid ignorance.
Did the math on a prius and there is no pay-back on the gas savings when you consider the high buy-in cost. But I do agree that she would not see a fuel station very often if she bought one.
Will take the ergonomics under advisement as I might be putting more miles in it this time since we are both retired and this could turn into the "family car".
It is funny, people consider me a "car guy" and always ask what they should buy. The truth is that until I am forced to buy a car, I have a total blind-spot on the consumer new-car market.
In reply to NOHOME :
Generally, the cars with the Toyota Prius-style hybrid system are more reliable than non-hybrids. The transmission is actually very mechanically simple compared to a modern automatic.
The Corolla Hybrid is the cheapest hybrid offered by Toyota. Slightly less expensive that Prius on similar/same chassis. To keep the Corolla Hybrid inexpensive, it only come in one trim level ; LX which is sort of lower spec. If you want all the bells and whistles then you have to move up to Prius.
Coming from a Versa, the LX trim likely meets her expectations.
A good reviewer...
...but at an average of only 7k miles per year for her, it will be hard to get the payback on the $3k hybrid upcharge.
Having owned many Prius, I like the mpg but my favorite feature is the reliability. But, if you're only keeping these cars to 70k, then most any modern car will be reliable in that time frame.
Hyundai/Kia has a 10yr/100k warranty that might be great for you.
My wife has a ScionxB which is just a Toyota Yaris that's still in its shipping box. It has around 100K on it and been in for repairs once for the CAS. The car will be 17 years old next month. Her next car will be another Toyota.
My wife has had one for about a year and loves it. Previously she drove a Mazda 3. I drive it a bit and it's ok. Even though it's a hatchback it doesn't have a lot of room, but we still drove it to North Carolina (about a 10 hour drive) and it did fine.
In reply to NOHOME :
The old joke I tell is that in the late 70's in high school we all drove $500 Delta 88's with one rear tire spinning in the snow. We learned how to drive through a Chicago winter.
I have a 2021 "L" manual. I don't think it's available in the USA. The dealer had to search for one, apparently it's not very common. I like it because it's simple, basic and cheap. It's reliable so I can spend my free time wrenching on project cars instead of fixing my daily driver. It's got the 1.8 engine and a 6 speed. 15" steel wheels with hubcaps means it costs less than 400$ for new tires. I drove 40 000 km in the last year. So far nothing broke down, not that I was expecting the opposite. I think the interior is comfortable. It only lacks heated seats. It has A/C, power windows and locks.
The downsides are that the A-pillar blocks my vision. It seems like if I was driving 50 km/h and a pedestrian was running on the cross street towards the intersection, I would never see him. Also, the throttle response has the usual delay, and that delay seems to be variable for I don't know what reason. Smooth take offs with the clutch are not always easy. If I drive for more than like 30 minutes in -20C weather, it seems like the clutch line freezes up and the fluid becomes like molasses. The pedal becomes hard and doesn't come back quickly.
I gave some old/wrong info above...
Looking at the Toyota site to build a Corolla, it seems you can now get the Hyrbid in LX, SE or XLE trim. And the hybrid upcharge is just $1250.
With that news, I'd be willing to pay for the Hybrid even at your low annual mileage.
Fueleconomy.gov says Corolla Hybrid vs Corolla Gas represents a savings of $450 over 15k miles at $3.53 per gallon. Over your 70k miles that would be $2,100 in savings. Even more savings if gas costs more than $3.53
I don't get the hate. Out of all the appliances I have been stuck with while working the Corolla SE is now my go to if one is available. Sure it's an appliance but the seats are better than most. The controls are simple, and the Nannie's are few. It's no m3, but it isn't supposed to be.
itsarebuild said:I don't get the hate. Out of all the appliances I have been stuck with while working the Corolla SE is now my go to if one is available....
Same thing I was thinking. We have some haters around here for sure. When we travel I always get a Corolla rental car if I can. I like them just fine for what they are.
Using US numbers, the Hybrid would use $492.80 in fuel to travel 7k miles while the regular Corolla would use $705.60. So the hybrid saves ~30% in fuel costs. And likely more than that if her drive cycle is mostly short trips at relatively low speeds. It should also have less maintenance and improved reliability too. The hybrid system should not be thought of as another system to add complexity on top of existing complexity. It replaces mechanical components with less complex, more reliable electric ones.
John Welsh said:...but at an average of only 7k miles per year for her, it will be hard to get the payback on the $3k hybrid upcharge.
Having owned many Prius, I like the mpg but my favorite feature is the reliability. But, if you're only keeping these cars to 70k, then most any modern car will be reliable in that time frame.
Hyundai/Kia has a 10yr/100k warranty that might be great for you.
I have two sources that tell me to stay away from the Korean cars. One drives a tow truck and the other works in an automotive machine shop. The word is that they have catastrophic engine problems more often than other cars.
In reply to NOHOME :
They also have painfully cheap owners compared to other cars.
Regarding fuel economy, lightly driven cars are awful. I have a relative who drives maybe 400mi per year. I took her car in for service and noted that her LaCrosse was reporting 8mpg average.
Not knowing anything about hybrids other than new batteries spell the end of the road for an older car, how reliable are they over 10 years of ownership? I know that my tow truck buddy regularity tows older hybrids to the scrapyard that otherwise look really nice. Should I just get new friends and not worry?
In reply to NOHOME :
I have not seen a hybrid that wasn't an anvil.
It doesn't make sense to scrap a hybrid just because it needs a $4000 battery IMO. Some people just need a justification for a new car besides "I want new"...
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to NOHOME :
I have not seen a hybrid that wasn't an anvil.
This is true for Toyotas, for sure. Not so much for some of the Domestics. The Ford products have had a number of issues.
I think that this is all kind of unimportant as any new car that is properly maintained should have zero problem lasting 10 years and 100k miles. Like near zero. Buy whatever your wife likes, change your oil on time, follow recommended maintenance intervals and likely never see the inside of a dealer unless there is a recall. All brands have those.
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