my super massive what car/learn me thread

criteria: under 12k

mid 30s honest mixed fuel economy

reliable as gravity

cheap consumables

comfortable

air conditioning/cruise

automatic

not a GM ABS purpose: daily driver/mileage sponge. I drive between 75-150 miles every day. my mileage reimbursement is .32 a mile.

current vehicle: 2002 legacy 2.5 gt wagon. 21mpg, not that comfortable, not that great ant anything buy being reliable.

vehicles tested, with pros/cons

2011 fiesta ses hatch: neat little car. seat felt funny. potential trans issues, salvage title.

2014 fiesta base 4 door: comfortable. had lumbar, til/telescope steering wheel, all the creature comforts. trans felt odd. liked it as one of the best so far.

2013/2015 dart: couldn't get comfortable. window ledge too far away form my elbow to rest comfortably. same with the center arm rest.

2016 Honda fit. uncomfortable. just didn't fit right.

2015 civic. nothing other than price.

2014 focus: couldn't get comfortable. console felt HUGE, bindow sill too high, no lumbar.

2006 focus zx4: this particular example was beat to death. seat was slap wore out, and no telescoping steering wheel/adjustable pedals/tilt, making me either cramped on feet, or arms hung like an ape.

2008 fit: horrendous seats.

2009 caliber: very comfortable fit. flaming piece of E36 M3 otherwise.

2010 corolla: really no downside, other than it felt like a cheap economy car, and felt twitchy abouve 60mph. I think it was more this particular example.

2015 corolla: price, couldn't get comfortable. fun car otherwise.

2012 elantra: door too high for elbow. other than that, no real downside.

2016 accent: I really liked this little car. it was a base model. no telescoping wheel or cruise. next trim gets that. really the only downside.

2014 prius: nice car. comfortable, quiet, no real downsides other than it drives really funny.

2012 velositer: fantastic little car. reminded me a lot of my ACR. couldn't find any real downside, but seems like it would get tiring on a daily basis.

2004 neon ES: no real downsides, other than all the examples are BEAT.

2002 protege5: (already owned)beats me up too bad on the long days.

so, the front runners seem to be huandai accent, fiesta, previous generation focus, second gen neon, velociter, corolla.

what am I missing? any cars I shpuld revisit, and why? any on the list to second guess, and why?

pretty much anything from the last decade is fair game, as long as it meets the criteria set forth above.

stereo, tint, sway bars, brake pads, intake/header/exhaust are all fair game to make things suck less.

Mazda 3, fusion, accord, sonata

Mazda2. Better auto than the Fiesta. Less weight. Little to go wrong. Dead nuts reliable.

A VERY simple interior. Get a Touring for cruise control, and you'll probably want to add an armrest, but I've put 29k on mine since this time last year(and on 700/450lb springs to boot. Stock about 130/110) and I've gotten used to it.

I work on all makes and models. Things I've seen on Mazda2s out of warranty: one window switch, two leaking oil pans, one audio switch on steering wheel stopped working. That is it. And OEM spark plugs don't seem to reliably make it to 75k like they should, but 20min job(with BSing around) so not a big deal.

There's a good chance I'll buy another for commuting, but not go full retard on the suspension. I'm in the same situation as you(85-100mi daily)... I may go for a Prius or Civic Hybrid because here I can use the HOV lanes even by myself in a hybrid with a $50 DMV special hybrid plate... Which would cut 10-120min from my commute home depending on traffic. It can suck badly at the 64/264 interchange, the HOV lane bypasses it for it's own exit ramp.

Mazda 2 I'll check out. I've spent some time in my parents 15 mazda3. Didn't think about them. Brother has a sonata, and I have fitment issues with control and arm resting areas.

Accord I'll check out. And the fusion.

For that money you could get the nicest Saab 9-3 on the planet and enjoy your time behind the wheel a lot more.

I don't hate on 4 cylinders but when tied to an auto for commuting purposes I'd rather have a turbo 4 or a 6 cylinder. An extra hit of power is really nice to have.

My wife and I are going to carmax so she can see the front runners. I'll report on what I think this evening, and once I have it narrows down, start the real hunt.

Anything else I should add to the list of things I've tried on?

See if you can find a Scion xD. Basically a Corolla hatchback. Should be well under $12k. The only downside with the automatic version is that it's only a 4-speed.

I vote Prius.

If you didn't have the automatic requirement I'd offer you my 29k mile '14 Mirage for half your budget so I could justify getting a new Fiat Spyder. It's not even a third of the way through it's warranty.

KyAllroad wrote: For that money you could get the nicest Saab 9-3 on the planet and enjoy your time behind the wheel a lot more. I don't hate on 4 cylinders but when tied to an auto for commuting purposes I'd rather have a turbo 4 or a 6 cylinder. An extra hit of power is really nice to have.

That or an Accord. Revisit the Prius as well? They're bulletproof. Going to be lowest on consumables.

After I'm done with whatever I buy, my wife will get it. So her input is just as important as mine. We went to carmax, as they had an example of all the leaders, as well as an xd, xa, and tc.

Out of all of them, her pecking order is fiesta, Carolla, and tc.

I have yet to drive a mazda 2. That's the only outlier yet, as there are exactly NONE in my area that I have found. Having owned a bunch of mazdas, I really want to try one on for size compared to the fiesta.

I am also now looking for a fiesta rental car so I can drive the piss outta it for a few days and see if it's something I would like to spend the money and years on.

From the shadows a contender appears...

If only it hit the mileage mark....

In reply to Dusterbd13:

Rental and a couple LONG drives is a great idea!

I wasted five grand last summer on a new mazda3 - bought for the same purpose, only to realise after 200 miles that it was a long trip torture chamber for my 6'-5" body. Back was killing me regardless of seat adjustment, rolled up towels, etc.

Last week my BIL offered to let me drive his Porsche 996 carerra 4 convertible from Atlanta to Hilton Head for a week with our shared in-laws. I was psyched! Sadly, after two hours I was in familiar pain once again... such a downer.

So definitely take a long test drive or rent first.

2012-13 Mazda 3 with the Skyactiv/6AT is one to look for. I am a big dude, (6'1"/350+) and I fit in my 2012 just fine. Skyactiv cars get around 40mpg and the AT doesn't suck. You can get them with the Grand Touring package too which gives you leather, HID's, etc. Also, they are cheap as dirt to run and maintain. They have a few quirks here and there but none are deal breakers. Try one out, they should be in your wheelhouse price wise.

On the Mazda 2, I know they are tossable cars and fun to drive in that sense, but man, are they S L O W! I had some seat time in one a few years ago, and it felt like an early 90's econobox, but slower. And that one was with a 5-speed and suspension stuff done to it. YMMV.

Upon reflection and three hours of Internet research, I'm NOT buying a fiesta. Too many horror stories of trans failure.

I'm going to revisit the mazdas. I've loved my protege 5s, and so has the wife. Just can't get excited about a freaking Carolla.

I need to find an automatic tc to try out, and see if the allure of that was because the example we drove was a stick.

SilverFleet wrote: On the Mazda 2, I know they are tossable cars and fun to drive in that sense, but man, are they S L O W! I had some seat time in one a few years ago, and it felt like an early 90's econobox, but slower. And that one was with a 5-speed and suspension stuff done to it. YMMV.

Oh yeah they're slow... But not dangerously slow... Like Smart Car slow.

Fwiw a tune REALLY wakes them up a lot, adds a lot(relatively speaking) of grunt.

There's a big level of fun when you can just beat your car senseless and not break the speed limit

To the OP:

While its nowhere near an apples to apples comparison, you're welcome to drive my Mazda2 some time on full retard suspension.

Also FWIW at the LARGE used car dealer I work at we just got a white automatic Mazda2 Touring in. I state inspected it Friday.

Edit: not seeing it online anymore... Can check status tomorrow if interested. I dropped a detail request as the interior needed cleaned up a bit but otherwise the car was solid.

Care to enlighten me on price, options, rust, etc? I like white cars.

And how would it compare to a bone stock 2.0 protege5 automatic in terms of slow?

Dusterbd13 wrote: Care to enlighten me on price, options, rust, etc? I like white cars.

Its a Touring. With the 2 it's that or Sport. Touring has exhaust tip, allow wheels, cruise, steering wheel audio controls, nicer seat stitching, spoiler, and probably some other little thing I'm forgetting.

It was clean rust wise.

Its a 2300lb car. Its comparable to a 1993 Miata. Probably on par with an auto Protege. It makes all its power from 3500-5500 basically. Not a high strung type engine.

Send me a text at 757-four oh three nineteen 99 tomorrow and I'll get more info.

I'm kind of surprised I haven't seen a Chevy Volt suggestion yet. If you're considering a Prius, it seems like an option. Most owners seem to rave about them. You wouldn't be able to do all of your 75+ mile commute on electric, but it would cut down on your fuel costs quite a bit. They're supposed to be a little less anesthetizing behind the wheel the the Prius stuff too.

Dusterbd13 wrote: criteria: under 12k mid 30s honest mixed fuel economy reliable as gravity cheap consumables comfortable air conditioning/cruise automatic not a GM ABS

With those as your criteria, the true answer is the Prius. It just is. It hits every single one of those requirements. I drive as much as you do, and had a Prius for that commute. It did it fantastically, I can't sing its' praises enough. But...and it's a big 'ol but...it's soul suckingly boring. Loving cars as much as I do, I couldn't live with having it as my one and only car. Heck, if it was offered in a manual trans, I probably would have been happier with it because at least I'd get to row my own gears. However, if you don't care at all about driving "fun", then the Prius runs away with this hands down.

Other than that, I'd go with Mazda3, Corolla, Elantra (love mine so far), Accord, Civic (hybrid?), Volt type car. For my tastes, cars like the Mazda2, Nissan Versa, Ford Fiesta, Honda Fit are just too buzzy for spending 3 hours per day in. I've driven the Mazda2 a lot and owned a Fit. Loved driving them both, they're a hoot. If I drove 15 miles each way to work on a windy road, I'd be all over them. But 110 miles per day, with lots on the highway, and it's a different story. They're loud and buzzy on the highway.

i should revisit the prius. for just the reasons you mentioned. maybe it takes a different driving style or something, but it felt like it would get me killed in traffic due to no acceleration/power. the rest of it was competent enough though. and I know there are different prius versions, so maybe it was just the one I drove.

volt is out due to GM. wont flounder the thread, but no late model GM stuff.

thanks for the feedback on the 2. I don't mind adding sound deadening and insulation. that kind of stuff is easy and cheap, but it would be easier and cheaper not to.

Why try to add a bunch of sound deadening to an econobox car when you can get one much more suited for highway use?

My Prius was slow, but no more so than my Elantra is or my '09 HHR was. You just have to plan passing carefully. Otherwise, power is enough for daily use. I think it will also depend on how much stopping is in your long drive. If it's almost all cruising at highway speeds, the Prius becomes less of an advantage, as many cars can get awful close to the Prius highway mpg (or beat it) and offer a better driving experience. But if it has rush hour and/or lots of stops, nothing can touch it.