I am helping our 24 year old think about a used car purchase. I've put a bunch of details below and am very interested in your ideas.
Use case: commuting to work 5 days a week, around town usage, occasional road trips
Must haves: great MPG, very safe, dead nuts reliable, low maintenance (zero mechanical skill, desire or time)
Nice to haves: good sound system, manual transmission (hey - I raised them right!)
Location: Raleigh, NC area
Budget: up to $15K
So what should be on the list?
Usual suspects: Fit, older Civic or Corolla, maybe try and seek out a stick shift IS300 or IS250?
Do we want the universal answers of Camry/Corolla/Prius/Rav4? Because any/all of them would tick the boxes, especially the hybrid versions, and they're all really good at being cars.
Or do we want the GRM answers of Mazda3, Mazda CX5, Civic, Miata, TSX, Mustang?
Forgot to add - hopefully no premium fuel required either
I'm a big fan of euro stuff and that accounts for a lot of the manual transmission options, but dead nuts reliable and low maintenance rules them out.
what counts as great MPG?
I'd probably be looking at the nicest first gen TSX I could find, though they have a timing chain rattle issue to be aware of, and are getting older. Otherwise they are notoriously reliable. the one or two years they made an Accord V6 sedan with the manual transmission is high on my list too, but fuel economy isn't as good and they are around the same age as the TSX. I think the Lexus IS250 might have been available with a manual as well and I generally hear good things about reliability of those. No idea on economy.
Otherwise...there's a reason there are a lot of Camries and Corollas on the road.
gearheadE30 said:I'm a big fan of euro stuff and that accounts for a lot of the manual transmission options, but dead nuts reliable and low maintenance rules them out.
what counts as great MPG?
I'd probably be looking at the nicest first gen TSX I could find, though they have a timing chain rattle issue to be aware of, and are getting older. Otherwise they are notoriously reliable. the one or two years they made an Accord V6 sedan with the manual transmission is high on my list too, but fuel economy isn't as good and they are around the same age as the TSX. I think the Lexus IS250 might have been available with a manual as well and I generally hear good things about reliability of those. No idea on economy.
Otherwise...there's a reason there are a lot of Camries and Corollas on the road.
I tend towards Euro too. Their previous car (late high school and college) was a 2012 GTI 6-speed. But that's back when I maintained the car. With them adulting, I don't think they want to suffer with an older German car.
As for what is good MPG, their spouse has a Chevy Spark which gets 31/39 so that's what they're used to.
When DD#1 was in the same situation, she did a ton of research and ended up seeking out Ford C-Max non-plugin hybrids. She bought a very nice one in that price range and it has served her very very well since then. It has given her 40-44 mpg in that use pattern since she bought it, with nothing other than oil changes. It's nice to drive as a commuter appliance, and pretty roomy inside.
C-Max is not available in manual, of course.
A TSX is going to want premium fuel (it will survive on regular, but back out a lot of timing) and will give low 20s for fuel economy. K24s do not take kindly at all to extended oil change intervals, and manuals are scarce.
A C-max would be interesting. I think the manual transmission desire is low compared to the running costs.
Hard to argue against a Mazda 3 manual.
Depending on size considerations, I'd agree on the Skyactiv-generation Mazda 3 or Mazda 6. Efficient, drive nice, look good, and available in manual, but also the Skyactiv-Drive automatic is also about as good a commuter automatics get. It keeps the torque converter locked and (quickly) changes gears to match power demands, making the throttle response more immediate and manual-like, rather than also endlessly unlocking the torque converter into rubber band mode every time you ask it for any little bit of power. Even my non-enthusiast wife noticed how much better that felt vs all of the other automatic and CVT's we drove when looking for her current car.
In reply to Driven5 :
What year range is the Skyactiv ATX?
In reply to Duke :
Same as the Skyactive engines. It might have been available a couple years earlier, but I'm specifically thinking about the 2014 'kodo' design cars that are typically so well thought of.
As a bonus that generation can also all supposedly be upgraded by Mazda to add Android Auto and Apple Carplay integration to the stock system for a modest fee, giving them access to the modern navigation and hands-free stuff on the years that didn't originally come with it.
If they like the styling of the Kia Soul, $15K will buy a nice one
Pretty much any Toyota or ford hybrid.
bbbbRASS said:Pretty much any Toyota or ford hybrid.
Yep. If manual trans is lowest on the priority list, and efficiency/dependability are highest then this is the answer.
If manual is a true sticking point, then best Civic Si or Fit that you can find for the money.
They're a bit of a unicorn, but Chevy technically sold a diesel/manual Cruze hatchback right before they canceled the Cruze completely. No idea of what they cost to buy or feed, but if a fuel sipping hatch with a stick is the goal it might be worth an internet search
Skyactiv Mazda3 has a great manual and runs on 87 octane.
To me, the Fit is the perfect fit here.
I'm a fit guy, but the 2014-2018 Mazda 3 are a great value in the used market and they're much more modern on safety while being fun to drive.
If it's MPGs over everything and an automatic? Prius... 10000% a prius.
I would go for the Scion IA. It's the next gen Mazda 2 that mazda decided to not import. Fun to drive, Very reliable, and right in that price range with great reliability. It's usually forgotten about as they didn't sell the best.
Does it need a back seat?
Im not sure how reliable the Honda CRZ is, but that should tick 2 of the boxes since it's hybrid and available as a manual. I'm not sure about cargo space, so with only 2 seats might be tight on a road trip.
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