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Nelson Atwell

Nelson Atwell

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Joined
Oct 16, 2003
Messages
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Location
Bydgoszcz, Poland
I'm looking for a commuter car to save gas and miles on my ST. I am also planing for the future, since my daughter will be driving in about 18 months.



The Versa is priced about the same as the Sentra (under $14K), but is much nicer and larger inside. The back seat is very comfortable and possibly bigger than the back of my ST. The inside trim is very nice and the car feels very solid. It is much quieter and has a smoother ride than my ST. The A/C cooled the vehicle very quickly (it was over 100 degrees outside). It isn't a race car, but it does have decent pickup for a economy car (30 mpg city/34 mpg hwy). This may be my primary transportation in a few weeks.



Before anyone suggests a Ford, I have two co-workers with Foci (plural of Focus) and I'm not very impressed (neither are they).



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It's worth your time to visit the Honda dealer and check out the Fit as well. While I'm an admitted, Nissan car guy, I like the Fit better compared to the Versa, just by looks and specs.



Can your daughter drive a 5-speed? You may also want to give the Rabbit a looksee, it's a little more expensive then the Versa, but as long as you keep the options to a minimum, the price is still pretty low.
 
My daughter can't drive at all, since she is only 14. I'll teach her to drive whatever I have available. I am likely to let her drive the ST to school, since we only live three miles from the High School, and I will drive the smaller vehicle on my daily 50 mile roundtrip commute.



I already plan on checking out the Rabbit and Mazda 3. I'll probably do thaton the weekend. A lot depends on what sort of financing I can get too. I have 1.9 % on my ST, and don't want to pay much more than that on the next one.
 
If you can wait approximately two years, China (Geery China LTD.) is supposed to

bring a new sub-compact car to the United States called, tentatively, and loosely

translated, the "Happy Pretty Shiny" car! Supposed to start at 10,000 U.S. Dollars,

and actually have a steering wheel and all four tires as standard equipment!

Seriously, I read this on G.M.'s Socrates Website at work today!:D
 
If you can wait approximately two years, China (Geery China LTD.) is supposed to

bring a new sub-compact car to the United States...
Click to expand...



I am sure those cars will be as high of a quality as the Chinese made tools you can buy for $5.00.



I feel sorry for those people that purchased Daewoo cars.





Tom
 
Daewoo is owned by GM. They sell the Aveo which is built in Korea by Daewoo. I drove past the manufacturing plant there many times when I lived in Korea. I won't buy an Aveo, because it is too small.
 
Hey Nelson,



Me and the girlfriend went and test drove one last night. Great little car, lots of zip. We have one on order and it is supposed to arrive in 5-10 days. I think it has the most bang for the buck out of the yaris and the fit. She got the fully loaded one for 19,000 cnd. I love the 6-speed tranny.
 
I had an 03 Civic Si w/ supercharger... I loved it... Great Gas Mileage. Supercharger bypassed when not boost.. Saved tons of gas. Got about 225 hp and 25 mpg. Would buy another if I didn't love my bimmer so much.....
 
Definitely check out the Honda Fit.



The Mazda3 doesn't get very good mpg. Co-worker here owns one, only gets mid 20's mpg. That 2.3L is very powerful, but uses a lot of fuel.



I wouldn't recommend the Yaris (even though I'm a Toyota guy). It's definitely lacking in many things we'd consider standard in most cars.
 
I have a friend that went the other way, and bought his daughter an old Lincoln Town Car. He figured that while she was still young and learning if she got in any accidents he wanted her to win! He figured the gas was a cheap expense compared to getting her repaired!
 
Getting an old Lincoln, to me, is the wrong way to go. Ever driven those cars? They isolate the driver from the road WAY too much. You don't feel like you're driving, you feel as if you're along for the ride. You can't feel the road in the seats, steering, brakes, accelerator, nothing. Frankly, a new driver needs to not only be able to feel these things, but know what they are feeling and know what that means. Not to mention that because they are in a big, powerful car, they'll have the mindset of "I can hit stuff, an dI'll be alright". Just what I think at least.
 
Add to the fact the old Lincoln will spend more time in the shop fixing various bugaboos. My Grandpa used to own a '88 Lincoln Town Car.. those things were the epitomy of crap.
 
I know of 4 Lincoln Town Cars with over 250,000 miles on the odometer. I think even considering to buy a Toyota is bad news. My brothers buddy has one. Not relaible at all.





Tom
 
Wow, empirical data points numbering in the single digits allows us to elevate or dismiss the reliability of an entire auto brand. One or two or even four examples does not a trend make.



Toyota showed up 3 times in the list of 6 small cars ranked in predicted reliability by Consumer Reports.



The question is, who do you trust more, Consumer Reports or hearsay about somebody’s brother's buddy?



(no offense Caymen, we know your import bias, but you have to sooner or later think that either you are right and most of the rest of the world is delusional, or maybe your position needs reconsidering).



TJR
 

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