Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Revka
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Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
When shopping in this price range, every vehicle inevitably has a number of drawbacks. I figured I would list our concerns regarding each vehicle and ask for advice that might either ease or confirm them.
Elantra GT: My wife thinks that the standard leather seats will be both too hot in summer and too cold in winter. She also worries that cracking will become a problem. Of course, low resale value is also a concern.
Focus ZX5: Is the cargo area large enough to swallow all the stuff required when traveling with a baby?
Protege5: It doesn't have those "worrisome" leather seats and it has more cargo room than the ZX5, but is it really worth paying the premium over the other two options? *And stretching our thin budget.
Really all three of these cars will do what you need fine. The Protege and Focus are not exactly up to Lexus' standard of resale value either. They are better than Hyundai's currently, but just buy the car that feels best to you and suites your needs as best.
I did drive the Elantra GT. Alot of car for the price which made the decision fairly difficult.
The main thing I had against the GT was that I could not sit in the rear seat without hitting my head on the roof. I guess that's because of the fastback styling, but it just bothered me. I was very impressed with the car though.
In the end, I just liked the style of the P5 more and felt it was more fun to drive, the handling is just fantastic.
A few things to think about though when considering the P5. With the handling is a tradeoff of some comfort. The ride is fine for me, but it can be a bit hard on the highway. Really is a personal preference kind of thing. Also, it comes with 50 series tires which most likely will be more expensive to replace then those on the GT.
I've owned my Elantra GT for 3 months now and just love the leather. I can't imagine a better surface for kids because you can just wipe it off. The GT interior is a dark grey and the P5 is black. They will feel about the same to the touch in the sun. A friend of mine has an Integra with a black leather interior and it is not hot to the touch like black plastics. She's owned that car for almost 9 years and the leather looks just as good as new. I think it got leather cleaner/conditioner with each oil change.
Another plus for the GT is a generous back seat. Everyone comments on it right away (second only to the pretty blue exterior color).
There is a downside to the GT and kids - the lighting in the back seat is terrible so loading/unloading in the dark will be tricky without additional lights. I've seen posts from some owners who put additional lighting in the back and were very pleased.
With the GT, you get a LOT of car for the money. You could start a college fund with the savings over the P5!
Congratulations to you and your wife and happy car shopping!
Jacky
The Impreza Wagon seems like a wonderful vehicle. Unfortunately, it busts my meager budget by at least $1,000 and it isn't that superior to the Elantra GT, ZX5, or P5.
The Toyota Matrix seems to have an attractive price at first glance. Like most Toyota products, however, when you add the cost of the bare minimum options (A/C, etc.) it quickly climbs out of my $16.5 K budget. Also, as a new model, dealers are not going out of their way to discount the price.
I would like to know if anyone out there looked at low priced SUV's before buying their hatchback. My wife really wanted an SUV before we studied our budget and discovered that anything like a Honda CR-V was completely out of the question. She has since wondered whether a Kia Sportage would be suitable (We can probably fit a 2WD model under the budget). Did anyone consider a Sportage in their buying decision?
As for the Matrix....even the base Matrix at what $14,600 comes standard with AC. It also has a higher driving position...more SUV like.
For the most features...the Elantra GT would offer the most.
No haven't bought a car for myself. I got bumped by the wife who needs a car to learn to drive. We're thinking a used Prism or Protege. Probably get a car for her this spring. So the hubby gotta wait..LOL
Leo
They're available through the 1996 model yesr.
Toyota matrix - Styling is not to my taste. Had the best interior room of the three. I liked the hard plastic cargo area, didn't like the funky guages, strange position of the gear selector and trim work in general. Didn't have a great deal of power but the suspension felt about right.
Mazda Pro - I liked everything about this car except the ride. The ride was way too sporty for my taste. I was driving on our local 4 lane highway and feeling every little bump and undulation along the road. That would quickly become tiring. The sales rep said something about having upgraded the wheels on the car I drove, and this car did seem to be shod with very low profile tires, so maybe the ride wasn't typical of all Pro 5s. Leather is not available, but the word is that a leather clad version is on it's way for 2003 (with a V6?). If leather was available in this car and I could make the ride less harsh, then it would be hard to pick the Elantra over this car.
Sidenote: All three Pro 5s on the lot were stuck around the back, in a corner, and all three had dead batteries and plenty of dust on the paintwork.
Elantra GT - If I could find one of these with a stick shift within 200 miles of Atlanta I would have bought one by now. I have no problem with it's looks, maybe prefering it slightly over the Pro 5. The ride was a little more firm than in the Matrix and acceleration seemed to be on a par with the Pro 5. Remember I was driving automatics and I wasn't flooring the pedal :-) . My wife and I like the standard leather seats, and the long list of standard features. Our only worry would be the reliability but that's alleviated by the 10/100,000 drivetrain warranty.
2002 Ford Focus ZX5
2002 Kia Spectra GSX
(or is this one of those "lesser of 2 evils" deals...)
Erik
Given the choice between a Spectra and Focus 5-door hatch I'd probably take the Focus if I could afford it. Wasn't very impressed with the Spectra hatch when I drove it (this was a '01). Definitely WAY behind the Elantra GT. By the time they merge the platforms in 06 the Spectra is going to be one old car.
I too had a Festiva and remember it with fondness. IMHO the Rio, although a second generation advance on the Festiva platform, isn't really as pleasant as the original. For some odd reason lots of Elantra owners seem to have had Festivas. I don't know if I've heard of as many of them sticking with Kia.
Luckily last year, when I thought of getting a new car, I read Edmunds article on the upcoming Elantra GT. I didn't 'need' a new car so I waited. After coming down to the Mazda P5 vs GT I went with the GT. To me it looked nicer, and performed better (not to mention cost less, has more!).
The Focus did have quite a few recalls (ie way to many) for the 2000 model year. But I don't think that would qualify as a reliability nightmare. But if you repeat something enough times, people will believe its true. Oh well.
Revka
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Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
Here's an explanation on how it works: True Cost to Own (TCO), by Philip Reed. Hope this is helpful. Let us know what you think. Happy motoring!
Revka
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Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
Pros:
Sporty Ride and Handling
Great Looking Hatchback
Storage capacity (fit a wheel barrel, various sizes of wood, a large painting and even a boxed snowblower (couldnt close the hatch though))
Comfy seats
Back windows roll almost all the way down
When I purchased it included free lifetime oil-changes
I got S-Plan pricing
Japan made engine
Solid feeling construction
Cons:
Roof rack whistles (removing it helps)
Gas mileage could be better for this class of car
Center arm rest is back too far to be comfortably used
Could use 20+ more hp but due to gearing it still has plenty of pep
Black Cloth Seats and hatch area collect and show dog hair (but are pretty easy to clean)
All in all its a great car and I highly recommend it.
http://www.thehollywoodextra.com
Revka
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Hatchbacks & Station Wagons Boards
My order of preference:
GT
Pro 5
Matrix
Aerio SX
Sepctra GSX
Focus (any)
Reasoning: GT is prob the fastest and best handling (minor concession to Pro5 with its 16's but now I have 17's and I could take one any day with my extra power advantage). Matrix 180hp is useless in city driving and highway unless I want to rev the crap outta the engine... 130lb/ft at high rev and 180 comes at very high up in the revs. Gt is bigger than Pro5. Matrix looks cheesied up with top line ground effects, plane jane strippo without them. Aerio SX actually surprised me a whole lot... very good looks and execution....but a bit too much minvan for me with the seating position and gauges (digital).
Spectra GSX, almost purchased by father but after my repeated nagging about interior and feature content in comparison to my GT we reneged on the agreeement.
Focus... what can I say... ugly outside, hideous inside, and way too much more than my GT.. not to mention its a FORD...
Then again, this is a widely-held opinion...read any car magazine and they'll agree.
And the 4-door and wagon are not part of the discussion, the ZX5 is.
I agree that the Pro5 is a better handler than the GT, but with a tradeoff in a much firmer ride (which the car mags all acknowledge) that I found too jolting for my taste. The GT, and the Focus, are a better blend IMO of handling and ride comfort.
The Focus is a good car, especially in ride and handling. What turned me off from it when I was buying was 1) abysmal initial quality, e.g. parts falling off inside and outside, 2) steady stream of recalls, and 3) uncomfortable driving position. There was also the large price difference between the Elantra and a comparably-equipped Focus. I had a bad experience with another brand-new Ford model, a '95 Mystique, with quality and recalls, so I decided to not go there again.
Maybe I'm getting old but it was way too bouncy. The Elantra had a more balanced ride. As for everything else? I do not see where the Pro5 is obviously better than the Elantra. I voted with my wallet and in my opinion the Elantra is the better overall car regardless of price. That is not to say the Pro 5 was/is a poor car. Far from it.
Chrysler PT Cruiser
Ford Focus ZX5
Pontiac Vibe
Mazda Protegé5
Suzuki Aerio SX
Toyota Matrix XRS
http://www.caranddriver.com/xp/Caranddriver/comparisontests/2002/june/200206_comparo_boxes.xml
Very interesting where they rated the Vibe/Matrix?
-Larry
jasking:
Here here!
oh and of course more Focus info:
http://www.auto.com/industry/defect7_20020607.htm