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A Car Buying Story, Part Three: Models and Makes

Overall, I was very pleased with the variety of models in Canada. When it comes to family cars, the options are very simple - you go for a mini van or, lately, an SUV. No big deal. But I thought that mini van is a waste of money if you only have two children and do not run a repair business. SUV is fun, all-terrain vehicles to drift, but also a waste if I do not use. What I was looking for a smaller multi-purpose, single-volume vehicle, and not many of them here. Allowed ago in this sense are better than imports. I almost get the impression that the selection is such that forces anyone to buy a big car or two cars.
I am saying all this because I have seen many of these versatile models in Europe. For example, you can find a new Civic 5-door trim - diesel!
Or a very unusual but apparently very versatile and practical Fiat Doblo (a spacious crossover wide) that looks a bit like the Honda Element, which is only slightly smaller and proportionally broader.
Wagons and vehicles in general, one volume is very popular in Europe. Half the fleet of Fiat cars are such. And, of course, the diesel option - everyone has it. I really feel he has not found a suitable one here.
Anyway, that's what it is. This is my overview of the different models I've looked at: Honda Accord
I drove Agreement of 89 years, and I can attest to its quality. The engine was just great, but with 230,000 km on it. Every year when I have to carry out air care, all I'm thinking is: "Will you be a little better or a little worse than last year?" In the first couple of years I used to drive a bit before the air of attention to heat the engine, but later abandoned that practice - it was simply unnecessary. However, agreement was my first thought, and always a backup plan: "If I can not find anything I like, I'm going to buy agreement.
And the final agreement (model 2003) was in all respects a very good choice. Good space, good quality, safety, fuel economy, almost everything. It was so elegant and pretty as I expect, but really no big deal. Besides, he had perfect security skills (in a couple of tests was 4 of 5) - and I was kind of waiting for the perfection of my favorites do. Finally, the current model was about to be replaced, the 2008 is completely redesigned, and I was waiting for major improvements with the new model. So the current model seems a bit obsolete option. Honda Civic
Actually Civic have not thought before - for me it was a city car for singles or a car of the first family to replace quickly. However, the new Civic (model 2006) made a big impression on me. Pros: Lots of new features, some very advanced. Top security: impact-absorbing body, 6 airbags, ABS, sensors, and all those in the basic version. Excellent fuel economy - only a little worse than the Corolla (which is superior in this regard). Despite a smaller car, which increased with time. The passenger space is good even for someone taller. I even tried moving the driver's seat all the way and then standing behind him, and he was fine. It is quite wide inside - is not "van," so do not expect wonders, but perfectly acceptable.
In addition, options are created in a reasonable manner so that all I had to add ade - he had everything else. The design is elegant, very nice inside and very nice for a driver. Driving a Civic (manual transmission) is a beautiful experience. Cons: The only flaw I found was the small trunk space. Trunk is smaller than most cars I've looked at. Corolla has bigger trunk 40L which is not negligible, especially in smaller cars. The shape of the trunk is good that means you can put in different solid pieces, but the total volume is simply small. Honda CR-V
A completely new model (2007), larger than before, and very well designed. I generally did not fire to SUVs, but if I decided to buy one, CRV would have been a serious candidate. The only flaw for me was that they come with a manual transmission. Honda Hybrid
I have also considered hybrid cars, but generally abandoned for one reason: the batteries occupy a large part of the trunk space, and that it was an issue with hybrid models. And with the price, I decided to pass these things pretty modern now. Toyota Corolla
Towards the Corolla, which had similar feelings about the pre-2006 Civic - looks like a city, young / small family car, but more than Civic. For my situation, I was seriously considering. What I liked was the way it was sold: the base model does not have ABS, front airbags only, in general, some other security features of Nice had disappeared. Now the options are handled in a way that if you add things, you also have a lot of you do not need (eg, roof), and it is extremely affordable.
On the other hand, had much to offer: great space for a small car, better fuel economy, quality tested.
But I gave up on it, mainly due to lack of security features. Toyota Matrix
Similar to the Corolla, with an option of similar structure and annoying. I mean, that goes up to $ 28,000 if I want to add features (ABS, airbags, AC ,...), it because you also get leather seats, sunroof, and a few other options.
Now Matrix was conceptually exactly what he wanted - a single volume, not too big, but practical, multipurpose vehicles. However, it has built on the chassis of the Corolla, and I had a certain "incomplete" feeling to it. And almost as low as well. Toyota Camry
I loved it. I mean, it seems a great car - is large, spacious, incredibly soft and comfortable. It's a little heavy, you can feel in acceleration, but again, it's a bigger car, so it's no surprise. In general, Camry is starting to look and feel like a regular 6 cylinder big American car, which is perhaps exactly what they're trying to do. I did not like much - I like cars such as better agreement is more elegant, dynamic, a little harder on the road, more sporty.
In any case, apart from the fact that I did not need a big limo and the car, I have nothing really against it. Nissan
Nissan is a great car that just do not shoot any particular interest to me. This of course is just a personal taste. Altima, in particular, is very nice, well made and affordable cars. Sentra is less - I found under cars of similar size. Maxima is a great full size car - but similar to Toyota Camry sedan was a little bigger than I was going for. Hyundai
Now this is a puzzle. Sonata has a beautiful style and very elegant. It looks pretty high end by its appearance. And it has excellent performance and plenty of them. For example, a recent trend - Shiftronic transmission or CVT (continuously variable transmission) that pairs of the best attributes of both manual and automatic mechanisms. I heard that the fuel economy with CVT is almost as good as the manual states that Volvo actually one of their models on a highway, CVT performs even better than manual. But for me, driving a car with CVT that experience was not impressive.
Hyundai obviously has a lot of new features for a very affordable price. And although it looks good, you can still say it is an affordable car. When Hyundai entered the U.S. market was known as the worst car - people say that would last for one year. But in the last 5 years have made such good progress, which in some independent assessments (such as Consumer Reports) that in some respects better rate than Honda or Toyota.
However, I do not spend much time on it, although I've considered both Sonata and Tucson SUV as an option. Mazda
I was looking for, mainly in the Mazda 3 Sport. Incidentally, the name is totally misleading - for a long time even consider myself simply because I thought it was a sport edition is not suitable for a family. But when I looked, I was surprised to learn that in reality it is - the term "sport" apparently arose only because "hatchback" was too "boring". Silly - I do not think that really believes that one through either.
In any case, I learned almost everything I needed, and the test unit felt really good. The dealer told me they sell mostly manual versions, because it is a performance car. I doubt this is true, but it is true that the car is very sporty - very responsive, quite strong, and generally a pleasure to drive. However, it has good interior space, and is generally suitable for a family.
But the trunk was small, I. e. narrow. The width of the trunk is virtually the same as the width of the rear door. This just does not get it - Seems as if I purposely did not use all available space.
Moreover, their ratings of accidents (of evidence) were not the best. And as a small defect in the seat covers was a bit unpleasant.
But overall it's a very good car and was considering very seriously
Mazda 5 also caught my attention because it was a bigger car family, it is still a mini van. I was comparing Matrix. However, I found the target with an unusual crossover "design" was not actually achieved (or completed), at least for my taste. The third row is too small for anyone but kids to use for longer than disk. With the third row from top, the trunk is too small. Although not a mini van that is still quite heavy and "lazy" on the road.
Usually a vehicle is very interesting, worth looking at. Subaru
Ah, Subaru. . .
Subaru was the most pleasant discovery for me. I knew almost nothing about this brand, only a few vague facts. But then I heard a little about it I figured that this does is simply excellent. And recently have been gaining more and more popular. Then I went to the U.S. for a weekend and saw that there are as many Subarus (Outback mostly) on the road as they are not Honda Civics in Canada. Each person is the owner!
Therefore, the models explore a bit and thought that Forester and Outback are more attractive. Forestry as a cheaper option smaller Outback and a larger and more expensive. Impreza was too small and a bit too sporty - is a performance car used for racing. Legacy, built on the same chassis and similar Outback and was fine, but Outback simply looks better.
Forester took a test drive - although it has more respect, and is Boxie, jeep-like, I liked it better than the Outback. In fact, this comparison is a bit like comparing apples and oranges - both look very nice and are conceptually different in exterior design. Forester Maybe I liked a little better, precisely because it looks like a small SUV. It handles beautifully. It's not really an SUV, because it is smaller and lower than, for example CR-V, but it feels like one because he feels superior over the road, for example, in a sedan. This gives an excellent view of the road ahead of you. The space was good, but not too well - in particular, shoulder and hip room is comparable even Corolla and Civic. Thus, two car seats and an adult can fit in the back, but would not be too comfortable on a long trip, many hours. Other dimensions including the size of the trunk are fine.
An interesting little side feature the Boxer engine (horizontally opposed pistons): When you turn the ignition, Forester "shakes" just a little, as if you were sitting in a truck. This is not very noticeable, but it gives you a bit of a pleasant feeling of strength.
Safety of Subaru vehicles is one of the strongest points. Their cars have straight 5 in all tests (frontal impact, side impact and rear impact). This is not accidental - they have systematically developed this quality. They have been known in the past to put much effort into safety, even while they admitted that they did because of the style. So even the Forester does not have the curtain airbags in all, protect rear passengers better than some vehicles with curtain airbags. Defect However, I found that the lack of air bags was too serious for me - as I said, my first priority was safety and not want to compromise in this regard, even a little. Outback on the other hand has all 6 airbags, but it is significantly more expensive.
Another security feature as a result of engine design, I. e. Boxer style, is that the center of gravity is very low, lower than the current engines. For this reason, the risk of rollover with Forester is comparable to a sedan, rather than any SUV.
Subaru vehicles are not real gas savers. The specifications say they spend 10. 7L/100km. Outback I drove for 24 hours, and spent 12L/100km. This is understandable, never fuel economy of speculation, especially with the brand new car. However, in comparison with the Corolla 7. 1 or Civic 7. 8, is almost 50% more.
I did not choose Subaru for a couple reasons, though I was so close to buying one. Forester does not have curtain airbags, and new Forester model in 2009. Outback is not cheap - with PDI and taxes and other fees are about $ 38,000. Buy U.S. Outback I would be slightly more than $ 30,000. Forester would be somewhat below $ 30,000. Then I would pay good money and would not be happy with any of the lack of air bags or not the best fuel economy. But I think my next car could easily be a Subaru. Volvo
Needless to say it's a great brand, and one of my favorites. However, affordable or near affordable Volvo (such as S40, V50) are small, and larger ones (S70, V70) are expensive. If not for the price I did not even discuss - you just go and buy it. Volkswagen
I know VW has always been a good car - when I was a child through my hometown was driving VW. I know the characteristics of the models Golf Golf I Golf IV. And I went a bit too. But my main interest in VW was that I was looking for a diesel car. I was disappointed to see that VW dealers in Spain will not sell a lot of diesel models. There TDI (here and now means Jetta TDI) - that's all.
Then I also discovered that the City Golf and City Jetta are surprisingly affordable - they are cheaper than Civic and Corolla. And they are good cars! I almost decided to go to one of them!
But golf is small for a Canadian family, in particular, the trunk is too narrow - I can not even put the pram down the stretch, but have to lean a little. I began to wonder how half of my hometown to raise children with a Golf? (And the other half of the population drove smaller cars.) But these were different times. . .
City Jetta is better in that respect but not much. It is an old Jetta model, first designed several years ago. It remains the same with all the little improvements made in recent years, but nothing major.
Redesign Jetta Jetta entered the model (no "City"), which is about 8 larger and more like an expensive Passsat (actually, so much so that on the way to say I have trouble Jetta Passat). Jetta is an excellent car, has excellent safety features, plenty of space (very, very comfortable on the inside). And there is no diesel (TDI) option.
Overall, an excellent choice - only a summary of all the features and prices decided against it, not much at all.
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Read the rest on the following pages: Part One: Why and how? Part Two: How? Part Four: The Dealers