NWR: cars

jkepros · September 2010

I have a 1997 Honda Civic coupe on it's last legs. The inspection sticker expires in November, and I'm guessing at most I can drag it out until Dec. My husband and I are thinking about how to replace it. We were thinking we'd just get another cheap (<$5k) beater car, but today I discovered the new Honda CR-Z, and totally love it. It makes me wonder what other cars are out there that I don't know about....so any suggestions??

-I hate all SUVs & trucks. (I want a coupe or small sedan/hatchback)
-I like small, but think Minis & Smartcars are TOO small.
-I want decent gas mileage, although it doesn't HAVE to be a hybrid.
-Okay with any brand, although I don't prefer American cars generally (have had reliability issues with American cars in the past).
-Can be a new or used/older model.

Thanks!!

Shazzie116 · September 2010

I have a Rav4 and I love it. Mileage is fine, since it's a compact SUV, and there's plenty of cargo room in the back. The trunk opens like a station wagon, which I like. Basically, I love driving a car that drives like a small car, but has a lot of space (without having too much space). I practically live out of my car at times.

I bought it pre-owned 4 years ago and will drive it until it falls apart. I love Toyotas in general, they're reliable and worth every penny.

noodle_oo · September 2010

Shazzie: we LOVE our Rav4 too! Such a great car! But probably too big for jkepros. My family is also a Toyota family. We could do one of the commercials, we have like 6 in the family.

My coworker has the Honda Fit which sounds like you might like. It is really little car, but not too small. The seats are wicked cool and fold in all sorts of crazy ways so you can fit lots of stuff in it. I think it gets good mileage and it is pretty inexpensive.

We briefly considered the Prius when we were buying. I so wanted to love it, but it drove like a lawnmower and the visibility in the back was terrible. It has less power than my 2003 Corolla and costs a heck of a lot more. The Corolla is another great, car, LOVE it! Had it 8 years and it still runs great and we've had almost no problems with it (knock on wood)! We plan to keep it at least 10 to 12 years, at which point I think we could still sell it to a college student for like $1-2K. Not bad for a $16K investment.