Best New Sub/Sub Compact

OK I need an appliance. Something that I can lease for the next two years maybe three. Looking for 35+ mpg, a lease under 200$ a month with little down and really really short. Has to carry two people and be able to go to get grocery. Plus live at the airport in long term parking without me caring about it in the slightest. I live in the land of traffic if it ever made it to 65 on the freeway it will be for 1-2 miles max.

It needs to be short so it fits behind a 48 Bentley in the garage, 141 inches max.

The list so far

Scion IQ (Feels most like a appliance)

Smart Car (Cheapest lease ~3K for 24 months)

Fiat 500 pop (140 Inches long, which is way to close)

Chevy Spark (Its GM not sure I can lease it)

The Fit is too long.

So far I have driven the Fiat which ~6K for a two year lease or 7200 for a 3 years, the Smart is ~3500 or so for a 2 year lease, even less if my uncle buys it as he already has a few Mercedes so we get a 1K$ discount. Have not driven the IQ but the lease comes out at ~5800 which is weird as it is a Toyota and the money factor was really good. It was allegedly available for 139$ a month with minimal down but I have not seen the deal locally.

Anything else I need to look at, my wife HATES the smart car's. I think they are pretty interesting and dirt cheap, like cell phone payment cheap and it fits my needs.

just looked through a list on wiki of modern subcompacts and you're kind of out of luck. This is really old car/microcar territory, and I mean OLD. even the 2nd gen. suzuki swift is too big (only 0.2 inches shorter than your space.)

If you could import a foreign car, the toyota aygo/peugeot 107/citroen c1 is short enough to fit. an original mini (not the modern bmw clone) is small enough and GRM approved

I gather this vehicle may not be living at home very much. Is it possible to position it sideways behind the Bentley when it is there? If so, it might open up your list a bit. For example, the Yaris hatchback (which is basically what you see when you look up "appliance" in the dictionary) is 150.6 in. long, but only 66.7 in. wide. Those numbers are for the outgoing 2012 edition, which should be cheaper as the new ones come in.

There's also the option of leaving the DD/appliance sitting outside instead of garaging it.

JoeyM wrote: There's also the option of leaving the DD/appliance sitting outside instead of garaging it.

WHAT!!!??? You can do that?

The solution, of course, is to buy a car lift...

Raze wrote: The solution, of course, is to buy a car lift...

That was the original plan but I would have to lift my garage door and some of the beams in the garage to make it fit and it was really costly.

Sideways might be an option though.

Suzuki SV650

Question:

Are you in Canada? America? Or other?

pres589 wrote: Suzuki SV650

Grocery shopping can be a bit of a challenge if you need more than two bottles of milk, though. How about a Miata?

ScottRA21 wrote: Question: Are you in Canada? America? Or other?

San Diego, CA.

No such thing as weather and no long travel. I need to go ~7 miles to work and about the same to the airport.

Reason that I am looking so small is I can get the Prowler and the 48 in the garage just fine, the driveway really is only big enough for one small car which is my wife's mini cooper.

I have been using the prowler as my only car now for a few months but I hate leaving it out and parking it downtown or really anywhere is difficult. With our planned move out of the city in about 30 months or so we will have tons more space but no need for a small car.

My grandpa was great at parking in exactly the same spot. He had two little tricks: first, he fashioned wheel chocks that fit against the front wall of the garage, so that the front tires hit the chock just shy of the bumper hitting the wall. For the vehicle that was back almost to the garage door, he hung a tennis ball at eye level, so that it would touch the glass right where he needed to stop. Whenever he got a new car, he would adjust the parking aids accordingly.

accent is too big?

Would something from the sprockets section not be a better match for you? San Diego... rain isn't much of a threat. Saddlebags.. 2 up radios and away you go.

Did you consider a Mazda2?

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Would something from the sprockets section not be a better match for you? San Diego... rain isn't much of a threat. Saddlebags.. 2 up radios and away you go.

I wish that I could have a bike but its just flat out to crazy to have one here in San Diego.

Also Yaris is way to big. Wife is pushing for selling the prowler and getting something expensive and midsize now.

MadScientistMatt wrote:

pres589 wrote: Suzuki SV650

Grocery shopping can be a bit of a challenge if you need more than two bottles of milk, though. How about an Electraglide ?

Fixed that with an embellishment on the SV650 idea.

/ discussion

I would NOT leave a bike in an airport long term parking regularly.

oops, missed the airport parking part.....

CJ2A? 120"

if I was going to do a older car I would do this.

OK guys looks like the smart car is the only thing that will fit.

The deal is 495$ down and 99$ a month for a pure with air conditioning and a stereo plus power locks.

It runs about 4400$ with CA tax and some other small fees for three years. Full maintenance included by the dealership. Not sure how much of it I am going to be able to write-off yet maybe 40%. So it will run 67$ a month out of pocket for just the car.

I hate the glass roof as it just gets to hot in the car so a passion is out.

Or sell Prowler + truck cash and put 40K down and go crazy again and have a real car payment. IE R8/NSX daily driver again, which will get destroyed in long term parking and will suck down cash and gas like the plague and basically crush me when something bad happens to it.

iQ is 120 inches long, you won't find much shorter than that

In reply to DaveEstey:

Thats what she said