New car purchase

I have been behind the wheel of things that are too slow and uninspiring for the last several years. Currently a 1997 Plymouth Voyageur. I have been toying with the idea of a new car purchase since this van is sucking gas money like crazy!!! So far the current short list is the new GTI, Civic Si and the Mazda 3 Sport GT. My needs are as follows: I want to have fun behind the wheel again!!!! Plain and simple.... Mileage is a factor too as rising gas prices put a cramp on choices. I do live in Ontario Canada so it must be a year round car that i could possibly autocross with a little tweaking. I like the rest of you can never leave well enough alone, so tuning said car in the future will be a definite. Any input would be greatly appreciated.......... Let the opinions fly!!!!!

Those are all great choices and you couldn't go wrong with any of them. I think the Mini Cooper S or WRX might also be good choices for you depending upon on your tastes. The WRX is just about the most fun you can have in winter and if you watch the options you can keep the price down.

The Si has fun to drive and good fuel mileage covered. The Mazda 3 will get decent fuel mileage but will not be as fun as the Si. A base Mini with the upgraded susupension will be fun to throw into corners and be good on gas but is slow in a straight line. The GTI, WRX, and Mazdaspeed 3 are fast and fun but not to easy on the pertrol.

In reply to racer_ace:

Actually the GTI will pull close to 30 mpg on the highway, so it's pretty economical.

The other issue i have is the exorbinant price difference if i buy across the border in the USA. Why is it deemed acceptable that i pay $8000 more for the same vehicle because i live north of the border????? If i purchase in the USA what draw backs do i have being a Canadian citizen??? Would servicing and warranty issues be a problem????

The other thing you have to watch (besides warranties etc.) is whether your chosen US vehicle is even legally importable. It PROBABLY is, but it's not an automatic "Welcome home with your nice new car, Sir." Your (and my) beloved government has a good web site with info.

lokigti wrote: The other issue i have is the exorbinant price difference if i buy across the border in the USA. Why is it deemed acceptable that i pay $8000 more for the same vehicle because i live north of the border????? If i purchase in the USA what draw backs do i have being a Canadian citizen??? Would servicing and warranty issues be a problem????

I've several friends who've done this whenever the dollar gets close to parity. Hondas and Subarus, mostly. I believe the Honda owner still has his car serviced in the US. It seems each manufacturer is a bit different, so I would proceed with caution, and ask lots of questions.

... and it's only fair that I should tell you what that web site for the Registrar of Imported Vehicles is: www.riv.ca . Sorry for not doing that last night -- apparently my brain times out.

The funny thing is that the Civic is made in Canada but cheaper in the US.

My vote is the Si. But, I might be biased as that's who gives me a pay check every week.

I'm assuming you're planning to buy new?

You didn't list a preference on body style. Sedan, coupe, 3-door hatch or 5-door hatch?

If I were buying new I think I would take a hard look at the Si because the things just don't seem to depreciate. I really wish they made it in a 5-door.

The 2.0 Mazda 3 will get better gas mileage than the Si (an consequently be much slower), the 2.3 or 2.5 Mazda 3 will use about the same amount of fuel as the Si, but it can take 87 octane while the Si needs 91. Performance wise the Si is faster than the bigger engine 3's, but I don't know if it's more fun. GTI, Speed3 and WRX will all need 91 also.

I was recently in similar shoes. I bought a used Mazda 3 hatchback and so far I really like it. I wanted 5-doors and my budget limited me to used cars.

After comparing the Honda and Mazda 3 (we didn't look at the GTI, but did look at the Corolla XRS), we opted for the Mazda 3 Sport GT 5spd ...

Two main reasons were: Mazda Sport is a mini-wagon, and the Mazda finance rates were better (March 2009). Ohh - and the Mazda dealer was more helpful...

We get 35 mpg running with snow tires and ski racks....

GGarrard Ottawa, ON

twolittlebroncos wrote: I'm assuming you're planning to buy new? You didn't list a preference on body style. Sedan, coupe, 3-door hatch or 5-door hatch? If I were buying new I think I would take a hard look at the Si because the things just don't seem to depreciate. I really wish they made it in a 5-door. The 2.0 Mazda 3 will get better gas mileage than the Si (an consequently be much slower), the 2.3 or 2.5 Mazda 3 will use about the same amount of fuel as the Si, but it can take 87 octane while the Si needs 91. Performance wise the Si is faster than the bigger engine 3's, but I don't know if it's more fun. GTI, Speed3 and WRX will all need 91 also. I was recently in similar shoes. I bought a used Mazda 3 hatchback and so far I really like it. I wanted 5-doors and my budget limited me to used cars.

the 2.3 or 2.5 mazda3 should get better mileage than the Si, around 33ish, the mazdaspeed3 gets similar mileage to the GTi, Si, and they're all better than the wrx's 25 hwy.

Kia Koup?

Not so sure about the Kia, although the Hyundai Genesis Coupe is also an option.... As far as body style, i'm not too picky.... Two door coupe, four door or five door......it all depends on the drive. It does all start with looks, but handling, braking and get up and go are truly the main criteria. I appreciate all the input..... Still have to test drive several of options and let driving feel have it's input in the choice. Posted previously about whether to buy or finish my current project.... Quite possibly i'll do both as i don't want to abandon the project car, and the van has seen better days..... A lottery win would make my choice easy........ A new 911..... ;-)

you admit to driving a 1997 Plymouth?

In reply to plance1:

Sometimes we all must make sacrifices in life. Driving that lump has been a huge one, although i will miss the cargo capacity. But fun is going to win out over functionality this time.... The build on my 85 GTI resumes now and our eyes are still open for the new every day driver. The 4 door SI is catching my eye lately.

If I lived back in the Northeast, an Impreza would be tops on the shortlist. You don't need a WRX, the run of the mill Impreza with a 5 speed might pleasantly surprise you in fun factor. Ditto for a Forester XT with some suspension mods.

I've owned a Mazda Sport 5 door, and it was fun to drive and dead-on reliable.

My wife and I currently own 3 Mazdas (not one a Miata) and some other various automobiles. Mazdas have been good to me. I vote Mazda.

I'm going through this right now myself, and have more or less narrowed it down to the following:

2011 Subaru WRX

2011 Volkswagen GTI

2007 to present MINI Cooper S and 2011 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 are making strong cases for themselves right now. I'm just not certain what I really want and keep going round in circles. My only real requirements are "more fun than a 1995 Mercury Grand Marquis" and manual transmission. I want a daily driver, that is fun to autocross and TSD rally, though lately I'm thinking the multicar route may be the way to go.

Fun, reliable daily driver, maybe couple years old with modern amenities and then a cheap autocross/tsd toy with 80s-tactic coolness, like a MK1 GTI or NA 2nd gen. RX-7. I'm just starting to realize how old the 80s cars are getting...

Opinion: justifying buying a new car because the old one is sucking down gas is a bit daft.

Used Mazda3 would be what I'd look into.

Osterkraut wrote: Opinion: justifying buying a new car because the old one is sucking down gas is a daft.

Could not agree more! I get abbot 23 mpg out of my V8 Marquis... Gas would have to be reeeeeealy expensive to justify even a Civic hybrid! I mean, what does the return on investment look like... Saving $10 a tank versus $25k for a new car?

OTOH, if you are getting a new car anyway, why not benefit from some science in the mpg department?

You say you are going to "tune" a new car. unless you are extremely careful, you can kiss that new car warranty goodbye. And that's the premium for buying new. it breaks, you go to the dealer, say fix it, and 90% of the time, NO bill. OTOH, if you can't resist tuning the car, don't buy new. Some manufacturers allow some changes, but, be damn sure you know what you're going to do, and if it will not void the warranty. With some manufacturers, simply changing over to a cold air intake will void part of the warranty, so these boards have said in the past. So, do your homework BEFORE BUYING..