New car shopping

So my roommate is looking at new cars and I went with and drove and looked at some of the new cars. First we stopped by the Mazda dealership and drove the Mazda 2. I got to be honest I don't get the hype behind Mazda 2. It was decent to drive (this was with an automatic) but I didn't think it was all that fun and the engine was kinda peppy but didn't really entertain me. The interior seemed well made but really boring and nasty feeling. The Mazda 2 was $16,500 with no cruise control. The new CX5 is a seriously nice place to sit in though (didn't drive it). The Mazda 3 interior isn't nearly as nice some of the other cars we looked at.

We then headed over to the Fiat dealership and test drove a 500 Sport (again automatic ). I LOVED the 500. It was a blast to drive (with sport mode engaged) and the engine was pretty willing to rev. The steering felt really nice and the car felt fairly tossalbe. The only complaint I had about it was the interior looked nice but I wasn't sure about the quality. I now really want an Abarth. I thought the 500 was more fun to drive then the 2, a nice place to sit, it is better optioned and it gets better gas mileage but neither have amazing seats.

Next stop was the Kia dealership and we looked at the Kia Forte Koup and Rio. The Forte Koup and Rio are both fairly nice places to sit and there is a pretty decent amount of room in them but all the dealerships in the area have ~$3k "market adjustment" and the Forte Koup isn't worth $20k and a Rio isn't worth $18k. So berkeley 'em.

We then stopped at the Hyundai dealership and looked at the Accent and Elantra Coupe. We didn't drive either yet but the Accent is made of pure boring. We couldn't even bring ourselves to think about driving it. The interior is at best ok and it is just boring to look at. I know the Rio and Accent are basically the same but I thought the Rio's interior was nicer and the Rio is better looking. The Elantra on the other hand has a really nice interior at a really nice price and looks pretty good. We are going to try it out later this week.

We also stopped by the Dodge dealership to look at the Dart. They had two the Limited with 1.4ltr turbo with 6 speed manual ($25k) and SE with 2.0ltr with 6 speed manual ($18k). I was floored by how nice this car is. The only thing I didn't like was the steering wheel was little fat and the SE doesn't come with cruise control. The interior was by far the nicest of the cars we looked at. We are also going back to drive one of these later this week.

Other cars we are going to look at the Honda Fit and Chevy Spark and Sonic. Oh my roommate already looked at the Ford Focus and Fiesta and said he thought they felt fat and floppy.

I put a few hundred miles on a rental Elantra two weeks ago. Thought I'd hate being put in a Hyundai, but I didn't. Any time you ask the car to do anything above maintaining a steady speed on level ground, there is a downshift and a lot of growling noises. Moving from a 30 to a 35 MPH zone? Grrr... Slight incline? Grrr... The steering is communicative, but a little light. Mileage was great. The seating position and controls were quite nice. Lots of pockets and bins. I don't have much experience with manumatic shifting, but the manual mode was less annoying than my experiences.

Just bought one. 2013 Hyundai Elantra GL. Retiring/traded in my 2003 Mazda Speed Protege.

I test drove both the auto and manual versions of the car.

That electric assist steering takes a little getting used to. Specially coming from the MSP direct to the road feel but was fine once I stopped over steering.

In the manual version of the car I felt so disconnected from the driving experience. Hell the motor was so quiet I did not even realize it was on. Between the steering, the crazy light almost floppy clutch pedal and truck wide gate shifts we opted to go with the auto. (Reads made wife really happy). I simply found the manual to not "enhance" the driving experience. That said it was cool to engage 6th gear for the first time in my life. I've always driven 4-5 speed manual cars.

It is a new family car. We had really considered the Mazda 3 Sky-GS but found the back seat tight for our kid. Plus we got a smoking deal on the GL.

Now as a car guy I have to admit I'm having trouble dealing with the departure my Mazda. I wont miss paying for high octane fuel with 10L/100KM economy but will miss the sheer fun I had in the car. Even after 8 years it still put a smile on my face.

Oh well guess I'll have to drive my Triumph more often.

If interiors are so important, hit up VW. You guys are driving some of the cheapest cars out there; you shouldn't expect the Taj Mahal underneath your cheeks.

rotard wrote: If interiors are so important, hit up VW. You guys are driving some of the cheapest cars out there; you shouldn't expect the Taj Mahal underneath your cheeks.

Yes I am aware of that. None of them are luxury car nice but compared to other cars in there class some of them a lot nicer then others espicially the Dart. I really want to drive it and see if it drive any good. Anyway there is a chance he ends up just buying a used version of the "answer".

The only complaint I had about it was the interior looked nice but I wasn't sure about the quality.

Thank goodness we've moved past the all-hype phase where people bitched at me for saying basically the same thing.

Glad to hear dodge had manuals in stock. Not that im in the market but id really like to check them out. As a fan of the dodge that used to be, it's pretty exciting to me that they may finally have released a small car that wasnt a travesty in my eyes.