The newer crop of subcompacts (sort of a which car thread)

The Corvette's been giving me a little too much drama recently, and I've decided it really is not in appropriate condition for commuting 80 miles a day. So I'm making plans to sell it and get something a bit more long commute friendly. (Before everyone gives The Standard Which Car Answer, let me state that Miatas do not have enough leg room for me to be comfortable in them on a drive that long.)

But I was thinking that I might want to get one of the newer crop of subcompacts - not brand new as I'd rather make monthly payments to a mechanic than a bank, but reasonably new. I'd still want to autocross it occasionally, but with a long commute mileage and dependability are pretty large priorities. Also, I'm 6'2" tall so I'd need a fair amount of room. What are your opinions about models like the Echo, Versa, and Aveo? (Not sure if Honda's offering would, er, fit my budget just now...)

Run do not walk away from the Aveo. You will be miserable in any drive over 8 minutes.

The Echo is typical Toyota. I wish there was more wheel/tire room under them, they have miserably small wheel wells.

The issue I have with a lot of the econo-commuters is the fact that most are miserably uncomfortable and don't get exceptionally better fuel mileage than a similarly priced car in the next segment up.

I think a TDI Beetle would be a perfect long mile commuter.

I'd take a hard look at a hyundai or kia..

Hyundai's aren't bad now and Kia's are crap but cheap.

I have seen atleast one person auotx a new echo and with R compounds it was mildly surprising.

There's also the Yaris. Prices are around $10,000 for a new one.

The 92-00 Civic HX gets great mpg. The HXs came in a coupe form, more storage and longer wheelbase for a more stable ride.

I've always liked the Kia Spectra5, although I don't know much about them. Could be worth a look...

I'm intrigued by that AWD Suzuki they have now.

Thanks to all who responded. The trouble with Hyundais is that they're way too cramped for me. Every one I try to squeeze in puts the steering wheel where my knees should be. I once got into one at the Atlanta Auto Show and was able to adjust the steering wheel high enough that it cleared my knees, but then it sprang back when I let go. Turned out that Hyundai wasn't equipped with a tilt wheel!

And since Kias are rebadged Hyundais now... Well, I'm not sure about the Spectra; wasn't that a Mazda design?

Tim Baxter wrote: I'm intrigued by that AWD Suzuki they have now.

I was tempted to get one at one point, but they get crap mileage with the AWD.

I had an 02 Sentra SE-R. I really liked it, and it was reasonably fast. I sold it to get a 350Z, though. With an auto (4-speed, ugh!) and a heavy foot, I got around 26 mpg. I'm only 5'6", though, and I had plenty of adjustment room, but I don't know how a large person would feel.

Take a look at the 2000+ Toyota Celica.

All the economy of Corolla wrapped in a sportier body but still with the convenience of a hatchback. I do not know how much legroom or height they offer.

My wife has a Versa SL w/CVT. It was her choice for her 50 mile each way (100 per day) commute. One and a half years ago, we looked at everything in the "Scion Class" of cars. Though no sports car, the Versa was the quietest interior at highway speeds (the Yaris was down right loud), the nicest interior and the best highway road manners. It now has 45k miles and it has not had a single mechanical issue. MPG is a steady 30 combined.

Going from a Corvette to any of those would make me consider suicide...or walking. :omg:

6-Speed LSx Corvettes get 30+ MPG on the highway, how is that not commute friendly? Those little econoboxes barely beat that!

The Echo's a pretty good car, except for poor visibility, especially in the rear.

focus svt?

no wait, Vibe GT

I will bet that a Focus SVT get so little more mpg over a Vette, that it would be brarely noticable.

Upgrade to a newer vette that gets good mileage...

Note that the OP didn't say he was getting rid of the Vette for mileage reasons, but reliability.

That said, you can get 30mpg in a Focus SVT on the highway fairly easily, which is only marginally better than the Vette.

OTOH, mine gets 25-26ish in town, which will destroy the Vette's in town mileage. I also get about 15 on track, which is also way better than the Vette. Let's just not talk about front straight speed, OK? :nice:

What do the boxy (early-00s) Civic Si's go for these days? They're sufficiently unloved by the traditional Civic Si crowd that they can probably be had cheap. It's no Nationals winner, but it would still be fun to AutoX.

jrw1621 wrote: Take a look at the 2000+ Toyota Celica. All the economy of Corolla wrapped in a sportier body but still with the convenience of a hatchback. I do not know how much legroom or height they offer.

Unfortunately, the answer is "none." I've tried and can't fit at all. Which is too bad because otherwise those little beasties would be perfect.

6-Speed LSx Corvettes get 30+ MPG on the highway, how is that not commute friendly? Those little econoboxes barely beat that!

Yes, but one of those is out of my budget. It's a '86 with the L98 and nearly 190,000 miles on the clock. Gets around 19 mpg in town.

I've owned a Focus before. However, it didn't get very good in-town mileage for a car of its size - I think I can find something that can beat the 24 mpg or so I was seeing with mine.

Dude, in all seriousness, you need a 6th gen Celica. The engine in all trim levels is absolutely bulletproof, even the GT with the larger 2.2 engine can get 30mpg or so. You can pick them up for cheap, and mileage really doesn't matter as long as they were taken care of.

Looking for model years 1994-1999.

And yes..... 2000+ Celica GTS is AWESOME.

LS1 Camaro/Firebird. Fit's 6'+ guys no problem, 6-Speed manual yields great gas mileage, and NICE ones can be found all day under $10,000. Super reliable too!

Get a Miata and have your legs shortened. Duh.

I didn't like the Yaris all that much when we looked yesterday. Just your everyday boring uncomfortable transport appliance, which is fine if you know that getting into it. The prices seemed to be about $14k for those they had on the lot, too.

Stay away from the Aveo. We're looking at a Fit soon.

Used, the Scion xB and Honda Fit both have a ton of usable room and seem well-built. Like someone else said, the Civic Si of a couple years ago is tall and roomy, and fun if not particularly good on gas. Diesel VW might be worth a look too.

Another odd duck is the Elantra GT of a couple years ago, a 5 door with quite a bit of room and nicer seats than the base car. I liked the one I tested back when they were new.

This is supposedly coming to our shores in the near future:

http://files.windingroad.com/newsuploads/2007/05/nissan-cube-1.jpg

It will cater to the 1st-gen xB crowd who got disgusted w/ how big/Americanized the 2nd-gen xB became.

I'm stuck on the Fit because of its safety ratings. 6 airbags, 5-star frontal rating--good stuff. Plus, you can haul a bunch of crap in it.

The Yaris hatch seems like an excellent commuter drone, though. I was sitting next to one a a light the other day an thought--"how cool would that thing be w/ some 17" wheels and a drop?" :twisted:

93celicaGT2 wrote: Dude, in all seriousness, you need a 6th gen Celica. The engine in all trim levels is absolutely bulletproof, even the GT with the larger 2.2 engine can get 30mpg or so. You can pick them up for cheap, and mileage really doesn't matter as long as they were taken care of. Looking for model years 1994-1999. And yes..... 2000+ Celica GTS is AWESOME.

(Does search on AutoTrader)

Now that's got potential. Almost everything that makes an Integra a great car, plus they sell for half the price and seem half as likely to be riced. I'll have to see if I can squeeze into one.

I haven't quite decided if I want a total appliance-mobile or not. Having just a boring-as-a-toaster car to drive isn't fun, and while I'm making progress on the Dart, there's going to be a lot of times this would be my only car. On the other hand, I've still got a sportbike. :twisted:

I hear the Yaris can actually fit a fair amount of tire under it if you upgrade the suspension to prevent rubbing...

I absolutely loved my 1st-gen XB as an appliance car, got a consistant 3+ mpg and if you ran it out and worked the shifter it was acceptably zippy, certainly better than any 70's econobox. Huge interior room too; 300#+ 6'5"+ friends always marveled at the amount of room they had both front and back. Sure it got a bit slower with 4 adults in it or pulling a trailer, but it was still faster than my 4-cylinder S10. I put 42k miles on it in 18 months before trading it in on the MINI that I just sold after only 22k and 8 months and never once had any issues with anything on the car. I may even buy another at some point when the prices finally start coming down.