Which car should i buy?

[Bugs ****ing Bunny]

I'm also surprised a self-proclaimed sports car enthusiast would pick an S2000. In the same class you have the Lotus Elise, which will run rings around the Honda. You also have the Mazda RX8 which (despite needing more maintenance for the rotary engine) can deliver similar performance from a 4-seater.

[Az]

Personally I'd go with the Corolla.

[bipolarbear]

We have a civic its pretty nice. The turning radius sucks compared to our volvo though, and the trunk is really high so its hard to see out the back when you're backing up which cna be scary nad deadly if you're a kid chasing a ball or jsut a really really short guy.

[Richelieu]

I'm off to test drive the contenders. Hopefully i'll have a decision by the end of the day.

[Q Classic]

Vauxhall and Opel are not sold as such in the States.

[Richelieu]

The deed is done.

[Asher]

Who won?

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp
Oerdin- your comments in favour of GM have always puzzled me. You see, over here "GM" means "Vauxhall", and they're notoriously crap. A few years ago the Vectra came rock bottom in the JD Power survey.

I notive Vauxhall/Opel doesn't feature on your list.

Vauxhall and Opel aren't sold in the US while the quality survey I am quoting only covers cars sold in the US, & Canada. I haven't seen any European quality rankings since I don't shop for cars in Europe. I do know JD Powers has had some very good things to say about GM over the last 5 years or so and it has been moving up the quality rankings.

In the market preception always lags reality so it will take time for the current facts to sink in to people's minds.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Lazarus and the Gimp
I'm also surprised a self-proclaimed sports car enthusiast would pick an S2000. In the same class you have the Lotus Elise, which will run rings around the Honda. You also have the Mazda RX8 which (despite needing more maintenance for the rotary engine) can deliver similar performance from a 4-seater.

2 year old used Honda S2000 $25,000-$29,000. No used Lotus Elise can be bought in the US since 2005 is the first year it was offered for sale in the US. A new Elise, if you can even find one and they're all back ordered, goes for $45,000-$50,000. A new S2000 goes for around $32,000- $35,000 and are in very good supply at all the Honda dealerships.

Do you understand my reasons now?

[Richelieu]

The results of the test drive.

Civic - My favorite going in, as it was for most people who voted in the poll. But I have to say I was not impressed with the test drive.
The guy who came with me had me go directly onto the highway. There, just as i remembered from my own 91 Civic, the car handled very well. Acceleration is just OK, nothing more. But when we were driving to and from the highway, the car was just stiff, i felt the gears were either too short (1st gear) or too long (3rd gear). And i felt every little bump in the street: very stiff suspension. On the whole, much less than what i had anticipated.

[Richelieu]

Originally posted by Asher
Who won?

I'm going to tease you guys a bit.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Ted Striker
Go with the Civic.


Oerdin,

Can you even fit in that S2000? I thought you were like 6'1"?

I am 6'1" and I have to put the seat all the way back but there is enough room. I wish the seats would recline a bit more and an extra inch with the top up would be nice but it still works.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Richelieu


I'm going to tease you guys a bit.

My money is on Mazda. There is an off chance you went with Hyundai though.

[Richelieu]

Mazda 3 - Didn't know a thing about it going in. Dangerously nice car to drive. I liked the power, the handling and the transmission. Very nice experience overall. The only problem with this one is that it's a sporty car. If i was going to buy it i would have to put enough money in it to make it look good as a sports car. I can't buy the "bleh" version of it - the one i tried - it just doesn't look right. So, no.

[Richelieu]

Elantra Yep. That's the one. I tried it twice at 2 different dealerships actually. The first test drive was in the city only and i was really surprised at how well it handled all the potholes. The motor was nice too but since i stayed in the city, i wasn't sure i'd seen enough of it. Plus, since it's a Hyundai, i took a lot of time checking the interior, the detail, etc... It's not a Civic, but it's better than i expected.
The second test drive i took to go on the highway, adn also because i didn't like the first price i got (or the sales guy for that matter). The car has a 2 litre engine and it shows. I could hear the motor a bit over 125, but not that much. Not much wind noise at high speeds. CD also reads MP3s.