Our 2008 car buying decision - David Woodsmall
1/02/2010 - Optimized for Firefox 3.5.5
COPYRIGHT 2007 thru 2010 - David R. Woodsmall
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Well - the car purchase decision took a while!
NOTE these are our OPINIONS, based on reading, viewing and gut feel.
You may not agree with our opinions, at all. We may be totally wrong.
Please inform me of any inccuracies (thank you).
Use this information at your own risk.
Caveat Emptor. We bought our Toyota Corolla Sport on 12/31/2007.
Some of the major criteria for us (not necessarily in order of importance):
0] Runs on regular grade of gasoline
1] Initial cost
2] Mileage (Corolla gets better mileage of any cars in or near its
class, except for the Fit)
3] Dependability
4] Safety handling features (AWD, traction control, stability control -
NONE of which we ended up with.
5] Front Side air bags and five-star frontal crash safety rating (which
we got). CRASH TEST INFORMATION
6] Four star side crash rating (the highest for cars of this size) - we got.
7] GARMIN (GPS) FRIENDLY - where and how to fit in the GPS, and run the powercord.
8] Appearance - some look like ugly boxes, some have neat looking
spoilers and moon roofs.
9] Locking storage (trunks) can be nice.
10] Well laid out dash gauges and controls.
11] Must be a 4 or 5-speed automatic.
12] Good head room FRONT and BACK
13] Comfortable seats - good for a long trip
14] Keyless entry
15] Cruise control
16] ABS brakes
17] Distributed Braking
The Mazda3 did NOT have a five star crash test, plus did not have as good a reliability
record (see Consumer Reports) as the Hondas or Toyotas - so we scrapped
it from our list.
Joany decided that she didn't really like the look of the Honda Fit,
and it didn't have a center console to put things in (never use a
preposition to end a sentence with). Some people complained about the
small gas tank, and some claimed the mileage was not as good as it was
made out to be - I THINK THEY KNOW NOTHING.
The Honda Element had the AWD and Stability and Traction Control
that we wanted. It was really too wide for us, especially with the longer front
doors, to fit comfortably in our carport. Several people had complained that
the Element did not heat the entire car cabin to their satisfaction. The
Element has about 166 HP, so it did not get as good a milage as the
other cars, but it should be safer in a crash. Some tests indicated that
the Element might be a little more prone to roll-over than other cars.
The way in which the doors meet cause somewhat of a blind spot, that
some people complained about.
We didn't look hard at the Honda Civic - Joany didn't really like it's size
nor it's appearence. The Civic did not get as good gas milage as the Corolla
Sport. The Civic MAY RAISE YOUR INSURANCE PREMIUMS, as it is the
number one most stolen make of car. Civics are noisier than some other car
models. Civics have a Controversial gauge cluster design. Reliability was
less than that of the Corolla (Consumer Reports).
Apparently? no Hybrid vehicle is currently a real cost saver, so the car
reports say, after you consider costs of charging the batteries and battery
replacements. THINGS KEEP IMPROVING, SO CHECK THE FACTS -
THIS DATA MAY BE OBSOLETE.
The Toyota Yaris was too small (for us), too uncomfortable (for us),
not as reliable (CR reports), NOT a CR (Consumer Reports) best buy.
I also thought the motor might have to work too hard (i.e,not last as
long) - an opinion. Emergency handling was below average.
It was scored to low (looking at all things) to be recommended by
Consumer Reports. Loud engine and road noise (CR). Center mounted
gauges and the position of the driver caused lots of frustration (CR).
Other cars considered and rejected by us, for our use:
ACCENT (Hyundai)
ACCORD (Honda)
COBALT (Chevrolet)
ELANTRA (Hyundai)
FORESTER (Subaru)
MATRIX (Toyota)
MAZDA 6
RAV4 (Toyota)
RIO (Kia)
VERSA (Nissan)
The 2008 Corolla Sport that we bought:
1] Runs on regular gasoline
2] Gets very good mileage
3] Has a very high dependability rating
4] Has side front curtain airbags
5] Good initial cost, and we got a $1,000 off (a Toyota special that
ended on 1/2/2008).
6] Five Star frontal crash rating
7] Four star side impact crash rating (the best rating for vehicles of
this size and even larger)
8] good roll-over resistance
9] Two speed front airbags - weight of person (child?) and speed of car
determines speed of air bag inflation.
10] 4-speed automatic
11] Split rear seats - that is, either side, or both rear seats may be
folded down to allow longer objects to be placed in the trunk of the car.
12] Good head room FRONT and BACK
13] Comfortable seats - good for a long trip
12] Very roomy interior (well rated for that).
13] Keyless entry
14] Appearance - we love how it looks, including teh spoilers and Moon roof.
15] Locking large trunk.
16] Well laid out dash gauges and controls.
17] Garmin fits in reasonably well.
18] Cruise control
19] The current Corolla is now as big as the CAMRY used be.
The current CAMRY (NOT A GOOD BUY - Consumer Reports) is too big for
our needs.
20] ABS brakes
21] Distributed Braking
We also got an "All Weather Guard" package - it consists of a better
heater and even a forced air heater vent for the back seat passengers.
VEHICLE REVIEWS - Click here
You may also wish to enter a search in WWW.GOOGLE.COM, similar to these:
"review 2008 toyota matrix"
"problems with 2007 pontiac vibe"
A google search like these can give you a lot of information.
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