Which Compact/sub-compact?

[CSMRX7]

So I am helping a friend find a car, and she really isn't sure what to get.

We are looking at:

Honda Fit
Honda Civic
Toyota Yaris
VW Rabbit
Mazda 3
Hyundai Tiburon

I am not in the know with the compacts these days and I was wondering peoples opinions that either own or have experience with these cars.

I personally like either the Civic, the 3 or the Rabbit, but am looking for other folk's oppinions.

[Mitsu3000gt]

The rabbit has won all the comparison tests I've read. It will be the most "solid" car of the bunch but in that category and given your choices you really cannot go wrong. Even hyundai has got their shit together these days and makes a good product with good warranty.

[Isaiah]

From a design standpoint, I would go for the Rabbit. I've never owned a Toyota and wouldn't start with the Yaris of all cars, and I don't much care for Mazda.

Hyundai is Hyundai and you won't get either performance OR reliability, but you'll save a few bucks.

Civics are too played out in my opinion but the Fit is actually a good compact for the money.

Rabbit would probably my choice after the test drive.

[GTS Jeff]

-Yaris blows. Ridiculously shitty interior, looks stupid, and the worst part is that it drives like a tall piece of poop on 4 wheels.
-Mazda3 is played out
-Rabbit is sweet, but you'll pay out the ass for it (shut up, I'm talking about depreciation)
-I wouldn't be caught dead in a Tibby

I would say the best choices would be between the Civic and the Fit. Great resale, reliability, and they drive nicely. They're in a different class, so it's up to you to decide what you're looking for. I would say the main benefit of the Civic is that you get wayyyy more car for slightly more money, but the Fit is a very versatile car and I like the way the seats move around.

[ryanallan]

Well she’s a girl, and I hope im assuming correctly in that she wont care if she’s see 100 other civic owners each day.

So if I were her I would get the civic which seems to have the best resale value, its pretty sporty, reliable, and a good all-round car.

Plus it has the cleanest gasoline burning engine in the world :thumbsup:

[A790]

I would get a Civic Hybrid. Clean emissions, great economy, and still very well priced :)

[kongaj]

what about the versa?
I personally would go rabbit hands down. I love that car.
But the Honda fit and Nissan Versa are nice as well.

[LilDrunkenSmurf]

Honda Fit
Honda Civic
Toyota Yaris
VW Rabbit
Mazda 3
Hyundai Tiburon

From that list, my choice would be...

Rabbit > Fit > Civic > 3 > Nothing else.

I would go take the Fit over the civic because I find the new civic to be bulky and awkward, even if it is more powered. And the Rabbit, because it's damn cool haha.

[Hakkola]

I have to put in my 2 cents. I drove the new civic during the winter, I hated it. Terrible blind spots, you cant see the front or rear of the vehicle, it's weird. It looks nice from the outside but I can't stand driving it.

[FiveFreshFish]

Originally posted by Hakkola
I have to put in my 2 cents. I drove the new civic during the winter, I hated it. Terrible blind spots, you cant see the front or rear of the vehicle, it's weird. It looks nice from the outside but I can't stand driving it.

True. It's so different from the old-school Hondas from the late-80s to early-90s. In the old Hondas, visibility and seating positioning can't be beat. With the new safety standards to meet, current cars have such a raked windshield and thick A-pillars that take away a good portion of your forward view.

Everything's getting so tall now. Why can't they make a low-slung econobox anymore?

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by Hakkola
I have to put in my 2 cents. I drove the new civic during the winter, I hated it. Terrible blind spots, you cant see the front or rear of the vehicle, it's weird. It looks nice from the outside but I can't stand driving it. A lot of new cars are like this now, and I think a lot of sports cars are designed with high shoulder lines so there's less glass on the car. Visibility is for pussies! :poosie:

[CSMRX7]

Well we looked at a couple of cars after work. First went to honda, liked the fit its actually a pretty fun little car. I have to agree with everyone else on here and say that the civic looks great from the outside, but once you sit in it it feels all wrong. The gauges are screwed and things just seem to be in the wrong place.

Looked at the Rabbit next and she fell in love. It is a nice car, the fit and finish is better than the Civic (how it will hold up long term I dunno). Felt like a much nicer car, very German. She is already sold, but I would still ike her to look at the Mazda 3.

I would agree with y'all and say the 3 is played out, but she doesn't notice that everyone and their mother drives one, if she likes it she doesn't care.

[rage2]

I checked out the Nissan Versa, the Honda Fit, and the Toyota Yaris.

Nissan Versa was kinda blah, aftermarket support wasn't huge. Just seemed boring.

Honda Fit was cool, typical Honda great interior, looks kinda dorky without aftermarket mods. A bit on the pricier side tho once optioned up similar to the others.

Toyota Yaris, good interior, awesome cupholders. Great use of space, and the rear seats on the RS rock. Rear passengers can adjust the tilt on the rear seats, and it can fold down and carry tons of shit.

I ended up getting the Yaris RS. The price was right... I paid a few bucks over $20k after taxes and pretty much all options that I needed including that sweet ass pimpin' bike rack.

First thing you should do is to replace the shitty stock seats tho so you don't feel like you're driving a minivan. I've had 5 ppl in the car, big guys too, and we can get around town comfy. I've moved shit with the rears folded down, and it's amazing how much it can hold. The front cup holders rock, I can have my timmy's there, take a corner hard, and no spillage lol.

Plus there's an insane amount of rice and go parts for the Yaris, maybe more so than the Fit. I'm 1/2 way done ricing mine up ;).

http://www.virgeweb.com/rage2/yaris/yaris37.jpg

http://www.virgeweb.com/rage2/yaris/yaris30.jpg

http://www.virgeweb.com/rage2/yaris/yaris32.jpg

http://www.virgeweb.com/rage2/yaris/yaris46.jpg

As for the comments about the Yaris being a shitty car to drive, I've been driving it WAY more than my E55. I like the car that much. I think I've only put 300km on the E55 since I bought the Yaris. Then again, mine's lowered, wider tires, and has the tanabe strut bar and a TRD sway bar installed, so maybe it just handles good cuz of the mods.

Car's going to go to my bro when he gets his license next month, so I dunno if I could give it up or not.

[rage2]

Oh ya, the government is giving me $1000 for buying the Yaris cuz it's fuel efficient, more mod money! lol

I drive my Yaris hard, and still get 525km on a $38 tank of gas. Saves so much $, using for more mods!

[Speed_69]

how bout considering a 2008 mitsubishi lancer?

[eur0]

Rage, you forgot to comment on the exceptional faux carbon fiber finish. I think that would sell anyone :).

[rage2]

Originally posted by GTS Jeff
-Yaris blows. Ridiculously shitty interior, looks stupid, and the worst part is that it drives like a tall piece of poop on 4 wheels.
What did you find wrong with the interior? Everyone that's been in the car loves the interior cuz everything is so well laid out. Sure it's plasticy, but I mean for a super cheap ass car, what were u expecting?

[rage2]

Originally posted by eur0
Rage, you forgot to comment on the exceptional faux carbon fiber finish. I think that would sell anyone :).
haha, ya I didn't think that a $360 option would look that stupid. Kinda regret getting that one haha.

[eur0]

Originally posted by CSMRX7
Well we looked at a couple of cars after work. First went to honda, liked the fit its actually a pretty fun little car. I have to agree with everyone else on here and say that the civic looks great from the outside, but once you sit in it it feels all wrong. The gauges are screwed and things just seem to be in the wrong place.

Looked at the Rabbit next and she fell in love. It is a nice car, the fit and finish is better than the Civic (how it will hold up long term I dunno). Felt like a much nicer car, very German. She is already sold, but I would still ike her to look at the Mazda 3.

I would agree with y'all and say the 3 is played out, but she doesn't notice that everyone and their mother drives one, if she likes it she doesn't care.

I dont know if it's just me but looking at the Rabbit from behind reminds me of a boat. I love the overall styling of the car but when I follow one I always look at the bottom bumper, just seems so overly round haha. What were her comments on the Fit?

[Team_Mclaren]

Originally posted by rage2



Car's going to go to my bro when he gets his license next month, so I dunno if I could give it up or not.

im sure he wouldnt midn the E55:rofl: :rofl:

[4doorj]

well!
i was looking at the fit
i was set on buying it
but then i found out the fit is only about 5 percent better on gas then the civic...
fit was a really fun car to drive
so i testdrove the civic
personally i found the civic to be way better car for the money then the fit! and it was nicer looking
i wanted something practical... so i was going to get the sedan... put the sedan and coupe side by side... sedan is ooogly compared to the coupe so i bought the coupe
i just picked up a 07 civic coupe yesterday!
absolutly love it!!!
everything in it seems oooooooooo modern in it! drives soooo smooth
im sooo happy... i found that guages and everything to be perfectly placed.. but thats just me... if your driving and u want to see how fast... u just a slight glance down... crappy part is your passengers can see how fast your going...haha

http://www.sixdegreeinteractive.com/s2000/6.jpg

[CSMRX7]

She liked the fit (more than the civic) till she saw the rabbit then everything else changed and she doesn't even want to look at the Yaris anymore.

[rage2]

Originally posted by CSMRX7
She liked the fit (more than the civic) till she saw the rabbit then everything else changed and she doesn't even want to look at the Yaris anymore.
If she likes the rabbit and can afford it, there's no point in looking at the subcompacts (fit, yaris, versa)... completely different class/segment. Those 3 are for geared towards the budget folks.

[GTS Jeff]

Originally posted by rage2

What did you find wrong with the interior? Everyone that's been in the car loves the interior cuz everything is so well laid out. Sure it's plasticy, but I mean for a super cheap ass car, what were u expecting? I guess I'm expecting something similar to the Fit's interior. Yes, it's a cheap car, but the fit and finish of the car is like a j-body's and the Honda Fit is nowhere near as bad, so Toyota has no excuses. When you step into the Yaris for the first time, you think, "well I guess this car is pretty cheap, so whatever," but when you step into a Fit, you think, "hey, this is nowhere near as flimsy as the Yaris."

[hjr]

ive had some time in a yaris (stock) as a week long rental w/ over 1600km, and despite all my intentions to love it (cause i like the look and idea of the yaris) i came out really disappointed and grumbly. The car has a shit interior, the gauges are definitely poorly laid out. i know its their thing to have the cluster in the middle but its a cluster-fuck of design. not practical and made me feel like i was driving a go cart the whole time. they can even be difficult to see with the proper sun position.....

on to the power, i know its a small motor and mine was an auto, but i was extremely unhappy with the peppiness (or lack there of). the handling was crap for sure. it was too tall and the wheel base too short to make the car fun or confidence inspiring (in stock form). it was waiving along on the hiways and despite a crazy turning radius, not that nimble in the city.

i was really concerned with the lack of steering sensitivity with the car. The Yaris has very heavy feeling steering, and on the hiway, with wheel dead still and driving strait, the car would wonder from side to side (of the lane). this was concerning for sure.

nothing about the car made me think - i would own this car - every time i tried to come up with the positives, the cons would just battle them and kick their ass's.....