Cheap new sedan

[btimbit]

Hey guys,

Looking for a new car for my sister. Her requirements are very female and simple. All she cares about is; brand new car, smooth ride,sedan and heated seats.

So far I've looked at

-2013 Toyota Corolla (Not bad,but felt and looked VERY dated. Prefer the Focus)
-2013 Ford Focus SE (Our choice so far, and 0% financing is a big plus)
-2013 Dodge Dart (Looked nice, but sorry, no Chryslers)
-2013 Chevrolet Cruze (Have to spec up to the LT model to get heated seats)

All I'm asking is if there's anything else I'm missing in this market. VW Jetta starts in that range, but once you spec it up to something worthwhile (2.5L, disc brakes) it's $26k+
She doesn't want to look at the Honda Civic because she's driving a Honda now and it hasn't treated her too well.

Anything else we should look at? And does anyone have any experience with any of these cars that you can shed some light on?
Thanks guys

[pdm111]

Kia Forte
Hyundai Elantra
Mazda 3

[btimbit]

Forgot to mention the Mazda. It's my understanding that it's essentially the Ford Focus underneath? Regardless, she doesn't like the looks of them.

I'd feel dirty getting her into a Korean car, but I know they've changed their ways since I've last experienced one. Maybe I'll check out the Forte on the 27th.

Also forgot to mention the Mitsubishi Lancer. Haven't looked at the new ones yet so I have no opinion on them, however, she's said she doesn't want one. No reason, just doesn't want one.

Going to check out the Impreza on the 27th as well

[98type_r]

What is the price range?

[Twin_Cam_Turbo]

I'd go for the Focus.

[euro_racer]

My gf recently had the new focus as a rental car for a week... Ford has come a long way, we were all really impressed with that car!:thumbsup:

[rage2]

Focus is your best best. I've been impressed everytime I've stepped foot in one. 0% financing makes it a no brainer.

It's doing so well, it's beating the Corolla as the world's best selling car.

http://www.beyond.ca/ford-focus-set-to-overtake-toyota-corolla-as-worlds-best-selling-car/21895.html

[403Gemini]

I just went through this search and settled on the Hyundai Elantra. Good gas mileage (even after the changes they made this year to their "adjusted values" )

Most amount of features (heated seats ! woo!)

Fit and finish felt the best - for a car of its class/price point.

LOTS of leg room in the back seats.

Truck space is huge - didnt have to fold down the seats and they were able to fit all 4 summer tires (bought winter tires from the dealership) into the trunk.

It honestly came down to the Focus and the Elantra and the Elantra cost a bit less per month so it won out.

[CLiVE]

Can't go wrong with any of the alternatives listed in the thread. If you're looking for something a little different....

Wonder if you could get a good deal on a Suzuki Kizashi right now? Nice 'sport' sedan that is often overlooked....plus available in AWD if you don't mind the auto. :dunno: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2011/02/review-2011-suzuki-kizashi-sport/

[HiTempguy1]

Originally posted by 403Gemini

Most amount of features (heated seats ! woo!)


Heated cloth seats? If so, best feature EVER for Canadian winters. I hate that domestics don't typically offer this.

The Focus also just became the best selling car IN THE WORLD, outstripping the Corolla. I think that says volumes IMO. Personally though, I'd go hatchback as they are just so much more versatile...

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by HiTempguy1


Heated cloth seats? If so, best feature EVER for Canadian winters. I hate that domestics don't typically offer this.

The Focus also just became the best selling car IN THE WORLD, outstripping the Corolla. I think that says volumes IMO. Personally though, I'd go hatchback as they are just so much more versatile...

Yessir :thumbsup:

I've missed them so much (had them on my Subaru that I sold 2 years ago).

[btimbit]

Originally posted by 98type_r
What is the price range?

Below $24k roughly.

Thanks for the tips and suggestions so far guys. I'll check out the impreza, forte and elantra later this week. Still coming up on the Focus as my favorite but we've got until the end of the month to get 0% financing so I want to make sure we try everything

[clem24]

Originally posted by rage2
Focus is your best best. I've been impressed everytime I've stepped foot in one. 0% financing makes it a no brainer.

It's doing so well, it's beating the Corolla as the world's best selling car.

Ahahaha so it's doing well not necessarily because it's a better car but because Chinese people are boycotting Japanese. So in a few years when their Focus is Found On Road Dead and worth nothing on the used market, they'll be like :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm: :rofl:

J/k.. I am pretty sure Ford builds a fairly solid car.

[Canucks3322]

How bout the new Sentra, I think it looks awesome for a compact sedan but haven't really read much about it performance wise...

[black13]

Elantra. Had one as a rental. Impressed the crap out of me. And it'll definitely have better resale and look less dated than a Ford.

[852VR6]

or a 2012/13 Versa Sedan, they advertise starting price as $11,xxx

[403superman]

My brother bought a brand new Impreza, not a bad car and has AWD.

[Neons4life]

I rented a new Ford Focus for a week and found it to be absolutely horrible.

1) I am 5'11" and with the driver seat adjusted it left a mere 4 inches of leg room for the rear occupant. Because of this my kids could not sit in their car seats behind me as there was no room for their legs. absolute garbage!!!!

2) fuel economy was not anywhere near what its rated for. On the highway was getting 9L/100kms, what a joke!!

[drtoohotty1]

A Mitsubishi Lancer?

[btimbit]

Originally posted by Neons4life
I rented a new Ford Focus for a week and found it to be absolutely horrible.

1) I am 5'11" and with the driver seat adjusted it left a mere 4 inches of leg room for the rear occupant. Because of this my kids could not sit in their car seats behind me as there was no room for their legs. absolute garbage!!!!

2) fuel economy was not anywhere near what its rated for. On the highway was getting 9L/100kms, what a joke!!

Rear legroom and mileage are probably among the least of her concerns. Was there anything else you didn't like about it.?


Originally posted by drtoohotty1
A Mitsubishi Lancer?


Mentioned above. She just doesn't want a Mitsubishi, no idea why, it was just a swift no.

[CanmoreOrLess]

2012 or 2013 Impreza, AWD and heated cloth seats for winter. Save a few bucks, order the floor mats, etc options from the USA and pick up in Montana. She will want a day road trip anyway.

[rage2]

Originally posted by Neons4life
I rented a new Ford Focus for a week and found it to be absolutely horrible.

1) I am 5'11" and with the driver seat adjusted it left a mere 4 inches of leg room for the rear occupant. Because of this my kids could not sit in their car seats behind me as there was no room for their legs. absolute garbage!!!!
It's a compact. Hell, in my mid-sized CLS I have to move forward and be slightly uncomfortable to have room for people behind me. I'm 6'2", so when I drive a compact, nobody's sitting behind me.

[Twenty]

I definitely vote Focus, but I may be biased.

[sxtasy]

I was shopping this segment not to long ago, http://forums.beyond.ca/st2/fit-cruze-focus-whats-your-take-what-else-to-look-at/showthread.php?s=&threadid=354182&perpage=40&highlight=&pagenumber=1

My sister ended up purchasing a Cruze LTZ, it has been a great car. The Focus is also definitely a worthy contender.

[avishal26]

what about the nissan Juke? New they start at 21,998 I think. They're funky looking and women seem to like them. Not a sedan per say but small enough to be considered one lol

[r3ccOs]

Originally posted by avishal26
what about the nissan Juke? New they start at 21,998 I think. They're funky looking and women seem to like them. Not a sedan per say but small enough to be considered one lol


Juke is the ugliest redheaded stepchild of the Nissan family... should be sterilized at birth, hoping that they do not perpetuate the cube/juke into another imbread 3 eye'd malformed descendant

drives well enough, but is not exactly sporty, not exactly utility...

the entire rear end makes no sence... why would you concave the rear hatch to reduce the amount of storage capacity?

if you're looking at that, I'd sooner go for the new suburu XV anyday...

[Canucks3322]

Owned a Juke, has zero trunk space but it was sporty...190 hp with awd...loved the look except the headlights...

[Aleks]

Originally posted by btimbit
Hey guys,

Looking for a new car for my sister. Her requirements are very female and simple. All she cares about is; brand new car, smooth ride,sedan and heated seats.

So far I've looked at

-2013 Toyota Corolla (Not bad,but felt and looked VERY dated. Prefer the Focus)
-2013 Ford Focus SE (Our choice so far, and 0% financing is a big plus)
-2013 Dodge Dart (Looked nice, but sorry, no Chryslers)
-2013 Chevrolet Cruze (Have to spec up to the LT model to get heated seats)

All I'm asking is if there's anything else I'm missing in this market. VW Jetta starts in that range, but once you spec it up to something worthwhile (2.5L, disc brakes) it's $26k+
She doesn't want to look at the Honda Civic because she's driving a Honda now and it hasn't treated her too well.

Anything else we should look at? And does anyone have any experience with any of these cars that you can shed some light on?
Thanks guys

What Honda is she driving now and why hasn't it treated her well?

Civic is probably the best value overall in this class especially for someone who wants a simple car to use to get from point A to B. The new features (like cloth heated seats) for 2013 make it even a better buy. The old model was killing the competition in both USA and Canada with twice the sales numbers compared to Focus.

[btimbit]

Originally posted by Aleks


What Honda is she driving now and why hasn't it treated her well?

Civic is probably the best value overall in this class especially for someone who wants a simple car to use to get from point A to B. The new features (like cloth heated seats) for 2013 make it even a better buy. The old model was killing the competition in both USA and Canada with twice the sales numbers compared to Focus.

She has an Accord, heater core died, replaced that, then the bottom end blew, cracked block. Replaced the engine, and wants to cut her losses on the thing. Also just hates how it drives

Did go and test drive the 2013 Civic today though, she did like it, but found it had huge blindspots and wasn't good value compared to the Focus. Couldn't touch the Ford's interest rate and couldn't agree on a price to make it otherwise worthwhile.

Also looked at the 2013 Subaru Impreza, loved how it drove, AWD a huge plus, but the interior was meh and again, didn't seem good value compared to the Focus.

Looked at the Chevrolet Cruze LT, she just wasn't sold on the looks.

Looked briefly at the Forte but she just doesn't want a Kia. She'll have this car for 7-10 years so she's gotta love it, just no love for the Kia I guess.

Went back to Ford and test drove the Fiesta just to see what we could save some money on. I didn't fit in it. Haha.


So our best option is still looking like it's the Focus SE w/ the winter package and Sports package. 0% Financing is a great deal which really adds to the value of this car, which I found to be the best in it's class to begin with.

As it stands now we'll probably be getting the Focus by early next week, unless there's something I'm forgetting. Anyone have any other suggestions for something we missed?

[Aleks]

Originally posted by btimbit

Anyone have any other suggestions for something we missed?

Go with an extended warranty if planning to keep 7-10 yrs and roll into the 0% finance. :dunno:

[nytrydr89]

check out the new 13' sentra for just over $23,000 you can get an SR model with the premium package which is very well equipped (6'' touchscreen nav, bose audio, heated seats, etc.) if your interested fire me a PM i might be able to help you if you decide to go the nissan direction.

[btimbit]

Originally posted by nytrydr89
check out the new 13' sentra for just over $23,000 you can get an SR model with the premium package which is very well equipped (6'' touchscreen nav, bose audio, heated seats, etc.) if your interested fire me a PM i might be able to help you if you decide to go the nissan direction.

Tooled around online a bit, from what I can see it's equipped and priced very similarly to the Focus, maybe I'll go look at one in person tomorrow. I'll pm you if I like what I see.

[Xtrema]

Focus is probably best bet for you. And it's a Ford, so there gotta be tons of room to move on price. I rented one once. I think I went from Vancouver to Seattle and back for less than a tank of gas. Frugal little car.

Dart sounds surprisingly capable, especially the 1.4L Turbo version. Have not seen one in person tho.

[max_boost]

I wish we had more entry level cars with awd! That's my #1 requirement and decent fuel mileage. My only choice is basically the impreza except the sport package is pushing $30k so not exactly entry level. I drive close to 40k on my daily a year that now I don't care if its nice lol as long as its cheap and reliable.

[btimbit]

Originally posted by max_boost
I wish we had more entry level cars with awd! That's my #1 requirement and decent fuel mileage. My only choice is basically the impreza except the sport package is pushing $30k so not exactly entry level. I drive close to 40k on my daily a year that now I don't care if its nice lol as long as its cheap and reliable.

I hear that! $28k+ once you get it in a somewhat desirable trim is what scared my sister away. That's what I'd get myself if I was shopping that market, but I also make quite a bit more money than her...

Someone makes an AWD wagon for less than $25k and I'm there. If Subaru brought back the Legacy wagon, or VW threw AWD into the Golf wagon. Mmmmm.
Time to move to Europe I guess...

[corsvette]

There is this new Chevy Trax small crossover thingy I was reading about. Basicly built on a Cruze platform with the 1.4 turbo.

A well equiped 1LT AWD can be had for around 25K
A loaded LT with mylink touch, rear park assist, was 27k

http://www.autos.ca/first-drives/first-drive-2013-chevrolet-trax/2/

[Maybelater]

Originally posted by Canucks3322
Owned a Juke, has zero trunk space but it was sporty...190 hp with awd...loved the look except the headlights...

Why did you get ride of it already?

[Canucks3322]

Had to get finances in order before buying a house, too much debt....

[403Gemini]

Originally posted by Canucks3322
Had to get finances in order before buying a house, too much debt....

I did the same with my subaru, had to sell it to clear off it's loan + my visa. Worked out in the end since I had a work vehicle for my last job... then I switched positions and had to give it back and had to get a cheap sedan , that's why I went through this same situation as the OP

[btimbit]

Well, after me spending a considerable amount of time researching and looking at cars, she has informed me that she wants to go travelling instead:banghead:

Thanks for the help anyway guys. For anyone else who's curious about this market, we would have went with the Focus for sure.