Considering a newer car... Opinions?

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Mr Nice
$23,000 can get you a new Accord LX with 6 speed trans.

+1, if you want reliability.

Focus ST if you want some fun.

 

[Andrew1972]

VW Golf is a premium car without the price tag currently.

You might be able to find a leftover 2015 Accord Coupe brand new with manual. I'd peek at the new Civic for 2016 at least but may not be your cup of tea.

 

[Lyman]

I'd go the Mazda 3 route if it were me looking.

 

[3for3]

I like the Mazda3. I currently have a 2015 sedan, and I had a 2012 hatchback. Both are economical, reliable, good fun to drive, and have a nice comfortable ride.

The Scion IA is a good option if you want to stay with a small car. It gets great reviews from the automotive press. Fun to drive, and great fuel economy seems to be the general consensus. It is a Mazda2 with Scion badges.

 

[901Memphis]

Originally Posted By: Rolla07


Civic SI looks sharp too..



Originally Posted By: tomcat27
also worth considering is the Honda Civic Si



I know right

 

[oilmutt]

I rented a Yaris three mo. ago,in my opinion a tricyle wuold be an upgrade !

 

[MCompact]

If I wasn't one and done with FWD I'd go with the Mazda3 or the Fiesta ST. Maybe also look at a WRX.

 

[KD0AXS]

The Forte Koup is on your list, we have its cousin, the Elantra Coupe. Both my wife and I love this car. We got it "new" but with 3000 miles on it from being used as a loaner for $14,900. Things like Bluetooth and heated seats are standard, which are you might not expect in this price range. It's certainly not a high performance sports car, would definitely be a step up from a Yaris. Overall, it's a great car for the money.

 

[Silverado12]

Originally Posted By: sciphi
Throwing in a plug for the last-gen Cruze Eco 6MT. It's small enough to be fun and big enough to have a comfy highway ride. MPG's are also excellent, even when flogging it. The chassis also handles pretty well, even on the stock LRR tires.



I just bought one (used dealer loaner car w/2,500 miles) 2015 with the automatic trans and I'm impressed with it. I have a bad back, and the seats are good for long trips (just got back from WV a few days ago before the big snow).

 

[Xeno]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Being that I owned a WRX which was a great car, there'd be NO WAY I'd buy a FR-S/BRZ.
It's embarrassing that Toyota sells a sports car that is slower than a V6 Camry.
FR-S stands for "Fun but really slow".


A modern V6 Camry is actualy pretty quick. FRS needs a torque increase, hp is decent, since it's pretty light.

 

[dareo]

Another Plug for the Golf. Very refined car for the price. i have about 1800 miles on my 5mt golf wagon now and its been flawless. The power, the MPG, the hauling, i love it. i can get above 40 mpg in the winter on a highway run, even with hundreds of pounds of books in the back.

Naturally, you can select the two door, or 4 door golf if having tons of cargo space is not your thing.

 

[jigen]

You want a car with some oomph, right? How important are back seats to you, i'd think a lot about that (3, 4, 5 years down the road).

Haven't driven a fiesta ST but I hear its a riot all day. I have the Focus ST and I have always loved the handling, trans, and overall driver engagement . The real bring home MPG numbers are respectable for a car with 252hp/270tq as well.

I say coming from a Yaris, get something with some fun and personality.

- BRZ/FRS
- Fiesta ST
- VW Golf 1.8T
- Civic Si

That's my list, and probably the order of most to least fun and also least to most practical.

 

[columnshift]

Mazda 3 is a good car. Not necessarily the sportiest or fanciest but solid, reliable, surprisingly roomy inside more like a midsize, great mpg, good handling and power for most normal users, it's probably the newer car i'd consider if I wanted a basic commuter/economy car and I no longer was driving my Saturn SL.

 

[gofast182]

You'd be doing yourself a great disservice not to look at the new Civic. They benchmarked the A3 in terms of drive and the accolades are backing that up. Several reviews suggest that the Civic has surpassed the Mazda 3 in terms of drive and feel. Factor in safety, reliability, resale, and driving dynamics and the new Civic is likely the most car for your money.

 

[DuckRyder]

Of your original list:

Fiesta ST
BRZ (if you really want it faster there are fixes for that)

Another plug for the 2016 Jetta 1.4T SE with Connectivity. (I hear you can actually get a manual too in spite of what the website says). or 1.8T Sport.

On the used side an Accord V6 Coupe with a six speed M would be amusing if you could find one.

I didn't think you could get an Accord LX with a manual, I thought it had to be a Sport (another one worth considering). Maybe in a Coupe?

 

[IveBeenRued]

I just picked up a 2013 Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid with 12K miles on it for under $18K. It is fully loaded(it even parallel parks itself!), unbelievably quiet(active noise cancellation), and I've averaged 58MPG over the past 750 miles. It is also pretty quick 0-60 (7.8 seconds) and handles as well as my 2012 Subaru Impreza in the corners.

 

[stranger706]

I got my Focus ST new for $21k after 1 email to the dealer and 5 minutes of haggling when I got there to pick it up. $4000 below sticker. This is fairly common. Ford always has rebates/incentives going. A lot of times the Focus ST are cheaper than Fiesta ST.

I would also consider:

Civic SI
GTI (Might be out of your price range. They are hard to get discounted. At least around here)
Accord Sport

 

[CELICA_XX]

Scion iM would be my choice

Available with a manual and also made in Japan like your Yaris.

Probably the highest quality car in this thread

 

[aquariuscsm]

From your list,The Scion or Mazda. I also like the Corolla S. That's what I'd buy if I was in the market for an economical car. I wish the still made the Sentra SE-R. There's been some talk of a Sentra Nismo in the making.

 

[13Track38]

Originally Posted By: xfactor9
Did you consider a used 370 or Genesis coupe? Ok they're not exactly light (3200 lbs) but they have more power than all of those cars above.


I have the 3.8 Gen coupe and really like it. Quick and fun plus it sounds great during WOT yet I still get 20mpg despite the periodic heavy foot. Definitely worth considering especially since not many are around where it stands out from the crowd. I got mine used with low mileage for a good price. I'd recommend that instead of going new personally.