Help me pick another car!
 

My 99 Civic SiR is finally starting to crap out on me after a good 9 years of driving it.. :okay:

Gonna go through pros and cons of each car. Fuel economy will be listed as Liters per 100 km in the order city/hwy/combined

Currently debating between three cars, but also up for suggestions:
1 - Civic 2012 Si Coupe
PROS
-201 hp / 170 tq
-Built in Nav system
-Built in BT-mobile phone connectivity

CONS
-Fuel economy: 10/6.4/8.4

2 - Civic 2012 EX-L Coupe
PROS
-Fuel economy: 7.2/5.4/6.4
-Built in Nav system
-Built in BT-mobile phone connectivity

CONS
-Only available in automatic transmission
-140 hp / 128 tq (not sure if this will be really noticeable?? I mainly need good power to merge onto highways)

3 - Mazda 3 Skyactiv
PROS
-Fuel economy: 4.9L/100km HWY!!!
-Built in BT system
-Manual Transmission

CONS
-No nav system.. will need this b/c I'll be going around BC for work
-Mazdas generally have lower resale value I believe...?

Side Note...
I'm kind of a conservative driver, I mainly care about fuel economy for the most part and I do enjoy driving MT because of the control I feel that I have over the car ..

I don't think any other civic coupe has a nav system.. have not looked into accords yet. Would like to spend less than $30,000 and I don't mind used vehicles either.

TIA!

The only accord sedan available with manual transmission is the SE I believe. It uses a smaller 2.0L (R20), being a little bigger it will probably be a bit less economical than the civic.. If you do opt for a higher trim it comes with a larger k24, however it only comes in automatic. Then theres always the V6... Have you concidered just buying an aftermarket Nav system? I wouldn't let that be a deal breaker... but I can see why it could be.

Oh completely forgot about the accord coupe... the 4 cyl and V6 models are both avaliable in Manual, however the smaller R20 isn't avaliable in the coupe. The EX-L seems to be the lowest trim with avaliable nav and it is a bit over $30k...

I would probably take the Civic SI coupe over the Accord coupe.

If you are driving around BC for work.. then should definitely look into leases, especially if your company is writing it off for you. If you are driving around BC for work, the mileage will be high and the resell will suck if you own out right anyways.

I would also look into VW TDI and the Hyundai Elantra / Veloster.. they are quite a bit better than Civic.

If you are on the budget I would skip the Nav system.. any decent smartphones will run circles around car's Nav system.

It depends how what's your budget, but if your car's engine trouble still persist and you are a conservative driver with a larger working area, just drive you current car to the ground THEN worry about getting a new car.

Thanks for replies so far. Going to respond to a couple comments:

- currently using aftermarket nav system and it's kind of a pain to have it stuck on my drivers window.. I feel like something is always in the way, it'd be nice to have it built into the dash... having said that, its not a make or break for me (hence Mazda3 being a choice)
- will be driving around BC a lot, lease might not be the best option with all the km limits.. and the only thing the company is going to be covering is the travel time/gas and accomodations
- VW's aren't really my thing..
- Hyundai Elantra is looking very sweet tbh, but the stigma I've had towards hyundais is bothering me... are they much more reliable now than they were 7-8 years ago? Just from doing a search on the elantra and veloster, fuel economy is top notch, and interior/exterior style is pretty good too (minus the Hyundai emblem)..

2012 Civic
Cons:
- fugly

The questions I would ask is:

1. What is the nature of your work? Are you working as a independent contractor? If so, you can lease / write off car off your own company, ie have your employer pay to your company directly. I highly recommend you talk to your financial adviser (ideally not a run of the mill bank one), who have your current situation, future income potential on hand and is familiar with your field of work .. BEFORE you even consider which car to get. Just a few hours up front consulting with an adviser and save you a heck of a lot on write offs.

The advantage of smartphone apps comes in handy especially if you are leasing situation for write off where you need to log your mileage for tax purpose. Once the data is on the phone, you just download it, especially when it comes to time.

VW includes servicing which none of the Japanese / Korean brands include with the price AND VW TDI price holds well if you are purchase outright.

Summer is coming up, that is ripe for new 13 seasons of cars where you can negotiate off more for the 12 ones.

I would say Hyundai reliability is on par with the Japanese if not better.. eg we don't see the MT gearbox problems with Civic with their Elantras etc. It is ironic too, Honda finally woke up and decided to use ZF transmissions instead of going at it alone for their next generation of cars.

Chevy Cruise Eco

+1 on the Veloster. Seriously love the interior... but I'm 5'5 and had no room at all in the back lmfao.

added a new car to the list..

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I currently drive a Civic LX auto transmission. TBH I'm only getting 9.7-10.5L/100km combined with Econ mode on + feather foot the entire time. Granted, I'm carrying 1-2 passengers + my equipments in the trunk occasionally, which added some weight for the car to haul around.

That said, however, the car is still incredibly light and picks up quite fast if I want to overtake someone on the highway. But as soon as you have another passenger, the car dramatically dulls down and if you need to merge/pass someone on highway, you really need to floor it or it will just accelerate like a snail, for the power-weight ratio is dramatically changed.

The BT feature is handy, but will require some time fiddling with the voice tag. (I haven't had the time to do so yet)

With the extra weight in the EX-L (sunroof, leather seats, etc.), I suspect the fuel economy will be even worse than mine, holding all else equal. Yet I suppose the convenience of a navi evens it out when traveling around everywhere.

Hope it helps.

you care about fuel economy, how about crossing off Civic SI off the list?
buying premium gas for civic :seriously:

Scion FRS. Manual, should be fun to drive, is in your budget, similar gas consumption to the Si.

Godwin is giving you some good advice, and I'll echo his suggestion of a diesel. They give great mileage, and are usually pretty stout. I also agree with discussing the potential for business use deductions with someone in the know, as well as financing vs. leasing given your particular circumstances, as you'd definitely want to capitalize on those.

try a prius?

im pretty sure a loaded SI is base prius territory..

http://www.revscene.net/forums/66211...ml#post7877221

I'm sure you're aware of the situation too. But I wouldn't be too excited about the 4.9L/100km economy it claims.

Maybe it would help if you look into Mazda forums a little deeper?


Maybe the BRZ would be a better choice if you want a factory stock navigation build in. All BRZ comes with nav, even in their base model. Might be on the edge of your budget though....

And fuel economy will definitively not be any where near the same as your 3 other choices...

BRZ/FRS/"tofu wannabe" will not be as good on mileage because the packaging is not optimized for fuel economy. It will have added expense since you definitely need an extra set of winters even in the first year especially if you said you are going to travel around BC. Not to mention the insurance (2 doors are a near certainty to be higher).

Another thing to consider is the residual value of the car. You can actually profit from leasing if you structure the lease not from what the leasing companies suggest, but on your ability. ie Maximize write offs (base on your income, amount and length) and minimize final payout + up front downpayment to be less than the residual value. Enhance resellability with things you can write off like servicing packages etc. As I have said, it is impossible to tell which car is advantageous for you at this stage other than "ooo this looks cool".

I suggest instead of an internet poll, it is more productive to put the financials of the cars in a spreadsheet like Google Docs that you can share and see put in some real financial figures (running cost, insurance, write off components like extended warranty and servicing) against residuals, your tax bracket / write off amount.. and make the decision that way. Fuel economy is a red herring if your company covers fuel anyways.

To me this feels like another one of the pie in the sky threads we get every few weeks. There are so many unknown variables that I don't think the OP even what he/she personally wants. It is impossible to give good answers. Not to mention the preconceived notion of the state of the car manufacturers. I think the OP just want us to agree with him/her on Civic?

Out of the 3 choices, I picked the Mazda just because I really don't like the new Civics. And this is coming from a consistent Honda owner. I think my mom's 08 Civic sedan looks better than the new ones.

To be completely honest, if I was in the market for a brand new economy-ish car, I think I'd actually go with a Hyundai. My parents would probably smack me in the head for it, but the new Civics really didn't do anything new that would actually make me want one. Even the new Corollas added some more bells and whistles.

The way I see it, when gas mileage is your main worry, you're not going to have the speed/power factor anyways. So the only things that should be making up for that are the creature comforts and little luxuries.. and in that department, the new Civics really fell behind Hyundai/Kia, Toyota, even the domestics.

At the same time, you can never go wrong with a Civic. Just like a steak and potato dinner. Does the job.. Reliable.. Whatever.

This considering the Prius C just came out. It's Yaris-sized, but does come with navigation. Price starts around 20k, so loaded might come out to around 23-25?

I voted for 2012 Civic Si. =D Good luck with your purchase, which ever direction you go.

I like the mazda 3, has one of the best interiors in it's class and that engine is impressive. Pretty fun to drive too

The prius C does have amazing fuel economy and even the base model has auto, a/c, keyless, and bluetooth. Take it for a test drive, I honestly am in love with toyota's hybrid synergy drive but if you haven't tried one before it's worth experiencing IMHO

well it sounds like you want manual so Civic EX-L coupe is out of the question, well it really depends on how hard you drive the car, as for resale value don't really matter to you if you are going to drive the car to the ground, so you shouldn't be too concerned, look and see what the korean counterparts offer as well, keep options available to u

as for nav system, just get a aftermarket garmin (costs like $200 for a decent one)

the 3 is definitely fun to drive and handles great.
definitely check out he new prius C, or the veloster.
personally I would choose the veloster

k20 swap into the SiR

+1 for the K20, plus a double-din navigation/audio deck and 15k in interior/exterior/performance/security/suspension-refresh mods

You want manual......

Scion tC