Would that I could… The interior looks much “richer” than the Yaris’s… BTW, a friend bought the new Toyota Matrix; he also hates its interior design quirks/flaws.
Let’s see. No airbags, a max speed of 43 MPH, mostly plastic bodywork, and it’s glued together. That thing is a death trap. Mercifully, it will never be sold here in the U.S.
I also ran across a Daewoo Lanos I really liked the looks of the other day; there’s one for sale nearby for $3k (a 2001 hatch); I assume they also stopped making these in favor of the new honkin’ big so-called “subcompacts” like the Yaris and Fit…
A Daewoo Lanos! Now you’ve really found a great car!
Hmmm…Let’s see. It was universally panned by critics when it was first produced, because it had absolutely no redeeming values. Then Daewoo’s automotive division went into receivership because so few people were willing to buy their dodgy cars. Subsequently, GM bought that division and slightly repackaged the sub-par Daewoo cars into other models branded as Suzukis and Chevies. As just one example of this hocus-pokus repackaging, the Daewoo Lanos morphed into the Chevy Aveo.
Even after many upgrades and improvements, the Chevy Aveo (Daewoo Lanos) is still considered to be the absolute bottom of the barrel in that small car category, due to its poor fuel economy (only 26 mpg overall), coupled with poor acceleration, bad handling, imprecise steering, uncomfortable seats, a high noise level, a bad showing in impact tests, and a “jittery” ride.
I REALLY think that you need to start researching vehicles, rather than thinking that something is fit for purchase because you “like the looks”. If your primary criterion is that you want a cheap car, you will get something that drives and looks like a cheap car.
However, there is still some variation even in the “cheap” category. The Yaris is like a Rolls-Royce in comparison with a Daewoo Lanos/Chevy Aveo.
“a friend bought the new Toyota Matrix; he also hates its interior design quirks/flaws”
So, like you, your friend is also unable to observe what a car’s interior looks like prior to purchase and is unable to evaluate the interior design’s possible “quirks and flaws” prior to purchase? How do you and your friends decide on what cars to buy? Do you stand 100 feet away and say, “That looks nice, I think that I’ll buy it”?
Not unlike a new home, a car takes some “living in” to really get to know it; granted, I suppose if you rented one for a weekend or kept it for an entire day and tried to do everything you normal do in a car (store things, use things, pack things, transport things, carry things), you’d get an idea, but the typical test drive, sadly, doesn’t “tell all.”
And, yes, I think MANY people pre-determine to buy a Toyota based on its reputation and, at least for me, it’s hard to change a mindset once it’s in place. Alas, I’m not so sure that reputation is deserved any more, at least in terms of the design.
Sorry, but those air vents, those “bottle cap” control buttons, those polka-dotted seats: just flat-out ugly… Whoops, quirky (learn to love it, learn to love it)…
Were you were blindfolded by the car salesman? You did not notice the pattern of the upholstery prior to purchase? I just find it a bit bizarre that someone would complain about something as blatantly obvious as the upholstery pattern AFTER purchase.
It’s fine to predetermine that one is interested in a particular make of car based on its reputation for longevity, but then one needs to research it thoroughly and to use one’s eyes and ears when visiting the showroom in order to determine how a car rides, handles, and accelerates, and how one perceives the car in an esthetic sense.
As I said previously, it really seems that both you and your friend make an irrevocable decision, based on the reputation and the exterior appearance of a car, and then do absolutely no due diligence at the showroom. If you took the time and effort that you devoted to saving $200., and channeled that into really evaluating the car prior to purchase, you wouldn’t be in the position that you have placed yourself in.
Perhaps you haven’t followed the entire thread, but I reveal that I DID make the mistake of test-driving an '09 sedan and then buying, sight unseen, an '08 hatchback in another state (there were no hatchbacks near me); figured, “How different could they be?” Well, the polka-dotted seats are definitely different.
Could I have cancelled the deal on the spot (no pun intended) because of the polka-dots? Yes, but seemed trivial at the time. But all those polka-dots wear on you…
He might be suggesting that you could have inquired about the color and pattern of the upholstery before you agreed to buy the sight unseen vehicle. Not that I am assuming you plan to buy another car sight unseen, but there is something to learn from that too. If you should happen to decide to order a car (instead of taking one off the lot), you will want to be specific about your preference for each detail.
Yes; now I know.