i will be commuting 45 miles (one way) 3 times a week. looking for an affordable subcompact that gets good gas milage. looking to stay under $15k. loving the honda fit so far…
any comments/suggestions??
For an objective look at everything that is out there, with pros and cons, pick up a copy of the Consumer Reports Guide to New Cars.
I can tell you that if I was buying a subcompact today, I would probably buy either the Fit, the Nissan Versa, or the Hyundai Accent. Those three are much better choices than the Toyota Yaris, which CR does not recommend.
My first choice would be the redesigned Toyota Corolla(rented one). It gets the same or slightly better mileage than a FIT and much more comfortable car. However the FIT has a sporting flair but a skateboard.
The Toyota Yaris Liftback is an excellent subcompact that seats four people comfortably and gets up to 35 mpg. The sedan is not as good, in my opinion.
The Yaris is much cheaper than the Honda Fit because it doesn’t come with all of the extras that Honda loads on to its vehicles. The Fit is also marketed toward the younger generation.
Consumer reports may not have recommended the Yaris, but it listed it as the most economical small car to own and it has an excellent reliability rating.
Must it be a subcompact? You will be using this car for other purposes than simple commuting. You might consider moving up a step to a more versatile compact. The Mazda3i as a popular compact that lists at $13,895 and is EPA rated at 24/32 mpg (manual transmission). Just a suggestion.
I don’t know what the price is but check out a Chevrolet Cobalt XFE, good for 25 city 36 highway. It will be a manual trans. This car is not yet listed under www.fueleconomy.gov.
Scion has a few good options too. And they have Toyota reliability.
The Versa is quite large for a subcompact. The OP should drive both and decide. Actually, bguinng, I’d pick 2 or 3 subcompact cars and 2 or 3 compact cars and take the out for a ride. See which ones you can stand to ride in for an hour or more each way.
You can’t get much smaller than a Mini Cooper, but even the base model is just under 19k, a little out of your price range
Find a good late model used car for $12K and put the rest aside for any unexpected repairs. Buying brand new low-end cars is a fairly horrible deal.