Lets talk compact cars.

So I am kicking around the idea of a new car and want to know everyones thoughts. I am not a fan of buying brand new cars because I cant stand taking the hit driving it off the lot. So this would be my first new car purchase. After seeing the price of the cars and what they can save me in gas it just makes sense.



Over the past 4.5 years I have had my altima I have driven an average of 22K miles per year. The car gets about 27 mpg currently. That calculates to just over $3,000/year I spend in fuel priced at $3.70.



After a little research I am looking at the elantra, cruze, and focus. I want a base model in a manual and dont care about any options besides power windows. lol



Elantra- Base price is just over $15,000. Highway mpg is 40. I do mostly highway driving so I am going to do all my factoring with that number. So fuel would be just over $2,000/year. Exactly a $1000/year saving if I can get 40mpg. This car is ranked the number 1 best small car in about every study I have read (the ones that didnt rank it first put the focus ahead of it). I am leaning towards this car even though I would rather buy domestic.



Cruze- Base price is $16,500 with 36mpg saving me $750/year. If you get the ECO option the base price is $18,400 with 42mpg saving me over $1,050/year. While I am not stuck to a certain manufacturer, I wouldnt mind sticking with a chevy stablemate for the C6. :)



Focus- Base price is $17,200 with 40mpg saving me over $1,000/year. The car get great reviews and after seeing what ford did with the 2011 Mustangs.....they have my respect again. lol



I try to keep my cars for a long time. I had a Celica for 8 years before buying the Altima that I have had for 4.5 years. What ever I buy I plan on keeping it for at least 5 years. So lets say I keep the car for 5 years and save $5,000 in fuel and sell the car for $4K. That gives me a car for 5 years that really costs me as little as $6,000 if I go with the Elantra. This makes it hard not to buy new.



If you made it this far......what are your thoughts?

If I were you...... I would go with the Focus. Partially cause I am a Ford guy but..... The new Focus' are nice. I have looked in them and actually sat in them. I was pretty impressed overall with the appearance. I haven't heard to many complaints with the newer ones either. Don't know what options you are looking at but all the extras like Sync are nice. I honestly like the fact I don't have to pick my phone up to answer it.

The Elantras are nice but I would stick with the Domestic cars. I would stay away from the Cruze. Don't really care for those.

Compact cars rock,lol. I love my Aveo and it get great gas mileage but I think it might be a little to compact for you,lol.

Yea a little to small for my long sexy legs. lol However, Rachel had a Ford Fiesta as a rental this past week and while it was small for me too it handled amazing!! I took it down river road and there was 0 body roll while I was driving it pretty aggressively.

not really fair because im biased towards ford, but i really like the look of the new focus, and 40mpg is hard to pass up. of course if you got the fiesta you could install the rally course ready kit from ford racing lol. one kit turns your stock fiesta into a street legal and competition ready rally car. haha

The new focus is pretty nice. we've had a few in the shop from Enterprise rental offices. I actually really like the new hatch backs.... although the Cruze you can get with a 1.4 ecotech turbo, just an economy turbo though.. I know Hyundai has made huge improvements in the last several years, but I'm just not real high on either them or Kia.

I've had no luck so far finding a base model standard trans. I've been asking around and telling them the only option I want is AC.

The Fiestas are loaded down with all kinds of stuff. I've seen heated leather seats and keyless entry.

Fiestas are marked up $500 for shipping and dealer prep. Hyundai is $760 plus they charge $90 for putting nitrogen in the tires. The dealer I was at is also adding another $900 over sticker for "market adjustment" or something like that.

Hyundai had the best warranty and their quality is vastly improved. I wouldn't have considered them a few years ago. The new Accent is as big as the old Elantra.

The Fiesta is getting good reviews on handling and that has my attention. The Accent has 4 wheel disc brakes and a 6 speed tranny. I'm really liking that.

It's going to come down to who can actually find a car for me.

We were behind a hatchback the other day at a traffic light and trying to figure out what it was. Once traffic started moving, we saw the Focus emblem. The new ones look really nice.

We need to get together if we are looking at the same cars. If we buy two I bet we can get a killer deal.



Morgantown Hyndai is getting a manual trans elantra in two weeks. They said it has a couple options and the price is $17,200. I cant find a true base model with no options.



BTW- I have been in a new elantra and I couldnt find one thing I didnt like about it. However it was totally loaded with an auto trans.

You know I'm a chevy guy, so I say give your C6 a buddy with the Cruze. If your looking at the Elantra you could also look at the VW Jetta, its base price is 15,365 with 42 mpg highway.

From what I read the base Jetta doesnt even come with air. Once you add air it raises the price a cool bit and the Jetta has got the worst reviews out of the bunch that I have seen.

I think for me it would be a tough buy between the Elantra and Focus.
Does Hyundai still do the 10 year 100k warranty on all models?

Yea I think its still that same warranty. Havent looked in to the warranties on each yet. That may be my deciding factor.

you know i been thinking of getting another car what you think about a Mini Cooper ? they are nice great gas and all plus i can take it to carshows aswell only thing i dont like about it is it wont fit in the bed of my truck hahahaha..



but D what ever you get you know you will get the best that sutes you and the way you want it to handle . i wish you luck and hope the best for you goodluck in your new car hunt.

Thanks Jim.



A co-worker told me to look at the mini cooper too. I told him I always though of it as a chick car. He said, "What the hell do you think and Elantra is?" LMAO.

hyundai warranty people are extremely picky... I've had customers come in and tell me that hyundai had voided their warranty for not using an oem oil filter..... honestly I think is BS, but who knows.

Hyundai has the best warranty:
10 year, 100,000 powertrain
5 year, 60,000 everything else
7 year, unlimited mile, rust through
5 year, unlimited mile, 24 hour roadside assistance

Larry Meyers has a real stripper Accent sedan in the showroom, manual trans and no A/C or radio.

I test drove an Accent sedan 6 speed and was impressed. It was so quiet, I couldn't hear it start and I revved it at the first stop light to make sure it was still running. I had good power but I didn't get to take it on some twisties. It was one of the salesman's cars because it was the only standard. I could probably find a base sedan but am really wanting a hachback. They couldn't find one anywhere in the country. Their online inventory shows two in stock but they've never gotten them.

I haven't driven the Fiesta yet but I've read it's the best at handling. I has rear drum brakes and I really hate those.

I won't even consider VW. Their quality is awful anymore. Of the top 5 used cars not to buy according to Consumer Reports, the top two are VWs.

D-Rod wrote:

Thanks Jim.



A co-worker told me to look at the mini cooper too. I told him I always though of it as a chick car. He said, "What the hell do you think and Elantra is?" LMAO.

they might be chic cars but god they lok sick tricked out ... still thinking of getting a cooper myself just to trick it out

I like the Cooper but it's out of my price range. I have fun cars, I need a good economy car.

have you thought about kia... i like the looks of the forte coupe, but this being said i've never actually looked into them... i do think i heard something about 35+ mpg and an affordable base tag... just an option... for the cars you've talked about... i like the look of the cruze on the outside... i've heard great things about the focus, but i think i would lean toward the elantra... but i'm not set on one brand either... although the last 6 cars i've owned are chevy or gmc... good luck with the decision...- if i were you i'd just go get another vette...

I will have to look into the forte. I never researched it yet.



If I can find another C5 in the $10-$12K price rance with decent miles I will jump on one. Its easy to get over 30mpg in that LS1 if you want. Plus its a fun car.