Brief impressions of cars

[cjsmith]

Advantages

• Toyota Corolla: I know how reliable these cars are.
• Toyota Yaris: Ditto, plus MPG to rival some hybrids.
• Honda Fit: Man, the STORAGE SPACE. This thing is a hauler.
• Honda Civic: The only decent cup holders I have seen since I began looking. Nifty dash design.
• Honda Civic Hybrid, 2005 used: Yellow stickers are transferable. Different nifty dash design.
• Subaru "Impreza Outback" (no, not the Outback): All-wheel drive. Also, decent stereo. Also, available in a pretty color. Also, 2006, and they're eager to get it off the lot.

Disadvantages

• Corolla: Ugly. Mirrors don't fold. Dumb climate control interlocks.
• Yaris: All of the above and uglier.
• Fit: There is one of these on the entire peninsula and I will not decide this instant.
• Civic: Seat fold-down design nearly pessimal: trapezoidal opening from trunk aims everything at the center, and in the center, there's a big metal protrusion out of the back of the seat.
• 2005 Civic Hybrid: High mileage for its age. Dumb climate control interlocks. SEAT DOESN'T FOLD AT ALL; cannot haul anything. Used car means I would have to haggle, at which I suck.
• Impreza: Low MPG. Can't pop the hatchback even from inside the car.

I also failed to drive the Subaru Impreza WRX wagon: the seat design is a deal-breaker, and it's so sporty that the insurance on them is high.

Disadvantages of ALL of these

• Big, big, big. Significantly wider than my mangled car. Awkward turning radius compared to my mangled car.
• Impossible to get a keyfob that will pop the trunk.
• Impossible to get (without ripping the whole radio out and replacing it) the ability to play a cassette.
• No room for a full-size spare.

Comments

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you like the Civic! Which model year do you have?

I am stunned that no other cars I've looked at so far have any attempt to make the cup holders good. It doesn't take much, people! A couple of plastic bits and springs, or a ring of rubber tabs -- probably a host of other ideas would work too. I guess I can add my own ring of rubber tabs. :-)

The turning radius of all these cars on the list seemed very comparable to me. (I'm surprised that the Fit wasn't far better than the Civic, given its significantly shorter wheel base.) That takes one variable out of the equation!

[datagoddess.livejournal.com]

We have a 2006. Had to scrounge around for it, too :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I've found a dealer with a supply. If I meet him out by the old warehouse he might slip me some of the good stuff...

cupholders

[eichin.livejournal.com]

One thing that amused me about the mini cooper: the cupholder has an icon of a circle-slash around a wine glass :-) (It only has two cupholders total, one on the dash and one at the back of the console.)

(Pretty sure it isn't the car you're looking for, though I did get 32mpg on a weekend trip to Maine... though I should mention theautochannel.com's "rank cars by specs" page, which was surprisingly useful for sorting through the industry. Looks like you're past that stage, and you don't need to *widen* your search :-)

Re: cupholders

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh, now that's cool. :-)

The Mini definitely caught my eye due to size. It's the only small car left in the US, not counting roadsters. A bit rich for my blood though!

Thanks for the rankings page -- it'll save me some time building the big gory spreadsheet!

Re: cupholders

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

re: too rich: now I am seeing lower prices. Earlier I was seeing stuff up close to $30K. Confused I am. Oh well...

Re: cupholders

[eichin.livejournal.com]

The modern "Mini" actually covers a broad range - I got my Cooper Convertible, CVT automatic, with winter package and fancy interior for just under $30k - the Cooper/S "sport" has a bigger engine and costs more, the manual costs less, the non-convertible costs less, and the options can be dropped. "winter" doesn't actually include the fancy DSC traction-control package, either (ABS is standard of course.) Pretty sure you could run anywhere from $25k to $35k just on configuration of a new car :-)

(I do really enjoy the car, as evidenced by all of my road trip stories - and warranty service has been good, but I'll note that it's also been *necessary* - new front windshield and new fuel pump in the first 20k miles. I love the fact that I could arrange everything (service appointments, the test drive, random questions) by email, though that's dealership-specific and probably getting a *lot* more common.)

Re: cupholders

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Pretty sure you could run anywhere from $25k to $35k just on configuration of a new car :-)

*grin* Believable! (And yeah, that does put it higher than anything else I'm currently considering.)

I'm glad you're enjoying the car! If warranty service has been necessary this early, what would you predict the useful lifespan of the car might be? Is it a case of getting everything shipshape early on, or is it going to degrade, do you think?

And I gotta give it a thumbs up for daring to be small. That's very unfashionable these days, apparently. (Heck, the BEETLE is really wide.)

Re: cupholders

[eichin.livejournal.com]

Well, the window was a "stress fracture" (the crack was top center above the mirror, from the edge - not an impact, but an assembly defect - so it isn't expected to happen again.) The fuel pump is a little more odd, I'll have to see how that one does.

As far as overall construction, it doesn't rattle; it creaks a little bit when I have it in sunroof mode (but not full-closed or full-open.) BMW's are notable for being high maintenance (and expensive maintenance) though.

Not sure I have any real basis for prediction; I've had an odd mix of cars and haven't really driven anything full-time for more than five years at a time...

The fact that it's small is how I found it -- when I originally looked it was because someone had pointed out the database, and I realized that I could use "sort by wheelbase" as a substitute for "sort by how easy it is to park in cambridge" :-) I think it does well by being small*est* (while still being comfortable.) It also gets talked about as the "anti-Hummer", another marketing win...

Re: cupholders

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I realized that I could use "sort by wheelbase" as a substitute for "sort by how easy it is to park in cambridge" :-)

Yes, this. Exactly.

I can still remember one time I was meeting a large group at a popular restaurant in a way-too-trendy little town around here, and there was a coveted beautiful parking space right across the street that was still... well... mostly available. One of those big dumpsters was taking up a chunk of it and no one would put a car in what was left. The nearest other parking space was guaranteed to be at least a mile away, so I looked at the 2/3 of a parking space, proudly claimed that I had only 2/3 of a car, and parked in it. My passengers were suitably impressed.

I'll miss that capability. :-/