The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Other Random Car Stuff → New hatchback options
So, finally got a decent paying job and I'm looking to upgrade my work hooptie by a lot. Been looking at a 2012 or newer focus 5 door. Anyone have any opinions of these or others to look into? Local dealers are pretty standard for the Midwest, ford, GM, dodge, Honda, Toyota, and kia. So would like to stay with in that and about 20k and go!
We loved ours and were one of the lucky ones with automated manual transmission (skip it and go manual) that was not a pain in the ass.
My opinion, unless you want the quieter interior and slightly higher grade interior, go Mazda3. If you go 2015/16 it even takes care of almost all of that.
^What he said about the bad Ford automated manual. I forget which years were affected, but some quick research will bring it up. A friend of mine bought a Fiesta of the wrong year that had one of those. Even if it doesn't break, the shift behavior will drive you crazy.
I have a 2015 Sonic and love it. No issues.
I have a 2015 Sonic and love it. No issues.
I thought about one of those or a fiesta, but being tall, 6'4", I thought something a little bigger would be better. Also a little more cargo room for my other hobbies
rlchv70 wrote:I have a 2015 Sonic and love it. No issues.
I thought about one of those or a fiesta, but being tall, 6'4", I thought something a little bigger would be better. Also a little more cargo room for my other hobbies
Cargo room, valid...your height, not unless you are all torso and/or want to carry adult passengers behind you.
Rich's Sonic is the small turbo manual and I can say it zips.
If you care NOTHIN about zip, the Impreza in its current form should be considered. The XV is a tarted up, jacked up Impreza but the Impreza is a screaming deal as it became completely overshadowed by every other modern Subbie that is flying off the lot.
rlchv70 wrote:I have a 2015 Sonic and love it. No issues.
I thought about one of those or a fiesta, but being tall, 6'4", I thought something a little bigger would be better. Also a little more cargo room for my other hobbies
I'm 6'0" and I still have room to adjust the seat in the sonic.
Compared to the Focus you mentioned, the Sonic is very similar in interior dimensions. Only thing you lose is a little leg room and cargo space with the rear seats up. With seats down, sonic actually has more cargo room.
My dad had a Focus with the Powershift dual clutch automatic. It is the primary reason he no longer owns it - his was one of the early versions and it was a juddering, confused mess that never worked right. Allegedly the programming is better on the newer Powershifts.
I had a previous gen (2009) Honda Fit and loved that car. It had an insane amount of interior room and usability, and the current-gen model is even bigger. It is supposed to drive well, and you can get a 6-speed manual instead of the CVT. It also will almost certainly incur little depreciation.
Fully optioned, however, a Fit gets into Accord Sport/EX price territory. All else being equal, I'd go with the bigger, less optioned car. (I also had an Accord Sport 6MT, and that was excellent).
Well guess I'll be doing a bunch of test driving. The one annoying thing is none of the local dealers have any manuals! WTH!
Second vote for the subie. I have a 2012 WRX and my room mate has a 2014 (13?) focus hatch. The subaru has more space if you care about utility. Plus AWD if you care about that kind of thing. And subarus seem to hold their value crazy well.
Second vote for the subie. I have a 2012 WRX and my room mate has a 2014 (13?) focus hatch. The subaru has more space if you care about utility. Plus AWD if you care about that kind of thing. And subarus seem to hold their value crazy well.
Only problem with that closest dealer is like an hour and a half away...
Well guess I'll be doing a bunch of test driving. The one annoying thing is none of the local dealers have any manuals! WTH!
You should be able to easily find a Fit and a Sonic RS with a manual in stock. Subbie might be easier.
Focus might be impossible unless you are willing to test more than one car to get the "feel" of the trim level in one and the driving experience in another.
Mazda would SHOCK me if they did not have a manual Mazda3 on the lot as I think they have the highest manual take rate of non-sporty cars.
Most online inventories have the information you need but if not, a simple internet inquiry can find it. Even in Chicago I had to cast my net as far as Ford online would let me to find the a non-4x4 F250 Supercab but once I figured out their website it was a piece of cake.
Edit:
Mankato Ford has 5 manual Focus in stock
KOHLS - WEELBORG CHEVROLET, LLC. has an RS sedan manual.
Wife just got a good deal on a CPO 2013 VW GTI 6sp (manual). She loves the car, and I can't help but be a bit envious.
The only other car we were seriously considering was a Mazdaspeed 3, which is a fun and fine car in its own right, but the VW won out on warranty, quality, and perceived longevity.
addict#52 wrote:Well guess I'll be doing a bunch of test driving. The one annoying thing is none of the local dealers have any manuals! WTH!
You should be able to easily find a Fit and a Sonic RS with a manual in stock. Subbie might be easier.
Focus might be impossible unless you are willing to test more than one car to get the "feel" of the trim level in one and the driving experience in another.
Mazda would SHOCK me if they did not have a manual Mazda3 on the lot as I think they have the highest manual take rate of non-sporty cars.
Most online inventories have the information you need but if not, a simple internet inquiry can find it. Even in Chicago I had to cast my net as far as Ford online would let me to find the a non-4x4 F250 Supercab but once I figured out their website it was a piece of cake.
Edit:
Mankato Ford has 5 manual Focus in stock
KOHLS - WEELBORG CHEVROLET, LLC. has an RS sedan manual.
Yeah I was looking for a 5 door
OnkelUdo wrote:addict#52 wrote:Well guess I'll be doing a bunch of test driving. The one annoying thing is none of the local dealers have any manuals! WTH!
You should be able to easily find a Fit and a Sonic RS with a manual in stock. Subbie might be easier.
Focus might be impossible unless you are willing to test more than one car to get the "feel" of the trim level in one and the driving experience in another.
Mazda would SHOCK me if they did not have a manual Mazda3 on the lot as I think they have the highest manual take rate of non-sporty cars.
Most online inventories have the information you need but if not, a simple internet inquiry can find it. Even in Chicago I had to cast my net as far as Ford online would let me to find the a non-4x4 F250 Supercab but once I figured out their website it was a piece of cake.
Edit:
Mankato Ford has 5 manual Focus in stock
KOHLS - WEELBORG CHEVROLET, LLC. has an RS sedan manual.Yeah I was looking for a 5 door
No shit...is that why you put hatchback in the title?
The sedan is to test drive the engine transmission combo...don't buy it cause only chumps get sedans when a hatch or a wagon is an option. Test drive the hatch at the right trim level and to test fit your dog crate.
When you have settled on car and trim, tell the dealer what you want and what you will pay and ask them to give you call when they have located it...if they are a pain, locate it on truecar or similar, make the deal with the dealer there and fly/drive/train/paddleboat out to get it.
Not once has a dealer had the car I wanted on their lot. (three cars for the now ex-wife and my truck).
Might be a little late on this one, but if you haven't considered it, look at the Honda Fit. I bought one in 2008, and it's been totally reliable ever since. Good mileage, and easy on parts - I just replaced the front brakes for the first time at about 112k miles. That's the biggest thing the car has ever needed. I'm 6' 5", and have plenty of interior room. I'm not sure if the interior space has changed over the years, but the body style hasn't changed so dramatically that it would make me think they've gotten tiny on the inside.
I actually ended up getting a 2015 Nissan versa note sr, was an old dealer loaner, had it for about 3 weeks and does good, tons of room and averages 37mpg, we'll see how the CVT holds up, the little 1.6 is peppy but revs a lot to go anywhere, works for what I need
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