Help Me Pick Out a Car for the GF

[TurtleJames]

My girlfriend's lease (Civic) is running out in April/May, so I've been looking up possible replacements for her. She's not into cars at all, so basically it just needs to be something small, safe and reliable. Lease or finance depending on what car she ends up with.

Here's my list so far. Any suggestions or additions welcome.

All 2012 (Prices through Zag)

1) Honda Fit Sport w/ Nav ($20,310?): Pros - Fun, Safe, Reliable. Cons - Weak, End of Life Cycle? (outdated feature set), Pricier than Competition.

2) VW Golf ($20,349): Pros - Fun, Safe, Nice Features. Cons - Questionable Reliability, I'm Going to Mod It, Most Expensive of the Choices.

3) Hyundai Elantra GLS with Conv Pkg ($17,593): Pros - Lots of Features, Nice Styling, Low Price. Cons - Kinda Boring, Possible Reliability Issues.

4) Mazda 3 i Sport ($16,395): Pros - Fun, Low Cost. Cons - Ugly, Not Sure about Reliability.

5) Ford Focus SE - ?

 

[VW-TX]

Toyota Corolla, or Nissan Altima for a little bigger I would recommend. Both great cars.

 

[rizzogti]

honda fit. surprisingly big in the inside, obviously its a honda motor so it'll run forever, good gas mileage, and it doesnt look all that bad. definitely a girly car, thats for sure.

 

[maxtdi]

Get the elantra or the fit. Make sure you get the fit without the nav, $1500 is absurd.

 

[t'sGTI]

Base Mini
Still fun to drive and not too expensive.

 

[jmlivid]

^^^This guy....x2

 

[Skeptix]

Veloster.

 

[09vdubgti]

Why spend money on modding your girls car? Ok like little things here and there is fine but why do expensive mods?

 

[TurtleJames]

Thanks for the feed back so far.

1) I do like the Fit. Not too happy with the lack of features as compared to some others like drum brakes? And also worried that it's nearing the end of its life cycle. Maybe that's a good thing. Grambles, any input?

2) Elantra. I've been in a couple. Never drove one. It looks great on paper. Just afraid what it's like owning one.

3) I will have to look more into the Corolla and Altima.

4) Mini - She hates them with a passion almost as much as the PT Cruiser. She does like the original Mini's though.

5) Veloster - She likes how it looks. But from the reviews, it sounds like a dog.

 

[Gunkata]

Fit, is my fav out of the group. Hyundai has a 10 year warranty, so what are you afraid of?

 

[danielj1]

The 2012 Mazda3 has a toned-down smile. Much better looking. Their skyactive motors are getting great MPG and as a former Mazda3 forum moderator, I don't recall any noteworthy reliability issues outside of failed side motor mounts on earlier models.

Both the new Elantra and Accent (larger motor, better than ever) are good contenders when you weigh their value.

 

[walker]

...the mazda 3 smile...that's why my wife won't get one. Just glanced at the 2012, it doesn't look that bad.

 

[danielj1]

...the mazda 3 smile...that's why my wife won't get one. Just glanced at the 2012, it doesn't look that bad.

While still smiley, its much better than before.

 

[Gunkata]

While still smiley, its much better than before.

 

[mitsuplexnyc]

Out of those choices... the fit.

As for me, I picked out a jetta for my GF. Picking it up this weekend actually.