What will your next car be?

[kimona]

Before replacing my Camry (about 6 months ago), I drove the Toyota Prius and the Hyundai Ioniq. The Prius drove well, but the car was just too bloody ugly (outside and inside) and the seats were not very comfortable. The Ioniq's conservative sheet metal design was appealing, the interior was decent, the seats were comfortable, and the car drove surprisingly well. But, I just couldn't bring myself to buy a Hyundai. I passed on getting a hybrid, but I'm still thinking about one for the future. Electric cars don't interest me at this point. I'm rather spontaneous and need a car that can go the distance wherever it may be. Plus, I'm the type that would suffer battery anxiety driving an electric car.

[Kalispel]

Originally Posted by kimona

Electric cars don't interest me at this point. I'm rather spontaneous and need a car that can go the distance wherever it may be. Plus, I'm the type that would suffer battery anxiety driving an electric car.

I agree with you on full-electric cars. I think I am also the battery-anxiety type. Heck, I absolutely hate dropping below 1/3 or so tank on my gasoline Yaris.

[sickpuppy1]

yeah, i get that way when the gauge is blinking too!

[sqcomp]

Goodbye Yaris ��

Hello Corolla!

Toyota loyalty!

[kimona]

Hmmm... a wide variety of cars available in Australia.

Too bad about the demise of Holden and some great Opel platforms.

[junorico24]

Originally Posted by kimona

Hmmm... a wide variety of cars available in Australia.

Too bad about the demise of Holden and some great Opel platforms.

Agreed.

That's why KIA came in with the RWD stinger because most Aussies love their big RWD muscle cars with Holden and Ford no longer producing them Kia will.

There's also Citreon, Peugeot,Renualt, Volvo, Skoda, MG is coming back.

The one that i have an eye on because it ticks the boxes.

Economical, good looks, affordable, fun to drive, 4wd, cheap servicing cost, good list of features; sat nav as standard, voice command, panoramic roof, all grip 4 wheel drive, 1.6 diesel engine would usually cost 40k-50k plus....


But not with the Suzuki Vitara the top of range is just under 35 K..

[junorico24]

The Swift Sport is out in Australia as well..

A lot of good reviews ..

1.4 booster jet engine is same engine in the Vitara weighing just south of a tonne this thing is a pocket rocket.



A line of yellow hot hatches, WOW.

[Kalispel]

The 2019 refreshed Honda HR-V just popped up on the Honda website for building/review of features. I have to say that the new 'Sport' trim is almost perfectly outfitted for my personal taste in features. It avoids all the 'safety' tech bloat for bad drivers (which starts on the EX trim) and other over-engineered 'convenience'-nonsense tech & has many of the nice cosmetic upgrades that this vehicle needed when it first made its debut in the US market. The (improved-for-2019) CVT looks like the only wildcard really, but I'm betting reliability on a CVT depends a lot on how aggressively you constantly stomp the gas from stop, etc. (which is where most CVT stress comes from). A lot of people seem to drive their cars like they are running from the cops (& don't do proper maintenance), so not very surprising they have engine/transmission issues sooner rather than later.

I like how the Sport trim replaces the cheap black plastic body/wheel trim with the piano-finish gloss-black trim instead - meaning you can wax/maintain it far easier, and it shouldn't age/discolor like the normal crap matte black plastic usually used for bumpers, trim, etc. The 50's series tires on the 18" wheels are the perfect compromise between performance, ride & looks (just like on my Yaris). The old-school 1990's halogen-reflector headlights/DRL have finally been replaced with more-modern, attractive projector headlights & LED DRL - and look better than the Touring trim squinting LED headlights. The Sport trim 18" alloy wheel design looks halfway decent if I wanted to stay factory/OEM. Muffler look has been refined, with added OEM exhaust tip. Standard fog lights. Black (Sport) instead of chrome (all other trims) front brow piece looks a lot better. On the fence about the color choices - Modern Steel looks nice & Orangeburst Metallic is interesting, lol. Sound/Noise insulation has been improved also with the refresh, and Active Noise Cancellation technology has been added.

The engine will be polarizing for a lot of people, since it is the same naturally-aspirated 'old school' carryover from the current model. I personally like that it is NOT a straight-up direct-inject and/or turbocharged engine, as those engines cost more to maintain properly & really won't age well in terms of reliability/durability. That's one of the reasons I love my Yaris so much as well. Seems like it would work fine for a normal driver (just like my Yaris engine does), but will leave wannabe drag-racers & people 'fleeing from the cops' no-doubt unhappy still.

Sounds like something worth checking out for me, & see if it can pass my rigourous OCD stress-test inspection. I will have to stop by a Honda dealership later this year for a test drive of the Sport trim, & see how it holds up in-person vs online research. If I like it, then it will get added to my very short list of cars that I might go for in 2020 or so, though a new black Yaris SE hatch still easily tops the list currently (assuming I can find one, lol).

My current short list:
(#1) 2018+ Yaris SE hatch (Black only)
(#2) 2019+ Corolla hatch XSE (or SE with aftermarket 17" graphite/black wheel+tire-swap) (Black only)
(#3) 2019+ Honda HR-V Sport (Black, Modern Steel or Orangeburst Metallic)

[kimona]

I've driven the HR-V a few times, and I stand by my initial comments back in post #205 of this thread in Aug. 2017.

"Front and rear design looks good. Side view leaves a lot to be desired. Interior looks and feels cheap! Noisy motor, sluggish transmission, mediocre handling, uncomfortable seating. Hated the car."

I'd be curious to hear your feedback after test driving the car.

[Kalispel]

Originally Posted by kimona

I've driven the HR-V a few times, and I stand by my initial comments back in post #205 of this thread in Aug. 2017.

"Front and rear design looks good. Side view leaves a lot to be desired. Interior looks and feels cheap! Noisy motor, sluggish transmission, mediocre handling, uncomfortable seating. Hated the car."

I'd be curious to hear your feedback after test driving the car.

I will post a basic review once that I do check out the 2019 Sport trim HR-V in-person sometime this fall/winter. I wasn't a fan of U.S. version HR-V during its initial release in this market (2015-2018). It looked okay to me from most angles in terms of basic shape, proportions, etc., but seemed really cut-rate versus what was being offered in other global markets. Hopefully, the refresh addresses a lot of issues that you mention. Release notes do mention better sound deadening in the cabin, an updated CVT 'driving experience' & sports-tuned steering/handling adjustments on the Sport trim, etc. Hopefully, they also address some improved interior features/materials/comfort as well, and not just the exterior improvement I mentioned in my last post. We will see. I will be going in from the perspective of someone who prefers hatchback/sedan cars over Crossovers/SUVs in general, but the idea of a Crossover type vehicle does interest me.

[Runethecursed]

Im personally looking at the redesigned 2017 FRS or BRZ depending... Still new enough for the cpo but same chassis as the old model, and

of course the BRZ tS stuff fits right one :D :D

[DarkShadowFox]

LS430 UL black black with the nav and the rear seat options or a W210 E55 2002 or older, loaded as well.

[Dodge Aries K]

Well, I just bought a Scion iQ so I guess that's what my next car is now lol.

[Kalispel]

Originally Posted by Dodge Aries K

Well, I just bought a Scion iQ so I guess that's what my next car is now lol.

If I was going to go the pre-owned car route for my next car (which is possible), I would likely aim for a low-mileage 2015+ BLACK Yaris SE hatch (4-spd auto), or a Barcelona Red Scion/Corolla iM (CVT auto). My current car is probably my last manual vehicle, and my next is my first automatic ever, after 35+ years of buying/driving cars.

[DarkShadowFox]

Originally Posted by Dodge Aries K

Well, I just bought a Scion iQ so I guess that's what my next car is now lol.

from 106 hp to 95 hp and 2117 LB. 2zzge swap it.

[Dodge Aries K]

Well I still have a bunch of Yarii too lol. I'm actually going to sell one of them... either here or to the Toyota dealer. It's a 2016 L 5 door that has been upgraded with keyless entry and cruise control. 36,700 miles.

[Captain Yaris]

Originally Posted by Dodge Aries K

Well I still have a bunch of Yarii too lol. I'm actually going to sell one of them... either here or to the Toyota dealer. It's a 2016 L 5 door that has been upgraded with keyless entry and cruise control. 36,700 miles.

I thought you just bought that one? Do you not like it?

[Dodge Aries K]

Well it went bye bye today. Truth be told I did like it but it was bought as a backup car for work stuff and I just don't do it enough anymore to warrant the car loan. Plus, for some reason the insurance on that car was the cost of my 3 door 2016, my 5 door 2014, and my wife's 5 door 2012 put together. So after considering all that, it just wasn't worth keeping around to collect dust and never get used. Plus, getting rid of one of my loans is pretty nice. I bought the car for 9300 before tax and title stuff, sold it to the dealer for 8600 so I didn't take too bad of a hit I guess lol. I'll write the loss off next year for my taxes since it was for the business so... Oh well I guess. I still have the 16 I bought new, the 14, my wife's 12, and the 07 project car for Yarii. Then there's the iQ, Matrix, Sonoma, and LeBaron Turbo GT convertible... so we have more than enough cars. Too many!