My car got totaled

[thebarber]

my mom has an elantra gt 6A 1.8L. only issue was a bad sway bar end link, iirc

my dad has a veloster turbo 6A 1.6T, had a rear shock die

[bentjazz]

Sorry to hear about your Yaris. Glad you are okay. If it happened to me, I'd be right back to where I started with another Yaris. I've had my car almost 6 years now and not a single problem.....

[Deathegg]

Oh, I know! I totally get it about the yaris. The thing is, with me and my little Yaris, we never really bonded, ya know? I basically bought it on the telephone from a friend who worked in a dealer as finance manager and was able to get me financed in spite of my bad credit. Did the paperwork first THEN went out to look and test the car. I had no choice as I needed a car and my Festiva had died. So, it was bought out of NEED, not WANT. I like the Yaris styling of the newer models better than my '10, which always seemed to me a bit homely from certain angles (rear 3/4 view is the best, a very handsome rear end treatment). If I got a newer Yaris, I'd want a well equipped 2-door automatic (because I've been driving a stick for over 30 years, and frankly am tired of shifting). Also because I live in SoCal, and TRAFFIC. BUT - Toyota has chosen to cheap out on the Yaris and saddle it with an older 4 speed auto, when most cars nowadays have a 6 speed at least. Also, they've chosen (again, cost cutting), to not install a telescopic steering wheel, which would eliminate that awful driving position. I'd live with these things if I have to get a newer Yaris. However, I just today got my rental car - I requested an Elantra GT - and Holy. Crap. It's just SO MUCH NICER than a Yaris. The driving position is perfect. I can see out of it. The 6 speed auto is pretty great too. I'll have it for at least a week, so I can get real world MPG figures for it, to see how it compares to a Yaris.

[Deathegg]

Originally Posted by ern-diz

....Would be great if you updated this thread with your impressions of any cars you take a serious look at and/or test drive.

Yes, I will totally do this! I averaged about 35-36 in the Yaris, IIRC.

[WeeYari]

Originally Posted by Deathegg

I requested an Elantra GT

That, KIA Forte and Rio would be at the top of my consideration list should I be forced into a new car shopping situation.

[Deathegg]

I agree. the Forte 5 is basically an Elantra gt in different clothes. I may switch out my rental for one of those just to test them.

[thebarber]

Originally Posted by WeeYari

That, KIA Forte and Rio would be at the top of my consideration list should I be forced into a new car shopping situation.

i'd like to get a forte5 SX turbo with a 6 speed manual...but the amount i drive (40-45k km annually (25-28k miles)) doesnt lend itself to a new or remotely new car. we bought a 2016 vw golf sportwagen with a 1.8T anda 6A slushbox that hussles pretty well and gets awesome highway economy (and decent city-only short-drive-only mileage)

[SirDigby]

i'm in a rental now. it's a Nissan versa. it's pretty much one of the worst vehicles I've ever driven. I can't tell what's going on down in transmission-land. garbage!

[Deathegg]

Originally Posted by SirDigby

i'm in a rental now. it's a Nissan versa. it's pretty much one of the worst vehicles I've ever driven. I can't tell what's going on down in transmission-land. garbage!

Exactly. Nissan used CVT transmissions, and they SUCK SO MUCH. A shame, because the thing handles ok, and generally is a good car, but that trans is a deal killer. Never will buy a nissan.

[Deathegg]

So, I've had the Elantra GT rental for about a while now, and averaging about 30 mpg. For a car that is almost 3900lbs, with 173hp, that's really not bad at all. And wow, that 173hp is nice to have when you need it. There's an ECO mode, but hardly ever use that, as the transmission acts really strange. A few times the average mpg readout on the dash was in the 40's. So, I may test drive a RIO 5, but I've pretty much made up my mind that I want the EGT.

BTW - heard back from the insurance yesterday. Other driver was uninsured (as I thought), and Yaris is a total loss. I owed about 2300 on it, and insurance deductible is 500. I was hoping to get about $5500 out of it, which would give me a little bit for a down-payment on a new car.

However, insurance is giving me......... $7000 !!! WHAT?!! I am sad the yaris is gone, but I'm quite happy with this situation right now.

[ern-diz]

Congrats on the payout. Still apprehensive about voting for the GT, but it sounds like your doing your homework.

[Deathegg]

I've read up them, and yes, lots of research, including going on the Hyundai forums to see what owners think. Seems most people love them. If Toyota ever came up with a new Yaris hatch, I would consider it, but I wonder when that will be? Looked at the new Scion iM hatch, but the EGT's interior is SO much better. The rest of them....

Nissan Note - has CVT, so NO.
Fit - CVT and looks like a mini-minivan.
Mini - even used ones are expensive, and I've seen bad reports about reliability.
Golf - I'm still considering a good Golf. But resale on these is higher, thus a bit out of my range. But I keep looking.

[thebarber]

No way it's 3900lbs

Don't forget that you should likely get the value of any work back that you've done on the car and that last year. So things like tires, exhaus,t brakes, Etc. Plus the value of your state tax

[WeeYari]

Curb weight 2851 lbs
Gross weight 3968 lbs

[NYC-SE]

Originally Posted by Deathegg

Golf - I'm still considering a good Golf. But resale on these is higher, thus a bit out of my range. But I keep looking.

Stop looking. Not worth the headaches. They look good, they drive good but they suffer from VW's legendary dreadful reliability. Take it from someone who went from a Golf to a Yaris.

[MadMax]

I drive a lot of rentals, currently behind the wheel of an Audi A4 TDI wagon, why this car isn't imported to the States is beyond me! I've had it a few weeks and with the 7-speed auto it's getting 5.5l/100km (42-43 MPG) and that's with some pretty spirited driving! Of course, doing 200km/h (120 MPH) on the autobahn drops that a bit to 6.5l/100km (36 MPH); but as anyone who has driven on those roads know you cannot sustain such speeds very long before traffic slows you down (temporarily), so there's a lot of dropping down to 130km/h and then back up to speed!

I did drive a Hyundai Velociraptor coupe earlier this year and was thoroughly unimpressed! For a car that's touted as a sporty compact hatchback they miss on two out of those three! I found it gutless, cramped and had very poor visibility. Sure, they're cheap; but I'd rather spend more and get something worth driving. I was so disappointed in it that I almost took it back to the rental company for something different.

And VW makes some great cars, you just have to take care of them. Their reliability issues seem to only occur in the States, they don't have such problems in Europe. As an old buddy of mine once said, ten million Germans can't be wrong!

Speaking of which, saw a beautiful pair of Siroccos this afternoon; another excellent car that's being withheld from us in the US for no apparent reason...

[Deathegg]

Originally Posted by thebarber

.....No way it's 3900lbs

lol, I just noticed that! Yeah, not 3900. Must have been typing fast!! :)