Difference: The Pinto blew up when you got rear ended, the Toyota blows up when the accelerator gets stuck and you wrap it around a tree
If i was in the market for a family hauler the Sonata turbo would be tops on my list.
Solid choice! Derivitive styling or whatever, it's still a lot of bang for the buck.
Plus a 10 year warranty
Well, just as an update, I went to the Ford yesterday to ask when they'd even be getting the new Focus in, and they said it'd probably wind up being late April before they'd have any in stock that I could drive (their first couple batches arriving in early April have already been sold), and since I need the car in the next few weeks I went back to the Chevy dealer and negotiated a really nice deal on the Cruze ECO, so I wound up going with that.
I took one out on the highway to test the power at higher speed and I was actually really impressed. The manual transmission is really nice and the engine responds quite well.
The one thing that shocked me is they don't give you a spare tire of any kind. Seriously?! They give you one of those stupid inflation kits, but those are useless if you have anything more than a nail stuck in the tire. They claim it's because they kept weight to a minimum on the ECO version of the car, but sacrificing the spare tire seems like a bad idea.
...
I've seen the new Elantras around here for awhile (Hyundai HQ), the design kinda worked on the Sonata but it looks way overdone on a smaller scale, I don't think it will age well.
1. Just like in the 70s they kept building large gas guzzling vehicles (SUVs) when consumers wanted smaller more efficient cars to counter rising fuel costs.
Yes, they can. Go through Consumer Reports and you'll still find Honda and Toyota almost spotless across their entire line of vehicles. CR recommends only a single Dodge product. A few Chevy's, a good number of Ford. The domestic quality is better (not including Dodge), but still behind the premier Japanese brands no matter how many articles you may read about recalls for floor mats. Recall prevalence doesn't give much indication of long term reliability. Anyway, read today Ford was asked to recall over a million vehicles for airbag issues.The japanese are still riding the reliability train when in reality they can no longer claim to be significantly more reliable than their American counterparts.
Yes, they can. Go through Consumer Reports and you'll still find Honda and Toyota almost spotless across their entire line of vehicles. CR recommends only a single Dodge product. A few Chevy's, a good number of Ford. The domestic quality is better (not including Dodge), but still behind the premier Japanese brands no matter how many articles you may read about recalls for floor mats. Recall prevalence doesn't give much indication of long term reliability. Anyway, read today Ford was asked to recall over a million vehicles for airbag issues.
Perhaps not, but I've never come upon much of actual substance decrying their methods and they are still one of the premier if not the premier raters of consumer vehicles.CR still drinks the kool-aid too, don't believe they are 100% objective.
Based on Consumer Reports testing and predicted reliability, Toyota is the 3rd best all around automaker, falling just behind Honda and Subaru respectively.
Perhaps not, but I've never come upon much of actual substance decrying their methods and they are still one of the premier if not the premier raters of consumer vehicles.
Speaking of which:
http://www.favstocks.com/prius-keeps-toyota-a-top-automaker-according-to-consumer-reports/2835054/
I generally have no interest in small cars (rough ride, lack of available features, noisy, mpg not all that much better, slow, etc) but the 2012 Focus really has my attention. From what I've read and watched on youtube it seems like a more upscale small car.
Only downside is still the speed. It'll be interesting to see the actual curb weight. Edmunds says 2948 lbs for the titanium hatch but Ford hasn't officially listed it from what I can tell. That's a power to weight ratio of 18.3... I'm not looking for Mustang GT speed, but something that can hit 60 at or below 7 second is nice (assuming that also translates into decent passing performance, like 55-70). I'm looking forward to see what the ST can do, but I have a feeling it won't have as many available options and won't even be in the US until next year.
Hmm I just noticed C&D said 7.6 seconds for the auto hatch. Not too bad.
I generally have no interest in small cars (rough ride, lack of available features, noisy, mpg not all that much better, slow, etc) but the 2012 Focus really has my attention. From what I've read and watched on youtube it seems like a more upscale small car.
Only downside is still the speed. It'll be interesting to see the actual curb weight. Edmunds says 2948 lbs for the titanium hatch but Ford hasn't officially listed it from what I can tell. That's a power to weight ratio of 18.3... I'm not looking for Mustang GT speed, but something that can hit 60 at or below 7 second is nice (assuming that also translates into decent passing performance, like 55-70). I'm looking forward to see what the ST can do, but I have a feeling it won't have as many available options and won't even be in the US until next year.
Hmm I just noticed C&D said 7.6 seconds for the auto hatch. Not too bad.
Much quicker ones should be coming...
Hmm it's probably not a bad car but I like the idea of the 4 door ST instead of 2dr C30. I forgot that they even still make the C30.Hmm. If you want a C1 vehicle that's basically a reskinned Euro Focus, look at the Volvo C30. It's got a pretty sweet interior, and is the analog to the Focus ST model in the UK. 225hp Turbo 2.5L that tunes to about 260hp with zero hardware changes. Can be found for about $20k lightly used. Or wait for the US Focus ST
Their methods are not without faults, but who has a better method? What group has better statistics? Truedelta perhaps? Because that site in great part mirrors CR. JD powers does, too, though their methodology biases to garage queens (CRs may also, though). Large aggregates of data are always more helpful than forum anecdotes, which supporters of unreliable vehicles tend to favor. You don't hear many recalls about Mitsubishis, but that's because there are none.No they are not.
Only people that believe that are blind to how CR comes up with its ratings/rankings.
Heres a good read...
http://www.allpar.com/cr.html
I like the looks of the Cruze better than I like the Focus. The Eco model gets 28MPG city and 42MPG highway where the focus only gets 25MPG city and 35MPG highway, so that's also a plus.
I like the looks of the Cruze better than I like the Focus. The Eco model gets 28MPG city and 42MPG highway where the focus only gets 25MPG city and 35MPG highway, so that's also a plus.
Thats incorrect. The 2012 Focus gets 28 city, 28 highway. The SFE package gets 40 highway.
could you post an update on how you like the car, fuel efficiency and what not in a few weeks? Just took out a cruze eco for a test drive and liked it alot, well anyhting is an upgrade from my chevy aveo but I am itching for a better car.
Hey, just to provide an update. I've had my Cruze ECO a few weeks now and still really like it. The 6-speed manual performs great, I'm getting the advertised mileage (averaged 43mpg on a highway trip recently), and it's overall a fairly fun ride. I'm quite happy with the purchase.
If anyone has any specific questions about the car, let me know.
What is your average around town mileage?
How does the interior feel - as in do you think it will fair fine with age or decline quickly?