Which car would you suggest?

Hi everyone,

I'll start out by saying that I am 16 years old and looking to get my first car. I currently am in 11th grade and have a job at a pet store. I'm hoping by this summer to get a car so I can drive to work and to school next year.

There are a couple cars I am looking at, but none seem to have all wheeldrive. For some reason my parents want this in a car and keep bugging me about it. I live in upstate new york where we do get a lot of snow during the winter but I wouldn't be driving during the snow anyways. I am a really safe driver aswell.

Does it really make a huge difference if I get front wheeldrive?

Okay, so the cars I am interested in are the Toyota Corolla, Honda Civic Coupe, Ford Focus and today I saw the commerical for the Kia Optima.

From what I have read, the Focus is a much better car then the Corolla and Civic. Judging on looks, I like the Civic more then the Corolla but the Focus more then both. I had my heart set on the Focus untill I saw the Kia Optima on tv. This car looks great.

On saturday I am going to check out the Focus at my local Ford dealership, but I now want to see the Optima aswell.

If I could pick from what I have been reading, I would pick either the Focus or Optima first.

I have about 5,000 dollars saved up and my dad said he would lend me the rest, so I don't want a really expensive car. I don't want to have to be paying it back for the rest of my life.

Any suggestions on which car to get? Thanks!!

corolla
none of those cars handle well in the snow, if thats what you are looking for. i know someone who has a focus and it has had nothing but problems, the civics are a killer on insurance, and you dont need anymore hits on insurance being how you are only 17. the kia.... well, dont buy a kia.
my mother has a new 2005 toyota corolla, and we live in NYC, and it did snow a lot here this winter, and it didnt give us any problems, well no more problems than any other FWD has. Hope this helps.

Thanks for your reply.

But I'd like to know whats wrong with the Kia? What type of Focus problems did that person have?

I'm not really looking to drive in the snow, my parents just want me to be ok if it happens to snow when I am driving. I'd never go out when there is a lot of snow on the road.

Thanks for your reply.

But I'd like to know whats wrong with the Kia? What type of Focus problems did that person have?

I'm not really looking to drive in the snow, my parents just want me to be ok if it happens to snow when I am driving. I'd never go out when there is a lot of snow on the road.

kia just has a reputation for bad quality cars, for the first few years they are fine, but then they just fall to pieces.
as far as the focus engine goes, nothing was wrong with it, the ecotec engine is pretty solid, the drivetrain on the focus was terrible, plus it had electrical problems, and the whole computer was replaced, along with the alternator after 14k miles.

the corolla overall is a much better car than both of these cars. the focus has a better suspension, and may be a little faster, but the corolla will hold its value longer and itll be running much longer than the other cars.

If you don't mind paying back for a while, the corolla XR-S has the celica gt-s motor in it (180 horse) and moves pretty good. Even the normal corolla I would take. They hold there value great, are def faster then the civic, the focus might be a little faster by the numbers, but in the real world, I have driven both cars. the corolla feels much faster due to its torque. I would go with the corolla

i think the normal corolla would be nice, just because its awd doesn't automatically better during bad weather, it can easily slip n lose its grip as well if not controlled correctly

AWD doesn't help that much during bad weather. If you drive sanely, FWD is just fine, especially on small, light cars like the ones you are looking at. If you want AWD though (and a great car all-around), look into the Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS. You can get it for under $20,000 brand new, or as low as $14,000 used (2002 and up for the current generation). It's the second cheapest AWD car on the U.S. market, the first being the Suzuki Aerio. I wouldn't recommend that, though; it's pretty underpowered and not as solidly built as the Subaru.

if you are looking at new cars in that price rance by far the best will be the Scion tC.

Thanks for the info. For some reason I still like the Ford Focus. I think it has the nicest design and includes a lot. I havn't heart many bad things about it either.

As for the Scion tC, thats a little bit to flashy for me :)

After I check out the Focus on saturday, I'll report back to let you guys know what I though. Thanks for the help!

the kia optima is more of a midsize, its larger than the other 3 cars you're looking at. The focus will have lower insurance rates than the other 2 cars because of its lower theft rate and lower repair costs, all 3 cars are in the same risk category. The focus also has more power than any of the others, the 2.0 Zetec has 140 hp and the 2.3L Duratec PZEV has 145. My sister has a '02 ZX5 and we haven't had a single problem with it.

i would say that knowledge and experience of how to drive in snow is way more important than 4wd/rwd/fwd differences.

of course one might make it easier but if you don't know how to correct mistakes/slippage or whatnot, then it doesn't make much difference.
after all, one could argue that if you are slipping, maybe 4wd is the last thing you need if you don't know what to do.

the kia optima is just a rebadged hyundai sonata

the corolla, dispite the fact that it is a "compact car" is the same, or even more generous when it comes to interior room, yes, i've been in both cars, dont remember much except they both had the same amount of interior room, the kia is also 700lb heavier, and gets 23mpg, the corolla gets 32mpg

the kia doesn't seem any more practical or efficient than the corolla

the civic, obviously holds it own against the corolla, but the coupe is hard to get in n out of, and just a bit less seating space, but the civic coupe also cost a few thousand more than the corolla (depending on which model)

I would stay away from focus
Heard too many horror stories about their reliability in drive train.
Suggest you go to a libery and read Lemon-Aid. This book should point you toward right cars.

Thanks for all the info. I actually got a totally different car then those I mentioned above.

Instead I got a 2001 Audi A4, which I'm picking up on thursday. I love the car so much. Its black with black leather and has everything I need. Including allwheeldrive (which made my parents happy) and it only has 30,000 miles on it.

My parents wanted the car as much as I did when we found it.

You can check out my car here:

http://www.autotrader.com/inventory/vehicle_details.jsp?position=13&car_id=170086481&color=1&dealerId=1151133&make=any&model=any&pass=1&toYear=any&fromYear=any&toPrice=999999&fromPrice=0&searchFilter=any&sort=make&searchType=all

Very good choice. As far as AWD sedans go, it doesn't get a whole lot better than the Audi A4 (the WRX is my personal favorite). Congrats :)

corolla xrs sounds nice, or a used car? celica gts? rsx-s?

i dunno...

given ur situation i would either go with corolla {which i own} or european focus based mazda 3. in reality mazda is a better car with better ergonomics and interior than focus. they use the same engine and top of the line only has a difference of 9hp. imo mazda looks upscale compare to focus especially in the hatchback version and the "s" version is fun to drive with respectable fuel economy. good luck and i hope this helps.

Read the whole thread, people. He already bought an '01 Audi A4.