Fun Economy Car Comparison

Gas prices suck, so now I've gotta look into an economy car.

Looking for some input.

So far I've been looking at:

1998 Honda Accord 4 Cyl:

Pros:
Nice looks (coupe), Honda reliability/Quality, Nice Interior, Pretty Good Gas Mileage (27 according to fueleconomy.gov), good resale

Cons:
A tad pricy, cheapest I can find is $10,000 CDN, with 115,000km, from what I've read, performance sucks, 0-60 in mid 9's

2000 Ford Focus ZX3

Pros:
Hatchback capabilities, Awsome gas mileage (29-30mpg according to fueleconomy.gov), decent performance (0-60 in 8.7), decent looks, and cheap, I can find a 2000 ZX3 for $8,300 CDN, with 98,000km, cheap maintenance and repair costs (figure due to it being domestic, could be wrong)

Cons:
Consumer Reports says stay away from the 00-01's which were very problematic. Domestic build quality (which could mean unreliable), not too sure on this, but I assume it doesn't have the quality interior of the Accord. Bad resale.


I prefer the Accord's look, but after looking into Ford Focus', I've been leaning in that direction, because I can a newer one with less KMs, for a couple thousand less, and better gas mileage. My concern is, how unrelaible are they? Is it really bad? How about handling, which one has better handling?

Are their any other similar cars? And no Civics, their great cars, I just can't stand all the boy racer sterotypes around it, and too many people I know have them. Also probably not Cavaliers, same thing civic, just crappy quality, and bad relaiblity (from what I've heard).

I'd have to say the Accord, domestic cars are known for shitty reliability. You could also look into a 92-96 Honda Prelude... great gas mileage, fairly cheap and lots of aftermarket parts.

civic and corolla if you like those cars, they save more gas then both of those cars

Did a lot of thinking and researching and your right (above poster), I'm gonna go with a Civic. The hatchback to be precise, it's too bad though, boy racers really ruined this car, they are the reason that I'm hesitanted to get it. But after checking out the Corolla and Civic MPG, I decided to go with them, and I chose the Civic, because Hatchbacks are more versatle for my needs right now (I'm a mail carrier/deliverer).

Okay, now I need some information on the Civic.

I'm only considering hatchbacks from 92-98 (cost purposes), but really, the less I spend I prefer, this is strickly an economy car.

So I'm aware the Civic was redesigned for the 96 year, what's the difference between these and the previous 4 years (besides apperance)? Anything major, like better engine, refined chassis? Much more refined interior?

Which engine is the best for my needs, although I don't want something that's gonna make me terrified to merge onto the Highway, it needs a little bit of pep. What mileage ranges should I be looking into. Thanks in advance.