5 door wagon/sedan for wife

RatLabGuy

RatLabGuy

You look like a monkey and smell like one too
Joined
May 18, 2005
Location
Churchville, MD
Ok, wife is itching for a new car. For some reason the 11 y/o Saturn (9 years ownership) is cutting it anymore, lol.

She likes smaller 5-door hatch-sedan types, like my Mazda Protege5 or a Toyota Matrix. She saw an ad for a Rio5 and (unf) when she also saw the price tag, fell in love w/ it. Now personally the idea of a Kia scares me, I like to think we're beyond the "entry car" phase...
What she cares about is safety, MPGs, and price, in that order. I'd really prefer something a bit used but maybe still warranteed.... but she just sees the price tag. That drives me crazy. I think the point is, she's tired of having a crap car. I can't blame her.
(I'm not sure how long I can fend this one off)

Any experience w/ the Rio5, Matrix, or suggestions for something better...?
 
Take a look at the HONDA CRV. I have a 97 CRV with 242K on the clock and would drive it any where.

The newer ones have more HP and better creature comforts, good safety record and one of the lowest warrenty claimes of any car on the road.

Take a look!
 
subaru??
 
Toyota makes the Scion line of cars, LOVE our xB (older style) and the new xD is pretty nice at $16k for a new vehicle!

They all come loaded, only option is 5spd vs auto and despite the EPA sticker you can expect 30ish around town, mid 30s on the hwy.

Kia has a 100k warranty on their cars though I believe? If she is willing to drive it all 100k that seems like a good backup plan. Their rep is getting better by the day (as folks get to know them...)
 
Honda fit. i think my gf is going to get one of those. Of course, if you need a 5 door wagon...if mpg is a concern get an fj60, lol.
 
BigRedB2 said:
Honda fit. i think my gf is going to get one of those. Of course, if you need a 5 door wagon...if mpg is a concern get an fj60, lol.
Click to expand...


Are you saying FJ60's DO have good MPG or DONT?
 
I beat the ever-loving hell out of a rental Matrix a few years back.. It handled well, got good MPG, and was built well. It also did excellent e-brake 180's.. Not that she'll be doing them on the test drive..
 
FWIW, my wife has had the full gambit of vehicles... most recently a Chrysler mimi-van, an Honda CRV (traded for...) and lastly, a KIA mimi-van.

She likes the KIA best of ALL the previous 12 rides... likes it so much, she has 45K on it after 2.5 years! :rolleyes:

The *ONLY* issues we've had was poor diagnosis from the dealer (brake squeal diagnosed as bad struts :lol: ) and decreased headlamp life due to her leaving them on ALL the time (they do shutoff with the engine). Outside of that, it's done well.

As Sammy alluded, the 100K mile warranty & *Roadside Assistance* for little coin does speak for itself
 
x2 on the Kia.
The wife has an '03 van and it has served us wonderfully. It is at around 90k now and we still have 10k in powertrain warranty left.

For what you pay for a bare bones model in a honda or toyota, you can get a loaded Kia.
 
only one way i would go in your shoes looking for a decent mpg/saftey and sedan....they even offer a 5door.... the 4cyl are near the top in there class and handle wonderfully. teh 6cyl are stright nasty for a cheap sedan. and there easy to work on and mazda is just pimp...but i have one in the yard so im one sided... i would shop around for a 03-04 Smodel not the I model but its whatever.

http://raleigh.craigslist.org/car/727575210.html
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/car/731979241.html
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/car/724581974.html
http://raleigh.craigslist.org/car/702199821.html
 
kia are pretty tough little vehicles.
 
Check the matrix out. My buddy has the pontiac version (which is cheaper). I like that all but the drivers seat fold down and have hard plastic backs for carrying stuff. If we didn't buy the volvo we'd have gotten the Matrix (Volvo was used and still more $$ than the matrix, but it's safer and bigger).
 
We have had a Honda Accord wagon since 2002, has been a very good vehicle, unfortunately, 1997 was the last year the US saw an Accord Wagon. I would certainly buy a Honda again it the need arose.

We did buy a 2007 Toyota Camry SE last fall, it was "neused" with 16k on it, so we didn't take a real hard hit on the buy-in, has been a very good vehicle so far, though the 'round town mileage could be better. The 5spd auto makes me crazy, downshifting way to easily, but other than that, it's been a nice ride, 10k on it since Nov.

It has MUCH more room than our Accord ( good for me at 6'5" and rather portly ) though, I never really get to drive it, SHE'S got it all the time. If I remember correctly, the Matrix has the same engine as the Camry now ( 2AZ ) but I am not sure of the trans. wish I'd have known the Camry was available with a 5spd manual and a few other things, we ( I ) would have held out for one of those.

Oh, and the Mazda's were the next looksee once we got bored with the Toyotas.

One down side to the Camry's, there are a bloomin MILLION of them on the feckin road ! We pass ourselves regularly.
 
We seriously considered a Spectra5. Good gas mileage, EXTREMELY comfortable and well-laid out, and a decent driver too. We would have bought it if they could have found an orange 5-speed with a sunroof anywhere. Unfortunately, they couldn't. It was also one of the greasiest dealership experiences we've had, which was kind of unsettling. So we checked out Toyota. We were looking for a Matrix, but as soon as I tried to sit down in one, we knew it wasn't the car for us. It was not made for tall people. Tried the Slorolla, same deal. The Camry was nice, but way out of our price range. Then we saw this goregous blue Xb. We figured we'd test drive it, but it was more than we wanted to spend. Well, the next day, we picked one up! Great little car, very practical and fun. I've only got a couple of gripes about it, but no car's perfect, especially an entry-level one.

The Kia's warranty is nice, but I know we're going to rack up that 100k in a matter of three or four years, then it's my responsibility to fix it. I was concerned about parts availability and price when that time comes. The Scion has Toyota's rep of reliability behind it, it seemed like the safer bet. It's running the Camry drivetrain, and we've all seen them roll over 300k. Whereas the trunk space is a little limited, the passenger room is fantastic. And when you fold the seats down, it's huge. I'd recommend checking them out.

Back to Kia, I sat in the Rio5, and really liked it. If I was looking for a cheaper new car to commute in, I'd seriously consider it. However, it was too small for what my wife needed. It seems like a fun little ride, though, and I like the European look of the black trim.
 
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