Which small car would you buy

[Tim Morton]

mini cooper is german now..not sure if that makes it more or less reliable

[Myk Rian]

Buy American. With all others, the profits go overseas.

[Anthony Scira]

Ford Escape for the SUV
Chevy Malibu for the family
Ford Focus

[Eric DeSilva]

A favorite memory is seeing a bumper sticker on the back of a British car that said "Why do the British drink warm beer? They own Lucas refrigerators"

I used to own a Series II Land Rover (actually an ex-RAF airfield crash rescue ambulance), and I know well the joys of Lucas electronics. I like my favorite bumper sticker on the LRs simply said "Lucas, Prince of Darkness."

As for best small car--since I'm not buying, I'm going with the Lotus Elise.

[Pete Schupska]

+1 on the Fit. I've had an '07 Civic coupe for almost 3 years, and been very happy with it.

The rear seat system is pretty neat, and the potential cargo space really impressive. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am an employee of Honda. My comments are mine though, and not my company's.

[Dave Lehnert]

A lot of people at work drive an hour or more to get there. They buy the cheapest Hyundai they can buy and run the wheels off of them.
My brother has one of the more expensive Hyundai and it is a very nice well built auto. I have always owned GM, Ford or Dodge and his car is nicer than any I have owned.

[Kevin Groenke]

+1 on the Fit. There are several in the family, all reliable, very versatile. It's much roomier in the inside than the exterior leads one to believe. Actually has more front and rear headroom and legroom than the Civic though perhaps less width.

If you want to go domestic, the coming Fiesta has been around in Europe since 08 and is highly regarded. If you buy a Fiesta, some of the money may stay in the US, but the car will be made in Mexico. My Honda was assembled in Marysville, Ohio, most US Civics are assembled in Indiana. Two friends with Focus' call them their F@&*-us. Critics rarely have much good to say about the Caliber or the Cobalt (except the racier RT and SS models). America really hasn't done small cars particularly well.

I'm digging the Nissan Cube when I see it around, but, like my Element, most folks will probably find it fugly.

[Alan Trout]

I have owned a VW Jetta Diesel since 05 It is the most amazing car I have ever owned and I have owned some pretty nice cars. I get 42MPG around town and near 50MPG highway running 75mph. I took a long road trip our west and running 90 I got right at 40MPG.

I Know several others with VW high efficiency diesels everyone loves them and they all get better then posted millage.

After driving a high efficiency diesel I would never own a hybrid.

Good Luck

Alan

[Dave Lehnert]

I forgot to say before. If gas mileage is the reason looking for a small car. I own a 2003 Buick Century 6cy and believe it or not I get 32 miles to the gallon with it. I have checked it time and time again and people don't believe me. I have ran into other owners when out and they will ask me if I also get 30-32 MPG. So I know I'm accurate with my figures.

[Jim Mattheiss]

I have a 2008 Toyota Yaris 4 Door Sedan. It's a 5 Speed base package car (A/C, Power Windows, Remote Entry, ABS) and I get a between 35 and 40 MPG highway. The difference is mainly seasonal when they winterize the fuel here in NJ.

The Corolla has the same drive train and is a little bigger and has a trim level available approaching a high end Camry.

Jim

[Mark Elmer]

I don't buy new either. However I do get a new "company ride" every three years and I am currently driving a 2010 Camry which I like very much. I have almost 19K miles on it. I had to choose between the Chevrolet Malibu and Camry and I picked the Camry because GM took tax payer dollars from the BIG GUBMINT. The Camry is built in Tennesee with non-union labor. Which was important to me.

[Rick Vincent]

From the people that brought you pearl harber & you guys still buy that stuff. If was fair trade it would be alittle bit better but it is not. They sell An American made car over there for more and sell {their} cars over here for less than in there on country..

[Anthony Scira]

I don't buy new either. However I do get a new "company ride" every three years and I am currently driving a 2010 Camry which I like very much. I have almost 19K miles on it. I had to choose between the Chevrolet Malibu and Camry and I picked the Camry because GM took tax payer dollars from the BIG GUBMINT. The Camry is built in Tennesee with non-union labor. Which was important to me.

Just not our Government.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...K3g&refer=home

[Chris Friesen]

I drive a Matrix, which is basically the hatchback version of the Corolla. I've got the earlier version with the glass hatch that opens separately, which can be useful when transporting stuff too long to fit inside. It will take 8' lumber with the hatch down (almost 9' if you put it up on the dash). Due to the height and upright windshield it has more than average wind noise on the highway.

I test-drove a Mazda3 back in 05. It handled very well and was fun to drive, but wasn't great on gas.

If you're already looking at the Civic you might want to look at the Fit. It's going to have a bit less fit-and-finish and probably a bit more road noise than the Civic, but it's more flexible for transporting stuff. My wife's aunt owns a Fit, and her parents own a Civic.

They Toyota equivalent of the Fit would be the Yaris. I don't like the instrument cluster in the middle of the dash, but it doesn't bother some people.

I've driven a fair number of Hyundai rentals. The Accent is a reasonable vehicle, but feels inexpensive. The higher-end one (Sonata maybe?) that I got one time had a very loose suspension, with nasty wheel hop while cornering at speed. Lots of gadgets though.

Around here (I'm in Canada) I'm seeing a growing number of Smart cars. Tiny little two-seaters, really only useful as commuter vehicles. Not cheap though--I think they're made by Mercedes. Unfortunately you can't get the diesel version in North America anymore.

[Mac McQuinn]

Dave,
It's more than entirely possible. I retired 3 years ago and my job was to solely maintain a 200 car fleet for the purpose of long distance travel. The most reliable vehicles we had were Buick 3.8 V-6 push rod engined equipped. We could put 5 men in a vehicle on a roadtrip and knock down 29-30 MPG at 75MPH+. This was always documented. Oil use was nil and reliability was flawless. Great engines, lots of torque, smooth & quiet. These cars were not babied and had 85-90K on them after only 3 years of use. Too bad they're no longer in production.


Mac

I forgot to say before. If gas mileage is the reason looking for a small car. I own a 2003 Buick Century 6cy and believe it or not I get 32 miles to the gallon with it. I have checked it time and time again and people don't believe me. I have ran into other owners when out and they will ask me if I also get 30-32 MPG. So I know I'm accurate with my figures.