Commuter Sedan - What would you buy?

vegamark

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Mazda 3 is a great commuter car, just stay away from the first gen(04-09) they had rust problems, I have a 2011 with almost 300k and no rust
 

imdoo'n

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Primarily for me yes Larry, however as gas prices continue to creep higher I'm thinking it would be an efficient option over the Jeep as a daily driver for mama.

My 11 fiesta is a 5 speed, manual windows, no air conditioning, no cruise, no Bluetooth. Nothing very basic car. Need something with some amenities and an auto trans. Definitely want to stay to a smaller car (4 door preferred) not truck
yes, then you want a toyota corolla , camry. honda civic , accord, maybe a newer mazda 3. no sunroof, as few electronic features as possible. don't even bother with dodge, gm, or fords. narrowed the list down to the most reliable better mileage and holding values( there must be some reason these cars hold their value). totally up to you what you want to drive at that point! good luck on making your decision, it's tough!
 

plio7

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If you’re staying small get a good civic. The 4 door sedans are usually not owned and bagged by younger kids like the 2 doors are and you can kill a civic motor and excellent gas mileage. That’s what I was primarily looking at before I made the mistake of test driving the Mini Cooper……
 

ABMax24

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My dad had a 2008 Ford Focus with the 2.0 4 banger. That was a great car for him, never did anything other than brakes and oil changes on that car, he sold it a couple years back at almost 200k.

The 2.0 is a good engine.

If I was looking for a car based for fuel mileage alone I'd be looking for a low mile Chevy Cruze with the Diesel engine. Car and driver did a test with one a few years back and they were significantly better than a Prius on a highway loop. 50mpg is well within reach with those cars.

 

sirkdev

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I'm liking the looks of the newer Kia's.
Not sure if they're any good or anything. But I think Kia has come a longs ways.

Be careful they had a long run of bad engines
 

TylerG

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I'm liking the looks of the newer Kia's.
Not sure if they're any good or anything. But I think Kia has come a longs ways.
Years back I was in Regina for work. And had a forte as a rental it was a nice car. They have engine issues much like Hyundai in their SUVs. My aunt has a gen 2 Sportage with less than 90,000km on it. I think it's maybe a 2006
 
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RXN

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Years back I was in Regina for work. And had a forte as a rental it was a nice car. They have engine issues much like Hyundai in their SUVs. My aunt has a gen 2 Sportage with less than 90,000km on it. I think it's maybe a 2006
Didn't know that. Hyundai is the other one I like the looks of.
But if they aren't reliable, I guess they won't get you very far.
 

Kyle89

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I drive 100km a day to and from work. Iv had my bmw 328 diesel for 2 years now. Average 43 mpg or 5ish L per 100kms. I get over 1000 kms per 55L tank. Awd so is good all winter.

Sent from my SM-G781W using Tapatalk
 

TylerG

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Didn't know that. Hyundai is the other one I like the looks of.
But if they aren't reliable, I guess they won't get you very far.
I think it's specifically the Santa Fe, whatever engine is in those. My ex boss had one and lost the engine in it. And one of my coworkers has one exhibiting the same symptoms.

My parents have had 3 or 4 different Hyundai's since 2007, and have had great luck. Started with a Santa Fe, then an Elantra and now a Kona turbo
 

RXN

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I think it's specifically the Santa Fe, whatever engine is in those. My ex boss had one and lost the engine in it. And one of my coworkers has one exhibiting the same symptoms.

My parents have had 3 or 4 different Hyundai's since 2007, and have had great luck. Started with a Santa Fe, then an Elantra and now a Kona turbo
My dad had an Elantra. (My sister bought it new, he ended up buying it from her).
Seemed like a great little Car.
 

FanaticalKilla

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Lots of Hyundais/Kia's of that generation are very hit and miss. That's the reason why they went t the 10yr/100k miles warranty to get buyers to trust them.
 

TylerG

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So Tyler, what are the top 3 contenders?
I'm going to try to go and start driving some, see what I feel best in and get Sara to drive them too.

I'm comfortable most the time in anything, so it'll be more up to her!
 

crazy_wheeler

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The VW diesels get awesome fuel mileage as well. Our ‘09 Jetta is 1000kms to a tank(55L) as well. Regular maintenance, set off brake pads & a set of rear shocks since I’ve owned it so far. However the crap the city was spreading on the roadways about 5 winters ago was hard on the body & it’s starting to rust around all the wheel wells
 
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