Small Car Recommendations-Car Bought :)

[Gumbo4x4]

I also have a Prius V that I love. OP, you're saying goodbye to a very old Toyota. Why aren't you looking at another Toyota? The Prius C is very compact and gets gas mileage between the V (the station wagon) and the regular Prius.

OP says the current Corolla is too large & really doesn't want a hatchback, which rules out the Prius C.

 

[tvguy]

Hi @flyingdumbo127
You might want to check out some of the Fiat cars. They seem to be pretty small. I'm not sure what's in your price range, but these seem pretty reasonable and they look pretty cute!

This one is the 2016 Fiat 500

I hope you find the perfect car!

Fiat's reliability is just too low IMHO.

 

[justgrace]

Fiat's reliability is just too low IMHO.

Really? That's surprising. I guess they can't have both - be cute and be really reliable! lol

 

[piglet too]

OP - my son's car is black and is a 2012, he had one of the first ones in our area. It is the sedan model, and like I said before, is actually quite roomy. He loves it, great gas mileage and has had no problems with it in the last 4 years.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[robinb]

OP says the current Corolla is too large & really doesn't want a hatchback, which rules out the Prius C.

Is the Prius C and the Corolla the same size? I didn't know. I did miss that she wants a sedan, though.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Is the Prius C and the Corolla the same size? I didn't know. I did miss that she wants a sedan, though.

I "believe" the Prius C is considered a sub-compact where the Corolla is a Compact. So, it should be about the right size, but not enough cargo capacity with the rear seats up.

 

[10MoreMinutes]

Fiat's reliability is just too low IMHO.

Agreed. My boyfriend had one for a year and, while it was fun to drive, it was in the service center more than he was driving it. From our experiences, their customer service is terrible too. He has a Prius now and loves it, but a Prius is probably bigger than the OP is looking for.

 

[Christine]

As another poster mentioned, take a look at the Hyundai Accent which comes in both a sedan and hatchback. My friend's daughter has one and loves it (it's a 2012). I have the Elantra and it has been trouble free so far. You get a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty and they are VERY good values for the money (which is why I got the Elantra in the first place). I've always been a Toyota and Honda driver and, so far, the Hyundai has performed as well. We shall see how long it lasts!!! I'm up to 51,000 with ZERO issues.

 

[bcla]

As another poster mentioned, take a look at the Hyundai Accent which comes in both a sedan and hatchback. My friend's daughter has one and loves it (it's a 2012). I have the Elantra and it has been trouble free so far. You get a 10 year/100,000 mile warranty and they are VERY good values for the money (which is why I got the Elantra in the first place). I've always been a Toyota and Honda driver and, so far, the Hyundai has performed as well. We shall see how long it lasts!!! I'm up to 51,000 with ZERO issues.

10 years is only the powertrain warranty. While it's the most expensive part, it rarely fails. They do have a 5 year comprehensive warranty.

 

[xlxo]

Xlxo, at carmax, they showed me that some of the cars had a back- up camera!

fyi.... you can add a backup camera to any car. The camera can be mounted as the license plate holder. However, it's just cleaner to get a vehicle with the backup camera installed. No need to add an extra backup monitor inside the car.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

To answer a couple folks, I haven't been looking at Toyota, though if I did, it'd be at the Yaris, because they cost more money. I have definitely heard that about Toyotas and Hondas which is why I want to give the Fit another look. Toyota, I know it'd be free (as with any car) to go look at/test drive the Yaris. My Chevy Nova was 13 when I sold it. I don't remember exact details now but if I had put a few hundred into it, that car would have lasted another few years at least. At the time, sadly Grandma needed to stop driving (she was in her 80's) and I pray it helped her to keep the car in the family and lol I did for almost 15 years!

The only thing I know about Hyundai's is my dad got an older Elantra in early 2005 that over the 3 years he owned it had all sorts of problems and ended up giving out on a freeway exit in Burbank. By then, he really should have gotten rid of the car long before and did very soon thereafter. Nissan and Kia, I have no experience with.

Now, that I've driven the Fiesta (which I shared above and didn't care for), at least I have had that experience in a newer style. The size was not an issue for me. I just need to feel comfortable and safe in it! I will definitely check out carefully the Fit again. With the Sonic, I honestly thought it is a cute car and I did love the bright red. I have not yet test driven it (or the Fit) so I don't know how it handles or how I like it that way. The other three: Versa, Accent, and Rio, I have yet to test drive or go look at. I will be doing some car stuff this afternoon and will post an update later.

Have a tigger-iffic Tuesday everyone and thank you again for all your help!

 

[10MoreMinutes]

The only thing I know about Hyundai's is my dad got an older Elantra in early 2005 that over the 3 years he owned it had all sorts of problems and ended up giving out on a freeway exit in Burbank. By then, he really should have gotten rid of the car long before and did very soon thereafter. Nissan and Kia, I have no experience with.

Reliability was a major issue for Hyundai and Kia for a long time, but their quality and reliability has vastly improved in the last 10-15 years, fwiw.

 

[bcla]

To answer a couple folks, I haven't been looking at Toyota, though if I did, it'd be at the Yaris, because they cost more money. I have definitely heard that about Toyotas and Hondas which is why I want to give the Fit another look. Toyota, I know it'd be free (as with any car) to go look at/test drive the Yaris. My Chevy Nova was 13 when I sold it. I don't remember exact details now but if I had put a few hundred into it, that car would have lasted another few years at least. At the time, sadly Grandma needed to stop driving (she was in her 80's) and I pray it helped her to keep the car in the family and lol I did for almost 15 years!

You mention the Chevy Nova? What year? The original American designed ones weren't really known for being great cars, although some models were fairly good muscle cars. In the 80s, GM brought back the name for their joint venture with Toyota. It was sort of related to the Corolla, but not exactly. Later on, the Geo Prizm was essentially a Corolla. They were assembling both out of the same factory.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Hello everyone, I do have an update: I made a choice and the winner is the Nissan Versa! I did test drive the Chevy Sonic and Chevy Cruze today. The Sonic, was the car I thought was super cute in bright red which was my preferred color. However, the Sonic did not drive all that well, though more comfortable than the Fiesta yesterday, but similar. The Cruze was MUCH better and sporty, too. It felt bigger to me but was a car I kept in mind. The other cars I saw today were Hyundai Accent (I did not test drive this car as I did not like it at all from sitting in it, plus it was a bit pricey though similar to the Cruze and as I said I preferred the Cruze). I did, as promised, go re check out the Honda Fit. It is definitely a cool, sporty car, and I am so glad several of you enjoy yours. It did have more of a mini minivan type feel to me and again cost was a factor.

I also went to check out the 2016 Corolla and that was a no, again if I was going closer to that size, I preferred the Cruze, plus the Corolla was more money. I did like a Kia Rio that was okay, closer to my preferences but I don't think that was lease-able or something...I did not test drive it so don't know how it drove but it was a nice small car.

Finally, I ended up at Nissan and truly liked the Versa! A reminder is that I am coming from a 1990 Corolla. To me, the 2016 Versa was simpler and closer to what I am used to. safety-wise it was the first car I truly felt comfortable test driving and really from the beginning. Even the Cruze, I felt like I was driving a BIG car and just was not fully secure in it.

I'm going to research the Versa and then check out a few other dealers for best price. It would be the SV model. The car will be white, btw. The red versa was a dark, almost turning to brownish red. To me, a red car needs to be BRIGHT (think Santa's Sleigh or hey Mickey's shorts) RED My Chevy Nova, which to answer your question, bcla, was a 1988 was white so I'll be going from white (Nova) to red (Corolla) and back to white (Versa). Maybe one day my 4th car will be red again.

Thank you, all of you, so very much for your time and help! When I get the car, I will try and post a picture.

 

[bcla]

I'm going to research the Versa and then check out a few other dealers for best price. It would be the SV model. The car will be white, btw. The red versa was a dark, almost turning to brownish red. To me, a red car needs to be BRIGHT (think Santa's Sleigh or hey Mickey's shorts) RED My Chevy Nova, which to answer your question, bcla, was a 1988 was white so I'll be going from white (Nova) to red (Corolla) and back to white (Versa). Maybe one day my 4th car will be red again.

Thank you, all of you, so very much for your time and help! When I get the car, I will try and post a picture.

'88 was the last year. That was based off of the (Japan market) Toyota Sprinter, which was similar but not quite the Corolla at the time. They only made it at the NUMMI GM-Toyota joint venture in Fremont, CA. That was a big deal when I was younger. That factory was notorious for horrible quality under GM management. There was no accounting for quality. The overriding concern was getting cars completed, even if it meant having to take a car apart later to fix problems.

http://thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/403/nummi

It's kind of sad what happened. The place basically closed because the high cost of living mandated higher salaries. Once GM pulled out, Toyota wasn't interested. Tesla did buy the factory, but they couldn't hire every worker who lost their job.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Congrats on making your choice! I've only ever driven one Versa, but I did like the views from the car - lots of glass & no blind spots that I can recall

 

[flyingdumbo127]

I never heard of the Toyota Sprinter! That is sad end to a car dealer.

Thank you, Gumbo 4X4! That is exactly how I felt! With some of the other cars I really did feel like I was not seeing something despite some of them having the extra mirror.

 

[Skippy918]

I'm glad you found something you like! I test drove the Versa and it drove fine, but I didn't care for the interior. I thought it was interesting that there was a Versa model with manual roll down Windows. I didn't think that was an option anymore.

 

[bcla]

I never heard of the Toyota Sprinter! That is sad end to a car dealer.

The Toyota Sprinter was odd. It was pretty close to the Corolla, but was meant to be sold through a different distribution network in Japan. It's really convoluted how they do these things in Japan.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Sprinter

NUMMI was a game changer. Although GM had its problems, the things they learned from Toyota are heavily credited with improving their quality. That Fremont factory went from the most average defects for GM to the least. Over the years they produced the Chevy Nova Geo/Chevy Prizm, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Tacoma, and Pontiac Vibe. They also made right-hand drive cars for sale in Japan.

It also helped Toyota learn how to work in the US. In the end I think it became expendable to Toyota since there were cheaper factories to operate in the US.

 

[flyingdumbo127]

Thanks, Skippy918 The Versa, I'll be getting definitely had automatic windows! I did look at some cars that did not and was also surprised. Of course, my 1990 corolla had the manual roll down windows and after 26 years...sometimes it would be hard to roll!

The Sprinter looks a lot like my Nova, that was blast from the past. My Corolla had the black lines on it. Thanks for the info, bcla.