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Yeah a Prius has decent gas mileage, but what about when you have to replace the battery?
We we looking at them last week, and the new Camry's def. beats it feature wise. MP3 hookup, Bluetooth, etc. Anddd the gas mileage really isn't that different. There is little difference in gas mileage between the 4 cylinder and the V6 so I'd go with the 6.

And the Camry isn't boring looking like it used to be, I would def. drive one.

On the other hand, my neighbor has a VW Jetta and it's diesel. It's quite quiet, he has never had any trouble starting it on even the wintry mornings here in PA. The diesel Jetta gets much better gas mileage than a Camry would.


I wouldn't recommend a CRV. My friend's mom has one and it's just meh.


You could get a Lexus RX 400h. It's a hatchback. But then again, it's made by Toyota, therefore it must be boring. (sarcasm)

Mazda5.  Seats 6, 27 mpg under $20k.

Last edited by toadkiller (2006-08-02 12:59 pm)

I used to own a Prius and I do still believe they are great cars.  I like their virtually non-existent emissions and gas mileage on principle.  If you buy one for the purpose of saving money, it takes awhile to recoup the investment when you figure in the average commute.  Ours did save us real money because we just drove so much.  Now my commute is shorter and my husband's is all of 8 miles so our 30mpg cars do just fine.  The battery argument is beating a dead horse and so is the financial argument. 

Gosh, I want one of those new Camrys.  I'd love the SE with a sunroof and in a nice dark blue color.

I'd go with a Honda or Toyota. As somebody said, Nissan does not make cars like they used to. The reliability has not been as good as the other foreign manufacturers the last couple of years. Volkswagen has never made good cars. The materials and stuff are fine, but the engines are horrible. If you must go with a domestic car, Ford has improved in reliability quite a bit lately. I have a 2000 Toyota Camry that has been excellent, and a 2005 Ford Five Hundred that has been pretty good so far. I think Ford has gotten a lot better than they used to be. But I'd still go with a Honda or Toyota unless you really want a domestic car.

justine wrote:

Fried Chicken wrote:

justine wrote:

Not exactly a family car. 2 car seats. 1 stroller. diaper bags and all the other kid crap.

Actually I beg to differ.  The Golf is designed for a German Family, and the things you describe are exactly what you would need.

And if you want to save money on gas, get a Jetta Diesel, that's probably the smallest diesel car you can buy in the states (it's not that small), and it gets 40+ MPG.

if the interior is anything like my daughters old 99 Jetta, then there isn't enough room. The trunk was. That was smurfing huge! However, the inside could hold 2 car seats, but not much else.

I had a 1997 VW Passat, and my gf had a 1994 VW Jetta. Both had small interiors.

We now have a 2002 VW Golf diesel and it's much, MUCH roomier! We love our Golf. It's a blast to drive, and what we save on gas is phenomenal. Don't listen to VW naysayers. They've probably never owned one, and probably only have Consumer Reports to go by.

Toyota also recalled over half a million of their cars recently because of a steering column issue that caused the driver to lose control of the car. HA!

But whatever you choose, shop around, and haggle, haggle, haggle! Do your research online, get pricing comparisons, and don't ever take the dealerships first offer. Also, get the car checked out by a trusted mechanic. When you do get your car, join a forum with a bunch of [insert car brand name here] gearheads. They're more than helpful.

Good luck! And let us know what you go with

Last edited by punkgeek (2006-08-03 4:02 pm)

nannyandnutro wrote:

punkgeek wrote:

Toyota also recalled over half a million of their cars recently because of a steering column issue that caused the driver to lose control of the car. HA!

iirc, that was a voluntary recall on Toyota's part after no injuries had occurred.  Unlike Ford's 1 point something million car recall (on top of another million a few months ago) because the cruise control can start a fire.  Don't even get me started on all of VW's recalls.

Meh, recalls happen on everything. Doesn't mean they're common-place or not a bad thing, but they can happen to a Camry or to a Crown Vic. Doesn't matter.

That being said, a few points of interest. No, I don't have kids. I'm 16. I do drive though, and I'm a definite car enthusiast. I haven't been in the Fit or any other new sub-compact. My 01 Escape is too big for me, since it's only me, and gets lousy gas mileage. But, it would be just right for a family of four. If you get the 4-cylinder you'll even get good mileage in the city (about 25, my V6 gets 18).

Mazda makes some good ones with "fun to drive" in mind.  The 6 is good, I haven't driven a 3 or 5 but I've read good reviews for them.  The 5 looks like a minivan, but see it in person, it is smaller.

Kendall wrote:

It's been sold in other countries, under a different name, for a few years. Sorry, I can't remember what it was called, though.

Honda Jazz

Delorean FTW.

oh yeah, the other advice i have is to go through the Web Division of the car dealership. i think it tells them that you've done your research, you know what the invoice price of this car is, and you can easily negotiate with several dealerships at once. The Web Division guy at our dealership gave us the car for under invoice, so the only real "haggling" we had to do was what bonus stuff he was going to throw in. this is the only new car i've had, but the experience of buying it was so much less stressful than i'd anticipated, and i think starting the search through a few dealerships' Web Divisions was a reason why.

But that's just my two cents. Like i said, i'm not so experienced buying cars.