Not only am I a newbie to the board, but I'm a newbie to cars. I'm leaving 11 years of NYC life for space in the 'burbs, and so I'm in need of a car. Test drove the Civic today (drove nicely, good price, good mileage, etc.), but it was not nearly as fun as driving the xA, which didn't handle as well but was infinitely more entertaining & nicer to look at. Have yet to test the RSX, but I've heard good things.

For a 28-year-old female who has never driven in the snow, which do you think would be best? Any advice or reviews on any of the cars? Thank you!! I'm kind of in dire straits here because I need to get a car in the next two weeks. :?

I have a few friends with Civics, and I have to agree that the xA is much more fun. You didn't think the xA handled well? You can always get sway bars and lowering springs. For the price, the xA is the best bang for your buck. I'm a college student on a budget and the only options I got were the floor mats. The Civic and RSX are like $2-5k more than the xA... *shrug*

I have choosen to order an xA over a RSX, it was a close decision, but you will get more gas milage, more looks, and more room in an xA.

I would say the xA also.

The civic is boring to me anymore, there really isn't any originality to it.

I can't even think of what a RSX looks like.

I dunno, but the xA handles GREAT to me. I think it handles better than my 97 Grand Prix GT!

You could get a Civic if you want to drive what every third young person drives it seems or an RSX if you want to rice it out. Lowering springs aren't the way to go for the xA if you're gonna be driving in lots of snow.

The current Civic is not a very fun to drive car. The RSX is also like a $20k car. xA is only $13k. I've had my xA for a day and I love it. I've been coming up with excuses to just drive it around all the time. It's fun. It does need sway bars bad because it has massive body roll. But I'm getting some springs and sway bars eventually to hopefully cure that.

Everyone is addressing the fun aspect. And you've mentioned a 2-door coupe vs sedans/5-doors. What's most important? Gas mileage, storage space, looks, price, handling? What type of snow are you going to have?

A quick reference here:

xA has 5.7" ground clearance
RSX has 5.9"
Civic has 4.5"

The more ground clearance, the better for snow. And, having traction control makes a world of difference, as would AWD or 4WD. Since you can't wait for the special RS2 xA model in September with traction control, and since you didn't mention the xB (which has it), I can't recommend an xA if you are concerned with snow. An xB or maybe a more expensive Matrix AWD?

The Civics and RSX have better NHTSA ratings - 5 across the board in front crashes vs. the Scion's 4 stars. For side crashes, with side air curtains, they both have 4 stars.

I can't comment on Honda vs. Toyota yet. I've had a couple of Hondas, but am hoping Toyota (Scion) fit, finish, longetivty, satisfaction of ownership are higher than that of the two Hondas (I had a Prelude SI that soured me on Hondas a bit because it was a lumbering lackluster pig [of course, I was stupid enough to buy it though], but loved my CRX, which was much like the fun xA).

The RSX is more like a comparison with the TC - two door coupe, more money, bigger engine. Although some feel the xA is for the "younger set", my old lady is happy driving her black cherry pearl xA around, but then again, we weren't ready to add another $5K to get a more upscale car. This is strictly a go-to-work vehicle, pick up the kid, get some groceries. In this case, might as well look at Accords as well if you are going up from a Civic. It would make more sense (depending on what you want) than the RSX.

My head spins when looking at the Civic variations - good grief, DX HX LX EX GX Si & Hybrid!

I think the Scion is unmatched in value - lots for low bucks. The other vehicles have other reasons to go with them, whether it be cargo volume, gas mileage, driving range, "image".

xA: cute but not too cute or odd, cheap, great value, no traction control, no speed control, weak but OK AC.
xB: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And it's ugly to me. But, it has traction control, and a stability control system to keep it from slipping sideways as well, which is very important on snowy/icy surfaces. More room than xB,and thus AC seems worse. Great value. Just as there are some "over-30" folks driving beetles and PT Cruisers and Mini Coopers, there may be some who will drive xBs, but many think their image suffers if they drive an xB (or xA for that matter) and look to less-fun, more respectable cars to get.
Civic: Great resale, reliability, value
RSX - more of an upscale Civic (based on a modified Civic platform), not in same league as xA, xB & Civic. Also 2 door only. No traction control, but about everything else available. More $$$
Matrix - Great vehicle. Can get AWD & ABS. Not as quiet as could be.
Honda Element - Can get ABS & AWD & side airbags
Accord Sedan - ABS & traction control system (TCS) is available on soe models, & side air curtains

As someone here mentioned (perhaps paraphrased)
America builds cars that fall apart, Germany engineers great cars that fall apart, Japan engineers great cars!

This is pretty much the same situation im in, I already have a previa minivan for my family, Now i need a new car that has a warrenty and is reliable for work purposes.

My main choices were either of the 3 scions, a civic coupe, and a few other choices that i already have decided against (Mazda 3)... Im trying to decide in a few months, I just hope that i will be able to find the car i want when i have the ability to get it..
My main concern with the xa/xb is the hp/tq numbers, While the civic is probably going to be around the same numbers when dynoed, But the tc def. destroys all of them.

Thanks for mentioning an Accord, I love my Accord way too much, super reliable, more power, more room, more comforatable (for a 6 footer like me anyways), nice trunk, more aftermarket accessories available, the list goes on. You can also get a nice coupe Accord if you want something sporty.

To us, it's not about money, we would have gotten the RSX if the xA wasn't so strikingly odd looking (in a good way), and the other advantages stated in my previous post.

The Xa is a awesome little car, I have had many auto and this little thing has a soul of its own :)

Did you check out the tC? When I think of the Accord, I think of the tC. My sister's Accord was like $22k and she's a Honda employee. The tC's spec sheet seems more promising than the Accord's. You should check it out. If you don't like it, you can always get a Lotus Elise, right cybergypsy? :wink:

Thanks for all of the advice. I'm sure the snow won't be a big deal (Fairfield, CT), but since I've never driven in it, I'm a bit wary. I was told that the xA bumps up to a 5-star crash rating with the optional side curtain airbags ($650 I'm willing to spend).
Not to put a damper on the fun aspect, but I just want to make sure that neither my xA not I will be squashed by an H2-wielding soccer mom from Greenwich if you know what I mean.

My other thought, of course, was the Mini because it's so damn cute. Does anyone know which is safer (between the xA and Mini)? Has anyone driven the Mini?

If someone doesn't mind giving a brief tutorial, I'd love to know what body rolls, sway bars and springs are. (Can you tell I'm from NYC?)

If someone doesn't mind giving a brief tutorial, I'd love to know what body rolls, sway bars and springs are. (Can you tell I'm from NYC?)

I second that.

If someone doesn't mind giving a brief tutorial, I'd love to know what body rolls, sway bars and springs are. (Can you tell I'm from NYC?)
Body roll: How much the leans during cornering
Sway bars: Links suspension together to lessen body roll
Spring: c'mon, the springy things that hold up the friggin car, you know that! A stiffer spring will help reduce body roll.

I know, NYC people are all show and no performence, they have to be told these things, LOL.

The amount you have to worry about snow is relative to whether or not your street is poowed and if so, is it clear to the main road. I'm a lot furhter south in VA and I can tell you, with nobody plowing my street, I can't get out with traction control or AWD or 4WD unless I plow out the whole street. On the other hand, I know people that like to be snowed in because they don't have to go to work.

Here is where you can check the safety ratings:

http://www.nhtsa.gov/cars/testing/ncap/

Here are the pictures and video for the Scion xA with side air bags (4 stars front & sides):

http://www.nhtsa.gov/NCAP/Cars/2973.html

xB: not yet tested

Here is the Mini-Cooper with side air bags(4 stars front & sides):

http://www.nhtsa.gov/NCAP/Cars/2885.html

Here is the Accura RSX with side air bags (5 stars for front, 4 for sides):

http://www.nhtsa.gov/NCAP/Cars/2640.html

Here is the Honda Accord 4-door:
http://www.nhtsa.gov/NCAP/Cars/2799.html (5 stars front, 4 & 5 for sides)

BTW, a colleague of my wife was squashed by a truck that went airborne over the jersey wall and landed on top of the vehicle. It was a Volvo, and very few vehicles or people are going to survive that. No luck in this case, unfortunately.

It is true that even if you are in a safe small vehicle, your chances of surviving increase if you drive a safe bigger vehicle. Or just a bigger vehicle. Seat belts and air bags help a lot. ABS brakes help a lot. Allowing proper braking distance fore and aft helps a lot. And in wet or snow, traction control and stability control help a lot.

The Mini Cooper-S has dynamic stability control. But, it's not built in Japan like the Scion. Hope the Mini-Coopers are tons better than my cr@ppy Passat, built in Germany. The Mini-Cooper's certainly look fun.

Good luck with your choices!

why you dont take a one hour testdrive of the cars you mentioned


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I'm trying to sell my Xa in. If you're interested you can go to the classified section . It is posted under the author of Hintrd. I'm also from BRookyln, NY.