Doohickie

I have a Kia of sorts: A Ford Aspire (made by Kia in Korea). Granted, the quality of the interior appointments is very basic, but it is one HELLUVA dependable car. I'm on this board trying to figure out what to replace it with later this year after 10 years and 115,000 miles (it still runs great, by the way).

I want a hatchback or wagon with an automatic, a/c, pwr windows & locks, and cruise control. I haven't made my final call yet, but my top choices currently are (in current order of preference):

Scion xA: emotional favorite, but checking dealer inventories shows that my option selection may not be realistic
Hyundai Elantra GT 5-dr: loaded with everything I could want including leather seats!
Ford Focus ZX3 SE: I've had good luck with Fords, but I'm just not sure; it's kind of vanilla
Suzuki Aerio SX Wagon: quirky styling, but I kinda like it; most powerful engine by far (155 hp) of the cars in this list
Kia Spectra5: a Mazda3 5-door clone/wannabe
Pontiac Vibe: a lotta car for the money with current discounts

Doohickie

Dude, there's a Hyundai Accent forum!!! I kid you not.

Doohickie

If you like the Stealth, you may want to look for a Mitsubishi 3000GT, the sister car to the Stealth (same car, slightly different body).

Torydk87

Dude, there's a Hyundai Accent forum!!! I kid you not.[/quote]

WOW! Who would've thought?!

dmchale

xA, Elantra, and Vibe are the only ones on this list worth being on the list imo. I can't tell you how happy i am to NOT be driving a Ford anymore, and while you say you've had good luck.... that could just mean you're overdue for a bad experience ;) Suzuki's come from the factory with one of the highest problem-per-vehicle ratios and their mileage SUCKS. Kia.... well, i agree with everyone else on here, I'd never buy a Kia. Everyone I know who has bought Kias (about 7 people) all hate them and would never buy another one.

The_Zeeness

Toyota Matrix... I like wagons. The only thing that kept me from buying one was the gas mileage. The thing was so large, and I'd have to sacrifice a lot of power for better mileage. Then came alone the Scions. I was very happy I waited!

BakerRage

xB what can i say i still like the scions and if there was no xB i would buy a honda civic

ScionxR

Cooper S w/ Werkz Kit, or WRX, or another BMW 325......xA won because i wanted a hobby and modding the xA takes up days

eugovector

Matrix has fewer lbs per horse than the xA.

Matrix 2756 lbs / 130hp = 21.2
xa 2380 lbs / 108hp = 22
vibe 2700 lbs / 130 hp =20.7

Get a vibe and save $$ and 56 lbs.

SirScion

^^haha, but loose your dignity, and waste your money when it craps out at 100,000 miles.

BRODEL

For me the only advantage the vibe has over the xA is the AWD.

When you said save money, what did you mean? The Vibe starts at 20,500 (according to edmunds)

The xA base is like 13,045 and the Matrix base is 17,400.

SirScion

I think he means the wait/power ratio.

eugovector

in regards to which car?

eugovector

I meant with current promotions, the vibe is selling for well under the matrix. On GM cars, list price means nothing.

BRODEL

Okay. I dunno anything about GM.

SirScion

Vibe

eugovector

Well, uh, the vibe is mechanically the same as the Matrix, which is based on the corolla, and built by Toyota. I'm not too worried about it "crapping out".

chucksu

& why would it crap out @ 100k? I thought toyotas would go 200k easy? or did you forget that the vibe is built on the rolla platform?

SirScion

they can, it is built on the platform, yet it still has a GM motor. been there done that

The_Zeeness

Thread derail, oh god the humanity...

Again, I didn't like the sacrifice of power for gas mileage that the Matrix/Vibe would have presented. I wasn't necessarily saying the xA was a stronger car. I like saving money on gas!