time to give Nissan the leased Sentra back. Short list Jetta diesel sedan. Subaru Sport Trek Accord leaning towards Sport Trek.
My ranking-- 1. New Mazda 3? 2. Subaru 3. Honda 4. Jetta-- just not impressed with the new Jetta-- Passat is a good car, however.
I was excited for the fishing boat expedition that was supposed to happen a few years back but I guess Spanish Johnny dropped the ball...
Wayne's liking the Accord. We haven't driven it yet but we drove the diesel Jetta and the Sport Trek. But that freaking Accord is a whole lotta car for under $24,000 and the gas mileage is pretty damn good. I didn't like the Civic but the Accord is (looks) like a cross between a Caddy and a Benz compared to the Sentra. Not knocking the Sentra but it's time to let it go and Nissan can have their 36,000 mile warranty while everyone else does at least 60 on power train.
I like the CrossTrek. Nice, I would get it in the five speed. When I went to the Subie dealer in January, I really liked it, but lost my mind , kept my 02 Civic SI hatch as the dog/beach/utility commuter, and bought a BRZ. The Accord is nice, its a Honda, but kinda vanilla looking. You might like that If not sporty, I like utility/practical, so if you can wait, next year there will be a Honda Fit crossover, like a mini Cross Trek. And its a Honda I like Hondas.
http://topismag.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2014-Honda-Fit-Crossover-Photos.jpghttp://topismag.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/2014-Honda-Fit-Crossover-Photos.jpg
I think I would stray away from the jetta diesel. The TDI is great but the new style jetta is not. Fairly cheap build quality. if its just going to be a lease it may be fine, but if buying outright, Passat or Golf would be the way to go in a VW. That Subaru looks interesting but the power is pretty lacking in the new 2.0. Very practical though, and the all wheel drive is top notch.
The accord is a superb car.... But it is soul-less. You will find yourself bored to death, driving with cruise control on .......You may ask yourself, am I right, am I wrong? ...You may say to yourself, my god, what have I done? Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Single men don't drive Accords. Unless they want to be single forever. And don't get me started on the awful styling. The Jetta is built to a price. I just sold a GTI......sit in that car, and you are convinced that VW loses money on each one it builds. Everything you touch feels like money. But the Jetta is just cheapened to the point of "why bother?" Cross-Trek in orange might be ok. I have a 72-year old friend with a new Impreza......he likes it, but I get the feeling he bought it so his wife would have something safe to drive after he dies.
The Cross Trek. The rap is that it's a little road-noisy, and that 2.0 is pretty slow off the line and up the hills but, living where you do, it's not like you'll be chugging over high passes every day. It's reputed to be a solid engine. If you're not doing long commutes or big hills, it will be great for campouts and getting around in the winter. But don't pull the trigger until you've at least tried the Forester. Hi Flug When are you going to come out and do that fly-n-ride?
Two other whole lotta cars for under $24k-- 2013 and beyond Altima-- and Mazda 6. So much car, with good gas mileage for under $25k sticker has me off "my next car will be a Golf GTi" kick.
I looked on fuelly and the Altima doesn't look to be doing much better than my Passat in real world driving, the only ones with great MPG are doing 90/10 highway and getting maybe 2-3 MPG better I would driving like that. Doing 80 city / 20 highway I still get high 20's MPG, highway driving can be above 35 MPG. The only issue with the Passat is the huge black dash....I'd get the cloth covers and UV tint the windows ASAP up by you. Accord looks to be about the same (though their ratings are only 2 MPG apart so that makes sense).
Why not the Passat TDI? It's a lot bigger and gets better MPG! I gave a friend who has a 2012 Jetta a ride and he was shocked how roomy it is next to his car. They're very similar on the inside, just the Passat uses better materials and you can stretch out in there.....plus carry a metric ton of crap.
I had lots of luck meeting girls in my green 1997 Accord with beige interior You just gotta know how to rock a Honda.