Sorry in advance for the long winded read and self-contradictory ideas. We've got a baby and I don't want her in the backseat of our 2002 Saturn SL1 because of safety ratings for those seats. It seems OK for me and I get really great mpg in the car (upper 30s usually). I've been looking for something that gets decent mpg, has more backroom space for the car seat and my wife (5'10"), and better safety ratings/features. Hopefully, all of this in a new car for around $25k. When we lived in Dallas, there were too many salvage titles from flooded Katrina cars around than I want to mess with in used. There seem to be too many delays in CarFax or whatever service getting details posted.
So, given that, I've narrowed down to a couple of things I find interesting: Hyundai Sonata GLS, upcoming Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, or VW Jetta TDI.
For regular gas, the Sonata GLS seems like a decent car, has 5 stars on the newly improved government safety data (safercar.gov, where only Sonata and BWM 5 Series got 5 stars so far). It also gets pretty good mpg and has a very long warranty. It is also the cheapest and most standard of the bunch.
The Sonata Hybrid has a lot of features I think I'd like and upgrades over the GLS. I don't really care for the leather in the top of the line Limited, but I think the pricing comes out about the same. I don't think the sport tune suspension of the SE is what we're looking for in a family car and for the extra $1500 or so, I don't really get much that I'm excited about. So, it seems either Hybrid or GLS, but the Hybrid is very much more expensive for primarily gas mileage and a handful of features.
The Jetta TDI uses fuel that is currently more expensive, so the mpg figures are a little weaker and it's basically the most expensive Jetta sedan version. I'm fine with the new 2011 redesign and cheaper components, but they made the TDI more expensive and all it has over the 2010 is 2.5 inches of rear-seat legroom. So, I get the space I want, but lose features. Safety isn't really clear to me on the new model, so it's a major question mark. It's also in the middle on the price. VW is also apparently mid-pack/average on reliability too and it has a much shorter warranty than either of the Sonatas.
So, any suggestions? The GLS gets me safer and bigger, but I'll end up with a car payment that I don't have now and more expensive fuel fill-ups. The Sonata Hybrid has a lot of things going for it in features, safety, and room, but it's the most complicated of the choices. It also lacks basics like the fold-down seats though. The Jetta TDI has pretty good mpg and interior space, but seems questionable and/or expensive to maintain down the road. I'd also need to go with the more complicated DSG automatic manual so my wife could drive every so often.
Thanks,
Scott
So, given that, I've narrowed down to a couple of things I find interesting: Hyundai Sonata GLS, upcoming Hyundai Sonata Hybrid, or VW Jetta TDI.
For regular gas, the Sonata GLS seems like a decent car, has 5 stars on the newly improved government safety data (safercar.gov, where only Sonata and BWM 5 Series got 5 stars so far). It also gets pretty good mpg and has a very long warranty. It is also the cheapest and most standard of the bunch.
The Sonata Hybrid has a lot of features I think I'd like and upgrades over the GLS. I don't really care for the leather in the top of the line Limited, but I think the pricing comes out about the same. I don't think the sport tune suspension of the SE is what we're looking for in a family car and for the extra $1500 or so, I don't really get much that I'm excited about. So, it seems either Hybrid or GLS, but the Hybrid is very much more expensive for primarily gas mileage and a handful of features.
The Jetta TDI uses fuel that is currently more expensive, so the mpg figures are a little weaker and it's basically the most expensive Jetta sedan version. I'm fine with the new 2011 redesign and cheaper components, but they made the TDI more expensive and all it has over the 2010 is 2.5 inches of rear-seat legroom. So, I get the space I want, but lose features. Safety isn't really clear to me on the new model, so it's a major question mark. It's also in the middle on the price. VW is also apparently mid-pack/average on reliability too and it has a much shorter warranty than either of the Sonatas.
So, any suggestions? The GLS gets me safer and bigger, but I'll end up with a car payment that I don't have now and more expensive fuel fill-ups. The Sonata Hybrid has a lot of things going for it in features, safety, and room, but it's the most complicated of the choices. It also lacks basics like the fold-down seats though. The Jetta TDI has pretty good mpg and interior space, but seems questionable and/or expensive to maintain down the road. I'd also need to go with the more complicated DSG automatic manual so my wife could drive every so often.
Thanks,
Scott
Facebook
Twitter