noob, first car, used, want a hatchback, need help

[pennylane]

Hello,
Situation:
It's time to buy my first car (I'm a complete noob so I may say some erroneous things). I live in California. My office is moving farther away and I won't be able to bike to work every day (and public transit would be inconvenient). I want a 4-door hatchback over a sedan for the extra trunk space, and I'm not too keen on being another Accord/Corolla driver. I'm not a car enthusiast.

Info:
I'd like to spend under or around $15,000. I'd like higher than 30mpg highway. And I want something safe and reliable. Also, I don't want anything terribly loud (but most stock cars aren't I imagine).
Aside from commuting to work, I envision driving up and down California a few times a year and possibly other road trips. However, I at some point may move to the east coast for a couple years where it snows, so that is a concern. I also like nature photography and going mildly off-road may be a possibility, though I really don't know if that's a big deal and thus wouldn't put too much weight on it.

Questions:
How much of a benefit is all wheel drive in a colder/snowy environment? What are the benefits? It seems like if I get 4WD/AWD, the best I can get for highway gas mileage is 26-27mpg. I think I'd be content with a FWD hatchback if I knew it could handle a colder environment okay.

Cars I'm considering at the moment:
I'm mainly looking at 2008 or so models.
The only AWD hatchback I'm really looking at is the Subaru Outback Impreza. According to cars.com, it gets 20/27 mpg, which is lower than I'd like.
The FWD hatchbacks I know about are the Toyota Matrix and Mazda3.
I guess I'd prefer a Japanese car.

Any tips and advice would be most welcome. I plan on buying the car in southern california. I can provide more info if it is needed. Thanks in advance!

 

[PhoKingGuy]

I have a 4dr VW GTI, love it (also live in socal), ditto for the rabbit if you dont want the sporty nature of the GTI, I can get 33 freeway easily.

The only other one worth buying is the Mazda3

 

[ecom]

There's also HOnda Fit and Toyota Yaris and Nissan Versa. Of those, the Fit and Yaris are quite interesting vehicles. More so the Fit.

The Toyota Prius is a hatchback also, but it may be out of your price range.

 

[brainhulk]

suzuki sx4 crossover. awd and hatchback. ~16k

 

[DivideBYZero]

There's also HOnda Fit and Toyota Yaris and Nissan Versa. Of those, the Fit and Yaris are quite interesting vehicles. More so the Fit.

Good choices.

 

[HannibalX]

The Fit is overpriced. The Versa is cheap, really cheap, as in, it's poorly made from low grade materials. The Yaris is a pretty good car IMO but some people don't like the styling.

I like the SX4! Neat little car!

 

[desy]

As a Versa owner, its head and shoulders above a Yaris and much better on the highway than a Fit and much roomier for passengers, Versa is the number one TCO winner according to MSN autos because of its low maintenance 'no timing belt' , a new model is coming though. Only the Sedan is cheap with the smaller engine and it gets lower reliability scores than the Hatch, which is also better looking.
The Yaris in EVERY comparison of the 3 I've ever read gets 3rd place, except for fuel economy. If I lived in the city I'd get a Fit but as I live out and HW commute every day with kids in the back it was the Versa.
Mines a 07 however I'd seriously have to take a look at the Elantra Touring if I were to buy again today.

AWD, you don't need it tires is the important part and either studded if your state allows or the new composite ones will suffice

 

[Bignate603]

Most modern FWD cars do OK in the snow. Unless where you live is absolutely terrible in the snow you should be fine with just FWD.

 

[herm0016]

you can get a toyota matrix in all wheel drive, i have a friend that has one in northern michigan and she really likes it, goes through the snow very well, the pontiac vibe is the same car also, just a different name on it, even comes off the same assy. line, I bet you can find the pontiac version a little cheaper with the same options, I IMHO they look better too.

the dodge caliber is a nice car also, these can be had with awd too. of the calibers i have seen, a friend owned one of them and they have held up pretty well, the styling and interior are a little different than the avg car, but i believe them to be reliable, and fairly well built, aside from the very plasticyness of the interior. you should be able to find them pretty cheap also.

 

[canadageek]

Most modern FWD cars do OK in the snow. Unless where you live is absolutely terrible in the snow you should be fine with just FWD.

I drove FWD vehicles with all seasons in canada when I was living there. 4x4 and AWD may help you get going, but they'll be just as bad slowing down. almost any vehicle is winter driveable, it just requires halfway decent tires and a competent driver.

 

[chin311]

As a Versa owner, its head and shoulders above a Yaris and much better on the highway than a Fit and much roomier for passengers, Versa is the number one TCO winner according to MSN autos because of its low maintenance 'no timing belt' , a new model is coming though. Only the Sedan is cheap with the smaller engine and it gets lower reliability scores than the Hatch, which is also better looking.
The Yaris in EVERY comparison of the 3 I've ever read gets 3rd place, except for fuel economy. If I lived in the city I'd get a Fit but as I live out and HW commute every day with kids in the back it was the Versa.
Mines a 07 however I'd seriously have to take a look at the Elantra Touring if I were to buy again today.

AWD, you don't need it tires is the important part and either studded if your state allows or the new composite ones will suffice

i have a versa as well, and can vouch for this, 07 with 52k miles and no problems so far. way more room inside than most cars.

 

[cheesehead]

There's also HOnda Fit and Toyota Yaris and Nissan Versa. Of those, the Fit and Yaris are quite interesting vehicles. More so the Fit.

The Fit is rather expensive - for slightly less money, you can get a Suzuki SX4 with a whole lot more in it. I've heard mixed reviews of the Versa, but it's worth a look if you can get a good price on one. The Yaris is probably the cheapest and nastiest of the bunch, but also extremely reliable and very efficient.

Also consider the Subaru Impreza hatchback. The fuel economy kinda sucks, but they're very, very good in the snow. Reliability is generally excellent on the non-turbo models, and they're built like bricks. Also consider buying used - I'm looking for a secondhand Impreza hatchback myself at the moment.

 

[pennylane]

Thanks. I'm definitely looking at the Nissan Versa and the Suzuki SX4 now.

Would you buy a car from a rental agency? Is that a no-no? I have a cousin who works at Enterprise and he told me could pull some strings. Is that something worth looking into?

 

[derrick2237]

Have you considered the Scion XB? they are pretty roomy, get 28mpg highway, and fall in your price range.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Thanks. I'm definitely looking at the Nissan Versa and the Suzuki SX4 now.

Would you buy a car from a rental agency? Is that a no-no? I have a cousin who works at Enterprise and he told me could pull some strings. Is that something worth looking into?

The last car I rented from Enterprise had a warning light blazing on the dash saying that the remaining oil life was 0% and if the sticker in the corner of the windshield was accurate then the car was about 4,000 miles overdue for an oil change.

I used to work for a car rental agency and routine maintenance was spotty at best...not to mention that people tend to beat the shit out of rental cars.

I would never buy a previous rental personally but some people have reportedly had decent luck with them.

 

[chin311]

yeah i know how I drive rental cars so i wouldn't buy one lol

 

[PhoKingGuy]

The last car I rented from Enterprise had a warning light blazing on the dash saying that the remaining oil life was 0% and if the sticker in the corner of the windshield was accurate then the car was about 4,000 miles overdue for an oil change.

I used to work for a car rental agency and routine maintenance was spotty at best...not to mention that people tend to beat the shit out of rental cars.

I would never buy a previous rental personally but some people have reportedly had decent luck with them.

When I returned my last car, the porter floored it in reverse right in front of me and did a skidding j turn into the wash bay, it was kind of cool

 

[cheesehead]

Thanks. I'm definitely looking at the Nissan Versa and the Suzuki SX4 now.

While I've never sat in an SX4, I can tell you that Jalopnik really liked it.

http://jalopnik.com/388437/2008-suzuki-sx4-part-three

Have you considered the Scion XB? they are pretty roomy, get 28mpg highway, and fall in your price range.

The older, smaller variant? Maybe. But I know some folks with the new version and you'll be lucky to get more than 26.

That said, it is a very good car. While not exactly fun to drive, it's capable of hauling a huge amount of stuff, and rear legroom is surprisingly good. It also has very much toyota-esque safety and reliability, and is not known for redlining the engine of it's own accord and throwing you off a cliff.

 

[Jawadali]

Subscribed; there's some good info in this thread. My family will most likely be looking for a similar car in the next 6 months or so (we were actually looking to buy now due to a recent accident, but the car will be repaired, so we decided to hold off until next summer).