[djpj]

Hi, I'm a 19-year-old college student planning on getting a new car sometime next year. I was hoping someone here could give me some recommendations. What I need in a car is fuel efficiency, decent performance, and good looks.

A couple cars I came across are:
1) Mini Cooper S
2) VW Passat
3) Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan 2.0T
4) Honda Civic Si

These all turned out to be roughly around the same price range (approx. 25k) with certain options. I have also looked into some other cars, but was a little disappointed when it came to fuel economy or options:
-Mitsubishi Eclipse
-Hyundai Tiburon
-Nissan Altima

Also, I'm trying to get a manual transmission with the car for fun and saving money. I heard a lot about volkswagens breaking down a lot... I don't know if it's a fact or just a rumor, so if someone could give me a heads up on that, I would very much appreciate it.

Thanks.

[ghost]

hahaha about the VW breaking down alot...

Yes they do in fact need more maintanence compared to other cars, but in reality its how the owner takes care of the car that makes it reliable.

You should see what kinda stuff we find in some of the cars....Rats, eggs, snakes

[djpj]

hahaha about the VW breaking down alot...

Yes they do in fact need more maintanence compared to other cars, but in reality its how the owner takes care of the car that makes it reliable.

You should see what kinda stuff we find in some of the cars....Rats, eggs, snakes

lol. thanks for the info

[Stevent]

I'm biased when saying this, but I'd go with the Si. The k series has alot of potential if done right.
Fuel efficient, 6sp M/T, and reliable.

[ghost]

When you say Decent Performance, do you mean stock or with aftermarket parts?

[djpj]

When you say Decent Performance, do you mean stock or with aftermarket parts?

hmm. I suppose I mean stock. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be installing any aftermarket parts anytime soon after I buy the car. It could, however, be a possibility.

[ghost]

Hmm, then for all of those preferences together, I think the Civic Si wouldn't be that bad of a choice.

IMO, the Altima would be a lil more classy though with more power

[stellabella]

I have a VW and I haven't had any problems with it at all. Its been in the shop once but that was for a recall...i don't even know what it was for, but nothing seemed wrong with my VW.

[onesh0t]

Hi, I'm a 19-year-old college student planning on getting a new car sometime next year. I was hoping someone here could give me some recommendations. What I need in a car is fuel efficiency, decent performance, and good looks.

A couple cars I came across are:
1) Mini Cooper S
2) VW Passat
3) Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan 2.0T
4) Honda Civic Si

These all turned out to be roughly around the same price range (approx. 25k) with certain options. I have also looked into some other cars, but was a little disappointed when it came to fuel economy or options:
-Mitsubishi Eclipse
-Hyundai Tiburon
-Nissan Altima

Also, I'm trying to get a manual transmission with the car for fun and saving money. I heard a lot about volkswagens breaking down a lot... I don't know if it's a fact or just a rumor, so if someone could give me a heads up on that, I would very much appreciate it.

Thanks.

mini - imo it's a girl's car, so unless your a girl then i dunno...if you are then this might be a good choice. (sorry, i dunno your gener...sorry)
VW - the new VW's are nice....nothing wrong with them so far that i've heard.
Saab - nice car, not much experience with ones myself, but from what i know of them, nothing wrong with them at all.
Si - if it's the new ones we're talking about, i so <3 that car. It's so damn hot...dont listen to my biasness but GET THIS!!! xD

...but seriously, all of those cars are great picks. Just take all of them out for a spin and see what u like most.

edit: oh yeah, stay away from mitsu's. =\ Unless ur wiling to cough up money to fix them, they are world famous for having issues. Great cars, but lotsa issues.

[Laxntiga]

1) Mini Cooper S - Small car, if you think it looks good I dont know else to say. Performance wise, very good. I dont know about reliability

2) VW Passat - Notrious VW's made in Mexico, I hear lots of elec problems and stuff with fans, radiators, hoses, etc. My roomate had a VW and my other friend had a VW in college, one had around 100k (Jetta), and the other 150k (Golf). They said, since they had their cars, each had to send to the dealer to repair at least 4 times, the jetta 6 times. However, they both do drive like morons.

3) Saab 9-3 Sport Sedan 2.0T - I was thinking about getting one. Nice car, looks sleek, well priced. Nothing really negative to say about it, other than it not being so popular.

4) Honda Civic Si - well well, the fun, inexpensive, notoriously reliable and dependable honda civic. One of the best cars money can buy. (I dont like the interior though, I think its a lil cramped and the dash is all wrong imo)

-Mitsubishi Eclipse - Dont know much about em, lots of faster cars out there
-Hyundai Tiburon - Chugs gas
-Nissan Altima - I like this one, looks bigger, not as rice-boy image as a civic, big inside, just a lil bland interior thats all. I hear Nissan paint isn't of the best quality though.

Most of the cars you listed are fwd cars. Saves gas, economical, easier to drive in bad conditions. Out of all of these, if you were going to save the money I would buy the Civic Si, then the Altima. I dont know if you would have enough cash to buy the Saab, although if you could, congrats.

Civic Si is more performance, Altima is more (not a lot) towards luxury, and Saab is a combo of both, but remember the Saab weighs a lot and still a FWD car, so dont think you are driving a Evo or Sti...unless its the 950Hp Troll driven one in Sweden.

[thyun]

do the honda civic SI's only come in manual? only if it came in automatic... = [do the honda civic SI's only come in manual? only if it came in automatic... = [

[Clix]

do the honda civic SI's only come in manual? only if it came in automatic... = [do the honda civic SI's only come in manual? only if it came in automatic... = [

Yep, only a stick.

4) Honda Civic Si - well well, the fun, inexpensive, notoriously reliable and dependable honda civic. One of the best cars money can buy. (I dont like the interior though, I think its a lil cramped and the dash is all wrong imo)

I like the interior but my friend has an Si and alot of easy replaceable stuff is difficult. On most cars you can remove clusters by removing the dash trim. On the Si, you have to take the dash out to get the cluster out.

[djpj]

hmm.... i dunno
i'm leaning towards the mini.
i think black with white roof,mirrors, and bonnet stripes looks pretty nice.
i don't necessarily think it's a girl's car... haha
^i prob got this impression from Italian Job...
but anyways...
the car runs an estimated 29 city/ 36 highway per gallon which i think is pretty amazing.
performance-wise, the car goes from 0-60 in about 7 seconds... pretty amazing for a car that is capable of such fuel efficiency.
great handling... and can't be any more fun.

plus i like the fact that the car is unique. oh yea, and i can't admire the price enough.

[Stevent]

^ maintenace cost will alot since it's a branch of BMW after the warrenty

[ZiGeNX77]

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