Automotive

2017 Compact Sedan Debate

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  • May 13th, 2017 11:24 pm
Sr. Member
Dec 16, 2014
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nayan97 wrote: +1. I own an Elantra, and the drive is not nearly as good as the Civic or Mazda. They still do not use an independent suspension so the car itself drives poor along rough roads
Elantra sport is significantly better than civic or mazda
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Mar 4, 2011
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karakoram wrote: Elantra sport is significantly better than civic or mazda
OP said SE, Not Sport.
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karakoram wrote: Elantra sport is significantly better than civic or mazda
Stop drinking koolaid.
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JeganV wrote: The Subaru Impreza is significantly improved. I'm going to say this is probably the 2nd nicest to drive of this lot, the steering while a bit on the light and vague side, dynamically its returning to the way older Subarus drive in this respect with pretty agile handling and flat cornering. This one is the most comfortable of this lot, probably the quietest, its very spacious, probably the best safety features in the group, easiest control scheme, good infotainment, AWD, easily has the best visibility and even the CVT has improved a lot. If this car has any real faults its likely coming from the styling, the 2.0L is adequate but not fast at all, and this has the worst fuel economy in this group. I consider this car the strongest of this group because its got the least objective downsides.
The Impreza is one of the quietest? Wow, either they have come a long way since I owned a 2008, or the other cars are terrible. It was the loudest car I have ever owned. Fuel economy was pretty terrible. Interior was designed by Fisher Price. Also quite expensive to service, for an economy car.
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new_vr wrote: The Impreza is one of the quietest? Wow, either they have come a long way since I owned a 2008, or the other cars are terrible. It was the loudest car I have ever owned. Fuel economy was pretty terrible. Interior was designed by Fisher Price. Also quite expensive to service, for an economy car.
I had a 2004 and probably got an even less refined version of the EJ engine, so I do know what you've experienced since the EJ engine originates from the 1990s it unfortunately had very 1990s fuel economy and refinement. The current FB engine isn't very loud and pretty smooth, but if you were going to criticize it its going to be that its not powerful at all. Subaru has focused a lot on refinement with the new designs originating from roughly 2010+. For a period of time including the previous Impreza it became one of the boring but refined cars. The biggest change with this new one is somehow Subaru managed to tweak the refinement further but added good driving dynamics that was sorely lacking in the previous car. I'd also note, none of the newest Subarus except the WRX STi have the boxer rumble. My sister traded her 2010 Impreza for the new 2017, she easily noticed a big savings on fuel compared to her old car, also refinement was significantly improved both in ride, clutch weight and road noise. Interior is acceptable for the base cars, still plasticky but this is the base car. The Sport trim has a pretty good interior while the Sport-tech's materials is very nicely done especially for an economy car. I don't think the interior is better than say the VW Golf's, but Subaru has actually put far more effort into interior quality than I've ever seen them do, compared to a lot of their fellow Japanese counterparts I feel only Subaru and Mazda seem to care about interior materials and the way they look these days, Toyota these days is really awful. Subaru I feel has made excellent use of the support Toyota gave them.

As for servicing them. This one probably will remain, AWD cars in general will require more maintenance. Spark plug change cost will also still remain a sore sport because of the flat engine design. That said, there's no more timing belt, so that's one big item of maintenance no longer around for them. Hopefully parts prices will come down since Subaru sales have exploded since 2012 especially in America, so I suspect the aftermarket will begin targeting them reducing the prices of replacement parts for Subarus which was a big weakness of owning any of the older ones. This one remains to be seen if there's any real improvements.
- Jegan V
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Aug 25, 2007
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JeganV wrote: None of these choices is actually bad, which one you go for will depend on the sort of driver you are.

Honda Civic is most people's default choice. I will diverge against some people, this isn't that fun of a car to drive, its adequate in this department. Dynamically its as middle of the road as it gets. Its Honda's attempt to make a daily driver to attract Corolla-type people, essentially what they want but it looks less boring and less archaic. Fuel economy in theory should be excellent in this group. Honda's infotainment...isn't that good. Honda lane watch...isn't implemented that well. Only thing that I noticed I didn't like subjectively was the seats, Honda ergonomics is still...not brilliant as far as I'm concerned. Solid offering though.

The Subaru Impreza is significantly improved. I'm going to say this is probably the 2nd nicest to drive of this lot, the steering while a bit on the light and vague side, dynamically its returning to the way older Subarus drive in this respect with pretty agile handling and flat cornering. This one is the most comfortable of this lot, probably the quietest, its very spacious, probably the best safety features in the group, easiest control scheme, good infotainment, AWD, easily has the best visibility and even the CVT has improved a lot. If this car has any real faults its likely coming from the styling, the 2.0L is adequate but not fast at all, and this has the worst fuel economy in this group. I consider this car the strongest of this group because its got the least objective downsides.

Hyundai Elantra, this car will offer the most value in the group. In this group this is easily the worst in driving dynamics, not only is the handling not great but this is the most dull car here to drive. This is the easiest car in this group to load up features for either less money or simply get more for the same money. Fuel economy is theoretically the closest to the Honda. Infotainment here is the most archaic, though easier to use than the Honda's. Ride comfort unfortunately is the most jittery because of the cheap suspension design, bad enough the sportiest Elantra offers the best ride comfort. In this group, the resale value is also the weakest it just won't match Honda nor Subaru, both of whom have few fleet sales. Its not a bad car but you only go with this one if you're saving money and keeping for a long time too. Otherwise the others are better. If this group offered the Corolla I would put this car ahead of it.

Mazda 3, this is the one with the strongest driving dynamics. So if the sensation of driving is more important, this car is the strongest here. This is the most agile, has the best steering feedback in the group. Warranty on this car is excellent for long distance drivers. The infotainment is decent here although the control scheme takes some getting used to. This car is the oldest of the group so its actually the least refined here. Its got problems with noise both vehicle and wind, the ride in this car is the stiffest, and its tech is not as up to date. Like the Subaru this car is going in with a older engine so its the 2nd worst in this group. It also doesn't have a CVT to help it maximize fuel economy nor a turbocharger. That said, this is still a competitive choice despite its age as a design.

If I were recommending for others I'd go this way, Impreza > Civic > Mazda 3 > Elantra

For myself its Impreza = Mazda 3 > Civic > Elantra. I prioritize the driving experience, particularly handling.

No real wrong choice as I noted what you prioritize in cars may have you to picking one over the other. Again I personally recommend the Impreza because its improved a lot and its very strong in many areas.
Thanks for this very detailed summary on all the cars I have listed. For me whichever one I get I am going in with the plan to buy it after 48 months given the car is having no problems. I have gone to the dealerships and seen the pros and cons of each one and outlined some main points below. My plan is to try this car throughout the winter in Toronto and my main priority was safety and the Subaru gives me all those features (+AWD for winter driving), but I am paying a premium for it. To me the Honda seems like a close second and I can add the blind spot detection after market, but I am just not sure how this car will hold up in the winter and if adding this stuff after market is good. I am also looking at some other points others have made that I can go up to another class with the price I am paying but then I will sacrifice these safety features. I am in no rush to get a car but my plan was to get one this summer. I assume if I can hold until the 2018's then I will get a better showing from Mazda in the tech department (android auto, dynamic grid lines, better touch screen) and Honda might add the blind spot and rear cross traffic alert. Only issue is then there is no deals, lease rate will probably be 3.99% or something. Thanks for everyone thoughts and opinions on this.

Mazda GT:
+Most HP from all the options
+Gives leather seats
+Offers some safety features
+Insurance quote was reasonable
+resale value
-Missing the dynamic grid lines on the rear view
-No Android auto/Apple
-Touch screen with the knob seemed a bit difficult to use

Hyundai Elantra SE
+All safety features (missing rear breaking, only subaru has this)
+Leather seats
+Insurance quote is reasonable
-147hp
-resale value is not there

Civic
+Safety features
+174 HP turbo
+ insurance is reasonable
+resale value
-no blind spot (dont like the lanewatch)
-no rear cross traffic alert

Impreza
+AWD (will be good in the winter)
+All the safety features are there including rear breaking
-Losing out on some features the others offer such as remote starter, leather etc..
-Under powered engine (every review and person you talk to says this)
-Highest insurance cost (surprised me)
-Most maintenance cost
-Most expensive car out of all the choices
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TripleH13 wrote: Thanks for this very detailed summary on all the cars I have listed. For me whichever one I get I am going in with the plan to buy it after 48 months given the car is having no problems. I have gone to the dealerships and seen the pros and cons of each one and outlined some main points below. My plan is to try this car throughout the winter in Toronto and my main priority was safety and the Subaru gives me all those features (+AWD for winter driving), but I am paying a premium for it. To me the Honda seems like a close second and I can add the blind spot detection after market, but I am just not sure how this car will hold up in the winter and if adding this stuff after market is good. I am also looking at some other points others have made that I can go up to another class with the price I am paying but then I will sacrifice these safety features. I am in no rush to get a car but my plan was to get one this summer. I assume if I can hold until the 2018's then I will get a better showing from Mazda in the tech department (android auto, dynamic grid lines, better touch screen) and Honda might add the blind spot and rear cross traffic alert. Only issue is then there is no deals, lease rate will probably be 3.99% or something. Thanks for everyone thoughts and opinions on this.
If you've narrowed down the sort of car you want, you can probably take your time negotiating between dealers. Find the dealers even willing to reduce the price off the car, hit for the lowest they're willing to go and then negotiate the leasing from there. That's actually how my sister managed to knock off $1500 off her 2017 Impreza despite Subaru dealers being notorious for asking MSRP and we achieved that despite the car only being at that time 3 months old in the market.
- Jegan V
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TripleH13 wrote: Thanks for this very detailed summary on all the cars I have listed. For me whichever one I get I am going in with the plan to buy it after 48 months given the car is having no problems. I have gone to the dealerships and seen the pros and cons of each one and outlined some main points below. My plan is to try this car throughout the winter in Toronto and my main priority was safety and the Subaru gives me all those features (+AWD for winter driving), but I am paying a premium for it. To me the Honda seems like a close second and I can add the blind spot detection after market, but I am just not sure how this car will hold up in the winter and if adding this stuff after market is good. I am also looking at some other points others have made that I can go up to another class with the price I am paying but then I will sacrifice these safety features. I am in no rush to get a car but my plan was to get one this summer. I assume if I can hold until the 2018's then I will get a better showing from Mazda in the tech department (android auto, dynamic grid lines, better touch screen) and Honda might add the blind spot and rear cross traffic alert. Only issue is then there is no deals, lease rate will probably be 3.99% or something. Thanks for everyone thoughts and opinions on this.

Mazda GT:
+Most HP from all the options
+Gives leather seats
+Offers some safety features
+Insurance quote was reasonable
+resale value
-Missing the dynamic grid lines on the rear view
-No Android auto/Apple
-Touch screen with the knob seemed a bit difficult to use

Hyundai Elantra SE
+All safety features (missing rear breaking, only subaru has this)
+Leather seats
+Insurance quote is reasonable
-147hp
-resale value is not there


Civic
+Safety features
+174 HP turbo
+ insurance is reasonable
+resale value
-no blind spot (dont like the lanewatch)
-no rear cross traffic alert

Impreza
+AWD (will be good in the winter)
+All the safety features are there including rear breaking
-Losing out on some features the others offer such as remote starter, leather etc..
-Under powered engine (every review and person you talk to says this)
-Highest insurance cost (surprised me)
-Most maintenance cost
-Most expensive car out of all the choices
so it looks like you got a winner right? it looks like your only compromise is the rear backing out breaking which is pretty common sense if you already have rear cross traffic alert.

dont mean to be a Korean car fan boy here but it's obvious it's the only econobox with the least compromises here. the safety feature ARE there and so are the options that the others wont provide.

forget about the resale value. you drive these cars for 100k+ . we're not talking about luxury cars here.
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Feb 8, 2017
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I'd buy Civic EX-T out of these 4. Civic EX-T is the most fun to drive, will smoke other three cars.
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Does civic comes with manual? If it does and you plan to get one, then it's #1.

As for Impreza being underpowered, people need to learn it's perfectly fine to bring their engine up to redline, then it's absolutely adequate for any realistic driving condition you will encounter.
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Sep 4, 2016
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geokilla wrote: Have you driven a Mazda3? Compared to the others on the list, the second closest vehicle in the fun to drive category is the Civic.
I realize it's not on the list, but when I test drove the cars in this category last year, I found the VW Jetta to be the most fun to drive. It's also an IIHS top safety pick +.
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Anything but a korean car.
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Mar 27, 2010
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where is the fun in driving a civic sedan?

I did a test drive of the touring under light rain (surprise surprise), and I did not feel confident at all.
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Oct 26, 2009
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barista9 wrote: where is the fun in driving a civic sedan?

I did a test drive of the touring under light rain (surprise surprise), and I did not feel confident at all.
I don't know but apparently a lot of people on this forum likes exclusively the Civic. Recommending another car will get you flamed or down voted. :rolleyes:
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lordnikon wrote: I don't know but apparently a lot of people on this forum likes exclusively the Civic. Recommending another car will get you flamed or down voted. :rolleyes:
Unless it's a beige corolla.
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Oct 26, 2009
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Crixus45 wrote: I'd buy Civic EX-T out of these 4. Civic EX-T is the most fun to drive, will smoke other three cars.
More like what are you smoking.
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lordnikon wrote: I don't know but apparently a lot of people on this forum likes exclusively the Civic. Recommending another car will get you flamed or down voted. :rolleyes:
Not wrong there sadly.
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