New daily? Scion iM?

[DAEMANO]

I really like the iM. It looks nicer than it costs, and has all the stuff you need inside. If you can find one used, then you'll get it for a fantastic price.

For me, alternatives would be:

Honda Fit or HRV (either used or new). Super reliable family trucksters.

Kia Forte5 SX (used or new). Deep sleeper hot hatch with 201HP and 7 speed DCT or manual in older models.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by DAEMANO

I really like the iM. It looks nicer than it costs, and has all the stuff you need inside. If you can find one used, then you'll get it for a fantastic price.

For me, alternatives would be:

Honda Fit or HRV (either used or new). Super reliable family trucksters.

Kia Forte5 SX (used or new). Deep sleeper hot hatch with 201HP and 7 speed DCT or manual in older models.

The Kia hatch made it onto the short list for my wife's new car. It was a blast to drive and was sort of the direction I was leaning in. It was very well equipped at an excellent price but they didn't have a colour she liked so was a no deal. Yes I am serious.

[thatfilipinoguy]

C-HR?

[thatfilipinoguy]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2pMhOrBMmE"]Top 10 things about the #Toyota CHR crossover / suv - YouTube[/ame]

#6 is pretty handy since you live in NY

[Summerwolf]

Originally Posted by thatfilipinoguy

C-HR?

JESUS, that dash needs to burn in a fire. WTF is that!?!?!?

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by thatfilipinoguy

C-HR?

Im still praying we get the AWD varient (and a turbo would be nice but thats a true pipe dream).

To OP:

I like the looks of the iM a lot or even the last gen tC. My problem is I wont compromise lack of fun just because its a daily. There is a reason my FRS has 138k miles in jist over 6 years and I've put another 40k miles on my MR2 in the last 3. My fiancee has a 99 Honda Accord with 96k miles cuz I hate driving it. I have contemplated things like a 6MT CRZ but they are hard to find.

[ZionsWrath]

I put 20k miles on my BRZ daily driving it the first year. But my shift changed and I commute in rush hour both ways now. I can't have fun in bumper to bumper. An MT daily would be a good compromise for me.

Driving a sports car daily is silly in my situation. I use my car as a toy now for a reason. Doesn't make sense to own two coupes.

I also disagree you can't have fun in a basic daily. I have fun driving the snot out of my Accord, there is a weird satisfaction driving an appliance hard. I even corded the shoulders of my tires lol.

Another great thing about owning a mainstream boring daily is availability and affordability of parts. For example my car failed inspection for brakes, I went to autozone and bought parts off the shelf and installed them in 2 hours. Cheap junk yard parts, barely used axle on ebay for $60. Knuckle with wheel bearing, ball joint, and wheel speed sensor for $50.

[ZionsWrath]

I looked at CHR but they are at least 18,000

I looked at the Sonic but seems they put a cute turbo engine in a crap car. I guess I could go look at one in person.

Trying to find a best bang for buck.

I like the fit too. I think I have to decide between iM and Fit but yea the things in my OP holding me back on Fit

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by ZionsWrath

I also disagree you can't have fun in a basic daily. I have fun driving the snot out of my Accord, there is a weird satisfaction driving an appliance hard. I even corded the shoulders of my tires lol.

Normally this involves doing something stupid in my experience lol.


Even if I drive the piss out of the Accrod the body roll, seats/seating position, etc make it more work then fun. No way to know til you drive it really, the iM could be tons of fun or it could suck. A second gen fit can be a fun car (friend of a friend had one for autox) though the first gen look better imo.

What about a previous gen Impreza hatch in 6MT?

[e30kawi]

Haven't driven an IM yet, but I really like the looks of it seeing it go down the road. Looking at the pictures it looks like it's better built than the fit, imho.

[daoshao]

My brother had a IM. Inexpensive, kinda gutless, but good DD. He got into a terrible crash and ended up literally with no injuries. Hell he walked home, because he couldn't reach anybody to pick him up from the crash site.

[Allch Chcar]

I can't recommend the Mazda3 enough. I've had a '15 i-sport with MT for 3 years now. I drove it daily for two years and the last year it's been pulling family duty. For a daily driver it's way more fun than it should be and you can go simple or option it up to a semi-mid grade level. S touring has the 2.5L and some nice interior stuff but the i-sport or i-touring is perfectly fine. Either Grand Touring will have the sunroof so that would be up to you. Don't be an idiot and buy the sedan. The cargo room is almost as bad as the BRZ. I could have gone across town and bought an i-touring hatch for another $800 but didn't and regretted it. When I moved back here I loaded everything I owned into it and had to throw out some stuff.

The iA has the same problem the Mazda2 had. They only offer one trim and it's a one size fits all. It's a fun, fun chassis that is closer to a Miata than econobox. But unless you're fine with a barebones slushbox it's not as good as it could be. Mazda2 has the old engine and 5 speed MT or 4 speed auto. But then they're stupid cheap. They have a traction button but there isn't really a lot of nannies in those.

[ZionsWrath]

So after i decided to fix up my hooptie it got rear ended and totaled a couple weeks later.

Now I'm forced into the market at the top of my list after test drives and research is the Mazda 3. Specifically the S. Main reasons i like the mazda is 4 wheel disc brake, independent rear suspension, 6 speed auto (vs CVT), mechanical hand brake (not electronic), NO turbo, great fuel economy, comfortable ride but still decent factory handling even with 18s (I'll be putting 16s so it will likely be even more comfy)

I found a 2015 s touring hatch with low miles and frequent oil changes (4-6 months even though it was hardly driven). Comes to about 20,000 out the door. I like the s touring because it has the bigger engine and larger front brakes. It is certified used so will have a 1 year bumper to bumper and about 40 months powertrain warranty. It will also accept both sets of wheels from my wrecked honda without spacers/adapters.

It is really more than I want to spend but i can pay cash for it. In my month of searching i found the used car market is really shady. I found a couple good replacement honda accords but they all slipped through my fingers by a day or two even though they were on the market for months. I guess it wasn't to be.

99% of the used cars ive looked at have completely unknown history and im having a hard time deciding to spend more for a young car with a warranty or gamble 3-6k on a questionable shit box.

[ichitaka05]

If you wait lil longer, new Corolla hatchback should be coming out.