Another test drive...

[missroserose]

Remember how I gave the Focus a four out of five after test-driving it last week?

I test drove a new Civic today. It gets a six.

Not only is it much, much nicer in terms of materials quality, but it quite honestly feels like a luxury car. The seats are soft, the interior has quite a bit of storage space (I was particularly impressed by the center-armrest-console - it had a cavernous interior that's a great size for an ice pack and some water bottles), there's minimal road noise even on the highway, and the acceleration system is awesome. Once you're up to cruising speed you barely have to press the gas pedal at all - more than once I found myself going 65 to 70 mph by accident. About the only thing in the Focus that was nicer was the suspension - the model of Civic that I test-drove had a somewhat sportier suspension, so the ride wasn't quite as smooth.

I can see why Ford's offered (and extended!) a $2500 rebate on Focii - theoretically, the Civic was the same price as an equally equipped Focus, but it offered so much more for the money. A decked-out Focus is a perfectly decent buy for $17,000 or so, but for $19,500 either way I'd pick the Civic without missing a beat.

I'm still not going to be buying a new car anytime soon (on my current budget I just can't justify tying up that big of a percentage of my income), but it might well be worth saving for a year or two for a Civic.

On the other hand, there's a 2004 Mazda3 hatchback sitting on the Evergreen Motors trade-in lot that's apparently been there a while...and Mazda3s are supposed to be even nicer than Civics (though this one's probably from the last generation). Not to mention that, being a couple years old, it's already past the steepest section of the price depreciation curve. I might have to test-drive that one tomorrow or next week...

Comments

[hereticorp.livejournal.com]

The Civic is a much better value than any Ford ever made. Civic engines last forever, and you can replace them with an older model if you want. Parts are cheap and the car is highly reliable.

The focus has a black mark in my book mostly because one of my friends owned one for a while. He no longer does due to the fact that the rear differential locked up and sent him spinning into the center-wall of an interstate highway. Ford hasn't made a car to last in decades, and they have the highest depreciation rate of any car brand.

The Mazda 3 series is a good car, has a very nice ride, and is reliable. If it's a Mazda 3, then it's at least from the new generation, if not from the latest series. If you were enamored of getting a different car now, that would be an excellent choice. Parts are a tad more expensive on Mazdas than on Hondas, but I don't think there's a huge difference there.

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

Hey Lorand, long time no hear. :)

After driving the Civic and the Focus, I'd have to agree - the Civic just *feels* better made. Not to mention both cars had the "premium" sound systems, and the midrange on the ($700 extra!) Focus system absolutely sucked! (Damn you, Brian, for spoiling me with your high-end stereo systems...) I've seen a fair number of Focii around town and most people I've met seem satisfied with them, but they just aren't as nice.

The Mazda3 for this year actually beat out the Civic in an Edmunds comparison test - their take on it was that both were pretty neat cars, but the Mazda 3 was much more fun to drive than even the redesigned Civic (though the Civic got unequivocably better mileage).

My guess as to why the Mazda3 hasn't sold is that it doesn't have an ABS - as I mentioned before, that's kind of a necessity anywhere in AK. However, considering that Brian's planning on buying an all-wheel-drive 300c before next winter (and considering that winters in Juneau are relatively mild anyway), if the Mazda's still there in a couple of months when I have some money I might give it serious thought. Especially since (again, according to Edmunds) they're already offering it at a pretty good price - if it sits there another month or two I could likely get a really good deal.

Obviously this is all conjecture at this point, but...as much as I love Marian, it'd be fun to have a nice new(ish) car.

[hereticorp.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's been a quiet sort of year for me.

I've worked on Civics and Focii sound system wise, the Ford "Premium" system blows goats. The speakers are pure crap, and the only real difference is a head unit that's more likely to have problems, and a completely crap amplifier under one of the seats that has a disturbing potential to melt carpeting. It's also a pain to bypass when you put in aftermarket stuff. Civics were a pain for a while (2 8mm bolts under the back of the front instrument panel) but at least they had decient quality speakers.

The new Mazdas are without a doubt fun to drive and they have a good reputation for reliability, but the Civic will always beat out pretty much any car for overall reliability and practicality. I'm looking towards a Civic Hybrid myself in the future.

No ABS would definately be a drawback, I think that waiting for a bit would be your best option, especially with the money situation.

I understand completely, and the Monte Carlo is not the most reliable of cars in general.

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

Actually, although the MC seems to have that reputation, I haven't had a single problem with mine - all the maintenance/repair stuff I've had to do were either routine (getting brakes resurfaced, changing oil/air filters/etc.) or, in the case of the rear windshield, a freak accident that I didn't end up having to pay for (thankfully). Maybe it's just that she's never been out of Juneau and has therefore been treated pretty gently.

I'm definitely going to be waiting a couple of months before I seriously look at changing cars, but if that Mazda3's still there by then, I'm going to be seriously tempted. After all, then I'll have an excuse to make Brian drive me to work in his luxurymobile on snowy/icy days. :)

How've things been going with you? I've had a pretty quiet/comfortable year too...does that mean we're still long-lost twins? =D

[hereticorp.livejournal.com]

I had a car with a reputation for transmission problems in the past, it didn't go till well past the predicted time. I just find foreign cars to be much more reliable than domestics in general.

Methinks that sounds like the best plan.

I've been going through somewhat of a rough patch, but I've gotten a handle on things for the most part. We can indeed be long lost twins. =)

[roseneko.livejournal.com]

This is generally true. I admit to being predjudiced against Civics for quite some time (my parents had a 1990 Civic all through my childhood, and it was a good car but quite uncomfortable to sit in for extended periods), but I have to admit they've come a *long* way in the last 15 years.

Sorry to hear about the rough patch. I'd like to catch up if you have time at some point...I'm usually on MSN from 8 to 5 my time, though I can arrange to be available in the evening as well.

[hereticorp.livejournal.com]

I've been prejudiced against civics for years, but that's mainly because of the ricer set. They've become very nice economy cars in the mean time though.

Absolutely, I'm at hereticorp@hotmail.com on MSN and handofgord@gmail.com for e-mail.

The internet is down here at the moment, so I'm not on IM's (I'm on a borrowed wireless with a laptop), but I'm available on e-mail.

Normally I'm on IMs from 8:30am-4:30pm Eastern time, I'm not generally around after that being as some odd quirk of hardware between my NIC, my Router and the stupid Modem that Earthlink gives people, any use of AIM/ICQ causes the modem to hard reset. But I do check my e-mail now and again while I'm doing schoolwork.