A Car or a Compact SUV? Please Help..

[sqt-clark]

Hi Everyone!

I'm just new here in and would want to ask suggestions or opinions from car enthusiasts. I was recently approved to get a car loan and I'm now confused of what to get, a car or a compact SUV. I've always wanted to drive an SUV but the fortuner and montero are just too big for me. Below are my choices, budget is 1.4M:

1. Honda CRV 2.0 M/T or A/T
2. Hyundai Tucson GLS or GL R-EVGT
3. Toyota Altis 1.6G or V
4. Honda Civic 1.8S M/T or A/T
5. Mitsubishi Lancer GT-A

In terms of the following, what would you choose in the following order?
-fuel efficiency
-maintenance cost
-resale value in 5-10 years
-interior / exterior design

Thank you very much in advance! It would really help me choose of what to buy to replace my current ride. Suggestion of other cars are also welcome. More power to you guys!

[sm2by]

1. Toyota Altis 1.6G or V
2. Honda Civic 1.8S M/T or A/T
3. Honda CRV 2.0 M/T or A/T
4. Hyundai Tucson GLS or GL R-EVGT
5. Mitsubishi Lancer GT-A

The Altis is best value for money and it just got recently refreshed with new Dual-VVT-i Engines (1.6L Economy with 1.8L Power) and toyota is also offering huge discounts...
And nothing can beat Toyotas resale values...
Honda Civic/ CR-V- new models are coming very soon...
Hyundai Tucson- long waiting list, depreciation still questionable....
Mitsubishi Lancer- Resale value and maintenance cost....

[ghosthunter]

Hi Everyone!

I'm just new here in and would want to ask suggestions or opinions from car enthusiasts. I was recently approved to get a car loan and I'm now confused of what to get, a car or a compact SUV. I've always wanted to drive an SUV but the fortuner and montero are just too big for me. Below are my choices, budget is 1.4M:

1. Honda CRV 2.0 M/T or A/T
2. Hyundai Tucson GLS or GL R-EVGT
3. Toyota Altis 1.6G or V
4. Honda Civic 1.8S M/T or A/T
5. Mitsubishi Lancer GT-A

In terms of the following, what would you choose in the following order?
-fuel efficiency
-maintenance cost
-resale value in 5-10 years
-interior / exterior design

Thank you very much in advance! It would really help me choose of what to buy to replace my current ride. Suggestion of other cars are also welcome. More power to you guys!

I just regrouped the cars listed above in categories where they would be best at. 1st, 2nd positioning is irrelevant.

Fuel efficiency:
-toyota altis 1.6L
-tucson diesel

Maintenance cost:
-toyota altis 1.6L
-honda civic 1.8l

Resale Value:
-honda civic
-lancer ex gta

interior/exterior design:
-honda civic
-lancer ex gta


I bought a Lancer EX GLS a year ago. Great car to drive in the city or out of town. Powerful engine accelerates quick and smoothly. Spacious interior.

[GTi]

I'd recommend getting a CUV. Manila roads are just dreadful and you never know when its suddenly going to flood when you're on your way home from work. For this, the Tucson ReVGT fits the bill since you get higher ground clearance, more space to fit your stuff inside, cheaper diesel fuel, and a more fuel efficient and powerful engine as compared to its gasoline powered counterparts of the same displacement.

If you want a sedan, I'd suggest you get the Civic 1.8S for equal parts performance and equal parts fuel economy. And with the Honda, you get many more ways of getting more power out of the engine should you wish to go the tuner route.

[Starex_Gold]

Kung sedan, Lancer GT-A.

Civic is really getting old. Bitin ako sa power ng 1.8S..

Kung CUV, Tucson na. No questions asked. Yung CR-V luma na rin, tapos bitin sa features yung 2.0L, kung 2.4L 4WD pwede pa..

[ghosthunter]

I'd recommend getting a CUV. Manila roads are just dreadful and you never know when its suddenly going to flood when you're on your way home from work. For this, the Tucson ReVGT fits the bill since you get higher ground clearance, more space to fit your stuff inside, cheaper diesel fuel, and a more fuel efficient and powerful engine as compared to its gasoline powered counterparts of the same displacement.

If you want a sedan, I'd suggest you get the Civic 1.8S for equal parts performance and equal parts fuel economy. And with the Honda, you get many more ways of getting more power out of the engine should you wish to go the tuner route.

Buying a CUV for those once a year you-have-to-drive-through-a flooded-road reason is just the same as people buying SUVs which never see a dirt road in their whole useful life.

I have seen stupid people in pickup trucks (example: F150 or HILUX) or SUVs that turn back from a flooded road that I, moments later, have driven through with my corolla.

If the flooded road looks too deep, then don't even try to drive through it. Just wait for the water to go down. Any reason is a good reason to detour to the nearest starbucks (preferably on high ground) and grab a hot coffee on a stormy day.

[four-rings]

get an suv preferably the tucson.

the higher ground clearance is not only helpful during the occasional flood but more importantly it gives you a taller perspective of what lies ahead on the road and on your lane. this way you can anticipate your next maneuver should something happen to the car in front of you. the height of an suv also helps you switch lanes should there be an unexpected traffic build up on your lane ie may nasiraan pala 2-3 cars ahead of you

[sqt-clark]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge about the said cars..i really appreciate it!

I would really love to have a Tucson but the waiting list is just too long and i was informed that i have to wait for 2 months. this is the reason why i opted to get a Honda CRV and i don't have any background when it comes to diesel engines. any hyundai dealers you know that can provide a unit is a shorter span of time?

For sedan, i think it's a close battle between civic and altis. since the new honda civic was already released, do you guys have any idea when it will be available here in the phils? by that time, i think the price of the FD's will be lesser since I like the look of the FD's compared to the pictures of the new civic.

Apologies for asking too much questions since i'm really new in buying a new car since all that i had before were all second hand cars including my present ride. I guess i have to test drive all of them to compare.

Many thanks again to all tsikoteers and if you still have other feedbacks or suggestions, feel free to let me know. More power to you guys!

[ghosthunter]

For sedan, i think it's a close battle between civic and altis. since the new honda civic was already released, do you guys have any idea when it will be available here in the phils? by that time, i think the price of the FD's will be lesser since I like the look of the FD's compared to the pictures of the new civic.

Honda lowering the price of their cars? ... you must be joking! When the new model comes out, expect a minimum of a 10% increase in SRP and no discounts for the first year.

[GTi]

Buying a CUV for those once a year you-have-to-drive-through-a flooded-road reason is just the same as people buying SUVs which never see a dirt road in their whole useful life.

I have seen stupid people in pickup trucks (example: F150 or HILUX) or SUVs that turn back from a flooded road that I, moments later, have driven through with my corolla.

If the flooded road looks too deep, then don't even try to drive through it. Just wait for the water to go down. Any reason is a good reason to detour to the nearest starbucks (preferably on high ground) and grab a hot coffee on a stormy day.

Sa amin kasi hindi once a year case yan. Mabahain ang area namin so medyo allergic ako sa low vehicles. Years ago, we sold our 1997 Accord in almost showroom condition and bought the Trooper due to the flooding problems in our area. Also because the Accord had very frequent trips to do wheel alignment due to the bad condition of our roads. Na-trauma narin kasi before, that Accord was stranded in hood deep floodwaters due to traffic in the area (tumaas ng tumaas ang tubig) and the resulting damage was a replaced transmission which cost us around 200k. That's why I never recommend sedans over SUVs. Is the waiting list of the Tucson still that long? I'd thought it would have somewhat shortened by now. If not, perhaps you would be interested in the Santa Fe 4x2? As for the Lancer EX, to the best of my knowledge diba gas guzzler yan? Kapag ako, Civic 1.8S nalang. Since you mentioned the Altis 1.6, I'm sure performance is not that high up your list.

[sqt-clark]

Honda lowering the price of their cars? ... you must be joking! When the new model comes out, expect a minimum of a 10% increase in SRP and no discounts for the first year.

what i meant sir was, if the new model comes out, maybe the price of the FD's will be lesser compared to the price right now since they have to dispose the stocks, maybe some discounts too, but that's just an assumption.

...Kapag ako, Civic 1.8S nalang. Since you mentioned the Altis 1.6, I'm sure performance is not that high up your list.

yes sir! I'm not pretty much into it since i'm old enough to be racing along edsa. if i was a bit younger then i guess i would have gotten a civic, i had an SIR before by the way. but i'm really not that technical when it comes to the "under the hood" stuffs.

after checking the prices over the weekend, the Tucson diesel 4x4 (GL) is almost the same price as the 4x2 fortuner/montero at "less than 1.4M SRP". dont you think that this is quite expensive for a CUV since they are just new and haven't proved anything yet in terms of car value?

as time goes by, a lot of questions are popping out of my mind. if i will go with diesel or petrol, since i heard that diesel engines are costly to maintain compared to gas-fed engines. a sedan or CUV/SUV because of the price range since they are "almost" the same. then here come's the montero to be released in March according to the SA of Mits Quezon Ave when i inquired about it and discourage me to get one now.

pasensya na sa dami ng tanong, i just want to get the best out of my money na hindi ko pagsisisihan in the long run since this vehicle will be for keeps for at least 5-10 years to be used as a personal service with occasional out of town trips on weekends, mga once or twice a month. Thank you for all the feedback, knowledge is to be shared not kept!

[Starex_Gold]

Parang wala na naman pila yung GLS Theta II (gasoline 2.0) na Tucson eh.. May mga dealerships naka stock na..

CRDi naman ngayon ang may pila.. Since July 2010 wala nang dumating eh.

after checking the prices over the weekend, the Tucson diesel 4x4 (GL) is almost the same price as the 4x2 fortuner/montero at "less than 1.4M SRP". dont you think that this is quite expensive for a CUV since they are just new and haven't proved anything yet in terms of car value?

IMHO it's not that expensive. Yung engine palang kasi malaking portion na yun sa price. Plus the Garrett Honeywell eVGT. Bosch CRDi system.. In fact, Denki, Spynz and I bought the top-end CRDi variant that costs 1.7M.. And we're satisfied.

[ghosthunter]

As for the Lancer EX, to the best of my knowledge diba gas guzzler yan?

Given that the Lancer EX is not known for fuel economy, it's not a gas guzzler either.

Average of around 8Km/L-city and up to 13 km/L-highway.

I personally get around 7km/L-city during the week but that's because my area has too much traffic and too many speed-bumps, intersections and stoplights every 50 meters or so. Weekends, I can get 9 to 10 km/L in city driving.

[GTi]

what i meant sir was, if the new model comes out, maybe the price of the FD's will be lesser compared to the price right now since they have to dispose the stocks, maybe some discounts too, but that's just an assumption.



yes sir! I'm not pretty much into it since i'm old enough to be racing along edsa. if i was a bit younger then i guess i would have gotten a civic, i had an SIR before by the way. but i'm really not that technical when it comes to the "under the hood" stuffs.

after checking the prices over the weekend, the Tucson diesel 4x4 (GL) is almost the same price as the 4x2 fortuner/montero at "less than 1.4M SRP". dont you think that this is quite expensive for a CUV since they are just new and haven't proved anything yet in terms of car value?

as time goes by, a lot of questions are popping out of my mind. if i will go with diesel or petrol, since i heard that diesel engines are costly to maintain compared to gas-fed engines. a sedan or CUV/SUV because of the price range since they are "almost" the same. then here come's the montero to be released in March according to the SA of Mits Quezon Ave when i inquired about it and discourage me to get one now.

pasensya na sa dami ng tanong, i just want to get the best out of my money na hindi ko pagsisisihan in the long run since this vehicle will be for keeps for at least 5-10 years to be used as a personal service with occasional out of town trips on weekends, mga once or twice a month. Thank you for all the feedback, knowledge is to be shared not kept!

I find the Tucson diesel to be quite cheap already for what you get since it already has lots of features as well. The Montero and Fortuner's engines are crude as compared to this one. Especially the Fortuner's which I'm sure any SUV or pickup with an intercooler currently available brand new in the market can outrun. What is your location and daily route by the way? Does it flood often? Are there lots of bad roads? On your out of town trips, do you go to far flung areas with terrible terrain? Since you go out of town often, I suggest against getting a sedan and get something that has more space. I personally don't find diesels to be extraordinarily expensive to repair. We have one and its known for being problematic at that- the 4JX1 Trooper. Yet even uptil now, we have yet to encounter a repair bill that reaches six digits or even goes up to the high five digits. Sure, it will be more costly when it is time to change oil but then I'm sure the gas savings you get more than covers up for it. And also, our previous car, a '97 Accord VTi, has spent more time in the repair shop as compared to the Trooper which rarely ever breaks down.

[actor21]

one thing i've learn from a friend who owns both diesel and gas fed cars.

diesel you'll end up paying more for maintenance than gasoline..
so you're not actually saving from buying a diesel engine car.

we own both gas and diesel also ang believe me mas mahal ang PMS ng diesel
pero siempre mali kung ikukumpara ang PMS ng vios at everest.

maganda icompare PMS ng:

2.0 altis, civic, Lancer etc to a Ford Focus TDCi..

[GTi]

Depende parin yan as to the diesel vehicle mentioned as well as the mentality of the owner. I for one find the extra money paid during maintenance time to be worth the extra punch, durability and fuel efficiency of the diesel compared to a comparable gas engine. Let's just say that both are 2.0L engine having nearly similar horsepower count but of course with the diesel having about twice the torque and getting around twice the fuel mileage of its gas counterpart while also using cheaper fuel. I'd rather be getting the diesel along with its added performance and fuel economy and gladly pay for the few extra grand (OK, sometimes its not just few, but you get my point. ) every half year or so.

[actor21]

pero come to think of it, the price difference of a gas fortuner 4x2AT vs fortuner 4x2 D4D AT is only 65,000 so i think frugality wise i'd go with diesel fort..

pero totoo ba na every 100,000kms me pinapalitan sa diesel engine? di kase ako technical at sabi ng friend ko mahal daw, pero sa gas engine walang ganito..

[Mguy]

I'll give you my insights na lang on the CRV because yun ang nabili ko eh.

First of all, you need to know ano ba requirements mo for the next 5 years, are you gonna start a family? Will you be carrying big stuff from time to time? You got a big dog? Trips to the province often? Etc. Then you will know kung car nga or Compact SUV ang kailangan mo.

Second, sure you could loan 1.4M, the question is how much are you willing to add to that to maintain your car/SUV? Research on how much you are going to add every month for gasoline and for the regular servicing. Cars kasi are cheaper and there has been a debate ongoing about how much you need to fork out for maintaining a CRDI engine as compared to regular gasoline engines. Another thing is the preventive maintenance schedule. Honda boast of servicing every 10000kms or 6 months which ever comes first. Others have their schedule at 5000kms or 3 months. It may or may not add up, but if you are worried about additional cost, then that could be the deal maker.

Third, what ever makes you happy, irregardless of the cost, should be one of your prime considerations.

So why did I chose the CRV? Space. Plus that I only need to bring it to the CASA twice a year or ever 10000k. So I did the math and i would be saving a bit there. In addition, CRV is well know for its reliability and high resale value. Although malakas sya sa gas (ave. of 7/8 kpl city driving), I don't mind kasi may gasoline allowance naman ako. Having said that, old na nga ang design and there should be a new one just around the corner. Pero ok lang yun kasi, I'm happy with it.

Good luck!

[actor21]

Honda boast of servicing every 10000kms or 6 months which ever comes first

same as Mazda CX7 looks better too...

[Starex_Gold]

Ayun! why not Mazda CX-7?

Maganda naman, just change the wheels. And look for an USDM rear spoiler..