Cruze, Elantra, or Lancer EX

[jigz2009]

Hello. I'm planning to buy a second-hand compact sedan this coming August. I'm still overseas though and I'm planning to replace our 15-year old Toyota Corolla once I get back home. My vacation won't be that long though so as much as possible I want to maximize my stay hunting for 1 car brand only. This will be my first time to buy a car so I would really appreciate all your inputs.

I have shortlisted 3 choices:

1.) Mitsubishi Lancer Ex
2.) Chevrolet Cruze
3.) Hyundai Elantra

These are the requirements I'm looking at (sorted as per priority):

1st: Reliability,durability, ease of maintenance.
2nd: Comfortable to drive and ride on with.
3rd: Excellent interior and features.
4th: Good fuel consumption

I really don't mind performance since I will use this car for city driving. And I also want to know the maintenance cost, parts and consumables, and where to buy these parts and consumables apart from the casa.

Once again, thanks you very much in advance.

Cheers and regards

[dr. d]

what's your budget, sir?
also, there are usually some fixins' needed when buying a used car. and since you will be leaving soon after, i am assuming someone else will have to do those fixins'. is this someone else knowledgeable?
what i am suggesting is, maybe a new car is what you should consider..

btw, are you married or single? because if you are not married, why are you buying a car, when most of the time you will be out of town? baka, everytime you come home, ikaw ang mag-change oil...
heh heh.

and i am curious... your top three isn't exactly a top combination... there's one or two of them that's not in the most-wanted list...
my 86 centavos' worth..

[Mikemike07]

Its expensive to maintain a chevy cruze. Thats the general feedback about it by the owners based on my research before. Aside from that, i think parts wont be as available compared to your other choices since there arent as many on the road. For some reason, i havent seen one in months.

Its a tie between the elantra and the lancer ex. But based on our criteria the elantra wins 2, 3, and 4. We dont know about 1 yet, but ill trust the lancer better being a japanese car. Both are comfortable to drive but the lancer loses because there is a hump at the leg area of the back seat. It wont be comfortable for the person sitting in the middle if the car will be loaded. The interior of the lancer is also bland compared to the current lineup of this generation. Specially for the lower end models. Looks very old school to me. I dont mind it though. Since i think youll be getting a 2.0 model for the lancer (i dont think there are 2nd hand 1.6's for sale), itll easily be beaten in fuel economy by a 1.6 or 1.8 elantra. The engine of the elantra is not underpowered by any means so it wont stress the engine too much like the 1.6 mazda 3's case resulting to bad fuel economy. Where the lancer shines is In performance which you dont mind. So i think we got a winner here. but test drive both. Your feel is still the most important factor when it comes to buying a car.

[jigz2009]

what's your budget, sir?
also, there are usually some fixins' needed when buying a used car. and since you will be leaving soon after, i am assuming someone else will have to do those fixins'. is this someone else knowledgeable?
what i am suggesting is, maybe a new car is what you should consider..

btw, are you married or single? because if you are not married, why are you buying a car, when most of the time you will be out of town? baka, everytime you come home, ikaw ang mag-change oil...
heh heh.

and i am curious... your top three isn't exactly a top combination... there's one or two of them that's not in the most-wanted list...
my 86 centavos' worth..

Yup someone knowledgeable will maintain the car. Afterall, we've able maintained a 15+ old car. Naaawa na kasi ako sa Toyota namin, gusto ng magretire hehe. As for budget, it depends. as long it's worth it. And yup, I know the risk of buying segunda-mano vehicle. In fact, all our cars are second-hand.

Nope, I'm not yet married (but very soon). I don't have kids yet (but soon also hehehe) so for the meantime my dad will be driving and maintaining the vehicle. Anyway I'm often go back to Philippines every 3-4 months pero yun lang sakto pagdating ko ako magpapa change oil

I also like the Toyota 86 but I'm looking for a "for daily use" sedan.

Cheers and regards.

[jigz2009]

Its expensive to maintain a chevy cruze. Thats the general feedback about it by the owners based on my research before. Aside from that, i think parts wont be as available compared to your other choices since there arent as many on the road. For some reason, i havent seen one in months.

Its a tie between the elantra and the lancer ex. But based on our criteria the elantra wins 2, 3, and 4. We dont know about 1 yet, but ill trust the lancer better being a japanese car. Both are comfortable to drive but the lancer loses because there is a hump at the leg area of the back seat. It wont be comfortable for the person sitting in the middle if the car will be loaded. The interior of the lancer is also bland compared to the current lineup of this generation. Specially for the lower end models. Looks very old school to me. I dont mind it though. Since i think youll be getting a 2.0 model for the lancer (i dont think there are 2nd hand 1.6's for sale), itll easily be beaten in fuel economy by a 1.6 or 1.8 elantra. The engine of the elantra is not underpowered by any means so it wont stress the engine too much like the 1.6 mazda 3's case resulting to bad fuel economy. Where the lancer shines is In performance which you dont mind. So i think we got a winner here. but test drive both. Your feel is still the most important factor when it comes to buying a car.

Hi Sir. thanks for your reply.

I can see several Cruze's for sale with low resale value, which is very tempting. And it's one of my choices because I read very good reviews about it (100x better than the dreaded Optra), and it even got a COTY (Car of the Year) award in 2010-2011). But yeah I need to think thrice especially if what you say is true about the Cruze wherein parts is scarce. I cannot afford the car sidelined for a long time.

As for the Elantra, its also got the COTY award in 2011-2012. And I've read excellent things about it. Same with the Lancer EX but yeah I mostly see GT-A and other 2.0 models for sale and I don't need a "pang-hatawan" car.

[_Cathy_]

and i am curious... your top three isn't exactly a top combination... there's one or two of them that's not in the most-wanted list...
my 86 centavos' worth..

This is exactly what I had in mind Maybe the TS prefers cars that are not that common on the road. But then again, cars are popular for a good reason like the Vios.

If I had to choose among the 3, I'll get the Lancer. I did consider getting an EX early this year but then the current model is about 5 yrs already and could be due for a full model change. Also the trunk space of the EX is extremely small because it's shallow. I find that so odd because based from the exterior I was expecting a huge trunk space. You can't expect fuel economy as well if you are getting an A/T EX (at least according to my Uncle). But in terms of looks, I love the current Lancer but then again you might just end up spending more money on it as it's nice to dress up/ accessorize. Given all those factors, I decided to stay loyal to Toyota

TS, Toyota's reliability is already proven in your case, why not consider an Altis or Vios?

[basti08]

I'd get a Lancer among the choices.

[Mikemike07]

For the 1.6 variant though, AT or MT doesnt matter. Its still fuel efficient for its class. According to 2.0 owners naman, its just right for a 2.0. All the compartments of the lancer are really bad. Ive never seen such a small glove compartment and whatever you call the one by the elbow. I could barely store anything in the glove compartment because i leave the pms/warranty/owners booklet in there. Oh well. For me, the lancer is for the younger generation (which im part of ) if you wanna get serious or look professional, its either the elantra or altis. If you were to choose the altis though, Id wait for the new altis. Its design will make all the previous corolla's look dated and it beats out the elantra in terms of elegance. If youre going for sporty though, it wont get any better than the lancer.

What i feel would be the best 2nd hand compact car is the civic FD. Im a proud ex-owner. I loved everything about that car. Its the perfect balance between fuel economy and power (1.8 variant). Looks good too and very spacious. But it became a headache after 3 years of ownership. We bought it used. According to the people who inspected the car it was either flooded or was part of a major accident. Thats why we opted for brandnew this time. We were traumatized by our experience and the significant drop of its resale value. Anyways, sorry for the OT. Good luck sir! If you cant find a good deal for your choices, try hunting a civic fd.

[GTi]

Among the three, I'd go for the Elantra which strikes a pretty good balance among your priorities. You may want to consider the Kia Soul as well, which uses the 1.6L Elantra's engine and tranny. It has more usable cargo space as compared to sedan, which may be useful for your upcoming family.

[cal0i]

Please remove the Chevy.. Talo kaya dyan in the long run.


If I were you, I'd limit my choices between lancer and elantra. And you can't go wrong with either.


Sent from the bottom of my .....