Honda City 1.3S MT or Lancer GLX MT?

[Larry_Bird]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to buy my first car in August this year. My budget is P650K maximum My choices are:

Honda City 1.3S MT - P625,000
Mitsubishi Lancer GLX MT - P628,000

Criteria: Suitability as family car (5 adults), performance, fuel consumption and maintenance - in that order.

I know that Vios 1.3E MT is also within this budget, but I'm not so keen on that car (no offense to Vios owners). I also don't mind that the next generation Lancer EX is just around the corner. Please do not count that factor in your advise (oks lang sakin yung current model, and besides siguradong mas mahal yung next model). Matagal pa naman yung purchase ko, pero pinag-iisipan ko na mabuti. So, I would love to hear your inputs. This is my first post, after reading the forums for some time... Thanks!

[melrome]

The Lancer has more interior and trunk space.

What sort of "performance" do you demand? For family use and daily driving, this Lancer is basically the same as other sedans in its class... and with a few budget racer mods, you can race it in the Subic International Raceway.


Fuel consumption hands down goes to the Jazz.

Maintenance-wise, the 4g18 (when the CASA warranty wores out) can be serviceable by almost any mechanic. Parts can be sourced anywhere (OEM, replacement, or even surplus).

Choose the brownish beige para pampamilya although napakaganda talaga nung black.

[Mschumacher]

I think the city is the better choice. Because of its fuel consumption

[1D4LV]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to buy my first car in August this year. My budget is P650K maximum My choices are:

Honda City 1.3S MT - P625,000
Mitsubishi Lancer GLX MT - P628,000

Criteria: Suitability as family car (5 adults), performance, fuel consumption and maintenance - in that order.

I know that Vios 1.3E MT is also within this budget, but I'm not so keen on that car (no offense to Vios owners). I also don't mind that the next generation Lancer EX is just around the corner. Please do not count that factor in your advise (oks lang sakin yung current model, and besides siguradong mas mahal yung next model). Matagal pa naman yung purchase ko, pero pinag-iisipan ko na mabuti. So, I would love to hear your inputs. This is my first post, after reading the forums for some time... Thanks!

tough choice....
are you planning to keep the car long? if you are, it seems the city is the logical choice because of the resale. but both seems to be in an equal footing.

My criteria:

FC: City
Space: City
Maintenance: Lancer
Parts Availability: Lancer
Looks: Lancer
Resale: City

[Larry_Bird]

The Lancer has more interior and trunk space.

What sort of "performance" do you demand? For family use and daily driving, this Lancer is basically the same as other sedans in its class... and with a few budget racer mods, you can race it in the Subic International Raceway.


Fuel consumption hands down goes to the Jazz.

Maintenance-wise, the 4g18 (when the CASA warranty wores out) can be serviceable by almost any mechanic. Parts can be sourced anywhere (OEM, replacement, or even surplus).

Choose the brownish beige para pampamilya although napakaganda talaga nung black.

Melrome, by "performance" I actually meant which car would fare better in bad road conditions and long trips. Sorry for the ambiguity, I should have said "reliability". Actually nagagandahan nga ako sa Lancer na ito pero nagtataka ako bakit hindi siya masyadong pinag-uusapan sa forum hehe.

Thanks for the helpful info, and the picture showing the Lancer racing in Subic Hindi ko naman ito ira-race. More of weekend trips lang with my parents and siblings. And as long as it can hit 120 Kph without diificulty, masaya nako. But it's nice to know that the car has room for modding if ever. 4g18 pala ang code ng body nito [edit: engine pala hehe]. I always thought the City had more spare parts being more popular, so thanks to you and 1D4LV for mentioning otherwise.

tough choice....
are you planning to keep the car long? if you are, it seems the city is the logical choice because of the resale. but both seems to be in an equal footing.

My criteria:

FC: City
Space: City
Maintenance: Lancer
Parts Availability: Lancer
Looks: Lancer
Resale: City

1D4LV, yes definitely long-term. 10 years or more, if the car stays reasonably reliable. Thanks for the feedback, esp. about parts availability. I always thought Mitsu parts were harder to find (a real noob here). I agree with you on looks too. Pero talaga bang mas malaki interior space ng City? Kasi nasa bigger class na ang Lancer (same class as Civic and Altis tama po ba?) so I assumed it will have bigger interior space (and this is what Melrome mentioned too).

Thanks to all replies

[[archie]]

bro IMO if your gonna keep the car for a long time... honda is the way to go.
ok talaga space ng city even for a compact car malwag talaga.

FC.. no contest na yan... city gets it.

my friend actually had a lancer 2004 pero naiinis siya kasi 3 years pa lang puro kalampag na... he sold the car and talo sa resale value.

good luck sir!

[drag_addict]

lancer ako. okay sana kung jazz pwede pa, lancer na lang.

[melrome]

Long term reliability sa Lancer pa rin ako.

We still often see yung mga 1st generation Lancers on the streets. The bar and L type. Countless boxytpes and singkits on the street.

And they are not even car enthusiasts. Sometimes bulok na yung body eh umaandar pa rin.

[1D4LV]

Melrome, by "performance" I actually meant which car would fare better in bad road conditions and long trips. Sorry for the ambiguity, I should have said "reliability". Actually nagagandahan nga ako sa Lancer na ito pero nagtataka ako bakit hindi siya masyadong pinag-uusapan sa forum hehe.

Thanks for the helpful info, and the picture showing the Lancer racing in Subic Hindi ko naman ito ira-race. More of weekend trips lang with my parents and siblings. And as long as it can hit 120 Kph without diificulty, masaya nako. But it's nice to know that the car has room for modding if ever. 4g18 pala ang code ng body nito [edit: engine pala hehe]. I always thought the City had more spare parts being more popular, so thanks to you and 1D4LV for mentioning otherwise.



1D4LV, yes definitely long-term. 10 years or more, if the car stays reasonably reliable. Thanks for the feedback, esp. about parts availability. I always thought Mitsu parts were harder to find (a real noob here). I agree with you on looks too. Pero talaga bang mas malaki interior space ng City? Kasi nasa bigger class na ang Lancer (same class as Civic and Altis tama po ba?) so I assumed it will have bigger interior space (and this is what Melrome mentioned too).

Thanks to all replies

for 10 years you may have to weigh in a few more options:

body wise and styling: Lancer. Honda cars tend to look old over time. But i've seen 12 year old lancers that still look good. Pormahan mo lang and repaint, ok na. For Cities, mukhang di ubra. In fact, my wife who owns a 2000 City VTi (same age as my 2000 Lancer), does not look good already. Pareho lang naman ang alagang ginagawa namin. Tsaka parang ang hirap pormahan. Sa Lancer, palit mags lang, ganda na.

resale: City has an edge here.
parts: Lancer has an edge here.

the only thing i see from you keeping the lancer longer is in tends to be makalampag after a couple of years. my 8 year old lancer, although it still looks good has some sort of this problem. bulk of my maintenance costs go to suspension repairs. but for parts and maintenance, wala akong problem. another thing that might give you some problems is the aircon (but then again, this might be true to old cars na, regardless of brand).

these are the problems that i've encountered from using lancers (from the EL type, the Box, the singkit, the itlog and the pizza - yes, i've owned these lancers).

my final verdict and recommendation: if resale option is not that important to you and you are willing to make the necessary "suspension" maintenance. lancer na lang. it will still look good provided you maintain it properly, repair the necessary things that needs to be repaired, and take care of the body, ganda pa rin yan after 10 years.

note: i've seen 1991 model GTs (17 year old Lancer Singkit ) that still look great, and some 1994-1995 (13 year old Lancer Itlogs), which are still eye-catchers.

imho.

[1D4LV]

i've added some notes below.

Melrome, by "performance" I actually meant which car would fare better in bad road conditions and long trips. Sorry for the ambiguity, I should have said "reliability". Actually nagagandahan nga ako sa Lancer na ito pero nagtataka ako bakit hindi siya masyadong pinag-uusapan sa forum hehe.

- bad road conditions, i think both of them are quite at the same range. the reason why lancers are not really talked about there is that this forum is a general automotive forum. hindi enthusiast forum. for details, punta ka na lang sa sa mga enthusiast clubs like mymitsuph.com (mitsu) or hcp.com (honda

Thanks for the helpful info, and the picture showing the Lancer racing in Subic Hindi ko naman ito ira-race. More of weekend trips lang with my parents and siblings. And as long as it can hit 120 Kph without diificulty, masaya nako. But it's nice to know that the car has room for modding if ever. 4g18 pala ang code ng body nito [edit: engine pala hehe]. I always thought the City had more spare parts being more popular, so thanks to you and 1D4LV for mentioning otherwise.

- you can hit 120 kph without difficulty in a lancer. stable pa sya in high speeds. plus, what i've noticed is that (in my case since we own both a lancer and a city) is that the lancer is more stable if it is fully loaded and going at some sort of speeds like 100 kph. yung city namin parang manipis and magaang eh at high speeds.).

if you have guts, it can easily go at around 140-150 kph without difficulty.

i've seen tuned cities din, but it is more easier to mod a lancer. mas madaming aftermarket parts and body kits.



1D4LV, yes definitely long-term. 10 years or more, if the car stays reasonably reliable. Thanks for the feedback, esp. about parts availability. I always thought Mitsu parts were harder to find (a real noob here). I agree with you on looks too. Pero talaga bang mas malaki interior space ng City? Kasi nasa bigger class na ang Lancer (same class as Civic and Altis tama po ba?) so I assumed it will have bigger interior space (and this is what Melrome mentioned too).

- nope. misconception po. mitsu parts are one of the easiest parts to find. daming replacement and oem parts.

- for newer generation cities, i think (o feel ko lang) na mas malaki ang interiors nya and trunk space nya. but you are correct, i think the city is considered as a sub-compact while the lancer is considered a compact.

Thanks to all replies

[melrome]

"Old Lancers never die"



Same car from the earlier pic. Sa friend ko.

http://www.mitsulancerph.org

[1D4LV]

"Old Lancers never die"



Same car from the earlier pic. Sa friend ko.

http://www.mitsulancerph.org

ganda nga, pati yung pagkakakuha ng picture. sa SMBA yan no?

[[archie]]

i think you have the option from mitsu side, so let me give you naman the reason for the honda.

our family has hondas for the past few years and also the galant 96. the reason why we tend to stick with honda is because of its reliability on the engine and suspension.

take my civic 2000 for example, the first time it broke… the blower of the air con gave and it was 5 years after the purchase. walang kalampag until it reached 7 years. doon na ko nagkaproblem sa pangilalim pero once replaced tatagal naman. yung stab link and trailing arm bushing lang yung every year or every other year.

i beg to differ sa quote na “Honda” gets old quickly, theres a lot more eg and ek running the streets than the lancers. sana sinabi na lang na yung “city” gets old fast because of the design. another friend of mine has the city 99 and konte lang nagiging prob ng car. reliable naman daw and the parts are always available.

im assuming that your gonna get the car brandnew so parts is not an issue kasi 3 years naman warranty then after that, ill bet na lahat ng parts niyan available outside casa. though the engine displacement differs… kung hindi ka naman kakarera, ok lang yun. i test drove the new city 1.3, it could hit 120 with no prob.

with the lancer 2004 of my friend, every 6-8 months break down yung pang ilalim niya. sobrang nahassel siya kaya binenta niya kagad even if the resale was not good… ok lang daw na mura nabenta basta wala na sakit ng ulo.

just my opinion.

[ronw123w124]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to buy my first car in August this year. My budget is P650K maximum My choices are:

Honda City 1.3S MT - P625,000
Mitsubishi Lancer GLX MT - P628,000

Criteria: Suitability as family car (5 adults), performance, fuel consumption and maintenance - in that order.

I know that Vios 1.3E MT is also within this budget, but I'm not so keen on that car (no offense to Vios owners). I also don't mind that the next generation Lancer EX is just around the corner. Please do not count that factor in your advise (oks lang sakin yung current model, and besides siguradong mas mahal yung next model). Matagal pa naman yung purchase ko, pero pinag-iisipan ko na mabuti. So, I would love to hear your inputs. This is my first post, after reading the forums for some time... Thanks!

Since lumabas na yung bagong Lancer, meron pa kayang matira na old body GLX M/T come August?

[Larry_Bird]

Since lumabas na yung bagong Lancer, meron pa kayang matira na old body GLX M/T come August?

ronw123w124, lumabas na po ba sa atin (Pinas)?? Akala ko pa naman eh September or later pa ang labas nito... Kung ganun eh mapapadali ang decision ko niyan - pag naubusan ako nung current GLX MT by August, I'll default to the City... Pero hindi ko pa nakikita sa Mitsubishi Phils website yung bagong Lancer.

Assuming na meron pa rin akong choice by August, from reading the posts above, I am slightly more drawn to the Lancer. 1D4LV nicely summarizes it:

if resale option is not that important to you and you are willing to make the necessary "suspension" maintenance. lancer na lang.

1D4LV, can you please give a ballpark figure of how much the suspension repairs might cost in say, 4-6 years? That's after the warranty. I know it's impossible to predict, but from your experience as a Mitsu owner, baka may estimate ka. I'll factor this in as an additional cost of owning the Lancer, over and above the regular maintenance cost. Thanks for the unbiased admission about this issue with Lancers. I've read a few feedbacks similar to this one in other threads.

archie123456789, thanks for your inputs on the Honda City side. I really admire the City too. Pag nakakita nga ako ng City dito sa Singapore (where I work), nagagandahan ako. The latest facelift is not bad at all. Regarding your friend's problems with Lancer, suspension does seem to be the weak point. Some owners will probably get more headaches than others. I'm really considering that risk factor in this decision.

lancer ako. okay sana kung jazz pwede pa, lancer na lang.

Hehe, hindi lang talaga babagay sakin ang subcompact hatchback. Maybe that's why the Lancer is a bit more appealing, I kinda feel that it's looks match my personality. A bit more "serious" hehe ;) Jazz exudes a more easy-going aura. No offense po to anyone. Both cars are great, and these are just my subjective opinions based on the feeling I get when I look at them.

[drag_addict]

go na sa lancer kuya! hehe go go mitsu hehehe...

[Larry_Bird]

Long term reliability sa Lancer pa rin ako.

We still often see yung mga 1st generation Lancers on the streets. The bar and L type. Countless boxytpes and singkits on the street.

And they are not even car enthusiasts. Sometimes bulok na yung body eh umaandar pa rin.

My cousin had a box type Lancer until around 2002. Binenta niya lang nung medyo malaki na kids nila. What about your experience on the suspension? Thanks!

[basti08]

Lancer.

Compact classification.

Resale? Let's face it. Di naman mababa ang resale ng Lancer. Although di na higher than Mazdas(3) but still above the Sentras and still above Fords(Lynx) and Chevy (Optra).

Multilink suspension is a better performer.

4 wheel disc is better than the disc-drum set up of the 1.3 Type S.

4G18 is ancient but also synonymous to tried and tested. Like Mitsu's 4D56, a lot of newer CRDi competition is out there. But the simple and tested 4D56 has still its charms.

Roomy. Although the City is roomy for its size. For space per se, they are of equal footing IMO.

Driver's airbag is standard in the Lancer line up. The ticket to airbags for the City is the 1.5 VTEC variant. It costs north of 700k.

Style. In and Out, Lancer for me.

[Larry_Bird]

basti08, thanks a lot for the reply I really hope they keep selling this till August '08, considering that the new Lancer EX is already here (starting at P900+K!). I'll be able to come home at that time and visit a dealer. Pag naubusan, oks lang din. I'll get the City 1.3S which I like too.

By the way, since I'll be keeping the car for a long time, I think the difference in resale value by then will be negligible. Kaya hindi ko masyado iniisip yun.

Thanks to everyone who took time to post. Very much appreciated po.

[drey]

Get the City... Much better by a hundred miles...