Lancer GLX, Vios E or City A?

[after11years]

Akala ko decided na kayo sa GLX? Haha.

Prices in ascending order:
Vios 1.3E MT 664,000
City 1.3A MT 676,000
Lancer GLX 1.6 685,000
City 1.3S MT 716,000

City S is already too much, hanggang Lancer GLX na lang siguro. But then and again, we initially considered this kasi sa 638k lang pumapatak yung price after discounts, cheaper than the 20k discount offered to us for the Vios. Now, we might end up going for the Vios kung price lang pag-uusapan

Assessments:
VIOS
Car to beat. It's the cheapest, offers 1 Airbag safety-wise despite having a smaller body, and it's toyota durability. For a 2007/2008 model, I think that there's going to be a worldwide facelifted car (pics are on the net, but nothing much - just see what they did with the 2009 civic)


LANCER
Compact car with an aging design. Obviously more expensive than the Vios. However compared to the Vios, the car is 200mm (20cm) longer, packs more punch than the Vios (85HP vs 110HP), carries double disc brakes and a pair of airbags. You get the pros of a larger car with a bigger engine, but also the disadvantages that come with it. Main advantage would be its size. Try to enter each car to see how much bigger the Lancer really is over the others you are comparing it with.

CITY A
Newest of the bunch, but with the lowest trim. Powerful engine potential for a 1.3L WHEN you redline it, but lacks some basic things compared to the 2 other cars such as airbags, keyless entry, REAL alloy wheels (if you're particular about this) among others. The city also reportedly has one of the largest trunks for a subcompact sedan.

Would rather have you check out the City S-
+airbags
+keyless entry/stock alarm
+ipod connectivity via USB (the A can't charge your ipod)
+alloy wheels (LOL)

For me the Vios is a really good car, but sometimes it happens to be too plain (you see a lot of Vios units around, but that's also good thing, speaking of the car's reliability and value). Pero it's actually quite elegant and stylish too, some of my rich friends were given by their parents a Vios E (and they have drivers for that car!) and the feel is very much comparable to more expensive cars daw.

The Lancer used to be cheaper than the Vios, that's why we nearly bought it. But yes, it's a bigger car and it has more power. I got to ride in it and it's actually a pretty nice car, but I really feel it's quite dated, and even though there are only a few '09 Lancer GLX/GLS around, I have a bad feeling that it has something to do with the car's reliability kaya hindi masyado maganda ang sales niya. This isn't really a bad car, but for me it's quite so-so.

The only "disturbing" thing for me about the City is the lack of REAL alloy wheels, but everything else is fine. And we definitely need the trunk space. However, the price is somehow painful for a 1.3 given its features nga (but this is obviously better than a Vios J, in my opinion). And we can't afford to stretch our budget just for the City 1.3S, and personally I don't think the 50,000 price difference to get real alloy wheels, FLEX Audio and 2 airbags is worth it.

IMO/Final conclusion:
Toss up between the Vios and the Lancer depending on what you want/need.

The City A is too bare for me to justify (this is coming from a person who prefers hondas, mitsubishis and subarus to toyotas)

If you really want to do a little more research objectively:
- Get a price list of the regular preventive maintenance service from the casa.
- Check out which car offers greater front/back legroom and trunk space for the price.

Personally it's a toss-up for me between the Vios and the City, but your opinions have somehow made me realize that the Lancer should actually be given real consideration (I just considered it dati thanks to parental brainwashing, hehehe).

The City A might be too bare but actually for my family, it's ok na. We just wish na the price is quite competitive sa Vios E (681k na ngayon yung City) AND they put real alloy rims. Kung for some sort of miracle mangyari nga yun, baka City pa bilhin namin.

About the legroom, I personally don't have qualms about that of the City (a friend has one, maluwag siya!) and the Lancer (I didn't really expect that the interior is that spacious). Yung sa Vios, yung sa likod maluwag (confident ako diyan, and that's why I really love riding Vios cabs) while yung sa harap medyo masikip (or maybe that's because nung nakisabay ako sa friend ko from a class to my dorm, the front seat was put forward because usually no one sits there and she sits at the back right corner, that I didn't really notice).

Trunk space naman, I think winner ang City dito. And sometimes marami talaga kaming baggage. The Vios also has respectable trunk space (and 60-40 folding seats, if I am not mistaken?) while the Lancer is somehow in the so-so side.

Thank you very much for all your inputs, sir! I really appreciate it.