recommendation for a sub compact sedan

[roycruz]

Would appreciate recommendations for a sub compact with focus on the following:

1, good interior and trunk space, a must for us coz we carry a lot of baggage when traveling between Makati and Lucena
2. good fuel consumption, not necessarily the best
3. good at overtaking - a must on provincial drives
4. preferably modern looks; something we can show off :-)
5, must be automatic

We can probably stretch our budget to 840k.

We're almost done paying for our 2008 honda city 1.3 at and is now looking for a new car. Never realized it would be difficult though.

Our initial choice was the hyundai accent but we were discouraged by friends who suggested it has lower quality. This was aggravated by comments on the net on the knocking issue. Has this really been fixed or not?

Our next choice was the chevy sonic which we checked out at the showroom but didn't have a chance to test drive (it was past 5pm) and we are in Lucena on weekends. My wife and I really love its features and she was disappointed last night when I told her that it is very slow when overtaking from what I read. This is a challenge on provincial highways where it is common to have slow tricycles or trucks in front of you. A friend suggested disabling overdrive when overtaking. What's that? Should we just shift to manual mode when overtaking?

Up next is the 1.3 city whose looks and features we didn't find as enticing as compared to the sonic. Well we actually haven't found an affordable car as good on paper as the sonic though we may have no choice but to accept that fact. Unfortunately I read comments last night that the newer city has higher fuel consumption than our 2008 city. Arg!

So now we're back to square one. Any suggestions please :-)

[GTi]

Would appreciate recommendations for a sub compact with focus on the following:

1, good interior and trunk space, a must for us coz we carry a lot of baggage when traveling between Makati and Lucena
2. good fuel consumption, not necessarily the best
3. good at overtaking - a must on provincial drives
4. preferably modern looks; something we can show off :-)
5, must be automatic

We can probably stretch our budget to 840k.

We're almost done paying for our 2008 honda city 1.3 at and is now looking for a new car. Never realized it would be difficult though.

Our initial choice was the hyundai accent but we were discouraged by friends who suggested it has lower quality. This was aggravated by comments on the net on the knocking issue. Has this really been fixed or not?

Our next choice was the chevy sonic which we checked out at the showroom but didn't have a chance to test drive (it was past 5pm) and we are in Lucena on weekends. My wife and I really love its features and she was disappointed last night when I told her that it is very slow when overtaking from what I read. This is a challenge on provincial highways where it is common to have slow tricycles or trucks in front of you. A friend suggested disabling overdrive when overtaking. What's that? Should we just shift to manual mode when overtaking?

Up next is the 1.3 city whose looks and features we didn't find as enticing as compared to the sonic. Well we actually haven't found an affordable car as good on paper as the sonic though we may have no choice but to accept that fact. Unfortunately I read comments last night that the newer city has higher fuel consumption than our 2008 city. Arg!

So now we're back to square one. Any suggestions please :-)

Subcompact with a good interior, trunk space and powerful engine? Well there are only two choices that I can think of. City 1.5 at 836k or Accent 1.6GLS at 828k. Test drive or at least visit both at the showroom to get a better feel of both cars. The Accent is quite nice, especially the top of the line variant which is quite generously spec'd. The knocking issue plagues the 1.4L variants, not the 1.6. And even that is now solved with an ECU update.

Disabling overdrive when overtaking is OK, though I've never had the occasion to do it as it was never needed. This feature disables the top gear which then makes the tranny shift more aggressively and keeps the engine speed at high rpms giving better performance in overtaking. A/T's with manual mode do not have this function as that is pretty much what the manual mode is for.

Another alternative you may want to consider is the Elantra 1.6A/T at 888k. You add slightly more but get an award winning car of a higher class that gives decent gas mileage and excellent performance.

[vinj]

If you're looking for a automatic and will be travelling with baggage regularly, shy away from a 1.3L already as this will definitely lack power and consume more fuel given your use. At 800K+ you can already look at the following:
- Vios 1.5 a/t
- Accent 1.6 a/t
- Honda City 1.5 a/t
- Avanza 1.5 a/t (baka may discount to bring the price within your budget)
- Nissan Almera 1.5 CVT (this is the latest to be released and may be worth checking out given the CVT version comes in at 760K i think)

* the trunk space. Best to bring the usual baggages you carry in your trunk and do a test fit when you check out the car.

Visit the dealers and take a look at those choices

At disabling the o/d when passing, you keep the car on the first three gears (if it's a 4-speed a/t); this is done when you're driving on mountain roads and passing on highways. This limits the propensity of the car to "gear hunt" given the low speed, hevay load and changing terrain you may encounter. It also gives more engine braking when you release the gas pedal. You can also shift manually through the gears.

[IMm29]

I agree with GTi on the Elantra. Though it's P48K past your current max budget, it's from a higher car class - so you get more space for both the passengers and cargo, power, handling and IMO, looks. I'm not sure about what slash-price offers HARI has for the Elantra, seeing that it's still selling pretty well. The Accent 1.6L TOTL model would be a bit smaller, but it's zippy with the 1.6L engine and elegant in black.

The Vios 1.5G is one of my usual choices, but it is getting old. Or perhaps that could mean Toyota may be giving good deals on it.

[vinj]

The Vios 1.5G is one of my usual choices, but it is getting old. Or perhaps that could mean Toyota may be giving good deals on it.

True, it is getting old and is seen all around but for some guys like me, i don't care as long as it's a really good deal on the price and a good car overall. Given how good and reliable the Ondoy edition Vios of my in-laws was, i'd still not hesitate to get one if it's a car to be used for the daily grind.

[roycruz]

Thanks!

Will check out the accent 1.6 since our only concern then was the engine knock. Is it true that hyundai requires an every 3 month maintenance? Might also consider the elantra if we can get additional funds.

Considering that the sonic is 6 speed then disabling overdrive, if it has one, will still give it 5 speeds to play with? Not sure if my wife is willing to go manual mode for overtaking. We never found the need to use it on our 1.3 city.

The 1.5 city is definitely in our list unless we find something better. Mitsubishi's site does not offer much info on the almera. No offense to vios owners but we're not rich so we expect to have a car with modern looks for our hard earned money :-)

Edit: just checked the accent 1.6 and I like the specs + price is the same as the sonic. Will definitely check this out. How's the fc btw?

[Egan101]

The current City has quite a big trunk! We can fit in 4 golf bags in the trunk plus other stuff. The 1.5E model can do 10 Km/L on city driving, 12-13 Km/L on combined city-highway routes, and 15-17 Km/L on the highway. Though given a choice, I would be looking towards a compact sedan with good enough FC and bigger interior space (Elantra, Lancer EX, Civic, Altis, Focus).

[Richardson Chan]

Headroom, Legroom, Boot space. Rear Aircon. Panalo ang Nissan Almera. That's all I could say though since I wasn't able to test drive it.

[Rockyds]

Na-check mo na ba ang Lancer EX 1.6 GLX? 825k lang ang base unit M/T.

[dct]

Na-check mo na ba ang Lancer EX 1.6 GLX? 825k lang ang base unit M/T.

and 855k for AT. i suggest you go with 1.5 engine subcompact like vios or city or even accent 1.6. but you are already at lancer's price which is a compact sedan. so might as well consider it

[vinj]

and 855k for AT. i suggest you go with 1.5 engine subcompact like vios or city or even accent 1.6. but you are already at lancer's price which is a compact sedan. so might as well consider it

Talo ang Lancer sa trunk space though. When i'm in Bacolod we use a current gen 2.0 EX and we have a hard time fitting in our weekend travel baggage for 5 people (3 adults + 2 kids).

Also, when you go over 850K, you're also looking pretty close at the Altis 1.6G a/t as well, if Toyota is offering discounts. Before we know it... nasa 1M range na yung tinitignan ni TS.

[roycruz]

Haha pansin ko nga pataas ng pataas ang budget though yung 828k mukhang kaya so puedeng accent 1.6. Di ko pa makita fc pero sabi sa site may eco mode?

Yung sonic at city similar trunk space have to check the accent still. Both have 60/40 split rear seat.

Medyo mahal na ang lancer na automatic di kaya sa budget.

Comment ko lang sa 1.5 city for the price ang daming features ng iba na wala sya. Imo di rin mataas ang resale coz after 5 years kalahati na presyo.

I'm curious on the almera though. Meron na sa showrooms?

[Mguy]

Di kasama Jazz? Laki cargo space nun plus matipid.

However, kung constantly carrying 3 or more passengers kayo, better get a sedan.

[GTi]

. Mitsubishi's site does not offer much info on the almera.

Bro, you will never find any info about the Almera in Mitsubishi's site. Nissan kasi yun.

Just take note though that the Almera seems to be rather lacking in power. Kahit sabihin nating on paper lang yun, 98hp is definitely not a big number especially for a 1.5L engine. And they say it's an all new engine.

[dct]

maganda rin iconsider ang avanza 1.5 828k rin ang M/T. sobra pa siguro sa cargo space na hinahanap mo. hehe. may additional 2 seats pa kung biglang kinailangan

[roycruz]

Bro, you will never find any info about the Almera in Mitsubishi's site. Nissan kasi yun.

Just take note though that the Almera seems to be rather lacking in power. Kahit sabihin nating on paper lang yun, 98hp is definitely not a big number especially for a 1.5L engine. And they say it's an all new engine.

I mean nissan haha but you're right 98hp is too low mas mataas pa sonic at 99. Checked nissan last night press release lang andun kaya di ko pa na consider.

Sorry no auv for me :-)

[jut703]

Just take note though that the Almera seems to be rather lacking in power. Kahit sabihin nating on paper lang yun, 98hp is definitely not a big number especially for a 1.5L engine. And they say it's an all new engine.

Can't really tell 'til a test drive is in order. The Vios 1.3 only has 85 hp but I never found it to be underpowered, unlike the Rio which never felt like it had 107. The Innova only has 102 HP but it feels more like 130. Same thing with the old Tucson CRDi which only has 112. I admit I've dismissed some cars before due to their underwhelming paper specs, but actually driving them has the potential to change opinions.

That said, the Almera just looks so ugly from the side, and mimics a whale from the rear, it's really hard to take it seriously, even if it did drive well.

[GTi]

Can't really tell 'til a test drive is in order. The Vios 1.3 only has 85 hp but I never found it to be underpowered, unlike the Rio which never felt like it had 107. The Innova only has 102 HP but it feels more like 130. Same thing with the old Tucson CRDi which only has 112. I admit I've dismissed some cars before due to their underwhelming paper specs, but actually driving them has the potential to change opinions.

That said, the Almera just looks so ugly from the side, and mimics a whale from the rear, it's really hard to take it seriously, even if it did drive well.

Very true. But then that sort of output seems to be expected from a subcompact of the 90s.

I never thought of the Almera's arse to look like a whale... until now. The sides look very slab-sided. Its brother the Bluebird Sylphy employs the same design concept and yet pulls it off much much better.

[jut703]

Very true. But then that sort of output seems to be expected from a subcompact of the 90s.

I never thought of the Almera's arse to look like a whale... until now. The sides look very slab-sided. Its brother the Bluebird Sylphy employs the same design concept and yet pulls it off much much better.

I think it's because designers emphasized on maximizing rear space, which is why the Almera's rear proportions look elongated compared to the rest of the car.

[Starex_Gold]

Nakita ko na pics ng Almera, kailan ba magtitino ang designers ng Nissan?

Patrol Royale na pinaka huling nagustuhan ko sa "modern" designs nila.

Sayang lang wala daw ilalabas na Accent Diesel sedan. Puro hatch lang pero panalo sana yan.