Strictly 2.0..Altis,Civic,Lancer EX,Mazda3,Focus,Subaru

**Type 100** · July 26th, 2009 05:19 PM

My dad has a CY4A Lancer 2.0GT M/T, my mom has an FD1 Civic 1.8 A/T.

The Lancer is quite powerful, that's for sure. Surprisingly its chassis doesn't seem very good, the car becoming a handful at times. There's some axle tramp under hard acceleration and front-end grip isn't so great. Rear visibility is poor because of the trunk-mounted wing. Interior comfort is fine, rather firm, but I'm also surprised at how obvious the cheap plastics can be. Not a bad car, but get better tires ASAP.

The Civic...I won't talk about the engine as my basis is just the R18A and not the K20A, but the autobox is very smooth. The Honda's chassis is surer-footed and much better planted, although the ride is just as firm as the Lancer's. However, I absolutely HATE the poor visibility. The long, wide dashboard conspires to hide everything of the car, making the FD harder to handle in tight confines and traffic than it should be. It has better interior plastics but worse seats vs. the Lancer.

Summary: Neither is flawless, you just have to pick the one that has the most number of flaws you can live with. Coming from a Jazz, visibility is paramount to me so the FD is very disappointing personally.

Resale? Don't think about it. If your mindset is to buy a car then worry about how much it will cost later on, you bought the car for all the wrong reasons. Cars are bad investments in terms of retaining value, but very good tools.

**istan** · July 26th, 2009 09:07 PM

I can get 10km/l - 11km/l in a Impreza MT, City Driving. Light foot shifting, no more than 2k RPM, Moving Traffic, ave, 15kph.
Heavy traffic, ie SLEX type. 7.6km/l

12km/l Highway -> sorry hataw e.

**ralphgo3** · July 27th, 2009 10:09 AM

so okey pa FC ng impreza,if AT kaya? if everyday car sa city okey impreza?

**jut703** · August 30th, 2009 12:43 PM

*ralph:

Sir, sister mo yung mag-ddrive diba? I don't think maaappreciate niya yung extra driving dynamics ng Impreza. Tapos feeling ko hindi siya matutuwa sa Focus if she doesn't give squat about the engine cuz that's the only thing the Focus holds on to. Yung nanay ko na-inlababo dun sa Altis eh.

If she doesn't consider good engines as reasonable justifications for 1.1M pricetags, it would make her feel like she spent your 1.1M well playing around with the Keyless Entry/Start-Stop system and the Camry-like interior looks very luxurious as long as you turn a blind eye on the faux wood.

Ok mejo biased siguro kasi we just bought an Altis 2.0V. Love your own ika nga

**niky** · August 30th, 2009 10:58 PM

Originally Posted by jut703

*ralph:

Sir, sister mo yung mag-ddrive diba? I don't think maaappreciate niya yung extra driving dynamics ng Impreza. Tapos feeling ko hindi siya matutuwa sa Focus if she doesn't give squat about the engine cuz that's the only thing the Focus holds on to. Yung nanay ko na-inlababo dun sa Altis eh.

If she doesn't consider good engines as reasonable justifications for 1.1M pricetags, it would make her feel like she spent your 1.1M well playing around with the Keyless Entry/Start-Stop system and the Camry-like interior looks very luxurious as long as you turn a blind eye on the faux wood.

Ok mejo biased siguro kasi we just bought an Altis 2.0V. Love your own ika nga

Just an engine?

Just an engine?

The Focus has the only dual-clutch gearbox available locally for less than 2.3 million pesos. It's got the stiffest chassis, with handling confidence easily as good as the Honda Civic and the Subaru Impreza. The shock absorbers make it absolutely rock-steady over highway bumps at over 200 km/h, without the bone-jarring ride of the Civic or Lancer. It gets great economy. It looks good.

Again... just an engine?

By the way... just finished our drive of the Corolla 2.0. While I agree that the toys are great... and the new 16" rims and bigger tires give it better handling than the 1.6... the suspension is still terrible compared to the class leaders. During one photo shoot, we got the car fishtailing out of a corner... in first gear. I've never driven a compact as soft and twitchy as this since we sold our Exalta a few years ago.

And the fuel economy is pretty poor. About as bad as the Impreza 2.0R AT.

A good in-city car... but the twitchy steering, weak brakes and soft rear suspension mean that it's not as predictable in emergency situations as the Civic or the Focus... thus not easy to recommend for anyone who does a lot of long-distance provincial driving.

For city driving... superb. Smooth ride (though the 1.6 rides better), nice toys, etcetera... though I wish they'd upgraded the plastics from the 1.6 more... the Corolla's interior still feels a bit low-rent compared to the Civic.

**jut703** · August 30th, 2009 11:49 PM

Originally Posted by niky

Just an engine?

Just an engine?

The Focus has the only dual-clutch gearbox available locally for less than 2.3 million pesos. It's got the stiffest chassis, with handling confidence easily as good as the Honda Civic and the Subaru Impreza. The shock absorbers make it absolutely rock-steady over highway bumps at over 200 km/h, without the bone-jarring ride of the Civic or Lancer. It gets great economy. It looks good.

Again... just an engine?

By the way... just finished our drive of the Corolla 2.0. While I agree that the toys are great... and the new 16" rims and bigger tires give it better handling than the 1.6... the suspension is still terrible compared to the class leaders. During one photo shoot, we got the car fishtailing out of a corner... in first gear. I've never driven a compact as soft and twitchy as this since we sold our Exalta a few years ago.

And the fuel economy is pretty poor. About as bad as the Impreza 2.0R AT.

A good in-city car... but the twitchy steering, weak brakes and soft rear suspension mean that it's not as predictable in emergency situations as the Civic or the Focus... thus not easy to recommend for anyone who does a lot of long-distance provincial driving.

For city driving... superb. Smooth ride (though the 1.6 rides better), nice toys, etcetera... though I wish they'd upgraded the plastics from the 1.6 more... the Corolla's interior still feels a bit low-rent compared to the Civic.

Nako sir. Don't be too wild in jumping on my reply. Meron lang talagang mga tao (mostly women) na hindi ganun kaparticular sa engine nung dinadrive nila. Meron pa nga jan hindi bibili ng Focus kasi may notion sila na yung diesel niya parang diesel ng 90s era eh. I mean, nung purchase time namin ng kotse, hindi enough yung DSG,TDCi at magandang handling ng Focus to sway my mom against the Altis. Sabi nga niya, "Hindi naman ako mangangarera, aanhin ko yan"

And if you look at the Altis as a whole package, it's actually pretty good. Siyempre performance-wise talo siya considering this is a performance-oriented segment.

Though I really have to agree with you, the suspension is too soft for serious cornering, but for the normal city routine it's okay, takes a little getting used to cuz it's pretty floaty compared to our old AE101.

I guess we shouldn't be arguing about the looks of the Altis/Focus/whatever cuz that's pretty much subjective. Personally I like sporty exteriors (aka the Lancer GT or the Mz3 2.0R) but the Camry-mini style of the Altis isn't half bad. Interior looks really nice if beige is okay and you totally ignore the faux wood. Again, this is a subjective thing.

About the unreliability of the car when it comes to long distance driving, well I just got home from Tagaytay and it fared pretty well up and down the two-lane highway. So maybe I haven't tried doing a Tagaytay trip with the Focus/Impreza/Mz3/Lancer/Civic, and the most recent objects of comparison I have are with an AE101, EG and 1.6V Mz3, I can say that the car does have some sort of power in it. Though you have to push it upwards of 3,500 rpm to get decent grunt, but it does overtaking 5 cars in one go pretty well once you do. Brakes are actually good and bite quite well when you need it to, cuz there was this semi-blind corner downhill awhile ago and it reduced speed without the nervousness I expected from a non-performance oriented car. From the Tagaytay trip I could say that unlike other 2-liter compact cars, this one wasn't designed to carve corners, but it does allow itself to be worked to get decent performance, though it takes a little effort. :D

Bout the mileage, it averaged around 10 km/l for the run, with a lot of redline shifts and traffic along SLEX. Not bad considering they say that FC improves until you reach 5T km. So i expect that it could yield about 11 km/l with the same driving style after a few months. :D

**niky** · August 31st, 2009 11:16 AM

The engine is decent on the highway... I've gotten 14 km/l on a clear stretch... but it's thirsty in traffic... averaging 6-6.5 km/l.

What I meant about long distance driving and provincial driving in general is that it's not a good car for a beginner... requiring lots of steering corrections over bumps on the highway and unsteady under heavy braking.

Still... lovely car... if only Toyota would fix the suspension... It's sad... since the previous Corolla had a pretty good suspension compared to this.

**eggman** · August 31st, 2009 11:32 AM

I still think the Focus TDCI is the best!!A must buy!!

Ok sana ang Lancer but its expensive right now dahil CBU from Japan(sana may units nang galing Thailand nito)..

Di ko trip yung Corolla 2 liter V,lakas sigurado sa battery nyan lalo na yung push start-button ang ginagamit nyan,kaya patay ka pag nawalan ng battery yang keyless entry key mo,wala pa namang metal key override yan..

Ganyan ang nangyari sa Previa ng kapitbahay namin..Yung engine-transmission nya?Sadly not as good as the Civic and Lancer and even not close on the Focus in terms of performance and execution..

**Mr. Wiseman** · August 31st, 2009 03:12 PM

Originally Posted by ralphgo3

gud pm...
We are looking for a car, it will be a gift for my sister, my sister really likes the Impreza but the agent told us that the gas consumption is 8km/l so my dad got t/o. Now he likes the Altis cause he believes that it eats lesser gas. My opinion i want the Focus because of its sporty look and it's diesel. But if between Impreza and Altis, i want the Impreza cause it's more unique, hatch and 100% made in japan. My sister will use it daily in the city and once a week NLEX. Is the altis still made in japan? Is it true that Altis eats lesser gas? please comments...thanks

In this case, the Focus is the best choice because not only will you save a lot in fuel when driving in the city but you will also enjoy (guaranteed) your once a week trek in NLEX (and even save more fuel due to highway driving). Parang hindi sulit yung 2L Corolla kase kung gusto mo talaga ng pure luxury and comfort, Camry na ang kukunin mo. The Impreza is bad choice in this case because the AWD will not be utilized correctly and even cause poor city mileage and slower acceleration times. Kung Impreza, yung WRX and STi models ang dapat mong consider.

**jut703** · August 31st, 2009 09:06 PM

Originally Posted by niky

The engine is decent on the highway... I've gotten 14 km/l on a clear stretch... but it's thirsty in traffic... averaging 6-6.5 km/l.

What I meant about long distance driving and provincial driving in general is that it's not a good car for a beginner... requiring lots of steering corrections over bumps on the highway and unsteady under heavy braking.

Still... lovely car... if only Toyota would fix the suspension... It's sad... since the previous Corolla had a pretty good suspension compared to this.

Our unit is only 3 days old so and the weekend hasn't given much oppurtunity for city driving. I do hope with a little adjustment in driving style I could at least match the 8 km/l city mileage of our old AE101.

About the steering corrections, perhaps I was just lucky not to stumble upon highway bumps cuz the drive wasn't as unnerving as it would seem, but indeed the steering is very light. Good for parking, though.

The rear torsion beam has some extreme suspension travel, mejo nakakabigla yung high-speed turns when you're sitting at the back. Oh well I was ready for this as a sports sedan wasn't what we signed up for, but for consolation it really eats road imperfections quite well in city speeds.

I still think the Focus TDCI is the best!!A must buy!!

Ok sana ang Lancer but its expensive right now dahil CBU from Japan(sana may units nang galing Thailand nito)..

Di ko trip yung Corolla 2 liter V,lakas sigurado sa battery nyan lalo na yung push start-button ang ginagamit nyan,kaya patay ka pag nawalan ng battery yang keyless entry key mo,wala pa namang metal key override yan..

Ganyan ang nangyari sa Previa ng kapitbahay namin..Yung engine-transmission nya?Sadly not as good as the Civic and Lancer and even not close on the Focus in terms of performance and execution..

Maganda talaga yung Focus, lalo na kung performance-oriented ka. Sayang lang talaga ang let-down nung interior compared sa engine niya, tapos the styling isn't for everyone. Pero kung makukumbinse niyo yung sister mo na ok yung Focus for mileage and pulling power, ede ok.

Bout the push-start issue sa Altis. nakakatakot. Haha sana hindi mangyari samin. Maliit pa naman yung battery ng Altis. Yung sa transmission problema ko lang dun parang ang iksi ng 2nd gear. Nakakabitin kasi pag mga 3 cars or more yung oovertakean mo mapapa3rd gear ka lalo na kung mejo mabilis yung overtake. Pero ok lang naman pag lumagpas ka 3500 rpm malakas naman hatak.