Help me with car choices, please

[bloodshoteyed]

isn't the US about the only market that hasn't got the Corolla TS?

i got the smaller engine (1.8) hybrid and couldn't be happier with it

 

[Multicore]

isn't the US about the only market that hasn't got the Corolla TS?

i got the smaller engine (1.8) hybrid and couldn't be happier with it

Idk. I can't remember seeing something like that.

I'd want something with more air in the tires than that to get across the craterscape of Boston roads.

 

[pseudoid]

Idk. I can't remember seeing something like that.
I'd want something with more air in the tires than that to get across the craterscape of Boston roads.

Have you considered your "options" in the USED car market... hopefully, in the 2021/2022 used models?
You won't have that "sticker shock" issue; burning holes in your wallet and/or bank account...

I recall in the '70s/'80s, there was a certain character-type which seemed to match car-to-owner profile with Volvos... (they considered Volvos the safest thing ever).
Yet, I used to crack up everytime I saw a few year old Volvo on the roads that had their headlight' shrouds all yellowed out (UV damage) and drove at night, practically w/headlights dimmer than a flashlight with dying batteries...

 

[Multicore]

Have you considered your "options" in the USED car market... hopefully, in the 2021/2022 used models?
You won't have that "sticker shock" issue; burning holes in your wallet and/or bank account...

Sure. When it comes to it we'll just be shopping for what's available either new or used. Since there is so little inventory either new or used, limiting our choices to one or the other doesn't make sense.

 

[LTig]

Have a look to the Honda Fit (Jazz). Although its external size is small it offers more space inside than a BMW 3-series. I drove a new 2002 generation for 18 years (220,000 km but with a broken piston ring at 70,000 km) and now a used mild hybrid 2015 generation since 2 years. I actually like the automatic gear system as it's very comfortable. Overall milage was 6.0 l/100 km year round for the 2002 model and the 2015 model uses ~0.5 l less. The best milage I reached with both was about 4.2 l/100 km on long distance in Norway with 80 km/h speed limit.

The new model has a different drive train with a much stronger electric motor (and battery) but I have no experience with it.

 

[pseudoid]

Idk. I can't remember seeing something like that.
I'd want something with more air in the tires than that to get across the craterscape of Boston roads.

I guess the 2023 Toyota Corolla Hatchback would be a hard sell to your discriminating requirements.

2.0Liter VVT-I w/170HP FWD/CVT/Hatch
I spent your money and opted for the $450 red...I even added the Rear Bumper Protector and is still came to:
<$30k for the XSE (30/38mpg), and
<$25k for the SE model (32/41mpg)
I am not sure if dogs are optional equipment that are pre-installed at the factory!

 

[Multicore]

I guess the 2023 Toyota Corolla Hatchback would be a hard sell to your discriminating requirements.
View attachment 251407

2.0Liter VVT-I w/170HP FWD/CVT/Hatch
I spent your money and opted for the $450 red...I even added the Rear Bumper Protector and is still came to:
<$30k for the XSE (30/38mpg), and
<$25k for the SE model (32/41mpg)
I am not sure if dogs are optional equipment that are pre-installed at the factory!

It's what I call a "hot hatch", a kind of souped-up small family car with sports-car accoutrements. They work well on smooth roads. I want more ground clearance, suspension travel, and air in the tires.

It's like a factory version of the mods some people make to their car: cut the springs, big rims, add-on diffusers, stripes and racing sponsor logos.

 

[Multicore]

Have a look to the Honda Fit (Jazz).

It's a good design afaict. But not easy to get here and used prices were high when I looked at it some years ago.

 

[Trouble Maker]

"hot hatch",

 

[Multicore]

Probably not. Cars aren't interesting to me in themselves. I don't like being in or near then. I dislike driving them. So I imagine there's a lot about car culture I don't understand.

 

[pseudoid]

It's like a factory version of the mods some people make to their car: cut the springs, big rims, add-on diffusers, stripes and racing sponsor logos.

IMO; there are not many remaining options for you:

• BareBones
• Beater
• Custom/RestoMod
• DIY
• Uber/Lyft, or
• Left-foot-in-front-of-right-in-front-of-left---repeat

Did I miss any?
I would like to read your final decision (w/a photo).
Good Luck!

 

[Multicore]

IMO; there are not many remaining options for you:

• BareBones
• Beater
• Custom/RestoMod
• DIY
• Uber/Lyft, or
• Left-foot-in-front-of-right-in-front-of-left---repeat

Did I miss any?
I would like to read your final decision (w/a photo).
Good Luck!

We figured out a while back that a Prius would probably do.

 

[Inner Space]

We figured out a while back that a Prius would probably do.

Great choice. Spec 15" steel wheels and 195/65 all-terrain tires and you'll have a good urban warrior. Urban, because of the economy and modest emissions, and warrior, because so equipped it will handle anything Boston's roads can throw at you.

 

[Sal1950]

What concerns me about a Prius is the road conditions here. Eastern Massachusetts roads are a lunar crater-scape that will only get worse in the next few years.

If that kind of suspension durability is needed, get a pickup truck.
Your a US citizen, buy a Ford or GM, never foreign.

 

[Ken1951]

If that kind of suspension durability is needed, get a pickup truck.
Your a US citizen, buy a Ford or GM, never foreign.

It's not that simple anymore. Plenty of both Ford and GM models are built outside the US, and plenty of "foreign" models are built within the US. But the sentiment is understandable.

 

[Sal1950]

It's not that simple anymore.

Ask the foreign manufacturers who they pay their corporate profit taxes to?

 

[kemmler3D]

Ask the foreign manufacturers who they pay their corporate profit taxes to?

Someone actually bothered to look into it instead of just making rhetorical question-type comments on the internet, and it turns out they do pay taxes to the US in rough proportion to their market share.

Foreign Cars Made in America: Where Does the Money Go | Edmunds

Foreign car brands offer cars that are made in America. Do the profits stay here? Do they support the U.S. economy? Here's the challenge of following the money.

www.edmunds.com

 

[pseudoid]

get a pickup truck.

How often are you going to need to move your refrigerator in a pickup truck?
At worst, you have a truck-bed flapping in the wind 90% of the time and the other owners end up adding a shell or bed cover.

Wouldn't a SUV be a better bet?
... and when you want to take your dear refrigerator out on a date, you can always rent a HomeDepot pickup for $19.95.
YMMV guaranteed...

 

[Sal1950]

Someone actually bothered to look into it instead of just making rhetorical question-type comments on the internet, and it turns out they do pay taxes to the US in rough proportion to their market share.

Foreign Cars Made in America: Where Does the Money Go | Edmunds

Foreign car brands offer cars that are made in America. Do the profits stay here? Do they support the U.S. economy? Here's the challenge of following the money.

www.edmunds.com

No matter how you play the numbers game, count the number of US auto makers in business before 1990 compared to today.
The American consumer should be ashamed of what HE did to the US market, they are completely devoid of any national pride.
I wish my father, who fought as an infantryman 4 years thru the entire Pacific Theater was hear to tell you what he thinks.

Japan 1945

Today

Detroit Today

Who won that war ???
My fellow citizens, Japan and Germany are laughing at you.

 

[Sal1950]

Wouldn't a SUV be a better bet?

SUV's are for soccer moms,
Men drive pickup trucks.