You know, it's not all that different from last year. And we don't want to sound like a broken record here, but much of what we like was mentioned already: Civic and the new small dealies. Oh, we hear you complaining already. You are thinking, "No domestics?" Not a single domestic? We didn't say that, lugnut! But we aren't not getting into the domestic vs. foreign since we aren't sure what that even means anymore.
Here's what we liked:
Honda Civic: $16,500
We can't sing the Civic's praises long and loud enough. A bigger, stronger engine that emits fewer pollutants and gets better gas mileage. A fun interior that feels far from an economy car. And a design that... a design that... well, it's not snoozy like the previous model! To be fair, the Civic isn't the automotive bargain it once was, but it's still a very good deal (for what you get). Available in several different trims: DX, LX and EX, you can also get the Civic as a coupe or sedan and as a killer hybrid. When you look in the dictionary under refinement, you'll see a picture of this car. If you look in the dictionary to find an example of how Detroit ignored and continues to ignore refining its products, you'll see a picture of this car. This car is, to us, an example of why and how Detroit got itself into the mess it's in.
Nissan Versa: TBD (but it's safe to assume around the same price)
Honda Fit: $14,500
Toyota Yaris: $12,500
We've lumped these cars together because they are all bargains. The price tags all come in lower than the competitors once they are all equipped the same way (OK, we're lying—we didn't compare to the Hyundai Accent... which we should have if we were at all responsible, but we're pretty sure you are here for responsibleness-action, just the links). Anyway, the affordability of these cars ($12k - $18k), their generously-sized interiors (all the seats do cool things like move out of the way) and their wonderful fuel efficiency (we're talkin' 30mpg in the city and near 40 on the highway) make these cars bargains from purchase to daily use. We're really hoping Detroit pays attention to these vehicles. *These prices don't take into account similar features (i.e. what Honda includes in the prices of the Fit costs additional on the Yaris).
Saturn Sky: $23,000
We're so smitten, we want to buy sweet Jill some flowers. The Sky already seems more refined than than the Pontiac Solstice and they are both in their first model year so we'll be curious to see how these cars will mature and evolve over the next several years. To be honest, we've already written Saturn off and they are going to have to really hit some hom'ers in order for us to believe in the brand again. We bet other consumers feel the same way. The Sky has a sexy shape, a tight (yet comfortable) interior and a price we can very easily deal with. Does it beat last year's roadster winner, the Miata? Head-to-head, probably not. But we like it all the same because it's new. And it has a hell of a great shape. More, more, more! P.S. Screw GM for claiming that all the 2006s were already accounted for--make more!
Volkswagen Passat: $24,000
Despite the Passat looking more like a Camry every day, we are attracted to it for its space, its power and its price: at least the Value Edition we've picked out—2.0L 4cyl Turbo 6A. Volkswagen is smart to have the value edition because we fall for it every time they update a model. Our two concerns with Volkswagen are price and reliability. You can, to a certain extent, control the pricing (stick with the Value Edition), but reliability is another issue. Consumer Reports often shows VW's true colors: black (black is bad in the CR world). So we're not sure what to tell you to do. We picked the Jetta Value Edition last year, but we had to warn of reliability problems there, too. What is it with VW?
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