Best Daily Driver for $25k (All in)?

"Long Live the Longdoor" (victoryred08) 07/16/2015 at 19:32 • Filed to: Daily Driver Search

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So in my ongoing research of what to replace my aging Cobalt with as my daily driver, I’ve compiled a short list of what fits my budget. What do you think of my list? Does or has anyone own(ed) one of these? What else would you suggest?

Note: I’m operating under the fact that these prices are $25k Canadian Dollars all in (meaning taxes, fees, destination [if new]). I’ve also included my notes, feel free to get internet crazy all over them.

2014 + Fiesta ST - ~ $25,000 (all-in)
Transmission: Manual

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

2013 + Civic Si - $23,000+ (all-in)
Transmission: Manual

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

2012 + Acura TSX - $23,000+ (all-in)
Transmission: Manual (7s) or auto (8.1s) - Try for an A-Spec blue

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

2013 + Fiat 500 Abarth - $21,000+ (all-in)
Transmission: Manual

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

bob and john > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 19:36

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it depends on what you want...

id just flat out rule out the civic. its a civic. they have lost their luster.

the abarrth and fiesta are fun cars with a little bit of practicality. the Acura is a practical car with a little bit of fun added. Its a much more mature ride then the other two, and you will find it easier to justify/maintain/upkeep compared to the other two (i think)

Personally, id do the acura. Mainly because I have the motorcycle as my ‘fun’ machine.

CaptDale - is secretly British > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 19:41

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GTO, FRS, or other fun things.

ly2v8-Brian > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 19:44

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Golf?

RallyWrench > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 19:46

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This list implies that Miata Isn’t Always The Answer. Are you sure you’re ready to stake that claim? I mean, I’ll back you up, but you go first.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 19:47

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TSX or bust

Tohru > RallyWrench 07/16/2015 at 19:47

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Miata isn’t always the answer. Sometimes you need a wagon.

Brian, The Life of > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 19:50

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Does Ford have a reliability issue with their turbos? This is news to me.

Long Live the Longdoor > bob and john 07/16/2015 at 19:53

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Ya, evidently I’m having a really hard time making up my mind. I hope to own a third car for fun one day, but I’ve come to grips with the fact that is several years down the road.

I like the Acura quite a bit, I think it’d be good fun and comfortable. Not quite as fun as the Abarth or the Fiesta, but it’s no Camry.

Funktheduck > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 19:54

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Mazda3

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 19:56

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New option for you:

Get yourself a Nice used car for 5,000... Put 10,000 into it and then star a charity for saving baby turtles with the remaining 10k.

RallyWrench > Tohru 07/16/2015 at 20:03

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Or a minivan, as I just got.

Under_Score > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 20:04

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New Corolla or Civic?

Levitas > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 20:14

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I actually just bought a Fiesta ST 4 weeks ago. Bright orange, fully optioned. Absolute blast to drive. I was cross shopping the FiST with a new Mini Cooper S. In total honestly, the FiST wins hands down in driveability and fun-ness. The steering on the Cooper was numb and lackluster, the acceleration was okay, the gearbox had little feel, the seating position was very odd (very high and tilting the driver forward, even in the lowest and most tilted back setting) and the clutch had a very long throw with little feel. Even the brakes had way too much initial bite, and with how much those brakes worked, you were asking to get rear ended.

Back to the FiST: the gearbox is great, the clutch is fantastic. Acceleration feels incredible, and the very aggressive bolsters on the seat are actually incredibly comfortable. I DD it and commute ~30 miles a day each way to Dearborn down Southfield. Even on a 300 mile trip with no stops, there’s no pain or aches. (I’m also about 6’1” and right around 200lbs. I thought the bolsters would be rough, but I was wrong.)

The brakes have good initial bite and a progressive feel, and under full stop they really bring the FiST to a halt. The first time I really stepped on the brakes from 70, my eyes almost hurt.

Oh, and with aggressive commuting I have been averaging 34mpg with midgrade.

And finally, if Kinja doesn’t kinja, there should be a picture.

TheBaron2112 > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 20:24

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In this list, the FiST is the only right answer. I don’t see how the others can even begin to compare.

I know nothing about Ford’s turbos being unreliable.

jariten1781 > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 20:46

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All those cars are fine...go drive em all and pick one.

I mean I personally like the FiST and GTI in this range (own a 2014 FiST and 2010 GTI), but you really can’t go wrong with any of them.

Long Live the Longdoor > TheBaron2112 07/16/2015 at 21:15

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So I hear, I had a bad experience with the 1.4L Turbo in my Cruze (which obviously doesn’t remotely extend to Ford’s turbos); but I’m having a hard time coming to terms with the long term reliability of any turbo car.

Long Live the Longdoor > mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ 07/16/2015 at 21:17

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Perfect, I just got a weird sense of deja vu when I read this... maybe I’m supposed to save baby turtles?

Long Live the Longdoor > Brian, The Life of 07/16/2015 at 21:20

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I mentioned in another post just a moment ago that I had a bad experience with the 1.4L Turbo in my Cruze (which obviously doesn’t remotely extend to Ford’s turbos); but I’m having a hard time coming to terms with the long term reliability of any turbo car. Misplaced doubt, I’m sure; I should just get over it and buy the FiST!

Long Live the Longdoor > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras 07/16/2015 at 21:21

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I dig the TSX, I wish it came in Red in Canada in the second gen. Plus it has decent aftermarket support.

Long Live the Longdoor > Funktheduck 07/16/2015 at 21:23

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Good call, now off to autotrader to see how much Mazda3 $22k buys!

Long Live the Longdoor > ly2v8-Brian 07/16/2015 at 21:25

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Not a bad idea, I’ve sat in the Golf at the autoshow for quite a few years and the interior is really top notch.

Funktheduck > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 21:30

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I got my 2015 touring, 6 MT for $20k

Long Live the Longdoor > Levitas 07/16/2015 at 21:43

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Awesome! I love hearing from owners of the cars I want to buy lol.

I’m 6’0 and hover around 200lbs as well so it’s good to hear that the seats aren’t too trying. With where you sit, do you find the B pillar gets in the way much when you check your blind spot while merging? One of the gripes I had with my Cruze, when I had it, was the giant B pillar that sat beside my head which forced me to lean all the way forward to check my blind spot (not a big deal but quite annoying).

I sat in the FiST at the auto show this year and loved the shifter, you gesture it downward from first and it pretty much falls right into second with a nice thunk! A pretty solid choice and it’s definitely near the top of my list.

TheBaron2112 > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 21:44

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Define long term. How long do you think you’ll own it?

Long Live the Longdoor > Funktheduck 07/16/2015 at 21:45

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Hmm, cool! How’s the 2.0 engine in terms of power? Does the digital tach work ok?

Long Live the Longdoor > TheBaron2112 07/16/2015 at 22:11

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7-10 years.

mXxxxXm24 /O/ /O/ > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 22:15

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It is your destiny!

Funktheduck > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 22:19

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It’s more than adequate but not gonna compare to the FiST with its lower weight, size, and more power. Test drive one is my best suggestion. It gets awesome gas mileage though. When I commute I set the speedo to 65 mph and average 42-44 (got 45 on my way home tonight) mpg. My record is 53 mpg.

The tach works fine. I wish it were bigger but honestly, once you drive it a couple weeks you don’t even look at it. I know what gear/speeds I need to be in. If I had my choice I’d have the tach where the speedo is and a digital speedo where the tach is. It’s not needed but it adds a sporty touch that way.

TheBaron2112 > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 22:31

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You’ll be fine.

Levitas > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 23:14

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I’ll check when I get in tomorrow, but it doesn’t bother me that I know of. I think where my seat is I actually look out behind the B pillar. It really does have pretty good visibility for some of the crazy exterior accents. I noticed when I went from a Mini Cooper to the FiST, I sit more upright and let the seat kind of cradle me.

And yeah, I really like the feel of the shifter. Hopping onto an on/off ramp and popping it down to third and flooring it is so addictive. It can also be a little troublesome, it has no problem clearing 90 to 100mph on an interstate.

ly2v8-Brian > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 23:16

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I like that it still has the old school hatchback roof line, so you can actually see out the back. Also it feels rather spacious.

smobgirl > Long Live the Longdoor 07/16/2015 at 23:23

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I have a 2012 Abarth and love it. LOVE it. I had narrowed down my list to a Mini Cooper, a slow Impreza, or the Abarth, which is about the most impractical one of the lot but once I drove it I didn’t care. Ford was out for me because of the effing infotainment system, but that’s a personal preference.

I live in CO and had no problems driving in winter even without snow tires, though the low clearance can be sketchy when snow chunks turn out to be ice. I haven’t had a single issue with the car (knock on wood) although routine maintenance can be more of a pain. I actually had a local shop tell me they weren’t sure if they could do an oil change until they called one of the techs in to verify. Also when the car got hit by a snow plow the repair took about 6 weeks because Fiat is slow to ship parts or they were backordered or something.

Anyway, I drive random rental cars once a week or so and I haven’t found anything else I could have afforded that I’d rather have, even with the problems of fitting the bike or camping gear in the car or questionable driving to trails and ski areas.

Good luck with your decision!

samssun > Long Live the Longdoor 07/17/2015 at 00:00

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2010 S4? 2012 STI?

46and2aheadofme > Long Live the Longdoor 07/17/2015 at 00:55

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E60 M5 and yes I’m biased and am ignoring all your preferences. I just heart the crap out of mine and want you all to experience these feels.

Long Live the Longdoor > smobgirl 07/17/2015 at 07:46

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Thanks a lot for the info! I loved the Abarth ever since I first saw it on top gear, before it ever came to Norh America. Then I heard that exhaust note and it became even more drool worthy! How is the seat comfort on longer drives and what’s the visibility like?

Long Live the Longdoor > samssun 07/17/2015 at 08:20

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At least to the Audi lol. It would make an awesome daily driver, but the maintenance costs make it a much more expensive vehicle. The STI isn’t a bad option but its kinda thirsty for my liking and I imagine the suspension might be kinda rough in my commute.

smobgirl > Long Live the Longdoor 07/17/2015 at 09:33

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I have a bad back and find the seat just fine but it’s probably less adjustable than many on the market now. Had the misfortune of a 14 hour drive in a base model Fiat and I find the Abarth to be much more comfortable. It’s supportive and maybe a little stiff but no oddly placed seams to cause pressure points. As a comparison, I found my ex’s Infiniti was agonizing after about 15 minutes, even in the driver’s seat (with the lumbar support option). But, as a caveat, you and I are built much differently so my opinion here might not matter much.

Visibility - there is a GIANT blind spot from the driver’s side B pillar. The car has a blind spot mirror on that side and now that I’m used to using it I don’t really notice but it was a big adjustment at first. I still occasionally turn to look over that shoulder out of habit but it doesn’t do much (once you know where to look, you can see a little through the back window). Passenger side isn’t bad. Rear isn’t great with the rear view mirror (car roof in the way) but the side mirrors compensate fine. I’m sort of picky about this because I have terrible depth perception but in reality, the car is small enough that it’s nearly impossible for an entire vehicle to be obscured.

Tohru > RallyWrench 07/17/2015 at 09:41

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Let’s not be irrational now

Long Live the Longdoor > smobgirl 07/17/2015 at 12:13

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Cool, thanks for the info! I’m definately going to test drive one and feel out the visibility for myself. I’ve sat in it and found the initial seat comfort to be good.

Two other questions: how tall are you and do you have the sunroof? I’m 6’0 and I’m not sure I’ll fit with the sunroof (I love sunroofs).

Wait, three questions: how’s the turbo lag? When I had the 1.4L turbo in my Cruze it was pretty abismal, albeit it has less power, more weight and an auto gearbox lol.

Two Drink Minimum > Long Live the Longdoor 07/17/2015 at 13:59

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I also drive an Abarth (‘13 with premium tires, leather interior, etc). I’m in Vermont, so I drive in winters. I’ll echo smobgirl’s point about clearance. The car is too low for unplowed roads and it will end up hitting the chunks of ice/gunk that shed off people’s wheel wells. I’m actually considering installing a metal skid plate in place of the plastic one, specifically to manage those impacts. That said, my plastic skid plate suffered no visible damage last winter (and it was a hard winter, at that).

As for driving in winter, I can’t imagine driving this car without snow tires. Overall I think it did well enough, though the crazy weight distribution (64/36) invites the rear end to slide around—nothing a bag of sand won’t fix. Just stay out of Sport mode, and everything is pretty easy.

As for headroom. I do not have the sunroof specifically because of heardroom concerns (that, and I fear leaky runroofs). Headroom is great with the standard top (I’m 6’ tall), but the sunroof will cut 2-3 inches off the top of the cabin. You better drive a sunroof Abarth first if you intend to get one.

Turbo lag in the Abarth isn’t bad. The 1.4 MultiAir is a great engine and the wee turbo gets to work promptly. That said, the Abarth kind of disappointed me in several ways. I expected it to be a taut, demanding, track-aspiring little beast. But three aspects of the Abarth are surprisingly “soft”, for lack of a better word. They are:

Throttle: The calibration of the throttle requires too much pedal travel to get to the fun part of the curve. You get used to it, but I was surprised by this. I expected a much tighter range. Some folks install pedal mods (GoPedal, SprintBooster, etc) to fix this.

Shifter: Long throws and kinda sloppy. I assume this is a result of Fiat trying to make its manual-only (at the time) Abarth accessible to the shift-challenged American public. A cheap short shift kit from Neu-F ($140) fixed that very nicely. It was my first mod and remains about my favorite.

Suspension: The Abarth tracks well in turns, but it sets up with some disturbing initial body roll. Updating springs can certainly help. I haven’t done this as I can’t give away any clearance for my winter driving. I did install a beefier 28mm rear torsion bar ($160), which helped a lot.

smobgirl > Long Live the Longdoor 07/17/2015 at 18:03

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He’s got you covered. I’m 5’7” and no sunroof so no help there.

I don’t find the turbo lag to be bad at all, especially in sport mode. Granted, my only turbo comparisons have been an ‘81 280 ZX (hello, lag) and a Chevy sonic turbo (this thing has a turbo?).

Similarly, snow driving was fantastic...when compared to a 99 Civic automatic with cheap tires (my next door neighbor has it now and I cringe every time I see them drive it in the winter). Stay out of sport mode is right! Also stay away from unplowed roundabouts. But it was fine for me for local drives, even living in a neighborhood where they don’t ever plow. I might invest in snow tires next year but I might just buy a cheap AWD beater for ski trips or the occasional blizzard.

Long Live the Longdoor > smobgirl 07/17/2015 at 20:32

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Right on good to know. I’d plan to invest in some snow tires if I were buying one. Thankfully my wife has a Subaru Forester if I need to do anything crazy in the winter besides my commute (or if I get stuck anywhere lol).

Long Live the Longdoor > Two Drink Minimum 07/17/2015 at 20:35

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Awesome, well that just about answers all my questions lol. Have you had any issues with it?

I like myself a sunroof, but I’d honestly consider not getting it to allow me to fit in the car (versus another car that I don’t like quite as much). I’ve sat in one without the sunroof before and I fit fine.

I really just love the car, I can’t even explain why; though I don’t think my wife much cares for it (she’ll come around) but I’ll be the one driving it 95% of the time.

Two Drink Minimum > Long Live the Longdoor 07/18/2015 at 08:44

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Like you, I love the Abarth. I look forward to every grocery store trip. But reliability with a Fiat will always, always be a concern.

I had a persistent, low-to-moderate oil loss condition that ended up in a warranty engine replacement. The studio was great. I was losing about a quart or so every 1K miles, so after a couple consumption tests and then compression and leak testing, they opted to replace. The new motor has been in for 4K miles so far and has been great. I’ve not heard of other drivers having this specific issue (low compression in two cylinders), so I’m chalking it up to bad luck. But I’m also chalking it up to Fiat.

If you do winter drive the Fiat and end up with the 17-inch wheels, consider buying a set of 16-inch winter wheels and tires. The swap out is dead simple, and the smaller wheel lets you go with less expensive tires that present more sidewall—good for rough winter roads.

Levitas > Long Live the Longdoor 07/18/2015 at 16:33

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So I’ve done a fair bit of driving the last 2 days, and yeah the B pillar doesn’t bother me. Where my seat is, which is pretty far forward, I look behind the B pillar when checking my blind spot. Let me know if you have other questions about the FiST