Since you all have obviously good taste in cars, if it was
you own money and every penny counted in the family
budget, what car would you get for a highschool girl?

Safety is number one, quality, cost, cool/cute in that
order of priority.

Thanks in advance.

 

first thing that always comes to mind is a civic, second thing that would come to mind would be a used civic They are pretty popular so if that doesnt bother her (if she gets an opinion) it would be a great car. possible also a used camry or accord. if you are looking for an suv then cr-v or rav4. you really cant go wrong with toyota or honda.

 

Agreed, Honda Civic is the best way to go if you are looking used. if you are looking new the least expensive is Nissan sentra. It is a good little car. I bought one for my sis-in-law for college. monthly pmt is $198 with $500 down.

 

I suppose it also depends on how rough you expect her to drive the car.

My sister's idea of a car is something she just drives, with no thought to overall maintenance. Basically, if the light turns on, she'll take it in. She barely knows how to check tire pressure.

If she's like that, a Toyota or Honda should probably top your list.

On the other hand, if she's like some of the people on this board, who'd notice a 0.01 mpg drop in their car, then most Japanese brands would work just fine.

 

Yes Civic is the obvious choice so far.
Honda will beat any in lease rate from the high residual.
I was also thinking about height. The serious injuries and deaths are occuring from SUV's going over top of small cars.

What about Areo and Scion, they are 60 in high I believe.
There probably won't be any crash data on Scion this year.
Height also brings in the choice of CRX which is basically
a civic.

Safety requires good airs bags, side air bags, and antilock.
Anitlock usually takes the top of the line model and more
money.

 

my folks forced us to drive something that had 4WD when we were in high school, due to the amount of snow and ice that was par for the course where we grew up. but then, gas was a lot cheaper back then!

i would think that with respect to safety, you can't beat the recommendations everyone else has given. is she planning on driving it around a lot? carting friends around, sports equipment (i had problems fitting everyone's megaphones in the back), etc.? i would stay away from an Element (she will never forgive you), but the CR-V is cool/cute.

 

Volkswagen... golf or jetta or beetle. they are safe cars...quality is way better than a corolla or civic (heck the materials in them are better than prev gen TL's)..used they are cheaper than a civic and definitely have way more style/coolness factor than a civic. you didnt mention reliability though... you need to really do your homework to see which year VW's are okay in reliability.

 

The base saturn Ion is not a bad deal either..

 

You didn't say new or used but on the new side the Mazda3 would be high on my list. Much better driving dynamics than the Honda/Nissan/Toyota offerings. Remember, active safety is far and away more important than passive safety features! The price better than the Civic and is a well sorted car al the way around, the reliability will probably be very high, just short of Toyota and Honda, plus a longer warranty and roadside assistance.

It certainly has more cute/cool factor than the rest, it looks like a finished vehicle compared to the rest.

Plus, if you drive it you will understand what I mean about driving dynamics.

Vandy

 

Thanks for the replies, I will definitely look as Mazda 3
as we are selling an MPV, there could be a trade, and Mazda
has a customer loyalty discount. The MPV has never been
back to the dealer, 100% reliable

I am also seriously thinking about this, click colors, blue or
white ( which are my favorite in TSX too ) and there is
a good side angle view.

http://www.scion.com/drive/gallery/d...a_gallery.html

It has over 30 city mpg, ABS, side airbags, 60.5" tall, cute factor,
pretty cheap.

 

I think the Scion/B would be pretty hip for a high schooler. Has a lot of room, she could put down the back seats and chill with her bf... uhhh, well maybe go w/ the Civic.

 

The Toyota Prius... Very modern, excellent quality, ABS, front and side airbags, very cool (buttons and LCD screen), high MPG, and cost-wise is around $20K (for the 2004 model).

I'm actually trying to find one right now to replace the Audi A6 Avant we have. Went to the local dealer whom told me the Prius has a wait list of 220 people (circa 8-9 months). I really liked it, both my parents liked it (it's for my mom), there's even an option for a NAVI system exactly the same as the TSX (by Alpine)... if only I can find one! :'(

 

I say the Honda Civic and Toyota's Corrola/Matrix are best overall in terms of quality/reliablity/low maintenance costs/etc. But I would probably pay a bit more and go for the 160hp Mazda3 for the fun factor.

 

definitely no scion. how about lancer ralliart? impreza 2.5 RS? (awd)

check out leasetrader.com or swapalease.com for cheap leases to take over. you might find something nice for real cheap.

 

Actually, the Mazda3 would be cheaper than the Civic since I assume he wouldn't even think of putting his daughter in a non-ABS car (I wouldn't). IIRC the Civic with ABS and side curtain will have to be a EX, with the manual will still be over 17k, the Mazda3 with ~16,500 with ABS with brake force distribution, front side and curtain airbags, AC and the power and alloy package. This doesn't even take into account incentives and discounts in the final transaction cost. This is the 4 with 148hp 28/35 mpg compared to the Civic 127hp 32/38 mpg. The standard Matrix is a real pig and can't get off the RR tracks in time for me, again active safety. The Corolla CE is probably the transaction cost leader but kinda stripped compared to the others, for around 14k you get side airbags and ABS, 130hp 32/40 mpg.

In my opinion you get the most car for the money with the Mazda, but as a result of it's newness reliability and safety tests are still in the wind. In driving them I can say the 3 has a better chance of avoiding an accident (handling and brakes) and has better "on paper" passive safety as well given the side curtains. You could also probably get it (with incentives and discount) for 17k with the Zenons and TMPS both of which increase the safety margin. After having shopped all these cars recently, even given the lack of crash testing info (at the time they may be done now) there is no question in my mind I give the 3 higher marks in overall safety than the other contenders (when active and passive safety is considered).

Vandy

 

my opinion of the scion .. gay

 

I drove a Civic hatchback w/o ABS ('97 DX model) for 6 months. I must say the lack of ABS almost spelled doom one time. I wanted to merge onto the left lane on the freeway to avoid a truck, the car next to me accelerated and I had to slam on the brakes... all four tires locked and the Civic rotated about 5-10 degrees (enough to scare me). I was doing about 75 mph and slowed down enough to avoid the truck. It really shocked me, though and I had to stop to regain my thoughts.

Hence, I agree. ABS is a must! It saved me a few times when I drove a 4Runner.

 

Seriously? This is what we got.



4000 pounds of the finest 'merican craftsmanship ... statistically very, very safe, and you couldn't beat the price. It was free!

 

or you can gave her your tsx

 

I like the Scions..for the money they are excellent buy...lots of safety features, eg ABS,EBD,Traction Control, Vehicle Skid Control, airbags all around.

this is a clean Scion Xa with only rims.

 

I don't know where you are located, but here in Toronto, the Mz3 is selling well and the dealers aren't moving on MSRP, whereas there are huge discounts on Civics and Corollas because of the competition. Factor in depreciation, and Mazda isn't necessarily cheaper than H or T.

 

Is Mazda a good brand? Like H or T?

I'm thinking in getting a 3 S, with NAVI. Not sure about reliability, though.