What's the best new compact cheap fuel efficient commuter car?

Best advise rent for weekend see which is best for you Originally Posted by rexdutchman

Agreed. I need to drive these cars for longer and live with them.

Hands down, I would go with the Toyota, you can drive the crap out of it and still get good money for it when you get ready to sell it. Originally Posted by 2bored@home

You, TexTushHog, Slowmover, and Txexetoo have read my mind. Two great reasons to buy a Toyota vehicle are high resale values and legendary reliability. That's why I'm leaning towards buying a Toyota too.

Those Smart cars only get 20-some MPG. They should be called Dumb cars.

The Koreans are making some damn fine cheap cars. Car of the Year, anyone? Originally Posted by Crock

Plus they're not practical cars. I don't think they have backseats and their cargo space is pathetic. They're also horrible on the highway and don't feel safe when driven at highway speeds.

Yep, Hyundai and Kia are becoming more and more popular for providing value laden affordable cars.

Wait for the 20 corolla Originally Posted by BLM69

That's very tempting. The 2020 Corolla sedans look way better and drive much better because they have the new TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) platforms. They're actually fun to drive!

They also have Apple Carplay and more powerful engines. Plus their CVT transmissions have an actual first gear so it's not slow and sluggish to get up to speed like most CVTs.

Will cost a bit more than the 19 sedans but could be well worth it.

Toyota’s are great. I have a 13 yr old sequoia that still runs great. Check into the Mazda 3 hatchback. Great looks and fuel efficient. I have a Mazda and love it. If you decide to go this route. Check out town north Mazda in Richardson. Family owned and treats you right Originally Posted by txexetoo

Mazda 3 are gorgeous cars and are a lot of fun to drive too. I'm not so sure about their long-term reliability and resale values. Several people have told me not to buy new Mazda 3 because it's made in Mexico and therefore low quality with poor workmanship. I don't know how true that is and I don't know if it's right to be prejudiced like that. Doesn't seem right to me.

I've also heard that Town North Mazda is a great dealership. Glad to know that's true.

I wouldn't buy any Chevy anyway.

Owned 4 of them, 3 of them purchased brand new, turned out to be all junk and started falling apart after a year.

All those commercials about how Chevy has won J.D. Powers initial quality satisfaction among owners of Chevy cars in the first 90 days or 180 days or whatever # of days they are for so many years in a row is Bullshit!

Of course car owners are more likely to be satisfied with a car they just purchased brand new or a pre-owned one:

the initial satisfaction is the result of excitement that they have a different car and not because of the quality of the manufacturing of the car itself.

The question should be are they still satisfied a year down the line, 2 years? 3 years when they are still stuck with a 48 or 60 months note (yes, I know you are paying cash) and they can't get out of it without ruining their credits and the car is coming apart and/or giving them constant mechanical issues?

Plus looking at the Spark with 98 HP and the Corolla with 132-140 HP, I will take a Toyota especially in this city with just about everyone in a big Pickup truck or SUV and the will ride your tail.

Buy Japanese or Korean - preferably Japanese.

I had a Lexus I purchased brand new in 1992 and it lasted me 24 1/2 years, over 200,000 miles, and all the parts except for battery, alternator replaced once, tires, spark plugs, one full brake job during the entire time, were still original and working.

In 2006 I was told the water pump is getting ready to quit, if you don't get it replaced you are going to get stuck somewhere with the engine overheating and coolant coming out of the radiator or hoses but you still have a few months before Summer arrives.

I never did get it changed and it never broke down on me and the car never once in 24 1/2 years ever over heated on me with steam and coolant coming out from it.

Also, in 24 years it only failed State Inspection once and it was because one of the tires needed replacing.

It never once failed a State Emission test and the muffler and catalytic converter were still original parts.

It was still running when I donated it to cars for kids charity.

Plus when it comes time to trade in or sell it, you get a better resale value with a Toyota.

Also don't buy brand new, the car automatically loses 10%+ of its value when you drive out off the lost and 20-25% after the first year.

Plenty of 1-3 years old pre-owned cars in great condition for sale everywhere but do your homework and don't let a dealer take you for a higher price than blue book value. Originally Posted by CG2014

CG2014, thank you for sharing your experiences.

You said buy Japanese or Korean instead of buying a Chevy. You do know that the Chevy Spark is Korean, right?

The Chevy Spark is a rebadged Daewoo Matiz and is made at the Daewoo factory in South Korea. Daewoo is owned by GM. So even if you feel that the majority of the Chevy lineup is unreliable, realize that the Chevy Spark is a different animal. Plus when the Chief of Engineering.com, Jim Anderton, tells you that the 2016 Chevy Spark is the best car in the world, then you have to pay attention. I mean, who wouldn't, right? Watch the link to the Youtube video I posted earlier and tell me what you feel.

Not saying I'm going to buy a 2019 Chevy Spark. In fact I'm still leaning towards a Toyota but I'm keeping my options open.

Also, you say it's better to buy a lightly used 1-3 year old car rather than a new car. Well a 1-3 year old Toyota car will cost almost the same as a brand new Toyota car that's been deeply discounted with manufacturer rebates and dealership discounts. So why not buy a brand new car? You and I both know that dealerships give much beefier discounts for new cars as opposed to used cars.

You say that a new car will lose 20 to 25 percent of it's value within 1 year of ownership. Well then make sure you negotiate a 20 to 25% reduction from the MSRP sticker price on that new car. Then when you drive off with that shiny sweet smelling new car, you don't lose anything.

CG2014, I'm not trying to attack you or pick on you. I understand where you're coming from. Seems like every Tom, Dick, and Harry is telling me to buy a Japanese/Korean car and to buy it lightly used so you can escape the hit in depreciation.

I'm just letting you know where I'm coming from. Keeping it real. Keeping it one hundred. Straight from my heart to yours.

Chevy Spark is not Korean.

Daewoo started as a Korean company in 1937 under a different name and then changed name again in 1962.

Then became a Japanese owned company under Toyota in 1965 with the name of Shinjin Motors.

Then Toyota left because it wasn't profitable and GM took over in 1972 and it changed its name from Shinjin Motors to GM Korea.

Then again because it wasn't profitable, the name was changed again to a Korean name Saehan Motors (but it was still owned by GM Korea) in the hope it will attract more buyers in South Korea.

Then when GM Korea gave up on it, Daewood Motors took over in 1982 and it made cars using body styles stolen from American and European car companies (Opel, Italian Fiat 500, Chrysler, etc).

Then in 1999 Daewood was having financial troubles and it sold back to GM Korea again and by 2004, GM Korea sold it again to Tata Motors, an Indian Company and has been an Indian owned car company ever since.

No. The Chevy Spark is not the best car in the world.

Of course its engineer is going to say that on YouTube - to sell more of them.

Everyone who made and designed something is always going to say their product is the best in the world.

It's human nature.

I personally think Toyota and Nissan make the best cars right now.
The new Camry doesn’t look so bad. The Altima may also be an practical option

I little less impractical but dang the Supra is back....


If you get one of those Kia or Hyundai can you join their car club and see if you can get them to stop driving so slow in the left hand lane.

I personally think Toyota and Nissan make the best cars right now.
The new Camry doesn’t look so bad. The Altima may also be an practical option

I little less impractical but dang the Supra is back....


If you get one of those Kia or Hyundai can you join their car club and see if you can get them to stop driving so slow in the left hand lane. Originally Posted by dallasfan

Hahaha sure I can join their secret club and find out what's up if I buy a Korean car.

Yeah that Supra looks beautiful but I hear it has a BMW engine so may not have Toyota's legendary reliability.

I agree about the Camry and Altima. I love that the Camry offers a naturally aspirated engine and a traditional automatic transmission on all the available trims. Unlike the new Accord, that has the turbocharged engine and CVT transmission on most of their trims. I've heard that turbos and CVTs are not good for long-term reliability.

Chevy Spark is not Korean.

Daewoo started as a Korean company in 1937 under a different name and then changed name again in 1962.

Then became a Japanese owned company under Toyota in 1965 with the name of Shinjin Motors.

Then Toyota left because it wasn't profitable and GM took over in 1972 and it changed its name from Shinjin Motors to GM Korea.

Then again because it wasn't profitable, the name was changed again to a Korean name Saehan Motors (but it was still owned by GM Korea) in the hope it will attract more buyers in South Korea.

Then when GM Korea gave up on it, Daewood Motors took over in 1982 and it made cars using body styles stolen from American and European car companies (Opel, Italian Fiat 500, Chrysler, etc).

Then in 1999 Daewood was having financial troubles and it sold back to GM Korea again and by 2004, GM Korea sold it again to Tata Motors, an Indian Company and has been an Indian owned car company ever since.

No. The Chevy Spark is not the best car in the world.

Of course its engineer is going to say that on YouTube - to sell more of them.

Everyone who made and designed something is always going to say their product is the best in the world.

It's human nature. Originally Posted by CG2014

I didn't know any of that and it was interesting to learn some automotive history. Thanks.

What competes in this space from Honda? I’ve generally been more impressed with those Honda products ive driven that those from Toyota, though I don’t have a lot of experience with either.

What competes in this space from Honda? I’ve generally been more impressed with those Honda products ive driven that those from Toyota, though I don’t have a lot of experience with either. Originally Posted by TexTushHog

The Honda Fit is Honda's smallest vehicle in their lineup. The Honda Civic is Honda's compact sedan and second smallest vehicle.

Honda Accord is the midsize aka family sedan.

The Honda Fit is a great vehicle with lots of cargo space for it's class, magic seats, decent powertrain etc. However it's overpriced and one of the most expensive vehicles in the subcompact economy vehicle segment. The base 2019 Honda Fit LX with manual transmission is $17,000 when you include destination charges. The top trim EX-L is $22,000 with destination charges.

Contrast that with a 2019 Chevy Spark base trim with automatic CVT transmission that's $10,000 after all discounts and rebates. Keep in mind both the Spark and Fit are subcompact vehicles. Even the Toyota Yaris, another subcompact, is cheaper than the Fit.


The Honda Fit is so expensive that you can buy a bigger more practical Honda Civic for almost the same price. One of the major benefits of buying a tiny car is that's a lot cheaper than a bigger car. That's why the Toyota Yaris is a lot cheaper than a Toyota Camry, a Kia Rio is a lot cheaper than a Kia Optima etc. You don't get that benefit with Honda.

Also, try going to most Honda dealerships to buy a new car. They will do their best to sell you a car for the MSRP sticker price. At most, they may give you a 500 dollar or 1000 dollar discount. That's it.

Compare that to Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Chevy etc. that will give you several thousand dollars off just to entice you to visit their dealership and then give you additional discounts if you negotiate well. Honda dealerships simply don't like to "deal" when it comes to their cars.

That's why Toyotas end up being a lot cheaper to buy new than comparable Hondas.

Granted, Honda doesn't sell cars to rental fleets and that helps keep their resale values high by limiting supply of used Honda cars but you know what? Toyota sells a lot of cars to rental fleet companies and their resale values are still high.

I miss the Hondas of older generations, especially the Hondas of the nineties that had traditional automatic transmissions and simpler but more robust engines. Modern Hondas all seem to have turbo engines and CVT transmission. Look at the 2019 Honda Accord. You have to buy the most expensive top trim Accord to get a 10 speed automatic transmission. All the other trims have a CVT.

My friend had a 1997 Honda Accord (purchased brand new) in the Green color.

I was always trading my 1992 Lexus with him so I could drive his Accord on the weekend.

My friend had a 1997 Honda Accord (purchased brand new) in the Green color.

I was always trading my 1992 Lexus with him so I could drive his Accord on the weekend.

My friend had a 1997 Honda Accord (purchased brand new) in the Green color.

I was always trading my 1992 Lexus with him so I could drive his Accord on the weekend. Originally Posted by CG2014

I'm sure his Accord was reliable, lasted for many years, looked good, and was fun to drive as you stated. If I could buy a new 1997 or 1998 Honda accord now than that's what I would do...amazing vehicles.