Choosing a car to buy

Life Cars & Motorcycles
1

I’ve been reading this forum for the last couple of weeks and now its finally time to start my own thread.

After 7 years of living in Taiwan (Tainan), I’ve gotten married and now have a dog and hopefully a child on the way. It’s time for me to buy a car. When i first started looking a few months ago, i was really interested in the Mitsubishi Freeca’s and the Toyota Zaces for their space, but i came to realize that they are probably to big for my wife to feel comfortable driving. I’m not much of a car guy, so i desperately need the help of the friendly community here.

There’s lots of things to think about so i hope i’ll be able to organize this post so its understandable.

I think what i really want to know is what car is good for me.

  1. I’m looking for a used car, up to 5 or 6 years old. I have money to spend, but don’t really want to spend more that $400 000. $200 000- 300 000 would be perfect.

  2. I’m looking for a hatchback with a trunk/boot large enough to accommodate my medium size dog, baby stuff, or camping and sports gear. This is very important to me.

  3. I’d like it to be smallish in size so my wife, who is an inexperienced driver, feels comfortable driving it. This is also very important to me.

  4. I don’t think we’ll be driving it a lot, but of course it would be nice to have good fuel economy

  5. Car tax- I’d like the engine size to be in a lower tax bracket- i forget if that’s 1600cc or 1800cc

  6. speaking of engine size/power, this will primarily be a family car so i’m not to worried about how fast i’ll be going.

I’ve been to the major car dealerships, a couple of used car lots and have been looking at every car on the road and think these are my best options:

NIssan Livina - short in length but big in space.
Hyundai i30- i like it, but apart from a 2 or 3 of the bigger i30cw, i haven’t seen any of these on the road, so it might be difficult to buy a second hand one
Hyundai Matrix- ugly but unlike the i30, there are LOTS of them on the road
misubish colt
mazda 3- maybe too expensive or too small
ford focus- might be ok

These cars won’t work for me, i think:
toyota yaris-honda fit- trunk to small
NIssan tiida- would rather go for the livina which is shorter and has more storage space,
toyota wish - ford i-max- too long, i think

Thanks for reading my post. I’m really looking forward to seeing the discussion to follow.

2

I do hope your wife isn’t reading this!
Seriously. Get a Nissan Sentra. Bulletproof, and plenty big enough for a kid, luggage and wife (even if she IS a dog). That’s what I drive and it serves me well in precisely the configuration you are looking for.

3

I was in your situation some time ago… i have a golden retriever, i love to camp and i do sports that requires me to have some good space inside my car… the baby is coming next year… so almost the same as you…

my option was an Isuzu Rodeo… but for you it may be too big as in engine size… you mentioned around 1.8L engine so 3.3 is way too much… that cancels the other option which is an Infinity QX4… its also 3.3L Engine…

but there are good ones for you… the first one and i think the best one is the Mazda Isamu or the Ford Activa Life… they both are big in luggage space, good for a dog on the back, baby in the rear seat and wife driving… more than enough space for camping gear either with a small rack or on the back…

for a bigger option i would go for either the Mazda Tribute or Ford Escape… they are a bit bigger and nicer feeling… i love to drive a truck-SUV… no need to talk about space here…

finally with a bit more looks and less ability to get off the road is the Mazda 5 or Toyota Wish and so on… those are a mix between the first option and the second option…

i hope my post helps a bit…

4

I do hope your wife isn’t reading this!
Seriously. Get a Nissan Sentra. Bulletproof, and plenty big enough for a kid, luggage and wife (even if she IS a dog). That’s what I drive and it serves me well in precisely the configuration you are looking for.[/quote]

Thanks for the advice. My father in law actually has a Nissan Sentra. Its a nice car and has treated him well for the 10 years he has had it. I actually could just inherit it from him, as he doesn’t really need it anymore. That being said, i think i would like to have a hatchback. i think the hatch would be convenient for the dog (the canine, not the wife) when we go to the beach or whatever.

5

[quote=“omerojs”]I was in your situation some time ago… I have a golden retriever, i love to camp and I do sports that requires me to have some good space inside my car… the baby is coming next year… so almost the same as you…

my option was an Isuzu Rodeo… but for you it may be too big as in engine size… you mentioned around 1.8L engine so 3.3 is way too much… that cancels the other option which is an Infinity QX4… its also 3.3L Engine…

but there are good ones for you… the first one and I think the best one is the Mazda Isamu or the Ford Activa Life… they both are big in luggage space, good for a dog on the back, baby in the rear seat and wife driving… more than enough space for camping gear either with a small rack or on the back…

for a bigger option I would go for either the Mazda Tribute or Ford Escape… they are a bit bigger and nicer feeling… i love to drive a truck-SUV… no need to talk about space here…

finally with a bit more looks and less ability to get off the road is the Mazda 5 or Toyota Wish and so on… those are a mix between the first option and the second option…

I hope my post helps a bit…[/quote]

thanks for the advice and the other options. I have seen a few of the Fords Activia Life’s around and that may be a good fit. I do like the bigger ones like the Escape or Tribute but i don’t know how the wife would feel behind the wheel. i guess we should go for a test drive. I have seen the specs of the Escape and I know that it’s not too large. Its Pretty short, and only a bit wider than ‘most’ cars.

I’m not too worried about going offroad, and while the room of the Mazda 5 or Toyota wish, i’m worried about the size (length). Maybe i’m worried too much.

6

The Matrix is pretty good. Spacious with a lotta features. My Yaris was in the shop so used my wifes moms Matrix. I was actually quite impressed. Not too big, but big enough.
Hyundais are known as good solid cars.

7

We rented a Nissan Livina for 3 weeks on our last visit to Taiwan early this year. We drove all over the place including deep snow over HeHuanShan (w/snow chains). That car performed well, was small enough to fit in tricky parking spaces and super-narrow alleys. But it was big on the inside, comfortable, and easily fit a lot of luggage. My wife loved it so much she wants one but they don’t have them here, although the Versa looks very similar.

8

Nissan Livina
Toyota Surf
Mitsubishi Zace
Mitsubishi Zinger
Subaru Impreza
Toyota Innova
Mitsubishi Colt
Mazda Premacy
Suzuki Liana

Or a trusty old Nissan AD Resort

9

[quote] by bigduke6 » Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:04

The Matrix is pretty good. Spacious with a lotta features. My Yaris was in the shop so used my wifes moms Matrix. I was actually quite impressed. Not too big, but big enough.
Hyundais are known as good solid cars.[/quote]

I have had Matrix 1.8 since 2005 when I bought it new. . . . No bad experienses :slight_smile: . - In fact very satisfied. Solid and spacious car. We are family of 4 and there is room more than enough for us. The car rear seats afre foldable in 2 sections which gives you lot of choices to manouvere space. The rear seat is also movable ~ 150mm front to behing to boost the trunk space.

I’ve done regular services & the car haven’t had any problems at all (1 battery changed only) - If you think about budget , space & your wife this might be your choice. . . . . My wife likes to drive it, it’s not too big. I like it’s bit higher sitting position & you have a good view from car compare for lower ones. Overall I like the car & the feeling.
In fact I was first considering used Savrin or Wish but my wife refused due of their size . . . . “Go and buy a train” :loco: , was the respond. She liked Matrix most. Good car!! :thumbsup:

Does Sulavaca know about this car’s weak points or problems . . . . I’m interested due my Matrix is 6 years old . . . . What I should follow or pay attention? Like I wrote so far no problems at all. Matrix is very common car in TW & I would like to get new similar when this car’s time is full. . . . . hopefully not soon :noway:

10

[quote=“dudeman”][quote=“omerojs”]I was in your situation some time ago… I have a golden retriever, i love to camp and I do sports that requires me to have some good space inside my car… the baby is coming next year… so almost the same as you…

my option was an Isuzu Rodeo… but for you it may be too big as in engine size… you mentioned around 1.8L engine so 3.3 is way too much… that cancels the other option which is an Infinity QX4… its also 3.3L Engine…

but there are good ones for you… the first one and I think the best one is the Mazda Isamu or the Ford Activa Life… they both are big in luggage space, good for a dog on the back, baby in the rear seat and wife driving… more than enough space for camping gear either with a small rack or on the back…

for a bigger option I would go for either the Mazda Tribute or Ford Escape… they are a bit bigger and nicer feeling… i love to drive a truck-SUV… no need to talk about space here…

finally with a bit more looks and less ability to get off the road is the Mazda 5 or Toyota Wish and so on… those are a mix between the first option and the second option…

I hope my post helps a bit…[/quote]

thanks for the advice and the other options. I have seen a few of the Fords Activia Life’s around and that may be a good fit. I do like the bigger ones like the Escape or Tribute but I don’t know how the wife would feel behind the wheel. i guess we should go for a test drive. I have seen the specs of the Escape and I know that it’s not too large. Its Pretty short, and only a bit wider than ‘most’ cars.

I’m not too worried about going offroad, and while the room of the Mazda 5 or Toyota wish, I’m worried about the size (length). Maybe I’m worried too much.[/quote]

My wife is not very tall, maybe 1.65Mt or a bit shorter… she drives the Rodeo which has a body lift, bigger tires and some extra suspension… it took her about 2 days to get used to it in the road and 2 weeks to learn how to park reverse… and the rodeo has no sensor or camera on the back… the tribute and escape are better for that, and smaller than the rodeo… i would definitely suggest you to take one for a test drive… either the mazda or the ford… there is also the Nissan X-trail but its more expensive and its the same kind of car…
The Ford Activa Life is very nice, the Isamu is the “nicer” version of it, the difference is that the mazda is the nicer looking one, but the car itself is almost the same… i was really tempted for that option but i though about camping which i like, and when i get off the road (not really doing full offroad)… and a heavy load (camp gear + wife + dog + maybe a friend + future baby and baby stuff) and i figured that i didnt want to feel that bump with every single hole, so i went for a truck-SUV…
have fun testing the cars !! its one of the best parts of buying one !!!