So long story short I am looking at selling/ trading in my 09 tacoma 4x4 regular cab with only 41k miles for a hatch back. I fairly recently moved to Las Vegas from my small hometown in the northwest and for the work I do my truck really isn't good. I want something that will be fun to drive and be practical. I have been looking at Consumer Reports and J.D Power which seems to contradict each other a lot on various cars and overall manufacturer.


Cars I am looking at:
Mini S (seems it might be a bit small to be practical)
Focus ST (both consumer reports and j.d seem to not like the quality of the car)
Mazda 3 2.5l GT hatch (Seems like it could be a very good fit j.d seems to not like this car much at all)
Golf GTI (never heard anything good about VW reliability. both consumer and j.d seem to like it better than the focus st reliability wise)
Civic hatch (really not sure I like the styling on this car but seems to review very well)
Fiesta ST (same issues as the focus and smaller)

Curious to see what all of your opinions are of these cars and am I leaving any out ?

I have a Soul 2.0 with a 6 speed manual.

I also have a NB Miata , and the Soul in that combo is almost as fun.

Keep the truck and add a second vehicle.  The truck will be fun for trips to the wilderness.

Focus RS

I have no experience with any of your cars listed but the RS is the one I would get if I needed a car of this type.

Out of my price range sadly looking at buying a house/condo/ or townhouse in about 2 years and by that time as long as I dont buy anything to expensive I should be able to be debt free other than that car and have a down payment ready to go.


I would but I dont see my self doing that anytime soon. Figure I can buy something I would enjoy more, would be more practical, and more fuel efficient.

Il have to check that out.

of those listed I would pick the GTI for sure.  Love the styling and build quality and the interior is great too.

Check out the Hyundai Veloster Turbo.  Love the one I drove.