These are the cars I am considering. All would be 2013+





I am not too fond of the econobox look and feel of the Civic and Corolla and feel they are kind of girly but you can't beat the reliability.





I like the "sportiness" of the Jetta 1.8T and that engine gets decent reviews.





The Mazda 3 gets great reviews but something about the exterior bugs me.





Does anyone have any experience with any of these?



ETA: Budget is $15k max

Jetta ftw, even tho they ain't what they used to be. I have a 2011 civic, wish I still had my 02 jetta

Why? I have a 2003 Jetta TDI and I want something newer.



 

Shit I forgot to add 'Other' to the poll.



If you have a different suggestion please let me know and why.

 

No reason, just like the looks of those jettas better than my 11 civic, which is still better than the current civics. My brother just got a new tdi jetta and it looks nice, and great mpgs.  How many miles on your tdi?

247,000



 

She's just getting broke in

The wife has a 10' corolla. It's boringly reliable, good gas milage and decently comfortable. The mazda 3's are pretty good from what I can tell and I like the looks, just not sure how reliability is.

A 2014 or newer Mazda 3

I bought my daughter a 2009 Mazda 5 door for HS graduation. She's still driving it. It has around 175K on it and has been rock solid. Great gas mileage. Zero mechanical problems. Runs like a scalded ass ape.

I would recommend it to anyone.

Skyactiv mazda 3 is the best vehicle in its class.

Civic has a crap cvt.

Corolla has a better cvt but everything else about it sucks.

VW nerfed the jetta for the US and had questionable reliability.

The mazda excels in all areas and is the drivers car out of all those options.

My wife drove a Mazda 3 for almost 10 years and put about 170k on it with no
Problems before we sold it a year ago.

Mazda 3.

My wife drove a Mazda 3 for almost 10 years and put about 170k on it with no
Problems before we sold it a year ago.

The only thing I can compare it to is the corrolla my mom drives.
I would prefer the Mazda if I were buying a car.

My previous car was a 2009 Civic LX-S, and my current car is a 2014 Mazda3 Touring.

The Civics being built today aren't a whole lot different from my 2009. They're a little different cosmetically, and they switched from a 5 speed auto to a CVT, but that's about the bulk of it. I bought my Civic as a very low mileage used car in 2009, and it was my DD up until it was totaled in a car accident last month. I had a little over 100k on it at the time of the accident. I never had a single mechanical issue with the car. Even as I drove it away from the scene of the accident that totaled it, the check engine light didn't come on. It really hurt when the insurance adjuster told me it was totaled, and I still really miss it. Based on the experience I had with that car, I considered buying another. I wasn't really enthusiastic about the idea of buying a vehicle with a CVT, and the current generation seems to be only offered with grey or beige interiors. They're ho-hum, but I'd guess they're a solid choice if you're looking for solid transportation.

My experiences driving Mazda vehicles and the reviews I read and watched (a few dozen) all pointed towards the Mazda3. I rolled over to my local Mazda dealer to look at a few and go for a drive. They had 2014 leftovers of the Touring trim (the other trims sold better), and that's what I chose based on the pricing offered. The Mazda3 deserves all the positive reviews it's been getting. This car is one of the best handling front wheel drive cars I've ever driven.   It's precise around corners, and there isn't much roll. I was a little concerned about the electric power steering (I've driven some bad examples), but Mazda's system is pretty good. The weight changes with speed. It's very light and almost overboosted at parking lot speeds, but when you get rolling, it tightens up and is nicely weighted.  The seats are very good for a car of this class. The fabric is nice, and the bolsters provide plenty of support for cutting into curves and corners with enthusiasm.

I'm curious what you think of when you say the exterior bugs you. Are you thinking about the previous generation's smiley car, or the current generation's Kodo car?



Volkswagen? VAG is only good when it ends in "ina."

Really, though, I'd only recommend VW to those with money to spend looking at TDi and GTI cars.

The Corolla should be a reliable car that gets the job done, but that's about where the good news ends. It's not a particularly competitive car by any metric, other that sales. The Toyota reputation is what sells it.

The only other advice I'd have is concerning your budget. At $15k, you're stopping just short of the price point for a new car, unless you get something like a Kia Forte or Chevy Cruze with markdowns. Give the choice between a certified used car with 30-50k miles for $15k and a brand new one for $18k, I'd take the brand new one. Knowing how it was broken in, driven, and maintained for that time is absolutely worth it.

Thank you for the reply.



The exterior bugs me because the body seems to dip down and then back up at the front doors. Just doesn't look right.



 

Mazda's 7yr/100,000 mile warranty for their certified used cars looks enticing.

My '06 Civic finally broke down last year. Right side headlight burnt out. God damn, heart breaking it was. Other than that nothing but oil changes and a car wash every few weeks. I felt guilty last week and changed the brake fluid, trans fluid, cabin air filter and engine oil all in one day. Damn thing hasn't run this good in years. Think I might have to put it in the will as it only has 61,000 miles on it.

Corolla > Civic > Mazda > Jetta

VWs are sporty, but full of gremlins around 80K and above miles.

Mazda all the way.

Have you test driven a Corolla?  The steering is bad and the AC worse.

Civic and corolla are no frills econoboxes but dead nuts reliable.
I can't compare the 4 but, I had a 2014 jetta 1.8T as a rental last month. Torque came in low enough to have some fun. Nice interior, competent suspension plus, people and clients won't think I'm a cheap SOB when I pull up.

Mazda



VW is shit

I am very impressed with the engineering in the KIA soul, it is a solid 15K car

My girlfriend has an '08 Mazda 3 that is a hoot to drive and has been very reliable. I have a close friend who is a mechanic, VWs mostly, and while they are also very entertaining to drive, they seem to be problematic past the warranty period. The Corollas and Civics I've been privy to lately have been very reliable, but lacking in excitement.

My vote is for the Mazda.

Any one of those cars will cause you to grow a vagina.

Have owned a Corolla then a Civic.  

Toyota has not updated their engines in some time.   They're good, but they are 6-7 years behind on engine efficiency.  I would get about  36 HWY mpg at best.  About 300 miles before having to refill my gas tank.

The Honda Civic has a Variable Valve timing engine that is very reliable and squeaks out a lot more mpg without being a Hybrid.  I can get about 40-41 HWY mpg with my Civic under best conditions.  About  50 miles more per tank of gas than the Corolla. (both cars have a 13.2 gallon tank).   Driving an extra 50 miles for free on every tank of gas is considerable.

As for the VW.  It would certainly be a bit more "upscale" at first, but I don't trust a VW when you start getting over 120,000 miles or so.  A lot more expensive maintenance due to complexity vs the econobox Corolla or Civic.

We bought a 2012 Mazda3 skyactiv new and it was an awesome car, I was leery of buying the first year run of a new engine but we never had one problem. Asked the service tech what kinds of problems they had seen with them, he said a few had motor mount issues otherwise they were rock solid.

Replaced it last fall with a 2015 CX-5 Skyactiv because the wife needed AWD and that's been an awesome car as well. Mazda has been killing it the last few years!

Used WRX.

Won't eat you alive in maintenance like the Jetta, won't require you to lop off your balls and put them in the gas tank to get that awesome gas mileage at the expense of your soul like the Toyota and the Honda, and not wrong wheel drive like the Mazda.

I'd honestly put the Corolla at the other end of that list. I'd rather roll the dice on VW reliability than subject myself to a penalty box like the Corolla for years of ownership.

I have not. I am going to try and test drive all of them tomorrow.



 

You can't see that when you're driving it.

They are good cars.

This is what I'm afraid of



 

LOL.  If you maleness is so fragile that you have to prop it up with the type of car you drive, you are already squatting to pee.





<------drives a 2015 Civic LX Coupe w/5 speed.



 

I have a 2014 Vw Jetta 1.8T.  I have about 15K on it now and i have no real complaints.  Gets good mpg and still pretty peppy.  Nice interior.

I looked at this and the Mazda 3.  Only problem is I could not find a manual Mazda 3 anywhere in my state.  Hell took me a while to find my manual jetta.

Are you happy with it or do you wish you would've gotten something else?



 

I bought a Civic Si, I like it
Hard on tires

Honda is planning to bring the "Type R" to the US someday soon I hear -300hp I will probably jump on board.

This is about what I would be getting if I were to get a Corolla
Having trouble linking
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Don't do it.  The new corolla is shit.  Hell the current model (S trim) is as fast (slow) as the 7th gen corolla that came out in 1993.  If your going to bother with the new corolla it has to be the LE Eco.

so I was kinda in this position not too long ago. after test driving just about every brand under the sun I finally settled on a 2014 mazda 3 S grand touring hatchback (okay yes a bit more than the op's price range but hey I like options) anyhow the car was absolutely fantastic, drives well and gas mileage was great. so fast forward to about 2 months ago and my girlfriend was going grocery shopping and decided to pull out infront of an F250 going about 45-50 mph. needless to say the result was the car being totaled, but she came out of the drivers side collision without a scratch. It made the decision pretty easy to replace it with a another fully loaded mazda 3.  they are just outstanding car. I do really recommend the hatchback if you can find one for a good deal.

I'm gonna have to test drive them in order to get a better idea. Youtube reviews only do so much. The youtube reviews are good on the 2014 Jetta 1.8T.

Not in the poll but have been extremely happy with my 2014 Focus SE, not a single rattle or anything negative to say. Averaging a tad over 40 mpg. Long term who knows, I'm well aware of the great reputations of both honda and toyota so not knocking them in any way. Just for the price paid on my focus so far couldn't be happier.  72 mile round trip commute so bought it for the fuel savings.

Good experience with Honda, good with Toyota, no experience with VW and horrible experience with Mazda.

I bought a 2013 civic (in 2013)

Zero problems so far. Good MPG's. Works great as point A to B car.

Mazda came in second only to Lexus in Consumer Reports' 2015 report: Link

That car has a FOUR SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION. I'm going to post that one more time so it sinks in a little better... That car has a FOUR SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION.

That says a lot about that car and the mindset behind designing it and bringing it to market. It also says something about the people that bought it brand new. More specifically, it says "I have no idea the car I bought has archaic equipment under the hood." Toyota also robbed museums and archaeology digs to equip some new models with drum brakes.

The only way I'd advocate the purchase of a late model Corolla for a non-fleet user is if they get an opportunity to buy one at a SIGNIFICANT discount.

Please don't feed the 15ers. They have been known to fling poo at spectators.

Mazda 3 is the balance of reliability and fun that you seek.

I was a bit disappointed with my daughters VW Jetta.  2006, had the 1.8 Turbo that grenaded when the timing belt broke at 88K miles.

VW
in that order.