My daily driver 94 S10 Blazer is dying, bad piston, head gasket leak, going to fail emissions inspection in a few weeks, etc so its time for a new car. I hit the local dealer tent sale at a shopping mall today and checked out 4 door hatchbacks with the Impreza being my favorite, followed by the Matrix and the Mazda3. I also sat in a Focus, Fiesta, Fit, Elantra, Veloster, Crosstour and Accent. The Hyundais were charging $2k over sticker.

I'd like to stay below $18k so I'm stuck with reasonably used ones and not a WRX or Speed, I don't want a navigation system or anything super extravagant just a basic to/from work car for a fat guy (i was not happy with how small the Veloster and Fiesta were, I needed a shoehorn to get in) who already owns a Yukon XL. Is there anything I should know?

Kharn

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Subaru makes great cars for the money and they are beasts in the snow.  We bought my wife a 2012 Legacy last year, she loves it.  In your price range I'd buy a new Impreza w/o hesitation.

Matrix all the way.

The utility and usefulness afforded by the current crop of small wagons is lightyears ahead of any "car" actually being useful for more than just getting your posterior from a to b.

Cars are the most worthless vehicles mankind has devised doubly so for compact models. Trust me get the matrix and never again will you even consider owning a "car"




(Posted by an xb owner)

Why the Matrix over the Impreza?

Kharn

What generation Matrix?






 

Try putting a water heater, mattress, three ice chests or a television into an impreza.


A subaru wagon is OK but leg room is still severely limited. Especially if someone wants to ride in the back. A matrix has as much rear seat legroom as a town car even with the front seat fully rearward for a tall guy like me.

Don't forget about the Pontiac vibe. Same car as the matrix but much cheaper because it wears the defunct Pontiac badge.

I also have a Yukon XL 2500, so I don't need to haul big stuff in this car.
Main goal is getting to/from work but I'll eventually need baby seats in the back (another reason I didn't like the Veloster, getting the driver's side kid out would suck).
For the Matrix, I'd be looking for the 08+ (09+?) version, the small one.  Isn't there also a Saturn version of that platform? I think it was the Astra?

Kharn

There were just a lot of errors about the Matrix vs Impreza sizing.  The Impreza has much more front legroom but the rear legroom is greater in the Matrix.  The headroom is greater in the Matrix (keep in mind that a sunroof takes away about an inch of headroom).  Passenger volume space is better in the Impreza.  Cargo space is also better in the Impreza.

Legroom
Impreza Sedan: 43.5" front, 35.4" rear
Impreza Hatch: 43.5" front, 35.4" rear
Matrix: 41.6" front, 36.3" rear

Headroom
Impreza Sedan: 39.8" front, 37.1"
Impreza Hatch: 39.8" front, 37.7"
Matrix: 40.5" front, 39.3" rear

Passenger Volume
Impreza Sedan: 96.9
Impreza Hatch: 97.5
Matrix: 94.2

Cargo Volume
Impreza Sedan: 12.0/?
Impreza Hatch: 22.5/52.4
Matrix: 19.8/49.4


I'd recommend the Impreza for multiple factors.  The current generation of Impreza is very impressive for the money.

ETA: These specs are the current generations as found on the Toyota and Subaru websites.

All I can say is sit in both and make your own conclusions the numbers don't really get across how the difference in layout and more upright driving position of the matrix compares to the small car like impreza.

The legroom numbers may seem to favor the Subaru but when you consider the legs out driving position of the car to the more trucklike legs down position of the matrix the Toyota seems much much larger.


Its probably pointless to debate how an interior fits based on numbers given how much layout matters and how individual all our butts are.


Same goes for volume. Its not so much the cubic feet number but how much vertical height you have and how the load floor is laid out. The subie may be somewhat comparable in five door hatch layout but ime the Mazda 3 need not even apply to this comparo


Probably the biggest thing against the Subaru is that its a gas hog. For 2010 a NA 5 speed wagon is only rated for 25 hwy 21mpg combined ON PREMIUM!  
Vs
32 hwy 25 combined for a 5 speed 1.8l matrix on regular

This is a rather large discrepancy that will cost you $$

The Impreza is AWD which is why it is more of a gas hog. I use 87 octane in my subie and there is not difference in power. I sat in a matrix once. I am 6' 200 lbs and my knees were touching the dashboard. Too small for me.

You're short compared to me and I have no such dash issues. Did you slide the seat back?


Obviously being AWD is the reason for the truck like fuel "economy" the op needs to decide if having AWD is more important than spending a great deal less at the pump.


OP I think that if you can handle the astronomical used prices a SCION xb may be worth looking into. We average 31mpg in ours and its even bigger on the inside than the matrix.

I want a car, not a shoebox.
My girlfriend said I look ridiculous in an iQ due to fat man in a little car, but I got in intending to laugh at myself.

Kharn

The new Impreza is far from a gas hog. It gets remarkably good gas mileage (mid 30's average, 39 MPG highway).  As a reference point, my wife's 2012 Subaru Legacy 2.5 Premium with CVT transmission, which is larger and heavier than the Impreza, has averaged 31.2 MPG over the last 6,000 miles of mixed hilly rural driving using 87 octane.  

Also, Subaru's AWD system is worth it's weight in gold during shitty weather.

Yeah, you get a cvt to achieve those numbers.

In that case heed the following...

 




































 

You have to remember the Impreza had a complete redesign in 2011(?).  Prior to that they seemed very cramped and they had the older 2.5 which used more gas.  The new version is a lot better for space and it has a redesigned 2.0 liter engine that is similar to new FB25 engine.

The new Impreza with a manual transmission is rated at 25 city, 34 highway for the sedan and 25 city, 33 highway for the hatchback.  That is still very good for an AWD vehicle in my opinion.

Subaru has some crappy paint at least on the STI model.

I've owned a 2008 legacy, 2007 STi and 2004 Forester. My girlfriend has a 2012 legacy.

I'll vouch for the Subaru being a beast in the snow.

Good cars. Never had a problem with any I didn't cause from modding.

If I was in the market for a new used car I'd look for a ute - Rav4, CRV, Focus, Juke - Rogue, Patriot.  
The ute won't bottom out on country gravel roads. The ute can take a curb without scratching the hell out of the underside.

I have a 2012 Jeep Patriot as a company car.  It is an absolute turd.  If anyone wonders why Chrysler has a reputation for building POS vehicles, go ahead and spend some time with a Patriot.  It's hard to believe that an engine this small, underpowered, and buzzy can struggle to achieve 20 MPG.  Based on my considerable experience with both, Subaru is vastly superior in every way.  

Regardless, based the OP's post, he's looking for a car.

I tried to list all the utes. And it doesn't seem like the OP is locked into his choices.

$18k buys alot of car/truck/suv/ute on the used market.

I like the scooby. Im not a fan of the matrix, back in my Fast and Furious days, a guy tried to do direct port nitrous injection with a 150 shot and blew the welds on his intake. He got made fun of pretty bad. Other than my story, I have nothing else to offer.

But I already have an 8 passenger, 6.0 V8, 10klb towing capacity 4x4 SUV that gets really shitty gas mileage.

Kharn

Check out the Mazda3. The sky-active model gets 40mpg highway iirc.

I drive the speed version (turbo) and chose it over the impreza/wrx due to interior comfort/aesthetics being poor in the Subaru. Mazda3 comes with all the nice features big models have... ie push start, hid, rain sensing gizmos, blind spot mont...  for more money of course.

So my daily driver failed emissions with 9x the limit for hydrocarbons and 2.5x the limit for CO thanks to the bad piston. No big hurry, I have until January before I must test it again. We managed to get out and test drive new cars today, hitting Subaru, Mazda, Toyota and Ford.

The Mazda3 seemed very sporty and fun, but the extremely low roof (especially on the sun roof model we test drove because the solid-roof model was out with another shopper, regular roof model still wasn't much better), cheap interior (I think the carpet might have been missing, because I swear the sound-deadening material was exposed throughout the entire floor...), limited leg room for the rear passengers, annoying driver's headrest and 2-star side impact rating for the rear passengers really turned me off from it. My brother just bought a '12 i Touring with sunroof and a ton of other options for a $18.5 and the dealer still has a number on the lot, but those three factors really turned me off.

The Impreza was really comfortable, my girlfriend and I loved the front seats, the standard features on the Sport Premium model, rear passenger leg room and I like the idea of AWD. Downsides were the price ($24k-ish), availability (I want the dark grey, dealer just shrugged and said he couldn't give a delivery date, could be anywhere from 1-12 weeks) and the gap between the folded rear seats and the front seats (our lab would fall into the gap if she slid around while riding on the folded seatbacks, but we have a seat cover we can use instead). It didn't have as much zip as the Mazda3, but I felt comfortable with the available power. I wasn't happy with the sales manager seeming to have had a liquid lunch, but the various Subaru forums say my local dealership sucks so much its worth driving ~50 miles to the next one.

The Toyota dealer's manager said he tries to receive as few Matrix's as possible because they never sell and he didn't have one on the lot, I wasn't interested in checking out his Scion selection so we bailed.

The only Focus hatchback available was a fully-loaded Titanium, it had a comparable amount of power to the Impreza, but I felt it was the smallest and the dealer said the price of an SE would be around $23.5 as the best he could do so (and I'd need aftermarket fog lights as those are only normally available with the leather package ) there wasn't much incentive to pick that vs the Impreza.

I'm really leaning towards the Impreza, but I need to get a few financial things sorted out before I pull the trigger.

Kharn

I still think you should at least drive or sit in an XB or similar just so you're understand the difference in layout, comfort and usefulness of a small "wagon" vs a "car". All it will take is sitting in the front seat getting out and without making any adjustments sitting in the back seat. At that point you'll ask yourself "why do folks still buy "cars" these days"



IMO you cannot make an informed decision in modern small economy vehicles without understanding this dichotomy. Especially if you're a large fellow.

Honda Fit.

The 2013 Subie Impreza is pretty sweet, gets great gas milage for the features and is super comfortable.  I test drove an unimpreza in the 90's and my knees hit the dash with seat fully back.  The 2013 impreza I can put the seat all the way back and I need to move it up some.  There is tons of room in them.  For anyone in an area that gets any kind of winter weather I would choose the Subie over all.  Also, having been in ambulances some of my life I will never own a Toyota unless it is their big truck.  No other maker had so much carnage at car accidents than Toyota.

I'm extremely happy with my 2010 Impreza. If I'm not caught in traffic, I'm getting 30ish MPG these days. It is a beast in the snow, and you can have rear-wheel-drive type of fun if you turn off the traction control.

Call around to different Subaru dealers for one that is willing to go below invoice price.  I was able to get my Subaru for about 1.6% (IIRC) under invoice as an out the door price.  Also, my Outback only took about 3 weeks to build and get to my dealer.  With that being said, Imprezas are still made in Japan so I imagine that it would take a few more weeks to get in.

Lots of bad information in this thread...

I'd get the Subaru, they're nice cars. You'll love them even more in bad weather.

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Focus ST FTMFW
 

Trade that shit in for diesel.

If you need a small car for commuting, and not hauling, figure out if you need AWD or not. If you do, WRX. If not, I like the matrix as a friend has a Mazda3 and has had a new engine and trans installed, and now the rear quarters are rusting on his '08.  I'm a big fan of the WRX as a drivers car, but the H-4 engine layout can be difficult to work on. The heads are basically touching the fenderwells. I did a clutch on an '03 and have vowed to never work on one again.

He asked about an Impreza, not a WRX.  A WRX is about $7,000 more than an Impreza, plus, the WRX still uses the old Impreza body style so it would be smaller inside and less refined.  Also, the new Impreza has the new FB20 engine and newer body style so it might be a little easier to work on (but no promises).  I do know that my 2013 Outback is ridiculously easy to work on compared to most other newer vehicles.

Please don't take this to mean that the WRX is a bad car by any means.  I would personally love to own one.  It is just that the O.P. is asking about affordable and economical compact cars.

my commute would absolutely suck with a manual, even though I'd love a twin turbo race car. the impreza's large interior was also a major selling point, since I'm a fatass.

I'm refi'ing my house before Christmas, so after that I can pull the trigger on an Impreza in dark grey.

Kharn

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[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=zrzMhU_4m-g[/youtube]

Just signed an order for a dark grey Impreza Sport Premium for delivery later this month.

Kharn

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Congrats!  Were you able to find a decent dealer?

For what its worth my sister had a 2003 Pontiac Vibe(same as Matrix) and loved it.

Edit-didn't read thread...congrats!

I ended up going with a sketchy one, probably paid an extra $200-300 vs what a better dealer could have done but I live just down the street from these guys (next closest dealer is 30+ miles away) and my old car is going to the junk yard this weekend so I wanted it resolved ASAP.

Kharn

Well, our 2013 Impreza gets 36 mpg.

Subaru XV Crosstrek

I finally picked up my Impreza.
Its nice to have a car that can accelerate faster than Grandma's scooter.



Kharn

Nice looking,  those are aftermarket foglights?

And <gasp> all the people who said Matrix because why not a wagon?  Subaru makes a wagon!

The fogs are part of the sport package, along with the roof rack, upgraded wheels, leather wheel/shifter and a few other nice touches.

Kharn

I don't know about that:

Zero to 60 mph: 9.0 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 27.5 sec
Zero to 110 mph: 40.6 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 17.0 sec @ 83 mph

I hope you got yours with a stick.

Congrats!

I drive a 2010 Impreza with about 64K on it and have been very happy. I also commute much too far to drive a truck to work. The AWD rocks and it has been 100% reliable so far..........knocks on wood.

Congrats on the impreza I want one pretty bad. I wonder what kind of mileage the new http://www.subaru.com/vehicles/xv-crosstrek/index.html will get. I went and saw them in person and they are sexy