Went out on a round of Test drives for my second ever car buying experience
Had made a shortlist which kinda looked like this
1. Fiesta ST
2. Fit Sport
3. Civic Si ( because there was one at the dealership which had the fit sport)
4. Mazda 3
5. Nissan Rogue.
1. 2014 Fiesta ST ($14795)- Was 99% sure it would be this car, but was totally underwhelmed. the recaros made the seats almost painful, the ergonomics were weird, and slotting gears were a hit or a miss. visibility also not what was expected from a car this size. Performance was okayish, and there was no sound at all. Having read so much about the sound symposer, i was expecting some nice notes, but got nothing but a weird whine. Struck off the list.
After the fiesta ST, my priorities totally went for a toss. I had a hard time slotting gears with my right hand while steering with my left, and as a small car, I was not getting the sort of visibility i was expecting.
2. 2015 Honda fit Sport.($12999) Changed my mind about small cars. Fish tank like visibility, Auto was very intuitive ( though still gutless compared to the ST), Sport mode with the paddles was interesting, but it was still a CVT pretending to be a manual. So easy to drive you could drive it in your sleep.
3. 2012 Civic Si ( 14750). Hoot to drive, very nice sound, but a bit rough - the alloys had been scuffed and the interior was in bad shape. the good ones were over my 15k budget
4.2014 Civic Si ( 15530). Sales guy made me drive it. Still a hoot to drive, a bit more civilized, and in much better shape with a reverse camera, right side lane camera etc.
5. 2017 Toyota Corolla Base (11750 from hertz) got this as a rental car for the test drive, and it made its way into my list for consideration, and it pretty much exceeded expectations. I mean, it was easy to drive, did not feel like the boat everyone said it was. It did not give me an emotional connect, but it was a pretty fine automobile
6. 2014 Mazda 3 Base ( 13900) Absolute disappointment. Felt just like a corolla, but minus the enthusiasm, and the car I had had pretty weak brakes. This car had less features than my Indica. Heck, it didnt even have a tacho. after reading so much praise for mazda's online, I am not sure what the big deal is about
7. 2016 Nissan Rogue ( 14261) Never got around to driving this, as by then I had made my decision.
What did I buy? Coming soon!