Ongoing General Automotive Thread 2.0

[Timbo]

Any Toyota Tacoma owners here? It’s on my short list for a 4x4, midsize pickup.
Basically it’s a 4X4 ACCESS CAB 6A - TRD OFF ROAD and I’m looking to buy new.
So in your experience what are
Pros?
Cons?

[Fuzz]

Not an owner, but the biggest con to them from what I have heard is they aren't very comfortable.

[photon]

My wife wants to replace her Civic because she wants a backup camera and Bluetooth and automatic climate control etc.. all the creature comforts. And something "nicer", which I think just means newer (and not nicer as in an Audi A3 or Mercedes A Class, I hope).

She was looking at the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte/Forte5. Anyone have a recent model of those that can comment as a basic drive-to-work-and-back kind of car?

Or suggest alternatives? Another Civic I guess. Regular Golfs aren't a thing anymore.

She may be open to a couple of years old too.

[ah123]

Originally Posted by photon

My wife wants to replace her Civic because she wants a backup camera and Bluetooth and automatic climate control etc.. all the creature comforts. And something "nicer", which I think just means newer (and not nicer as in an Audi A3 or Mercedes A Class, I hope).

She was looking at the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte/Forte5. Anyone have a recent model of those that can comment as a basic drive-to-work-and-back kind of car?

Or suggest alternatives? Another Civic I guess. Regular Golfs aren't a thing anymore.

She may be open to a couple of years old too.

My brother in law bought a Kia Forte 5 a few years ago and it seems like a really well thought out car in terms of usability. I don’t know much about the maintenance costs etc., but he has been fairly happy with it. The only downside has been that he has gotten stuck in the snow in our cup-de-sac, since the snow tends to accumulate right in front of our house

[speede5]

My son and my ex both bought new Elantra's in 2018(prev gen), they are great little cars and for even money you get more features than the Civic. I would totally recommend them to anyone in that market. Neither has had a single mechanical issue to date.

A coworker has the new one, which has some styling that is a bit radical, but otherwise I would say the car is still a recommend.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by photon

My wife wants to replace her Civic because she wants a backup camera and Bluetooth and automatic climate control etc.. all the creature comforts. And something "nicer", which I think just means newer (and not nicer as in an Audi A3 or Mercedes A Class, I hope).

She was looking at the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte/Forte5. Anyone have a recent model of those that can comment as a basic drive-to-work-and-back kind of car?

Or suggest alternatives? Another Civic I guess. Regular Golfs aren't a thing anymore.

She may be open to a couple of years old too.

Impreza. Prices are reasonable, ours is a bit older now so can't comment on all the comforts. But the AWD sure is nice.

[8sPOT]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Not an owner, but the biggest con to them from what I have heard is they aren't very comfortable.

Yeah something to be aware of for sure. My buddy has one and he loves it, but I find it pretty tight inside. He's a good bit smaller than me though too.

[woob]

I know it's a different form factor, vehicle wise, but I drove a Kia Soul for a couple weeks as part of an insurance claim and I was seriously impressed. Kia seems to have their stuff together; all the tech bells and whistles you'd want (heated steering wheel included), really responsive acceleration (even at speed), very agile feeling, and super comfortable. I imagine with the Forte 5, they've got all of the above and more. I know that doesn't speak to longevity and reliablity, but 2 weeks is a decent amount time to form a good overall feel for the vehicle.

[photon]

Yeah I asked about the Soul or the Kona but she doesn't really like them, but might be different if she sees one in person.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by woob

I know it's a different form factor, vehicle wise, but I drove a Kia Soul for a couple weeks as part of an insurance claim and I was seriously impressed. Kia seems to have their stuff together; all the tech bells and whistles you'd want (heated steering wheel included), really responsive acceleration (even at speed), very agile feeling, and super comfortable. I imagine with the Forte 5, they've got all of the above and more. I know that doesn't speak to longevity and reliablity, but 2 weeks is a decent amount time to form a good overall feel for the vehicle.

My wife has a 2018 Kia Soul EX and her car is what really changed my opinion of Kia around. Pretty impressive from what Kia used to be once upon a time.

[bossy22]

Originally Posted by Timbo

Any Toyota Tacoma owners here? It’s on my short list for a 4x4, midsize pickup.
Basically it’s a 4X4 ACCESS CAB 6A - TRD OFF ROAD and I’m looking to buy new.
So in your experience what are
Pros?
Cons?

I had one for 4 years. Sold it last year and got a wagon. I went from an F150 to the Tacoma. It was a good truck. Decent on gas. Better than my F150. It was easy to drive/park/etc. Mine was so far behind with it's infotainment system, it was laughable. Not sure about the 2022's. Seat's were ok. I drove it to Vancouver quite a few times because my older boys lived out there. Wasn't as comfortable as my F150, but wasn't bad. Resale was amazing. I posted it and got what I was asking the next day. I had about 20 messages. The guy who bought it was a broker and it was shipped to the US that week.
Service was expensive. I followed Toyota guidelines and it was crazy how often I took it in. It was more money than my Volvo is now by quite a bit.
I did like it, and it was handy to have, but I sold it because I was tired of driving a truck. I have had trucks for most of my life and I had a midlife crisis and bought a station wagon.

[MegaErtz]

Originally Posted by photon

My wife wants to replace her Civic because she wants a backup camera and Bluetooth and automatic climate control etc.. all the creature comforts. And something "nicer", which I think just means newer (and not nicer as in an Audi A3 or Mercedes A Class, I hope).

She was looking at the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte/Forte5. Anyone have a recent model of those that can comment as a basic drive-to-work-and-back kind of car?

Or suggest alternatives? Another Civic I guess. Regular Golfs aren't a thing anymore.

She may be open to a couple of years old too.

If there's nothing mechanically wrong with her car, you can get the a nice bluetooth stereo system and backup camera installed in her current Civic very easily. I did my own after watching a few youtube videos, but there are many places in Calgary where you can get that done. I recommend ARA Auto if they're still around. Check out this website, it should get you started.

https://www.crutchfield.com

I went for an AVH-X2800BS, did it about four years ago. Greatly improved my car, would highly recommend.

[DownInFlames]

If people are going to keep driving trucks something needs to be done about the huge fronts that are contributing to an increase in pedestrian deaths after many years of decline.*

https://twitter.com/user/status/1495286778097405957

https://twitter.com/user/status/1495472550389948426




* the rise in popularity of phones causing distracted driving doesn't help.

[btimbit]

I'm always surprised that we don't have pedestrian safety ratings on vehicles here like they do in Europe

[81MC]

A Road and Track editor wrote a scathing article on the size of trucks...back in 2001/2002. They’ve done nothing but get worse. My dads new f150 is bloated in appearance, enormous in proportion and absolute #### to drive as a result. How anyone enjoys driving these monster ugly pigs is amazing.

[FLAME ENVY]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

My wife has a 2018 Kia Soul EX and her car is what really changed my opinion of Kia around. Pretty impressive from what Kia used to be once upon a time.

Hyundai Auto Corp. are on their way to the top. All 3 brands under the umbrella are building impressive vehicles. Not always top of class, but stylish, well built and amenity laden. Hyundai, Kia, Genesis are set to take the EV world by storm as well, many great offerings coming.

Many people still like to dwell on the 2.4L Theta II rod bearing failures when talking about Hyundai reliability. In reality, it only affected several model years (and much like Porsche IMS failures, only certain engines were affected) and was caused by poor machining of oil galleys by the supplier. I think most Hyundai/Kia/Genesis vehicles lead in reliability/initial quality surveys now.

The GV70 is likely my next vehicle once the dust settles with supply issues.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by photon

My wife wants to replace her Civic because she wants a backup camera and Bluetooth and automatic climate control etc.. all the creature comforts. And something "nicer", which I think just means newer (and not nicer as in an Audi A3 or Mercedes A Class, I hope).

She was looking at the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte/Forte5. Anyone have a recent model of those that can comment as a basic drive-to-work-and-back kind of car?

Or suggest alternatives? Another Civic I guess. Regular Golfs aren't a thing anymore.

She may be open to a couple of years old too.

I'm going to be buying a new Mazda 3 later this year. Fun to drive, great reliability, consistently rated as one of the best interiors in it's class, and since the 2019 redesign you can get an AWD version which is the primary reason I'm buying one. Plus if you want to splurge a bit you can get the Mazda 3 Turbo with 250hp, which is just nuts for a compact sedan under $40k

[photon]

Yeah noticed the Mazda 3 as well, their interiors look really nice compared to the competition too.

When I told her we'd likely be paying full MSRP she started thinking maybe she'll live with her current car until things calm down and inventories increase.

[ben voyonsdonc]

Originally Posted by photon

My wife wants to replace her Civic because she wants a backup camera and Bluetooth and automatic climate control etc.. all the creature comforts. And something "nicer", which I think just means newer (and not nicer as in an Audi A3 or Mercedes A Class, I hope).

She was looking at the Hyundai Elantra and Kia Forte/Forte5. Anyone have a recent model of those that can comment as a basic drive-to-work-and-back kind of car?

Or suggest alternatives? Another Civic I guess. Regular Golfs aren't a thing anymore.

She may be open to a couple of years old too.

Hyundai/Kia is a really good option. They are quite reliable, have solid warranties and all of the features that you would want. I’ve driven a Hyundai for the last 8 years and have had no issues with it.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by photon

Yeah noticed the Mazda 3 as well, their interiors look really nice compared to the competition too.

When I told her we'd likely be paying full MSRP she started thinking maybe she'll live with her current car until things calm down and inventories increase.

It's a shame Mazda isn't doing well in NA, they sell a ton of vehicles in Asia but for some reason struggle here. If you read reviews for the 2021 3 they don't compare it to cars like the Civic or Corolla, they compare it to the BMW 3 series or the Mercedes A class. I was originally looking at the luxury brands because I wanted a small sedan with AWD, which is hard to find. Then I found out randomly that the 3 has it while taking my old car in for service and did more research on it. It ticks all my boxes while being the cheapest option to boot. Maybe that's why Mazda struggles though, why the hell aren't they advertising the crap out of this car?