You are here: Forums Automotive News & Views What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?

8678 messages,  Last post on Dec 03, 2009 at 8:55 AM

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What is this discussion about? Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris, Honda Fit, smart fortwo, MINI Cooper

#8076 of 8678 Re: Oh, here's my chance... [iluvmysephia1] by thegraduate Sep 28, 2008 (11:52 am)
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Sep 27, 2008 11:14 pm) Fact is, the Sephia blew away both the Civic and Corolla in styling.   I'm not sure I'd call that "fact." Here are those cars, in 1997, and 2001.   Kia Sephia   Toyota Corolla   Honda Civic   If any of these standout as "blow-out styling leaders" please, explain it. All are conservatively handsome designs, which should age well (well, they already have). Replies to this message: andre1969 (Sep 28, 2008 12:16 pm)
#8077 of 8678 Re: Oh, here's my chance... [thegraduate] by andre1969 Sep 28, 2008 (12:16 pm)
Replying to: thegraduate (Sep 28, 2008 11:52 am) They're all yawners in my book. I can't really pick a clear winner, or loser. Now I always thought the 1992-96 Civic was a good looking car, better than any of that bunch posted above. I also liked the 1988-92 Corolla. It was a bit of a yawner itself, but had a clean, tasteful, conservative look about it that I liked.
#8078 of 8678 Re: OK, you two... [iluvmysephia1] by fintail Sep 28, 2008 (1:01 pm)
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Sep 28, 2008 8:53 am) Nobody is ranking on Kias as cars - they have came a long way and are not bad as machines. But, none are really beauties.
#8079 of 8678 The 1998 Sephia design, pictured as the by iluvmysephia1 Sep 28, 2008 (1:06 pm)
second Sephia above, has much more interesting taillight and front end grille and headlamp design, in my book.   I don't what it is, but Honda and Toyota, try as they might and try as they may, have more trouble coming up with a body design for a small car that looks good. Interesting, inviting further comparison, however you may want to form the sentences.   I'll sum it up for this SW padre, all of the others are barfy looking.   Kia's designs are sharp, clean, intelligent and well-put together. That first Sephia('96-'97)above is rather plain. But things improved considerably when the '98-'01Sephia design came out. The new Kia Forte will continue in the Kia tradition of trouncing the competition when it comes to body designs. And, BTW, Kia build quality is above average now. The Long-Haul covers things completely, so to me it's a moot point. I would never balk, though, at buying a Kia worrying about some Canadian-built Excel's from Hyundai in the mid-90's. Hello? Can we move on here? Progress here? Kia and Hyundai certainly have and continue to.   Now, the value proponent and the looks proponent and build quality and reliability make a purchase of a Kia a very, very, nice and enriching move. Replies to this message: thegraduate (Sep 28, 2008 1:18 pm) andre1969 (Sep 28, 2008 1:23 pm) thegraduate (Sep 28, 2008 1:32 pm)
#8080 of 8678 Re: The 1998 Sephia design, pictured as the [iluvmysephia1] by thegraduate Sep 28, 2008 (1:18 pm)
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Sep 28, 2008 1:06 pm) Kinda funny, actually, I think the better looking, more aggressive, and more distinctive Sephia is definitely the earlier model, not the '98 Escort-ish overly round newer model.   Replies to this message: andre1969 (Sep 28, 2008 1:23 pm) thegraduate (Sep 28, 2008 1:32 pm)
#8081 of 8678 Re: The 1998 Sephia design, pictured as the [thegraduate] by andre1969 Sep 28, 2008 (1:23 pm)
Replying to: thegraduate (Sep 28, 2008 1:18 pm) I prefer the earlier model Kia, too. It reminds me a bit of an early 90's Nissan Sentra. Replies to this message: thegraduate (Sep 28, 2008 1:32 pm)
#8082 of 8678 Re: The 1998 Sephia design, pictured as the [andre1969] by thegraduate Sep 28, 2008 (1:32 pm)
Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 28, 2008 1:23 pm) The roofline has some early '90s Lincoln Continental in it, a sharp look I always liked.
#8083 of 8678 The earlier model is more plain by iluvmysephia1 Sep 28, 2008 (1:39 pm)
yet still looks good to me. In person the '96-'98 Kia Sephia looks better than it does in pictures.   How bout y'all as to the '88 Chevy Sprint or the '88 Ford Festiva(built for Ford by Kia Motors of South Korea)? BTW-did Chevy build the Sprint theirselves?   I'd like to know if you like the Festiva's body design more, or the Chevy Sprint's body design? I prefer the Ford Festiva design, though, as I recall, I did like the Chevy Sprint bodystyle, too. These two cars were the first two new cars I considered buying, that being in the late 80's of course. I would've only bought one of them if I did buy one, BTW.   As things turned out, my first new car ended up being a 1994 Ford Escort wagon, in brilliant blue paint. Decent small wagon it turned out to be. Replies to this message: andre1969 (Sep 28, 2008 1:42 pm) lilengineerboy (Sep 28, 2008 3:27 pm)
#8084 of 8678 Re: The earlier model is more plain [iluvmysephia1] by andre1969 Sep 28, 2008 (1:42 pm)
Replying to: iluvmysephia1 (Sep 28, 2008 1:39 pm) How bout y'all as to the '88 Chevy Sprint or the '88 Ford Festiva(built for Ford by Kia Motors of South Korea)? BTW-did Chevy build the Sprint theirselves?   The Sprint was built by Suzuki Motors. Of the two, I think the Sprint was more attractive. But I thought the Festiva was laid out a bit better. One of my friends in college had one, and I rode in it a couple times. Roomy little sucker, up front at least. The Sprint seemed more cramped to me. Replies to this message: lilengineerboy (Sep 28, 2008 3:27 pm)
#8085 of 8678 Re: The earlier model is more plain [andre1969] by lilengineerboy Sep 28, 2008 (3:27 pm)
Replying to: andre1969 (Sep 28, 2008 1:42 pm) What I miss are vehicles like the Sprint Turbo or the Suzuki Swift GTI. The Mitsubishi Mirage Turbo and its Dodge brother were fun too as was the Mazda 323 GTX and the original and second generation Civic or CRX SIs. I think that is a by-gone era though, and having anything be small AND fun seems to be beyond the realm of the current marketplace. In Europe they have the Focus RS and I think they have an upgraded Fiesta as well. Those would be something that might actually be fun to drive, as opposed to sephia's example of being fun to not-drive.

You are here: Forums Automotive News & Views What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?