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Midsize Sedans 2.0

18204 messages,  Last post on May 22, 2013 at 9:36 AM

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What is this discussion about? Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Volkswagen Passat, Mazda MAZDA6, Ford Fusion, Chevrolet Malibu, Kia Optima, Car Comparisons, Sedan

Messages Page 1407 of 1821

#14057 of 18204 Re: Midsize car for highway driving [andyfromva] by acdii

Feb 28, 2010 (2:25 pm)

Replying to: andyfromva (Feb 28, 2010 1:59 pm)
I have owned a 2009 Camry Hybrid, I now own a 2010 Fusion Sport. The Ford is much quieter overall than the Camry could possibly be. On the highway, the road and wind noise is a whisper compared to how the Camry was, and this is even with the 18" low profile tires on the Fusion. Between the two, the fusion does not have a long enough track record, but so far it is looking good for reliability, but the Camry does have a long standing reliability record, but that is about as much good I can say for it. The ride is too soft for good handling, but with the proper tires and rims on a Fusion, the ride can be very comparable without loosing too much in the way of handling. The I4 Fusions are also showing better fuel economy, but hands down interior wise, the Fusion has better quality than Toyota does, they really slipped badly in that department. Put them side by side and really look and you begin to see the difference. I put 34K mile on the Camry, other than the sudden surge while slowing down, it was trouble free, engine wise. The sunroof would stick, and sometimes not close, it had horrible wind noise on the drivers side, the seating material was really thin, you could feel the springs in the seat cushion if you pressed your hand into them. The car developed rattles and squeaks within a couple months of driving, and handling on curves, or emergency swerves was horrible, it would wallow like a row boat. I now have nearly 12K on the fusion in 6 months, and I have not had a single complaint about any part of the car, well except for when my wife uses it and leaves junk in it.
 
The one thing that I can say without a doubt that puts the Fusion well above the Camry is handling. I live out in the country where our roads are wishy washy, undulating pieces of crap. The Camry would be all over the road, and you couldn't let yourself be distracted for more than a moment or you would be in a ditch. I don't have this problem with the Ford, I can ease back and not worry that the car will start to wander all around, and when I have my wife and kids with me, like I do every day, that is a very important issue. As far as noise, even with the big 3.5 V6, this car is quiet, you get the low growling tone from the engine when you accelerate, but when at speed, you barely hear it, unless the radio is on, then you don't hear anything but the music. If you like your own music, and have a good library, the SYNC just cannot be beat, a $15 flash drive holds 16 Gig of music, and you can search, or have it play an artist or song just by saying the name, without taking your hands off the wheel. Just these few little things mentioned puts the Fusion above all else in my book.

#14059 of 18204 Re: If You Had To Buy A Mid-Size Tomorrow, What Would You Buy??? [m6user] by backy

Feb 28, 2010 (2:45 pm)

Replying to: m6user (Feb 28, 2010 12:30 pm)
Yes, I prefer the Milan's interior to the Fusion's especially pre-2010. The 2007 base Milan I looked at had a very tasteful black/camel interior with niceties like an analog clock in the dash, and just looked richer than the base Fusion (or even the Fusion SE). Also in pricing the two cars, I've found little difference between them when comparably equipped. For example, I think a power seat comes standard on the base Milan, but not the base Fusion. When I looked at new Fulans 18 months ago, the Milan had a package with alloys and some other stuff basically for free, and I didn't really see a significant difference in price compared to the Fusion, at least in the relatively basic I4 trim I was interested in.
 
I too like the looks of the Milan better than the Fusion; the Fusion's snout has too much chrome for my taste, although I could live with it.

#14060 of 18204 Re: If You Had To Buy A Mid-Size Tomorrow, What Would You Buy??? [gooddeal2 by ctal1234

Feb 28, 2010 (3:07 pm)

Replying to: gooddeal2 (Feb 28, 2010 2:28 pm)
I was in the market and drove a few cars over the past several weeks. Here's my rundown:
 
1) Honda Accord EX-L (not "mid-size," but it competes with mid-size cars. It's what I bought. I thought the interior was head and shoulders above the other cars I drove and since that's where I'll be spending my time, that counts twice. The "sea of buttons" the car magazines complain about doesn't bother me at all. I could get a better deal on this than on the others too.)
 
2) Subary Legacy 2.5 Premium (I liked the ride a lot and, despite some reviews, I like the look. I'm very tall and found it fairly cramped. I could barely drive one with a sunroof at all--I could feel my hair touching the ceiling.)
 
3) Nissan Altima 2.5 S (I liked the exterior, but not the interior. I could have lived with it, but after a 10 minute drive my back started to ache. If not for the seat comfort, this might have been my no. 1 pick because I could get a better deal than on the Honda.)
 
4) Toyota Camry LE (I have driven a Hybrid several times, but it was out of my price range. The LE was nothing special and a little short on headroom.)
 
I didn't drive any domestic cars, mostly because where I live that's all you see and I'm not much of a joiner. Plus, I had a 1999 olds intrigue that was not nearly as durable as the competition. I want to wait and see how the domestic brands do for a while. I might have driven a 2011 Sonata, but I didn't know about them yet. There isn't a VW dealer within a hundred miles, or I might have driven a Passat, though I probably couldn't afford one.

#14061 of 18204 Re: If You Had To Buy A Mid-Size Tomorrow, What Would You Buy??? [backy] by plekto

Feb 28, 2010 (3:12 pm)

Replying to: backy (Feb 28, 2010 12:08 pm)

* miles - I'd like under 40k miles
* Excellent condition - looks like new inside and out, no work needed, good tread on tires
* Warranty - longer the better, preferably factory bumper-to-bumper warranty
* No money out of pocket, meaning my budget is around $10k + T&L
 
This means one thing. GM. You want a 3-4 year old GM car that has depreciated like a rock. Imports won't meet your budget and warranty requirements. GM started with a 100K drivetrain warranty in 2007, so the question is what midsize 2007 GM car can I get for $10K? It turns out, several in fact. And they often have traction control, stability control, side airbags, and all the other goodies because they originally were marketed as a semi-luxury/upscale model.(more options, more equipment).
 
- 2007 Buick Lacrosse. This is a decent choice that can be had for around your price range. It is a much better car than a Sonata or the Fords, and blows the Kia right away. It originally sold for nearly $5K more so it should be built better.(think of it as a GM Camry - same specs and level of equipment, more or less - just worth half as much used)
 
- 2007 Pontiac Grand Prix. It's not terribly exciting, but it again is a better car for $10K(or even $9K!) than most people would imagine. It gets good MPG, is safe, and has a nice floor-mounted shifter. 1,2,3,D all on a row so power shifting is stupidly simple. This in fact works better, IMO, than most of the stupid +/- arrangements. Volvo used to do this as well on their sedans and it made having an automatic not nearly as awful as it normally would be. Leaving it in 3rd while you passed a car or hit an onramp was normal behavior. Oh, and yes, that is actually 1st gear. Many automatics lock out manually selecting first.

#14062 of 18204 Re: If You Had To Buy A Mid-Size Tomorrow, What Would You Buy??? [gooddeal2 [ctal1234] by backy

Feb 28, 2010 (3:52 pm)

Replying to: ctal1234 (Feb 28, 2010 3:07 pm)
Just curious, why did you compare the top-trim Accord and Legacy to the low-end Altima and Camry? The interior of the Altima would have been nicer in the SL, with leather. Also I am surprised you could get a better deal on the Accord EX-L than the Altima 2.5S. Also curious why you didn't check out the Mazda6 and the 2010 Sonata Limited.

#14063 of 18204 Re: If You Had To Buy A Mid-Size Tomorrow, What Would You Buy??? [plekto] by backy

Feb 28, 2010 (4:01 pm)

Replying to: plekto (Feb 28, 2010 3:12 pm)
This means one thing. GM
 
Well, as you could see by the cars I considered, it didn't mean GM at all.
 
The old LaCrosse doesn't interest me. It often has side airbags and ESC/traction? Oh goody! But the Sonata has those standard, and every other car I looked at has at least six airbags standard. Maybe if I were a grandfather and retired... And the old Grand Prix is really...old. Not to mention I think it's ugly. Not nearly as nice a car as the Fulan, or the Sonata or Mazda6. And I have enough intelligence to use a manumatic setup as on the Sonata and Mazda6.
 
One GM mid-sizer I would be interested in as a used car is the new Regal, at least based on what I've read about it. But it will be awhile before those are available in the used car market. And I'd consider an Aura if it were not an orphan... as are the Pontiacs of course. They should be cheap!

#14064 of 18204 Re: If You Had To Buy A Mid-Size Tomorrow, What Would You Buy??? [plekto] by smarty666

Feb 28, 2010 (4:41 pm)

Replying to: plekto (Feb 28, 2010 3:12 pm)
here's a little tip GM does not want you to know, but I hate to break it to you but the GM powertrain coverage is the SAME as Toyota's and Honda's; let me explain
 
GM brags, and I've been seeing commercials from them lately comparing the warranty of the Malibu to the Camry's and Accord's, saying that their powertrain warranty is 100k miles while Toyota and Honda's is 60k! what GM fails to mention in their commercials is the 5 years in front of that 100k! - when you think about it, GM is offering the same warranty as Toyota and Honda because there is also 5 years just like GM!
 
That 100K miles GM is bragging about is just to make it look like their warranty is better than the rest but it isn't! why? because 80-85% of drivers will NOT have 100k miles on their car at the 5 year mark! the AVERAGE driver puts 15k miles on their cars in a year so at the end of 5 years, the AVERAGE driver has only 75k miles on their cars, and a good chunk don't even have that on it at that point!
 
So for 80-85% of people the five years is going to come first before 100k miles, thus, GM's warranty is no better, or more precisely the same, then the 5 year powertrain coverage everyone else has! But of course, since they want to make a buck, they are not going to tell you otherwise
 
If anything, and of course you don't see any GM commercials comparing their products to Hyundai Hyundai currently has the best powertrain warranty in the business with 10yrs/100k miles I believe
 
Another comical commercial by GM is those commercials showing how their products have higher EPA mpg then Toyota or Honda, yet of course, they don't tell you that sometimes you don't get what the window sticker says and I still have not seen any reviews showing that GM gets better gas mileage then Honda and certainly not Toyota; also, it doesn't go to help their cause when last year Motortrend did a comparison of the Altima, Camry, Fusion, and Malibu hybrids and the Malibu came in last place of the four and I believe had the worst fuel econ of the four as well that kind of result doesn't exactly hit me with confidence that GM has the best fuel economy of the bunch

#14065 of 18204 Re: If You Had To Buy A Mid-Size Tomorrow, What Would You Buy??? [smarty666] by backy

Feb 28, 2010 (4:40 pm)

Replying to: smarty666 (Feb 28, 2010 4:41 pm)
Tied with Kia and Mitsubishi. Plus whatever Toyota cooks up to shore up customer confidence--rumors are it will announce a longer warranty in March. I'd love to see them take a bold step and introduce the industry's first 10-year, 100k mile bumper to bumper warranty. THAT would make a statement as to Toyota's confidence in the reliability of their cars, and would stand out from all other automakers. Adding a 10/100k powertrain warranty would be ho-hum, me-too.

Messages Page 1407 of 1821

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