Topic: Need help choosing a good car for the winter

[dkaz]

9th generation Toyota Corolla. With decent winter tires, that car was so awesome in the snow. Would probably be even better with a good set of winter tires.

This.

You guys miss this part? 

and while I'm not crazy about performance I want something that won't suck trying to overtake on the highway.

The manual feature on the Sport is fun (and it's "right" - fwd for downshifts, back for upshifts).  Blow by cars easy-peasy.  No suckage overtaking anybody.

Never had a problem overtaking anybody in my Corolla.

[Blueprint]

Buy a ragtop and spend winters in The islands 

 

[Blueprint]

Two things to remember, dear peanut gallery friends:

1) Snow tires are mandatory in QC, so all of his options will require them, awd or not

2) QC is by far the cheapest Canadian province in which to insure a car - Ontario is the most expensive, double on avg, so insurance less of a factor here

3) QC has some of the highest gas prices in the country, so that Fusion V6 awd option, while I like the car, will be more expensive to run BUT that all depends on overall km.

[Blueprint]

Duller than a Mazda3, but more fun than a Corolla, we have the popularity champ, the Civic, also very relaible, great on fuel and easy on maintenance.

This one, a 2012 EX, is on our office intranet classifieds, looks like a cream puff, maybe a bit too dear in price?

53 250 km, automatic (not a CVT in 2012), non-smoker, 8 wheels + tires, 2 sets of floor mats, new battery, rust proofed, $10,950

[tortoise]

Buy that Civic before someone else does.

Is 2012 the weird orphan year where it was a half assed redesign?

[Fobroader]

I would stick with the AWD theme just because they are so much better in the winter. Get the newest Impreza you can find. As for your buddies advice on Fords...ehhh...he's not wrong. Not many cars I can think of are you in danger of the steering wheel coming off in your hands, in a Fusion, thats a thing!!! 

[Neutron]

Many thanks! I most certainly appreciate the kindness and valuable advice, thanks to you guys I have narrowed down my choices.

FWD it's down to civic vs Optima.. maybe a mazda 3. AWD it's gotta be the cx 7.

Man I'm falling in love with a 2013 Kia Optima.. Am I gonna lose much by choosing it over a civic or a mazda 3? Are they known for reliability?

[ericcc]

If you do not have your own driveway, and park on the streets, get AWD and never look back.

I'd get AWD even of you have your own driveway. I'm from Montreal too btw.

[Fobroader]

Man I'm falling in love with a 2013 Kia Optima..

I don't think I've ever heard anyone utter this phrase hahahahaha 

[lebowski]

Man I'm falling in love with a 2013 Kia Optima..

I don't think I've ever heard anyone utter this phrase hahahahaha 

 

For some reason all i could think of was this (sorry for going wildly O/T):

https://view.yahoo.com/show/saturday-night-live/clip/4639522/bad-idea-jeans

[Neutron]

Man I'm falling in love with a 2013 Kia Optima..

I don't think I've ever heard anyone utter this phrase hahahahaha 

Lol obviously it ain't my dream car, but for 10k, it has just under 65 k on it, and it's fully loaded. I was also surprised by how potent the naturally aspirated 4 cyl is, I mean as far as naturally aspirated 4 cyls go. All I'm worried about is winter driving and reliability.

Heard so much about mazdas rusting that I'm back to Subaru for the awd, even tho I'm not sure I like the full package. Definitely expensive for the at best below average interior.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

I think the Optima is a good car.  It looks sharp, has a nice interior, and is a midsize so you'll have plenty of room.  You could certainly do worse.  The naturally aspirated base 4-cyl would be considered adequate.  Similar in performance to the 2.5 I had in my Altima, and I never found that engine lacking.  We almost bought an Optima when we were shopping for our Altima, but ultimately, couldn't close a deal with the dealership, and so went another direction.  It had nothing to do with the car itself.

Call me crazy, but I'm under the impression that a midsize car is just a tiny little bit better than a compact in snow driving.  Just something about having a little bit extra weight. 

[BWII]

I would stick with the AWD theme just because they are so much better in the winter. Get the newest Impreza you can find. As for your buddies advice on Fords...ehhh...he's not wrong. Not many cars I can think of are you in danger of the steering wheel coming off in your hands, in a Fusion, thats a thing!!! 

Horseshi#.  Didn't affect the 2010-2012's which is well within (below) his budget and not a 4 cyl POS and not a turbo.

9th generation Toyota Corolla. With decent winter tires, that car was so awesome in the snow. Would probably be even better with a good set of winter tires.

This.

You guys miss this part? 

and while I'm not crazy about performance I want something that won't suck trying to overtake on the highway.

The manual feature on the Sport is fun (and it's "right" - fwd for downshifts, back for upshifts).  Blow by cars easy-peasy.  No suckage overtaking anybody.

Never had a problem overtaking anybody in my Corolla.

I have no doubt.  My Sonic easily passes anything when I want it too.  Cars today aint that Mazda 323 from '87 (now THAT thing you couldn't pass with, unless you were clear there was 2 miles of room...what a dog that was).  Maybe he should look at a Sonic.  Cheaper yet than borscht...and so far hasn't stopped my kids from driving in the snow.

Man I'm falling in love with a 2013 Kia Optima..

I don't think I've ever heard anyone utter this phrase hahahahaha 

Lol obviously it ain't my dream car, but for 10k, it has just under 65 k on it, and it's fully loaded. I was also surprised by how potent the naturally aspirated 4 cyl is, I mean as far as naturally aspirated 4 cyls go. All I'm worried about is winter driving and reliability.

Heard so much about mazdas rusting that I'm back to Subaru for the awd, even tho I'm not sure I like the full package. Definitely expensive for the at best below average interior.

Fack...another "I'm not listening-er"...FFS, go look at a Fusion.  If l/100 aint a big concern due to the amount of driving you do (under 15,000 km/yr?) then what could it hurt? Gotta be a shittonne nicer than an Imprezza.  Someone on here once compared it to an Audi A4/A6 (forget).  Just don't even think about a regular 3.0l Fusion.  Walk away. That's not the one you're looking for.

OTOH...that Civic, if it's nearby...seems like a good overall purchase and you won't have to even look back.  Don't not look at it either - if you can.