More Car Testing
This weekend, I test drove four more cars. I had a blast. I’ve decided that my next automobile will definitely have a manual transmission. They get better gas mileage and you get much better performance, acceleration, and handling with a stick shift. With that in mind, I headed around to the dealerships on this three day weekend.
On Stevens Creek Boulevard, I walked over to the Honda dealership, the fourth dealership I’ve visited to look at the Civic. Due to soulcamp’s incessant suggestion, I keep this car on my list to keep my options open. They had one Civic on the lot, but it was boxed in and they didn’t want to have it driven. Well, that’s fair enough, but I’m not going to beg to test drive a fucking Honda. Sorry, Honda, you’re about to get crossed out.
I wandered onto the Volkswagen lot, just because I felt like checking out what they had to offer. Despite not having much interest in a Jetta, the salesman convinced me that it would be fun to take it for a spin. The five-cylinder engine was very European and race inspired, but the shifting was aggressive enough that this little car required a bunch of revving off the line. It was way too easy to accidentally put the car in third instead of first off the line, but at 170 horsepower, this was a zippy little thing. Still, I need a car that beats 30 miles per gallon.
After picking up Oz at my house, we headed to Capitol Expressway Auto Mall, where I test drove three cars in three adjacent lots. Two of them were fun and one got crossed off the list.
The Saturn Astra I test drove on a lark was quite a surprise. The fun, tight manual gearbox accelerated smoothly, quickly, and powerfully through the gears as I punched it on the freeway, feeling the acceleration and deceleration, how it cornered and handled. This car is nice and has a roomy interior. I didn’t expect to say this, but the Saturn gets to climb a few spots up the list. It’s well-appointed and it was fun to drive.
The 2009 Toyota Matrix S was very fun compared with a manual compared with the less powerful and older 2008 Matrix base. It wasn’t quite as fast as the Saturn, which has a more efficient and slightly smaller engine. But, the Saturn is a European car imported by GM from Opel and the Toyota is a Japanese car. There’s quite a difference. The Matrix was nice, but it doesn’t get 30 mpg in the S version. I think I scared the salesman half to death.
Next, I took the Ford Focus for a drive, although the guy really wanted to sell it to me now. I understand you asking for the sale, but no. The acceleration was okay, it gets good gas mileage, but it just feels like junk to me. The seats are plain Jane and the car is completely devoid of any character.
Finally, I test drove the Toyota Corolla base with a manual, after the Toyota dealer in Sunnyvale went to all the trouble of getting one on their reserve lot, the only manual transmission they have. It was quite fun to drive, had a nice enough interior, and probably earns the right to push a few of the cars higher on the list down a little ways. It did take quite a bit of work to take it on a test drive, but it was worth it. I don’t know if this is quite my style, but no frowns for the Corolla stick.
On Memorial Day, I tried my luck hunting down a 2009 Vibe with a manual transmission, a 2008 Cobalt manual, a Pontiac G5, and a Honda Civic — especially the Civic. After visiting my sixth Honda dealership today (and about a dozen visits overall) and still failing to test drive the Civic, I did my due diligence. Sorry, Honda, I have to cross you off my list. If you have 100 Civics in stock in Daly City and a gaggle of them in San Francisco, but you can’t take me for a spin in the stick, I’m just not going to waste my time anymore, especially since the car isn’t really my style anyway.
Next weekend, I’m damn sure going to find a 2008 Cobalt LS coupe, 2009 Pontiac Vibe, 2008 Pontiac G5, and 2008 Scion xD (all with manual transmissions) to finalize my list.
The Contenders
- 2007 – 2008 Chevrolet Cobalt LS coupe
- 2009 Toyota Corolla
- 2008 Saturn Astra XE
- 2009 Pontiac Vibe base
- 2008 – 2009 Pontiac G5 (still can’t get a test drive in this)
- 2009 Toyota Matrix base (still have to test drive this one in the 1.8L)
- 2008 Scion xD (need to test drive the manual)
- 2008 Honda Fit
- 2008 Honda Civic
- 2008 Ford Focus
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