The Thrilling Conclusion

Two years is a bit long to leave this as a cliffhanger, but I can explain.

I decided to wait it out a bit.  I put off the decision for about 9 months, and by the time I was ready to buy, I had some more money saved up.  So I splurged on this beautiful son of a bitch right here:

Ended up getting a darn good deal from the salesman, who was a friend of my brother.  A bit under $24k for a Hyundai Sonata SE with the 2 liter turbo.  It goes like stink, and I still get very good (if not quite as good as they claim - about 28mpg avg.) mileage.  Almost a year and a half and over 35k miles later, I have absolutely no regrets.  The car has been great, and it is definitely comfortable.  The surprise bonus from this car vs most of the others I looked at is actually the rear seat.  It's huge.  Even with the front seats slid all the way back, there is plenty of room for actual adult humans back there.  Three of them, even.  As far as actual seating space goes, this sucker is at least as spacious as a mid-size SUV.  The trunk is deceptively capacious as well.

While I'm nowhere near as fat as I was two years ago (thanks, keto!), I'm still a big man.  While the Sonata isn't a subcompact, it's still a fairly small car.  I believe I made the right decision.

Semi-finals

I started this exercise figuring I'd be lucky to find two or three legitimate options to choose from.  I ended up with eleven.  And that's ignoring the three or four 2011 models that weren't in stock at the local dealer, as well as the new-for-2012 models that weren't quite available yet (redesigned Beetle, Scion iQ, Hyundai Veloster).

I could spend the next several weeks doing test drives and extensive reviews of all of them, but that's really not necessary.  Just from sitting in them and examining statistics, I can already determine that I like some more than others.  I arbitrarily decided to limit the possibilities to four and make my final choice from there.  To make it even easier, I decided I would choose one car from each class - compact, midsize, wagon/crossover, and SUV.

The SUV class was easy, since there was only one entry.  The Outlander Sport has the most room for passengers and cargo of any car reviewed, and looks pretty sweet to boot.

The wagon/crossover class started out pretty big, but it came down to just the Soul and SX-4 once we selected for fatass-compatibility.  Of the two, the Soul is a much nicer car.  It's roomier and better looking.  The materials and build quality seem much better.  The SX-4 does have AWD, but I will still have the option of a proper 4WD truck when inclement weather is an issue.  For 95% of the year, the Soul is just a better choice.

The mid-size class ended up being won by a car that isn't technically mid-sized.  The Elantra has always been a "compact" car, but over the years, it's gradually grown larger and larger.  The 2011 model has an overall length and internal volume that makes it legally a mid-size sedan.  While it's not quite as flashy as the 200 or as roomy as the Fusion, the Elantra is the Goldilocks of the group - it's just right.  It also gets 41 miles per gallon - about ten more than the other midsize cars.  That's a substantial fuel savings over the course of a year, and really puts it over the top.

The 2012 Accent "pulled an Elantra" and snuck into a class that it didn't used to be in.  Formerly a sub-compact, the redesigned model wipes the floor with the other compacts for both comfort and economy.  Don't get me wrong - the Sentra and 3 are both very good cars.  But given the choice between one of them and an Accent, the Accent wins.  It's cheaper than either, and more fuel efficient as well.

And as for the Smart, well, it's just not practical.  Maybe it would have made the cut if I lived in a city where on-street parking was an issue and I would never have to drive above 50mph.  But out here in the real world, I will have to merge onto highways at 75mph and contend with 18-wheelers.  Not to mention the unending ridicule I would receive for driving a street-legal golf cart.  That sort of thing shouldn't matter to me, but it does.

One last thing I took into account in narrowing down the list is warranties.  All four of the cars I chose have 5yr/60k mile bumper-to-bumper and 10yr/100k mile powertrain guarantees.  Most of the cars I didn't choose had much shorter warranties.  It wasn't my primary consideration, but it is important when you're considering a $16k-$20k investment that you'll be driving for at least five years.

Over the next week or two I will be doing a lot of research into these four cars.  I will be going over them with a fine toothed comb at the dealership, and doing test drives.  I will post my findings and make a final decision in about a month.

Suzuki

Suzuki is pretty much the Geo of Japan.  In fact, back when Geo still existed, several of their models were made by Suzuki.  They've gotten better, but not much.  Their cheap cars are still very cheap, and they look and feel like it.  But fair is fair - let's give them a shot.


Kizashi
So far, every midsize car I've tried has been both comfortable, and just barely above my $20k limit once you actually find one with the basic, necessary options.  The Kizashi does not buck the trend.  In fact, of the half-dozen at the dealership I visited, the cheapest was over $23k.

But you do get a nice car for the money - nicer than you'd expect from Suzuki, at any rate.  Entrance/exit was OK, but not awesome.  A little worse than Sentra or Elantra, especially in the head department.  The seats were extremely nice, but the one I tried was the >$30k premium trim level.  There was enough room all around.  When I asked the salesman the chances of actually getting a Kizashi with an automatic for under $20k, he said "Maybe in a year or two, when they come back used".  Drat.


SX-4
This is what Suzuki does best - small and cheap.  The "crossover" version with AWD, touchscreen GPS, heated seats, and all the other bells and whistles, is still a bit under $20k.  This is the only AWD vehicle to make the list.  Comfort wise, it works.  It's easier to get in and out of than the Kizashi.  The upright seating posture is excellent for larger people, and there is enough room for all of me.  The seats themselves are cheap and a bit on the hard side though, and long trips might get uncomfortable.  I can't shake the stigma of the brand name, but I have to admit this might be a contender.

Mitsubishi

There are no Mitsubishi dealers near me, but it turned out to be well worth the drive.


Lancer
The souped-up version of the Lancer (Evo) is all the rage with rally drivers and people who think they're rally drivers.  It's also expensive as hell.  The toned-down version is much more reasonably priced.  Unfortunately, it's also pretty small.  Getting in was even more difficult than the Focus, and the seats were hard.  My head just barely grazed the roof, and if I were to hit a bump, I would probably be knocked unconscious.  Not good.


Outlander Sport
When making up the original list of <$20k, >30mpg cars, I somehow missed the Outlander Sport.  It's the only SUV in America that meets my requirements - though only in the base 2WD configuration.

This is a very comfortable car.  Like all SUVs, it has a higher ride height and therefore higher seat, which means much easier ingress/egress than lower vehicles.  Even on the base model, the seats are very nice, and you have plenty of room in every direction.  My only minor complaint is that the center console is at mid-shin level.  This means that there is plenty of room to spread my knees, but if I do, the console presses into my lower leg.  It's not excruciating or anything, but it's an annoyance.

Logically, this should be the ideal vehicle.  It offers similar economy to many of the smaller vehicles, but gives the option of carrying back seat passengers and cargo as well.  But there just seems to be something wrong with replacing my existing SUV with another SUV.  On paper it makes sense, but I don't see how it can really be as efficient as smaller, lighter compacts and subcompacts.  Mind games aside, this is going to the semifinals.

Smart

This post was meant to be a joke.  The joke's on me.

ForTwo
This is the smallest and cheapest car available in the US.  It's only as long as most full-size pickup trucks are wide.  I didn't think I would even be able to get inside one of these microcars, let alone sit comfortably.  I was wrong.

What kind of devil-magic is this?

Due to some very clever engineering, this was actually more spacious than nearly all of the cars I've tested.  The doors are wide, the roofline is very high, and there's nothing in the way of my knees.  It's amazing.  Granted, it's so narrow that there wasn't room for a center armrest, and there is no room whatsoever for cargo unless you want to strap it into the passenger seat.  But there is a lot of room for a driver, and that's pretty much all I'll be transporting anyway.

I do have some reservations about the handling and acceleration of such a tiny vehicle.  I am also acutely aware of how absurd I will look driving this go-kart.  I didn't take a test drive yet, but if this makes it to the final round of evaluations, I will have to.  It's just too cheap and too comfortable to completely rule out, even with the other concerns.

Hyundai

15 years ago, Hyundais were a joke.  Now, they're probably the best value for money on four wheels.  Build quality and materials have gone from piss-poor to very respectable.  I knew going into this that if I could fit into one of their cars, it was going to be the one to beat.  Dammit, I fit into all three.  Comfortably.


Sonata
I didn't really pay attention when I put this on the list.  Yes, you can get a Sonata for under $20k, but that's with a 6-speed manual.  As much fun as that would be on leisurely drives, it's considerably less fun in stop-and-go traffic.  I don't have that kind of patience, and I'd likely burn through a clutch per year.  Upgrading to an automatic would put this out of my preferred price range.  It might be worth it anyway, but rules are rules.  Besides, the Elantra is just as comfortable, nearly as nice, and is within my range.

For the record though, it is a very nice car.  Easily as comfortable as the Fusion and classier than even the 200.  For about $27k you can get one that will put cars costing ten grand more to shame.  Maybe in a few years...


Accent
The first time I stopped by the local dealership, all the 2011 Accents were sold out and the 2012s hadn't arrived yet.  Today they had one 2012, and though it was already reserved, they let me sit in it.  It was pretty much perfect.  Other than having to duck my head a bit more than usual, getting in and out was easy.  There was loads of room inside, including more width in the knee area than nearly all the other cars I've tried so far.  The seats were wide and comfortable, and the armrest was where it should be.  The interior was plainer than the Sonata and Elantra, but still nicer than you'd expect given the <$16k price tag.  I really liked this little car, and if the Elantra didn't exist, I'd probably be driving one in a month or two.


Elantra
This was the sweet spot between the slightly too-expensive Sonata and the slightly too-cheap Accent.  Space-wise, it was about the same as the Accent.  But the look and feel of the interior was noticeably improved, and that bumps the overall comfort up a notch.  I did have to duck my head a bit getting in and out, but not drastically so.  I think this might be a winner.

Fiat

My original list of potential cars did not include Fiat.  That's because I was not aware they were available in the US already.  Well they are, even though dealerships are still few and far between.  Fiat is still testing the American waters, and they are only offering one model this year.  Luckily for me, it's one that meets my criteria for testing.


500
As a huge Top Gear fan, I have known about this little Italian city car for a few years.  It's immensely popular in Europe, and I can see why.  It's cute, without being ridiculous like the New Beetle.  The interior is stylish without being gaudy.  I very much wanted to fit in the Fiat.

But I don't.  Of the two dozen cars I've tried, this is the first without enough head room.  Even with the (vertically adjustable) seat all the way down, my head hit the roof liner.  The only way to fit was to lean the seat way back and sit like a gangster.  Of course, without a telescoping steering wheel, this left me unable to reach the wheel comfortably.  Everything else was OK - not great, but OK.  But the head room thing is a deal breaker.