Not for me per se, but for my daughter who is going off to college. I deliberated between a) Toyco Corolla 2) Nissan Sentra / Versa 3) Huyndai Elantra 4) Scion xD / xA / iQ, and the 4) Honda Civic. In general, I didn't like any of the choices as they were either old in the tooth (Corolla), somewhat cheap and not appealing (Nissan), too funky for her conservative tastes (Scions), or priced to high due to market demand (Elantra). Fortunately, there's a 4th of July special running so I picked up:



Honda Civic LX Sedan

Yes, it's not the most appealing car for enthusiasts like myself (the acceleration is anemic especially in ECON mode), but I wanted something ultra safe / conservative that will last a while for her throughout college and then some (she presently drives an 2000 Integra and didn't really like it). Add to that the specials running this week and we were sold!

As for me, still contemplating between FR-S, NSX, 328i, or another Supra....hmmmm.

P.S. Sorry, but i did not consider any domestic vehicles as our family always buys Toycos or Honduhs (and some Nissans too).

 

Nice pick for a college car. Integras are always nice, but depending on where the college is I wouldn't take it. Thefts of those cars are still pretty high.

 

Aww Id have gotten a Focus in a heartbeat but to each his own. Curious why you omitted the Mazda3 from your search? Congrats on the deal though, hope your daughter enjoys her new car! What a nice dad

 

@ Hoovey - Had a bad experience with a CX-7 and swore never to buy another Mazda again so it was automatically left off.

@ Meow - Sorry, Accent was out of the picture because it starts at $16320 for the auto and where i live, Hyundai dealers think they are better than Toyco / Honduh nowadays and dont negotiate. For a grand more, I could get a bigger, better car in the Civic (that they won't easily outgrow)....which we did

 

Oh wow, I really liked the CX-7. Almost got one before my car, and was coming from an SUV but decided I wanted a car instead. Sorry to hear that. Civics may not be the most exciting cars anymore but their quality and assembly is still first rate, as is resale

I actually have a friend who bought his daughter a new civic too.

 

Growing up my family rode the hell out of Hondas. We had an 87 Civic base model that hit 190k miles before it was donated to a church as a write-off. My father, then 4-years older brother, then me owned it.

Then a 91 Accord EX that was passed down through the 3 of us again. I got $4k for at 170k miles and it was still a champ.

Unbelievably reliable cars. If you could get a new Honda for the same ballpark as other models, that is the way to go IMO.

 

I bought this for my daughter, not my dad buying it for me. She doesn't know how to drive a stick, nor wants to (today's lazy generation i guess). If I wanted to go cheap, I would of gotten a Versa, which could be had for 13k....but I think my daughter would disown me in the future for it. :X

 

Sounds a bit like our family. We "graduated" from the domestics after having so many fail on us and they started buying only Toycos / Honduhs that we would hand down between ourselves and our relatives. I think one accord went through myself, my brother, sister, and 2 cousins before we finally sold it!

Honduhs are definitely not that appealing for enthusiasts anymore, but for the rest of the population it fits everything they need in a car.

 

I have found that simple "point A to B commuters" like Hondas since they just run so dang well. But for enthusiasts they simply don't stack up for sure IMO.

I'm about to start a family but if I had a child needing a car right now I can't imagine I would buy anything but a Honda Civic or Scion.

 

honda deals are pretty good right now. i just picked up a brand new 2012 accord for under $18k. and yes i know the new accord is right around the corner

 

lucky daughter, she better study well! :-)

 

NICE pic, I can respect certainly not wanting to dabble in domestics right now. While there are some good ones out, for this particular application, an import suits well. She will be in college, she might forget basic maintenance, and this car will likely get driven alot as most college students like to explore their surroundings. I know I did.

Congrats to your daughter and to you, I am sure you are one proud dad

What school is she attending if I might ask?

 

Smart choice. The Civic is safe, reliable, and very fuel efficient. A perfect car for a college student. Also, with the huge incentives that Honda is offering, it is possible to buy a Civic for less money than most subcompacts, including Honda's own Fit.

 

Ahh, it's the time kids going to college! A lot of my clients are buying cars for their childern, guess what, half of them bought either Civic/Corolla/Versas, and other half lost to their kids, and bought them V6 Stangs/Camaro/Beetles!

 

And 7 out of 10 who bought the "cool" cars are girls.