Hi Guys,
First of all, thanks in advance.
I’m sure most of you have heard this question in forums so many times: “which car should I buy” but I believe it is just fair to ask this question since every person has a different scenario, budget, driving conditions; basically needs to address which is very important in selecting a car. Moreover there’s a 5 year commitment here in monthly payments so tough decisions are to be made. So I hope you can help in mine:
This December, I’m due to change cars by the company. I currently own a Honda City 2011 1.5E AT. We receive 23K monthly and 12K allowance in gas. We usually combine both as a diskarte to cover the monthly, maintenance, and day-to-day gas. That’s about 35K. I have shortlisted to 3 choices: 2016 Hyundai Tucson 2.0 AT GL CRDI, 2016 Honda Civic 1.8E CVT, and 2013 Mazda 3 1.5L V SkyActiv. I’ve test driven all and I like them all kung pwede lang. honestly, each car has different pros and cons:
Pick 1 – Honda Civic 1.5E CVT - DP: 120K Amort 60 mos: 21.6K
It looks amazing, its an eye turner talaga. Features loaded: push start, auto start enging, multi media display is fantastic, auto brake mode, eco mode, LED Headlights + DRL, Blue tooth, HDMI, Apple Car, etc etc etc… list goes on. I like the speed, its really fast + I know how driving a Honda feels since I own one. Bonus also would be only 2 maintenance per year and the resale value is really high. It’s really a high priced sedan with amazing features and premium look, tech, and feel.
Pick 2 – Mazda 3 1.5L Sky Active – DP: 115K Amort 60 mos: 20K
Looks amazing. Pogi kung Pogi. Features loaded, it has all the Civic specs except: no auto start engine, no ecomode, no auto reak mode, no DRL, and not CVT. But, it has G-Vector. I test drove it a while ago and the handling is just amazing. Very swabe and the drive just feels amazing. Feel economy is also the best among my 3 choices.I just felt like it’s under powered though and it’s not as roomy as the Civic. Bonus would Youjin 3 (no service for 3 years) and its way below budget so more savings for me. But ofcourse, resale value is not good.
Pick 3 – Hyundai Tucson 2.0GL CRDI – DP: 95K Amort 60 mos: 27K
At a glance, it is really expensive but my monthly run range is at 2,300 KMs. If you convert that in to peso value at its avg of 9KM per liter (minum traffic driving) – its gonna save me 4-5K per month compared to the Civic and about 3K from the Mazda. Net it out, perhaps we can see just a balance in monthly cost. But the Tucson GL version just drives me nuts in its tech features – no keyless entry (you have to buy aftermarket), no passenger airbag (talk about safety), multi-media- 2-din radio MONO. No frills, no techs, no comfort add-ons. Just good old CRDI engine for fuel economy, good ride (being an SUV). Im also scared of my PMS costs since its dsl and since its Korean, kinda scared of that too. Bonus my dealer is willing to throw in the accessories: Keyless entry w/ Alarm (IKR?!?), Back-up sensor, fog lamps. Also, you can buy aftermarket for the radio display.
PS. I basically drive to work every day and my work entails me to go provinces: batangas, quezon, Pangasinan, mostly accessible thru highway about 2-3 times a month.
So there it is. As you can see, one gives up the other if you put comfort + tech + economy + savings all together. Hope you guys can give suggestions on what to pick.
Salamat po