Hey guys, I will start with an introduction. I am an incoming 4th year college student with 4 years of driving experience. For the past 4 years, I've owned and driven 3 cars (yes, every year I drive a different car, not my fault). For the first year, I drove a gray and black '96 Lancer EL (itlog). That was my first car given to me by my dad and pretty much it became makalampag, mausok, and a gas guzzler (ok, blame me, that was my practice car). Next, I was given a 2nd hand '97 Lancer GSR (2 door pizza). I really loved that car and made me look extra handsome! I upgraded and modified it a lot and it looked so good. I lowered it 3 inches from the ground, 17" mags, sound setup, touchscreen DVD, leather upholstery, etc. I was totally in love with that car.. Until I had to sell it because of some personal reason. Then, my father gave me a 2006 CRV. All I could say is that it was the most comfortable ride of the 3 cars that I've driven. I can hardly feel the bumps, and I don't have to worry about my underchassis being hit by the humps (unlike my previous lowered GSR). Recently, my father told me that we are putting too much money on my gas allowance since the CRV is consuming a lot of gas. 150-200php worth of gas per day. we're spending more or less 2,000php every week! That's when he decided to buy me brand new subcompact car to replace my gas guzzling SUV.

He told me that he would get me a Suzuki Celerio because Suzukis are the "pro" when it comes to small cars. But aesthetic wise, I don't like the looks of the Celerio. But I would really like to have a small hatch for a change. Here's how I would rank the subcompact hatch section.

  1. Spark
  2. Picanto
  3. i10
  4. Mirage
  5. Celerio


I also don't like the Celerio because its features are too much stripped down. Well, that's what I should expect with that price range. But the Spark, Picanto, and Mirage have better features and offers more bang for the buck.

I am debating with my dad over his decision and it seems that his decision with the Celerio is not final and I can still dissuade him. However he is giving reasons why the other cars are not his type.

Spark - "mahirap maghanap ng parts ng Chevrolet.", "hindi naman sanay gumawa ng small cars ang chevy."
Mirage - "madaming problema ang Mirage. Ni-recall nga ng Mitsubishi yung units niyan eh."
Picanto and i10 - "Korean cars yan eh. iba pa din kapag Japanese cars."

Ang daming dahilan diba haha. I am leaning towards the Spark mainly because of it's looks and good looking interior. I also like the Picanto because it looks modern and has a good interior. Oh, and I drive a manual tranny but I can also drive an automatic (of course). and my usual route is from:

my house--college--SLEX--girlfriend's house--SLEX--my house

so it's like 80% city driving and 20% highway driving.

I would still be studying for law school for the next 4 years (or more hahaha) which is why I am hoping to find a good looking and efficient car so that I don't have to bother changing cars again.

so the million dollar question is: Which among the five cars would you suggest and why?

NOTE: I have already read the other threads similar to my concern, but I think these do not suffice. Help me please! thanks
http://tsikot.com/forums/car-compari...a-honda-91651/
http://tsikot.com/forums/car-compari...14/index3.html
http://tsikot.com/forums/car-compari...-mirage-92635/
http://tsikot.com/forums/car-compari...io-help-93048/