Car & Bike Which Mid Size Car ..

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i_max2k2

Adept
Guys I'm in the market, to get my first car :) -

Here are some of the cars I'm considering, out of the 4 only the Altima I think is not in the Indian Market, any help would be greatly appericiated, I'm bending towards for the Accord -

I'll be looking to get the V6 EX L trim for the Accord

2009 Honda Accord Sedan - the Official Honda Web Site

or the 2009 Toyota Camry 3.5L V6

Toyota Camry 2009 Models: Camry, LE, SE, XLE, & Hybrid

or the 2009 Nissan Altima 3.5SE

2009 Nissan Altima Sedan, Altima Hybrid - Nissan USA Official Site

or the 2009 Honda Civic

2009 Honda Civic Si Sedan - the Official Honda Web site

Most people here have suggested me to go for the Nissan Altima, as many say its strikes the right balance between sports and comfort, as accord is more on the sports side and camry more on the comfort side. So I'm still pretty confused.
 
i would say that the choice is clearly between the accord and the altima. the camry seems to only be a valid choice for chauffeur driven cars in india (and the fact that it was quite a bit cheaper than the accord in the indian market). I assume, in cali, youll be driving it yourself. i liked, both the accord and the altima (although i havent tried the larger engines you seem to be going for) i preferred the altima for longer trips (cincinnati, oh to panama city beach, fl - 14+ hr drive). However, i definitely have a soft spot for the honda, and so do a lot of car reviewers. In that segment its the real driver's car. Although i may be biased since i have a 99 accord myself and its still in pristine running condition.

Are you going with the automatic transmission? My main gripe with the altima (and all nissan autos) is its CVT. Especially on the 3.5 youre looking at, meshing it with a cvt is a damn shame (but then again i feel similarly about regular autos as well, but not as much as cvts). CVTs definitely make shifts smoother (since theyre non existant) and more comfortable, but you always somehow feel short-changed when it comes to performance.

My 2 cents are on the honda. Happy hunting :)
 
^^ Thanks a lot. This is exactly where I'm right now, Accord vs Altima, I really do like to go on long drives, and thats where the Altima seems to have the right balance, I have so far driven neither cars, but I'm planning to do so very soon. And that is going to factor into the the purchase big time. And yes I'll be driving the car myself and hence the V6 :p , and trust me I feel the same for Automatic transmissions, I would love to have more control with me and I have driven a lot, like almost 7 yrs manual, and I have driven a decent bit on auto too. I really dont mind manual, but a lot of people have asked me to stick with auto. I'm thinking I'm going to make this decision a little later. But coming to the two cars, for some reason I really cannot absorb the Altima styling and this is where Accord is more appealing to me. As I said I'll be going to a dealership soon, and will make sure I'm firm about the styling cause I haven't seen a lot of 2009 Altima's lately, Accord I have. I still have a bit to go before I make the purchase. Thanks a lot for ur opinion, this definitely helps!
 
Altima anyday. A friend of mine purchased it last year and she is very very happy with the car. I had a short test drive as well and was quite impressed by the driving dynamics and also the raw grunt in the engine.
 
Chaos said:
Altima anyday. A friend of mine purchased it last year and she is very very happy with the car. I had a short test drive as well and was quite impressed by the driving dynamics and also the raw grunt in the engine.
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Yep thats what I have been hearing too, just that I am not so pleased with the aesthetics, but after a test drive, I guess things could change.

greenhorn said:
just curious ( not recommending it or anything) , but what about the mazda6 :ashamed:
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Mazda 6 is definitely worth the consideration, EDIT : just checked Mazda 6, it does look good, gonna check on this.
 
i_max2k2 said:
Yep thats what I have been hearing too, just that I am not so pleased with the aesthetics, but after a test drive, I guess things could change.

Mazda 6 is definitely worth the consideration, EDIT : just checked Mazda 6, it does look good, gonna check on this.
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How much is your maximum budget btw? For the altima, get the stick shift. The CVT is pretty sad. The accord is too big and has too much body roll. Best avoided unless you have a large family. You might want to check the Mitsubishi Outlander as well if you are okay with SUVs.
 
Chaos said:
How much is your maximum budget btw? For the altima, get the stick shift. The CVT is pretty sad. The accord is too big and has too much body roll. Best avoided unless you have a large family. You might want to check the Mitsubishi Outlander as well if you are okay with SUVs.
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I'm thinking about $25k, and the price on the website usually comes out to be around 1-1.5k less on the invoice, I have been advised for not going with Mitsubishi coz its supposed to be trouble prone, I did have a look at the eclipse though. I dont like suv's much, but I did look on CRV and Nissan Rogue, man more options make me more confused. I will check the outlander though!

thanks again!
 
FYI the VW Passat has both automatic and semi-automatic gear box.

Semi-automatic can be fun at times.

Aren't German cars supposed to be better than Japanese ?
 
vw and audi have a terrible reliability record in the states. their maintenance is expensive as well. not a good combination to have. while the japs do have higher spare costs compared to their american-brand counterparts, their reliability and the peace of mind from it easily compensate for it.
 
i_max2k2 said:
I'm thinking about $25k, and the price on the website usually comes out to be around 1-1.5k less on the invoice, I have been advised for not going with Mitsubishi coz its supposed to be trouble prone, I did have a look at the eclipse though. I dont like suv's much, but I did look on CRV and Nissan Rogue, man more options make me more confused. I will check the outlander though!

thanks again!
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Avoid the Eclipse. It just looks nice but is impractical, has way too much torque steer and is just too small. Mitsus are pretty reliable. They are towards the top of most reliability surveys and two of my class buddies have gallants which they are perfectly happy with. I hate that car though :p. I drive a lancer here in India and its not let me down here either in much more horrific conditions. Other than an odd rattle, its pretty much held up very very well.

In 25k, I'd still get the V6 manual altima. Best car in that price range. VW is best avoided. If you are open to used cars, look for a BMW 335i.
 
^^With decent options, an EVO is close to 40k way beyond his budget. There's another interesting option though - the Subaru WRX. The lower power version, not the hardcore STi.
 
^lol one reason he may not go for the accord is because it may be less comfortable than the altima on long rides. the evo suggestion is going in completely wrong direction, and is by itself not exactly an easy car to live with day-to-day compared to the segment he's looking at now. not to mention that its 5k out of his budget. that translates into a lot of schwag,

edit: bah, pointing to the post above chaos'
 
TBH I started out looking at C300, 328i/335i & Lexus IS 250/350 , but I was brought back to senses by my parents, to get a not so expensive car to start with, and I agree coz before I get my H1 I dont wanna make a long time commitment with pretty decent monthly installments. 25K is pretty good for Good cars here, and yes eclipse is less practical, getting a loaded model within my price range would be better than getting a first tier model a little out of my range is how I look at it, I'm not looking to get a true sports right now, a family car is wat I'm looking for so Altima is looking good right now.
 
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