car comparison (prospective buy)

[VexXx Dogg]

so i thinking about another car next year, so i have to plan and do my background research early.
right now i have an eg8/9.

so far it is a tossup between:

A: NZE Corolla
B: VRG Galant
C: SIR EK4 hatch or sedan.

what i would like to know is if you ever owned one of these cars, what kinda issues i should expect, give me some ideas as to choose.
performance is a bonus, but i looking for reliability, economy, and quality.

please, i dont want a copy n paste of the cars specs, just your EXPERIENCES with each or any.



thanks in advance.

[Rx]

no experience with any of those , but ....... I'd choose the civic hatch

[Shaquon]

I'll go with the corolla, the most boring of the 3 assuming all are left stock, but likely to be the most reliable.

Excitement easier to add that reliability.

[JJ16]

i guh say Civic Hatch..dem ting real sweet

[Silvermike]

the SiR isnt in the same class as the other cars...

its a better car around. faster, safer, more fun

Vrg struggle for parts and the toyota is ok for what it is.

[JJ16]

yea jus if u buy the SiR hatch..doh get de brain like some ah dem civic men nah..doh be drivin rong de place saying uz de bess... stay normal

[wagonX]

If you go NZE you wont regret it. I have one and I have had to replace one part and that was beacause a certain place cleaned my car with the wrong thing (no fault of the car).

The car rides nice even with 17s and 45 series tyres the fuel economy is great most of us NZE owners get between 450 - 550 kms highway per fill premium and sometimes more. Parts getting easier by the day to get considering that alot of the places in the bamboo now starting to bring down engines and body parts.

The only problem is that is you like speed youre going to have a hard time adjusting, but of course you could always get the 1800 2ZZ supercharged.

Silvermike, I cant talk about an SIR because i've never owned one...I hope youve owned an NZE to validate that "its OK for what it is" further more I need to know how an SIR is safer.

[Silvermike]

one of my friends owned one(NZE). i owned an SiR

the sir is a sport sedan. its got a stiffer chasis, more roll protection. a better suspension, more resposive steering, better brakes.

[wagonX]

one of my friends owned one(NZE). i owned an SiR

the sir is a sport sedan. its got a stiffer chasis, more roll protection. a better suspension, more resposive steering, better brakes.

What you just described are features based upon what the car is, a sport sedan. That does not make it better than an NZE, the SIR is just constrained to a basic design rule; form follows function.

What in an SIR makes the chasis "stiffer" than an NZE.

[Silvermike]

so a sport sedan isnt better than an economy sedan?

dunno. could be the larger antiroll bars etc.

[3stagevtec]

I'd go with the EK4 hatch first (power weight ratio ), then the Corolla.. dunno about the galant. Never had problems with reliability of our Civic..

[equipped2ripp]

well the NZE is newer than the SiR...

it depends on what you want really, the SiR is quicker than the NZE and it also depends on if you are going to do mods to the car or not

[wagonX]

Anyway...at the end of the day VexXx Dogg, has a choice to make yes. I love the NZE but I understand Silvermike's, point about the SIR being more fun, it all depends on personal preference I guess.

[seanf3000]

The VRG is a stay away from car now yes........parts harder and harder to get. Ins companies giving a hastle now. bleah! too much troubles.

NZE corolla is a nice car....but not a performance car. Safe and reliable tho

SIR civic....i'll agree not in the same category as the other cars. In fact thats three diff categories right there. A econo sedan(NZE), a mid size lux sedan(Galant) and a sport econo sedan(SIR). I knon..i know....its becaus they around the same price ent?

Anyway........you have to choose which one you really want.

But mike......EK4 sedan has a worse crash test rating than an NZE corolla eh!

[Val]

SiR is a much faster car than the Corolla, but the Corolla will probably be the one with the least problems as it is a much newer car. NZE Corollas are comfortable, quiet, peppy enough for a 1.5, VERY VERY easy on gas, and one great thing - you don't grab attention. It's a car that just fits in very easy wherever it goes. They don't give trouble, parts are a bit on the expensive side if you're going brand new but that's normal to Toyota, and parts are on par with Honda.

Since you're looking for reliability, quality and economy, the Corolla wins here hands down. SiR would win if performance was really a priority.

Big note to make, NZE Corolla is a newer car than the SiR, so you would expect to have less problems due to wear.

[VexXx Dogg]

well i have an eg sir conversion, and i luv it - no hiccups or anything, but an eg8->eg9 != eg9

but i heard a lot of bad things about the vrg, but is that truth or misconception?
that is why i wanted a couple vrg owners to reply.

thanks for the opinions eh fellas, keep em coming.

i always liked the hatchback EK sir's but to find them is another story, and a conversion out of the question - i want an original this time.

[cinco]

boy i only ever see 2 of dem hb sir's and both was silver
one was owned by a woman in ansa mccal

[warriorking]

For safety and reliability I would go with the Corolla. The suspension is better than the Galant & Civic. It is not really a performance vehicle but you could do some mods to it

[equipped2ripp]

the SiR hatch is a rare find...

[krazeevic]

Least problems is Corolla. SiR all the way, but you have tuh maintain it.

[JJ16]

i doh understand de comment ah SiR being a very safe car..yea is ah nice car and ting..have gud suspension..buh i fine dem ting does bounce real plenty yes....thaz my opinion though..buh i luv SiR's i fine dey does look gud..perform nice and ting..prices ah lil high..buh de ting is it kinda expensive for parts ent?? and well i fine one ah de bess ting in de SiR is de sunroof and de lil stock music it does come with nice

[Silvermike]

bounce?

a proper stock sir suspension is pretty good. and it does not bounce

[3stagevtec]

i doh understand de comment ah SiR being a very safe car..yea is ah nice car and ting..have gud suspension..buh i fine dem ting does bounce real plenty yes....thaz my opinion though..buh i luv SiR's i fine dey does look gud..perform nice and ting..prices ah lil high..buh de ting is it kinda expensive for parts ent?? and well i fine one ah de bess ting in de SiR is de sunroof and de lil stock music it does come with nice

new shocks does help wit the 'bounce' thing...

[JJ16]

oh scene nah well some ah dem i know does buy this "tein" kit ting..buh tha is nuff paper i fine..nah well i mean like if uh on de highway gunnin ah nice 180 or 160 if u hit ah kinda hill drop ting.. * only on trinidad highway eh* de car does kinda jump i fine..well thaz from sittin down inside feeling..i never really drive behind dem 2 notice that. so i doh know how de car does look from de outside..or if the "inside" body does jus jump

[Silvermike]

i think any stock suspension will bounce and that speed hiting those ramps.

infact, if it wasnt an SiR u might have lost control

[JJ16]

lol true that..well i using my stock suspension tha came with ah 1.5Carb engine and it have ah 2.L Fuel Injected engine in it now..and well i doh get de bounce like dem when i hit it when we going somewhre in ah hurry..my car does maybe drop lower as in when it bounce down nah..buh i doh get de up bounce..i does only get de down...so de bottom ah de car touch like once on de highway..but tha was de DUMB ramp ting after grand bazaar jed..stueps dem hadda fix tha jed...i does feel REALL SORRY for ppl sometimes when dey hit that..i does see one set ah line on the road from ppl car draggin or hittin

[dillon]

I have the misfortune of being the owner of a vrg......apart from the fact that mine has a very high *ILO* that is Instant Leg Opening abililty, lots of laugh, the maintainance on her is very high.....Parts are hard to get and there is not very much options available when getting parts are concerned.....A common misconception is that the tiptronic transmissions give plenty trouble, this is not so in my case, as I use her as a daily driver and she pulls exceptionally well considering the power to weight ratio......this might be a bias fact, as I do all the tuning on her myself.....

If I had a choice, I would swap her for the nze corolla........as it is a newer model car than all involved in this post.....the great fuel economy is also an added advantage...........but it all depends upon what you intend to use her for and why.........

I personally tend to stay away from hondas.....as many of us are still under the (Fast and Furious) phase.......Most honda owners think that they have the fastest cars, but fail to notice that all the three hondas ran sr20 engines......ironic, isn't it.....

Anyways,,, In no way whatsoever am I lashing out at Honda owners.......Just my two cents...

[VexXx Dogg]

ahhhh finally a vrg owner.

thanks for the input bro.

[JJ16]

^^wah u really lookin for outta this next car u wanna buy?...like wah u tinkin of now..wah u wah..speed..looks..comfort....??

[VexXx Dogg]

combination of all.

as i said - i have an eg8 with an eg9 conversion - so i accustomed to a certain performance- drove an almera and it sucked.

but i want comfort, looks, performance (not necessarily speed - but a lil pep doh hurt.)
MOST OF ALL - RELIABILITY.