Oh yea. I hated that 6 speed auto with a passion. I ran out of time before work, but I'm going back Wednesday morning to get a nice long test with the 6 speed manual Cruze.

Like I said earlier, I really had no intention of testing the Soul. The dealer was trying to push it because of the price point, and because one was a manual. I also like the fantastic ins rates on the thing. But I've all but eliminated it unless I dont have the upfront money to get the other two.

Cars I tested.

VW Jetta - Hated the dumbed down, cheapened feel of the new model. A youtube tester likened the interior to a "black plastic coffin". I get that statement after driving it.
Mazda 3- It was my second favorite before I tested the Cruze this morning. It was eliminated because I felt really cramped in it, especially in the knees and calf area. On long trips I NEED leg room or i get fidgety and antsy.
Ford Focus- Did not test the Fiesta, but I tested the new Focus. I felt like I was sitting in a cave. The dash and the sills were so high I felt so disconnected from the road. Also with all the problems with my Taurus, I felt like I need to take a break from Ford and try something else.
Nissan Sentra- Liked the sporty drive, but the interior was just plain garbo. Felt like a retal.
Mitsu Lancer - Tons of road noise, and to get the features I wanted I had to step up to a higher level.
And then the other 4 I went into depth above....

As far as supension, are you talking about the muted "thud" that the Hyundai's give when hitting big bumps???

My sister has that same Elantra. She loves it.

She also has a new Sonata that she thinks is awesome.

I would personally buy the Cruze IF you like the manual. I loved the car, but the auto trans was God awful...and GM usually has the best shifting autos.

Start pushing the Elantra and you notice the lackluster chassis setup. Also, I've heard the Sonata has the thud thud over bumps issue, but I have not read anything on the Elantra yet. The Elantra on the exterior is real sharp, but I don't like swoopy dashboards on the inside.

Well they drive like...um...women. redflip

The thump over bumps is the front link pins. At about 70k they needed to be replaced.

Ok peeps, money may have made the decision for me. I had today off and did my final round of testing, and brought a friend along for second opinion. Went back to Kia and tested the automatic Forte (no manuals) and the manual Soul. Went and tested the Chevy in manual trim this time. And then went to retest the Elantra and ask about the possibility of finding a manual on that.

I'll start with the Elantra. Retested it on the dealer's test track. The thing performed awesome. The stearing was heavier and more direct than I remembered. Not a ton of body roll. The suspension was compliant and quiet. And the engine felt surprisingly strong for a 1.8 L. The bad news is they only have 2 left. One with the Preferred package which bumps it to 19,6 and one with the Limited package which pushes 24. I asked about finding a manual and they said 0% chance. Basically 96-98% of the Elantras shipped this year came with autos. So we ran some numbers on the Preferred package and with $2000 down the monthly payments would be $240. Thats $40 more than the very high end cap I wanted to put on my spending. So unfortunatley my favorite car is out of the running.

Moving to the Chevy, I finally got into the manual version. The fuckers put me in a POWDER BABY BLUE car. :wtf: This was the basic LS trim. Initial reactions were that the clutch was just buttery smooth with nice short shifts. Engine was a tad anemic. Apparently the meshy interior I liked so much on the auto I tested is only in the LT and up. My LS came with ugly 2 tone plastic. Chevy wanted $2450 down and $182 a month. Sticking to my $2000 down limit would mean the monthly payments would go up $10 to $192. That is $200 for a car that doesnt even have electric side mirrors or alloy rims, and is the most cramped.

Finally tested the Forte 4 door and it was nothing to write home about. Nice heavy steering feel and a pretty planted suspension feel. Engine was somewhere between the Hyundai and Chevy. Because they have no manuals in stock I couldnt test one, it has steel wheels with hub caps, and it would be much more than the Soul, I threw it out.

The Soul seems to fit the most for my current situation. They have plenty of manuals in stock in many color options. At the price of $16,300 you get all the necessities plus things like alloy wheels, ipod hook up, cruise control, key fob, etc. It has the most leg and head room. It is by far the cheapest in insurance too. They are offering $159 a month with $2000 down. I could take $500 off of that down payment and roll $10 in the payment a month too. I might actually do that. And the salesman told me if I wanted the upgrade to 15k miles a year lease he could do it for free.

I'm still mulling it over, but I might bring home a new Soul by Monday....

Get all your hamster friends ready!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VutSJ...eature=related

All 3 of those will probably have poor resale, just because of the brand name.

2 of them are great cars. The third (the Soul) is OK but it's very stiff-riding, and the interior is OK but basic. Also I'm not a fan of SUV-style without SUV capability.

He is leasing.

His only concern with resale is how much it affects the residual.

That's why you get the previous gen, on the Certified Pre-Owned program.

I'd recommend a 2009 Jetta GLI turbo........You could get one for $18-19K.

2009 is better than 2008 because they upgraded the engine to a timing chain instead of a timing belt.

In that case, find out how much the residual will be, and decide for yourself whether you think the true market value on that date will be more or less than that. If it's equal or less, leasing's an OK idea.

I would never lease a really popular or rare speicalty car, though......The market value would be a lot higher than what the factory maggots set the residual at.