Topic: Mega Comparison Test: 2013-2014 Compact Cars

[greengs]

Pretty big error in the Jetta write up.  It doesn't have the DSG.  Only the GLI and diesel equipped Jettas plus the Jetta Hybrid get that.  2.0,2.5 and now the 1.8T get the conventional 6 speed auto.  But if you guys thought you had the DSG maybe the conventional auto is pretty good 

[Boff]

Did you guys publish a scoresheet or did I miss it? Looks to me like price might have been weighted too heavily in your rubric, especially because you seemingly made no effort to match the cars on options and equipment. People would cross-shop a $22k Sentra with a $22K Focus (they exist!), not a $30K Focus.

Manufacturers decide what to submit, we asked for compacts under 30k,thats what each make submitted. There are only so many trims on fleet at any time.

That's been a problem since the beginning of time. But there is something wrong when a car you all hated finishes mid-pack. As suggested, a C/D-style summary is what is needed (and what I meant in my original post) so that at least the reader can assess what the categories are and what are their weights. If they are focused on interior styling and infotainment/gadgets, they can then specifically examine which cars score best in those respects. And then you could give a price-independent score as well.

People will quibble with your rankings whether the rubric is transparent or not. The current thread is proof of that.

[firewired]

Good article, team, thank you.  Would never be able to satisfy everyone's individual opinion in a comparison of this many vehicles, regardless of trim/price.  There will always be fans of one brand or another.

As a former and currnet Mazda3 owner, I waslooking forward to the newmodel.  I like everything about it except a pair of gripes, which I admitedly would be unable to live with because, well, we sit inside a car:

1. I am miffed at Mazda for making the tach so small and pushing it to the lower-left of the dash where it becomes basically pointless.  The speedo/tach could have been left as-is, but updated digitially to stay with competitors and still maintain the style and ergonomics needed.  Not an issue for slushbox owners, but I want the 6spd-manual so that tach is important to me.

2. I agree that while the infotainment unit (I hate that word and what people use in their cars these days... it is a car, not a eexbox or peace4) might be very slick, it looks like they tried to put an inukshuk on the dash, meaning it looks like an after-thought to me, anbd ugly;  they should have embedded it into the centre console.

If I was in this market right now (and I am almost always in this market), I would wait to see the Forte Hatch when it arrives.  I am very interested in seeing how that matches up to this group.

[rrocket]

Ugggg....no scoring data again?

So are we to assume the winner was chosen on gut-feel then?

[jyarkony]

Pretty big error in the Jetta write up.  It doesn't have the DSG.  Only the GLI and diesel equipped Jettas plus the Jetta Hybrid get that.  2.0,2.5 and now the 1.8T get the conventional 6 speed auto.  But if you guys thought you had the DSG maybe the conventional auto is pretty good 

Shoot - Jacob caught that last night when tabulating the specs and I missed the revision in Peter's write-up! And this after just publishing Greg's review the other day where he details the transmission. aaaargh...

Fixed up now. But sorry about that.

[Ontariodriver]

I really dislike the look of the Mazda 3. It seems out of balance Too much front end. Very dated looking. Sort of  90's.   I'm sure drives lovely. I wouldn't buy one cause I hate the way the car looks. 

[whaddaiknow]

Good thorough review, guys!
Surprised at Corolla's 2nd place finish and Cruze's demise. But I have no reason to doubt the results. I fully expected the Cruze diesel to take the cake given past history.
Can't say which one would end up in my driveway. Many very good choices.

[Northernridge]

That's a lot of work autos.ca people, congrats on putting such a large project together. I accept the results…especially because I haven't driven the current generation of any of these cars. My observations:

Domestics finished dead last…just like the bad old days

Recent darling Elantra faired poorly

Long-time darlings, Jetta and Mazda 3 faired well

The-reviled-by-enthusiasts Corolla kicked a$$ and took numbers

I bet us forum members would have guessed radically different results. e.g. who would have placed the Focus second last and the Corolla second overall?

[Vanstar]

For me, it would boil down to the Civic or Mazda 3.

The Civic is a proven product, with great resale and well known reliability. It drives well and is well put together. It will probably last 20 years with only the most basic maintenance.

The Mazda is a very nice car to drive with new technology that makes for good performance and fuel economy. It is very fun to drive. However, Mazda's reputation for long term quality is not a good as that of Honda.

Ultimately, in this class of car, I would take the Mazda because it's a hatchback I like the utility. I wouldn't have it long enough for reliability to be an issue anyway.

The really good thing is there is really not a bad car here. They are all good. It all depends how much you want to spend. Personally, I would not go above $25,000 before tax on a car of this class but others, of course, would disagree with this idea.

[Vanstar]

That's a lot of work autos.ca people, congrats on putting such a large project together. I accept the results…especially because I haven't driven the current generation of any of these cars. My observations:

Domestics finished dead last…just like the bad old days

Recent darling Elantra faired poorly

Long-time darlings, Jetta and Mazda 3 faired well

The-reviled-by-enthusiasts Corolla kicked a$$ and took numbers

I bet us forum members would have guessed radically different results. e.g. who would have placed the Focus second last and the Corolla second overall?

Interesting, eh? I have had quite a few Elantras as rentals and I really dislike the thing. They simply seem fragile. Hitting bumps makes the car shake and head on different decisions. They only thing going go the Elanatra is price and easy financing. That's the crowd I see driving them, people who would have bought a Chevy 30 years ago. In fact, the Elantra is the Chevy of the 21st Century and I see them in working class areas all over Canada.

I haven't driven the new Corolla yet but I have looked at it. The interior is huge and well screwed together. Ms Vanstar loved it and that is what really matters in cars in this class.

We had a Focus for an extended rental this summer and my observations were identical. Nice car, drove well, but too much money for what you get. Get a used SEL and you'll do well.

The Dart is horrid, an also ran.

[hemusbull]

This is probably the article of the year for the Autos.com team!
There are some interesting things I have observed:
1) The dominance term of any car in this category became shorter and shorter.
2) The best one is not necessarily the most sold.
3) It's a mixed comparison - hatchbacks, sedans, 4WD, gas and diesel...
4) The cheapest and most economical on paper (Sentra) isn't the best...or worse.
5) One of two most expensive is death last - Dart.

[Weels]

I fully expected the Cruze diesel to take the cake

High-five!   

The Cruze was my personal #1 choice,  but appears I was alone with that opinion based on the overall rankings (I was one of the volunteer judges)
I still like it as much as I did in the last review 18 months ago.  The diesel won me over, and I like the interior, seats (best of the bunch for me) and ride/handling balance.  The exterior styling is looking a bit dated though.

The interesting thing for me was when I tallied up my personal scores, there was only 4 points separating the 2nd and 8th place finishers.  My scores didn't include the value/pricing factor, if it did, the Cruze would get bumped by the 2nd place finisher (Mazda 3)... and Corolla would have ranked much higher.  I wasn't as enamoured with the 'Rolla as others, but will admit it is significantly improved over the last one I drove.

Here's some notes from each car, in the order I drove them:

Focus:
- Shifting is better than the 2012, but still has the shudder from a launch that turns off so many people.
- Interior/driving position is cramped, but fine ergonomically
- Engine feels much weaker than the numbers suggest

Forte
- chassis and steering feel much better sorted than its Elantra cousin
- liked the engine here... much stronger mid-range response than Focus
- looks more expensive than it is

Impreza
- chassis is very secure and confident.  AWD system worth every penny
- terrible seats, spongy foam and very little support.  My back wasn't happy
- CVT with paddle shifters?  Hahahahaaa ...  Whoa... they work (!!)

Sentra
- Want a cushy ride & space?  Winner.
- Everything about this car says to you "Hey.  Slow down."  Driver seat rocked on its post on a moderately aggresive on-ramp entrance
- Interior much improved over previous model

Corolla
- MUCH improved, but:
- brake pedal has that same numb/dead feel
- lots of road noise
- vertical dash design needs a re-think.  Nav screen disappears in sunlight

Mazda 3
- solid planted chassis, but harsh ride
- not a fan of the hatch styling.  The sedan looks 1,000x better to me.  Others in the group felt otherwise
- didn't like the speedo/tach display.  Screen glued to the top of dash sure is pretty though

Dart
- that clutch.  Enough have bitched about it, so I don't have to
- like the Tigershark, good power
- that was me in the review who said "does this thing have shocks??"
- the seat bottom cushion storage cubby was the only thing in the 11 cars that made me say "ooh! Cool!"

Elantra
- chassis needs work
- steering needs work
- NVH among the worst
- Blech.  My last place finisher by a large margin

Cruze
- Diesel rules
- Transmission a bit laggy in first
- Liked the seats best of all competitors
- I'd buy this car ahead of the 3, even with the price difference

Jetta
- Good power from the 1.8T
- Transmission not happy being rushed in first gear.  I had a couple of very rough shifts
- Best stereo of the lot FWIW

Civic
- Nav display right out of 2003
- Ride surprisingly bad over the airport concrete ruts.  Actually made my neck hurt.  Being the last car driven after a long day may have made it seem worse
- Surprised by the high fuel consumption

[Solstice2006]

Haven't finished the whole article yet, busy day.  But looks good, not surprised by the winner, Mazda3 just looks great inside & out.  Can't wait to see how the new Golf will measure up against it. 

Maybe a poll would be good to add...?

[cruzzer]

Thanks for undertaking the huge task of comparing the biggest selling car segment in Canada! I'm with those that it appears price was weighted too heavily in the results. The widely disliked Sentra beat some pretty good cars seemingly on low price alone. I've never yet seen a Civic do so poorly in real world fuel economy as well. Seems very strange as it regularly competes with the best. The Corolla's strong result surprises me almost as much as the Sentras. 

[ArticSteve]

Great effort ppl and interesting reading.

At the end of the day these vehicles leave the floor based on the monthly payment and not the "cash price as tested".   Would be interesting to see a monthly payment based on the distributors' current interest rate offerings expressed over 60 months, taxes and freight in.

[JohnM]

Great article and thanks for taking the time to do it!!!!  You may now collapse in a non-automotive seat.  Your work is done.

I'm amazed at the Cruze diesel fuel numbers - I thought they would be much better.  The Civic didn't match the Corolla in efficiency.  Big surprise.

There are no bad cars here but personally, I can't imagine life without a hatch.  Do the rest of you have the butler pick stuff up??

I'll bet when you do a test in 2015, there will be a heavy representation of electric and hybrid cars.  Can't wait.

The Prius C could have been in here easily price-wise and would certainly be interesting to many buyers in this segment.  It would suffer in the comparison in several areas but as a commuter and city car, which is what a lot of these are used for, it would be unmatched in several areas as well.  And it has a hatch.

Cheers,
John M.

[tooscoops]

i just feel bad for the dart... every review/comparo uses words like "good car" or "not a bad choice", or "i like it".... but it just doesn't stack up. if they just dropped their pants on it and sold them as a loss leader type model, maybe then it would weigh in better. but what good is it to have an alright car that loses you money?.. especially in a fickle marketplace.

anywho, i too was surprised at the cruze... the rest of it, not that surprising. i feel that the styling of the 3 hatch is a bit too sport backy... kind of gets away from the point of a hatch... and the "best infotainment system" looks ridiculous... i guess i have to use it before i judge, but based on first glances, it's my least favourite. so it wouldn't be my first choice, but i know how much "car people" seem to love the mazdas and rate them higher than most people car shopping do.

good write up, and i agree with the majority that it would be nice to see a little box (like the one you have on your single vehicle reviews) that shows the avg score in at least the major categories...

[Sir Osis of Liver]

I fully expected the Cruze diesel to take the cake

High-five!   

The Cruze was my personal #1 choice,  but appears I was alone with that opinion based on the overall rankings (I was one of the volunteer judges)
I still like it as much as I did in the last review 18 months ago.  The diesel won me over, and I like the interior, seats (best of the bunch for me) and ride/handling balance.  The exterior styling is looking a bit dated though.

The interesting thing for me was when I tallied up my personal scores, there was only 4 points separating the 2nd and 8th place finishers.  My scores didn't include the value/pricing factor, if it did, the Cruze would get bumped by the 2nd place finisher (Mazda 3)... and Corolla would have ranked much higher.  I wasn't as enamoured with the 'Rolla as others, but will admit it is significantly improved over the last one I drove.

Here's some notes from each car, in the order I drove them:

Focus:
- Shifting is better than the 2012, but still has the shudder from a launch that turns off so many people.
- Interior/driving position is cramped, but fine ergonomically
- Engine feels much weaker than the numbers suggest

Forte
- chassis and steering feel much better sorted than its Elantra cousin
- liked the engine here... much stronger mid-range response than Focus
- looks more expensive than it is

Impreza
- chassis is very secure and confident.  AWD system worth every penny
- terrible seats, spongy foam and very little support.  My back wasn't happy
- CVT with paddle shifters?  Hahahahaaa ...  Whoa... they work (!!)

Sentra
- Want a cushy ride & space?  Winner.
- Everything about this car says to you "Hey.  Slow down."  Driver seat rocked on its post on a moderately aggresive on-ramp entrance
- Interior much improved over previous model

Corolla
- MUCH improved, but:
- brake pedal has that same numb/dead feel
- lots of road noise
- vertical dash design needs a re-think.  Nav screen disappears in sunlight

Mazda 3
- solid planted chassis, but harsh ride
- not a fan of the hatch styling.  The sedan looks 1,000x better to me.  Others in the group felt otherwise
- didn't like the speedo/tach display.  Screen glued to the top of dash sure is pretty though

Dart
- that clutch.  Enough have bitched about it, so I don't have to
- like the Tigershark, good power
- that was me in the review who said "does this thing have shocks??"
- the seat bottom cushion storage cubby was the only thing in the 11 cars that made me say "ooh! Cool!"

Elantra
- chassis needs work
- steering needs work
- NVH among the worst
- Blech.  My last place finisher by a large margin

Cruze
- Diesel rules
- Transmission a bit laggy in first
- Liked the seats best of all competitors
- I'd buy this car ahead of the 3, even with the price difference

Jetta
- Good power from the 1.8T
- Transmission not happy being rushed in first gear.  I had a couple of very rough shifts
- Best stereo of the lot FWIW

Civic
- Nav display right out of 2003
- Ride surprisingly bad over the airport concrete ruts.  Actually made my neck hurt.  Being the last car driven after a long day may have made it seem worse
- Surprised by the high fuel consumption

That lines up much closer to my experience than the overall results here.

[JacobBlack]

The problem with the Cruze is exactly as Peter Bleakney describes. The bigger lump of an engine kills the handling, and the transmission is a pig. In non-diesel form it might have been higher, but it is also in need of an interior and exterior update. Simply put: The others caught up.

[Snowman]

I fully expected the Cruze diesel to take the cake

High-five!   

The Cruze was my personal #1 choice,  but appears I was alone with that opinion based on the overall rankings (I was one of the volunteer judges)
I still like it as much as I did in the last review 18 months ago.  The diesel won me over, and I like the interior, seats (best of the bunch for me) and ride/handling balance.  The exterior styling is looking a bit dated though.

The interesting thing for me was when I tallied up my personal scores, there was only 4 points separating the 2nd and 8th place finishers.  My scores didn't include the value/pricing factor, if it did, the Cruze would get bumped by the 2nd place finisher (Mazda 3)... and Corolla would have ranked much higher.  I wasn't as enamoured with the 'Rolla as others, but will admit it is significantly improved over the last one I drove.

Here's some notes from each car, in the order I drove them:

Focus:
- Shifting is better than the 2012, but still has the shudder from a launch that turns off so many people.
- Interior/driving position is cramped, but fine ergonomically
- Engine feels much weaker than the numbers suggest

Forte
- chassis and steering feel much better sorted than its Elantra cousin
- liked the engine here... much stronger mid-range response than Focus
- looks more expensive than it is

Impreza
- chassis is very secure and confident.  AWD system worth every penny
- terrible seats, spongy foam and very little support.  My back wasn't happy
- CVT with paddle shifters?  Hahahahaaa ...  Whoa... they work (!!)

Sentra
- Want a cushy ride & space?  Winner.
- Everything about this car says to you "Hey.  Slow down."  Driver seat rocked on its post on a moderately aggresive on-ramp entrance
- Interior much improved over previous model

Corolla
- MUCH improved, but:
- brake pedal has that same numb/dead feel
- lots of road noise
- vertical dash design needs a re-think.  Nav screen disappears in sunlight

Mazda 3
- solid planted chassis, but harsh ride
- not a fan of the hatch styling.  The sedan looks 1,000x better to me.  Others in the group felt otherwise
- didn't like the speedo/tach display.  Screen glued to the top of dash sure is pretty though

Dart
- that clutch.  Enough have bitched about it, so I don't have to
- like the Tigershark, good power
- that was me in the review who said "does this thing have shocks??"
- the seat bottom cushion storage cubby was the only thing in the 11 cars that made me say "ooh! Cool!"

Elantra
- chassis needs work
- steering needs work
- NVH among the worst
- Blech.  My last place finisher by a large margin

Cruze
- Diesel rules
- Transmission a bit laggy in first
- Liked the seats best of all competitors
- I'd buy this car ahead of the 3, even with the price difference

Jetta
- Good power from the 1.8T
- Transmission not happy being rushed in first gear.  I had a couple of very rough shifts
- Best stereo of the lot FWIW

Civic
- Nav display right out of 2003
- Ride surprisingly bad over the airport concrete ruts.  Actually made my neck hurt.  Being the last car driven after a long day may have made it seem worse
- Surprised by the high fuel consumption

Great review, but can you quantify this