the very definition of a penalty box, yuck.
Yes it is cheap, so is McDonalds. Yes, it might get ok fuel economy, but it has absolutely no power. You need power to be safe on Canadian roads - at least 100hp. That way you can get out of a situation if you need to, or pass a truck, etc.
Save money for a few more months, and afford a real car.
Right. That's why the accident rate for smart drivers is so high. Oh wait, it isn't.
I drove an 80hp Tercel for 10 years without incident, and my sister drove a 55hp Rabbit diesel, also without incident.
I hear what you are saying, but it doesn't change the fact that if you wanted to merge on the highway, you would be hard pressed to get up to 80, let alone 100, by the time you got to the end of the entry lane. That is dangerous in my books. Personal preference, but I prefer cars to have at least enough power to get up to highway speed by the end of an onramp lane. That means about 10 seconds.
I actively steer people away from the Spark in my showroom due to this fact. Tried merging with it once, scared the crap out of me. All was fine, but that kind of worry should not enter a driver's mind as they are merging onto a busy highway. Or turning left, crossing two lanes of traffic on a 80km/h road where people usually go 100 - right outside our dealership - is a nightmare and there have been a few close calls with these cars not getting up to speed and almost being rear ended.
I love moderately powered quick little cars, drove a standard MINI and a Protégé we had for years, had like 98hp all told. It was enough, due to the cars light weight, to be adequate.
