Five Things You Should Ask Before Buying Your Next Compact Car
There is a Scott Adams quote about cars which goes something like this,
“In less enlightened times, the best way to impress women was to own a hot car. But women wised up and realized it was better to buy their own hot cars so they wouldn’t have to ride around with jerks.”
Girlfriend we have arrived. Mostly. While Patricia Arquette and company fight for equal pay, I can still squirrel away enough of my hard earned nickles and dimes to purchase a bit of functional automotive sexiness of my own.
But how does one separate the correct fender from the pretenders? The $64,000, right?
One of the great things about the here and now is the ability to gain information quickly. So, when I typed in the top affordable cars for 2015 into a search engine this is what popped up. The Hyundai Elantra is ranked #10 in compact car affordability, according to U.S, News & World Report. That’s no mean feat considering all of the more recognizable brands jockeying for position and car buyer attention.
Recently, I had an opportunity to test drive the all-new 2015 Hyundai Elantra Sport. Typically I am an SUV girl. However, the Elantra Sport impressed me enough to give it a solid endorsement. Even J.D. Powers gives the Hyndai Elantra”highest ranked compact car in initial quality'”.
I have compiled a list of some of the important aspects you may want to consider when making a compact car purchase:
- What type of gas mileage will I get?
- How much does it cost?
- Is this car safe?
- How extensive is the warranty?
- Is this car right for me?
Question: What type of gas mileage will this car get me?
Answer: If you’re in the market for a new car and you want something that is reasonably priced and great on gas, then the Hyundai Elantra Sport is a serious contender.
First, the Elantra Sport performs at 24 mpg in the city and 38 on the highway (compares to the 2015 Honda Civic Sedan and 2015 Toyota Corolla 4AT: source). Like most drivers we tend to do a mix of both city and highway driving, so the average mileage breakdown is in the neighborhood of 28 mpg. Not bad, not bad at all.
And according to the available data, with the Hyundai Elantra Sport the average fuel cost would be about $1900 per year.
Read more on the performance of this car HERE.
Question: How much does it cost?
Answer: If you were to buy a brand new 2015 Elantra Sport you should expect to pay around $24,000 (the average buyer has paid as low as $17,409). This would include added features such as the Navigation system with a 7-inch touchscreen (these are awesome! I want one for my next vehicle). According to AccuPayment.com, you can expect to lease a 2015 Elantra for as low as $175 per month, or finance for about $235 per month.
Question: Is this car safe?
Answer: When it comes to safety, the Elantra passes with flying colors. According to the Government’s 5-Star Safety rating system, it gets 5 stars in Overall Safety Vehicle Score. For a Frontal Crash, the driver side gets 5 Stars, and the passenger side gets 4 stars. For Side Crash the Front seat gets 4 stars and the Rear seat gets 5 stars. And for Rollover, it gets 4 stars. Source: National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA)
You also get a complimentary trial system of Hyundai Blue Link Telematics System. Think of this service is comparable to the OnStar system, and an added bonus. It’s something I would definitely want in my next car for safety purposes, if I broke down, accident, etc.
Question: How extensive is the warranty?
Answer: Do not ever buy a car without the warranty. However, I don’t believe in buying those extended warranties either. I think they are a waste of money. AND those limited warranties are just that. Limited warranties. I had one years ago, and then my transmission went out. Not only had I paid about $100 per month for this warranty, I still had to pay close to $2000 out of pocket to get a new transmission. A total of waste of money.
When you buy a brand-new Elantra, or even a used one (depending on the mileage), you will get a 100,000 miles/120 month powertrain warranty. Toss the worry and fear of paying car repairs out the window when you buy a new or gently used car!
Question: Is this car right for me?
Answer: This might be the most important question you ask yourself before buying your next compact car. Depending on if it’s just you or a small family, the Elantra Sport has enough room for all. I would say that this compact car can comfortably take 1-4 people. This car was perfect for me and the boys during our week review. They were able to stretch out with two comfortably sitting in the back, and one kid in the front. Did you know that the Elantra has more front head room than the Mazda3? If you have small children, then this compact car will work perfectly. Deciding on whether or not a compact car is right for you, will depend on what you plan to do with it. How many people will be consistently riding in your compact car? Overall, you want your car to be comfortable for you, and your consistent passengers. The 2015 Elantra by Hyundai is a definite contender that will give you space, and also comfortably transport your passengers.
Want to get more information about the Elantra Sport by Hyundai? Head over to their website to check out more specs and find a dealership near you!
Overall, regardless of what compact car you decide to buy next, be sure that you take these five important questions into consideration. After all, it’s your money and I want to help you spend it wisely!
See more Car Talk and Reviews HERE.
Thanks to Hyundai and DriveSti for the opportunity to review this 2015 Hyundai Elantra Sport for a week. While this car was given to me for review, these are my own thoughts and 100% my opinion!
These are great tips. I hope to be looking for a new car soon!
I am an SUV girl, so I will never own a compact car in my life, but I am sure this is helpful to people who like small cars 🙂
We have a Hyundai Sonata and love it. We’re looking at the Elantra for our next car. We’ll definitely be sticking with Hyundai – they’re great (and manufactured in the USA).
Hyundai’s are all-around awesome cars! I just bought my 2nd Sonata in July – I had previous one for 9 years!
with 3 kids and an golden retriever a compact car is not in our near future but maybe when he kids start driving.
This car is great and we do love how it drives.
That’s an awesome looking car! I gotta say I am pleasantly surprised with the Hyundai!
Lots of great features. I like the look of this car.
It will be a while before we can buy a compact car again. With our family we need a minivan or an SUV.
This looks like a great car. Nice and sleek. I love the color too!
This looks like a great car. We were in the market for a car the year before last and we asked ourselves a lot of these questions.
We need space for the kids and for when we travel (we travel a lot) so we lean toward minivans.
I’m so glad I’ll have this fresh in my mind. I might have to buy a replacement car soon.
With 3 kids, I am not in the compact car portion of my life right now… but I agree with knowing the gas mileage. So important! I also think talking to a mechanic about how easy the car is to work on is important. Some are much easier to have fixed.
This is the year I am finally going to buy a car, so I’m loving all this practical advice on things to ask and consider before making the purchase. – Katy
Awesome Katy- good luck with your car search!!
I can’t drive a compact car with 3 kids either, BUT these are very important things to know!
I don’t drive but you have shared some great tips for car purchasing. I plan to work on obtaining my license this year so I can do more traveling.
Happy travels Victoria!
These are great questions to ask. Gas mileage is so important!
Great Posts and great Tips. I did a post similar to this one last month and can totally relate , buying a car is so more than just “getting independence” . All the factors you’ve listed are very important
These are some great tips. I will need to take them into consideration when I buy my next car.
Oh I’m liking what they have done with the Hyundai Elantras. Great tips by the way….
I have both an SUV and a compact car. We love both by my little toyota corolla has seen better days and we will be trading her in soon 🙁 Thanks for the tips
Having to replace your transmission would be a great ordeal to go through. It seems like going to a mechanic early on and making sure that the proper preventative maintenance is happening would be a good investment. I would still like to have a warranty though, but still take precautions to minimize the potential for negative outcomes.