Pick a Winner!! ...or why I might become a regular here.

[juxt3r]

Hi, I'm juxt3r. Call me jux. All of my online car friends have since '99.

I currently have a nicely modded '90 Miata. Yes, she's old enough to vote AND drink! There's a single photo in my profile here if you want to check 'er out. I've had this car longer than most of my previous cars, chalking up about six years together. At just over 222,222 miles (turned that a couple of weeks ago), she's due for a driveline swap. That'll be happening in a few months if all goes to plan.

I am somewhat in the market for a daily on the cheap. I've been looking for candidates in the used market, like fairly typical WRXs and Mazdaspeed3s, along with some atypical numbers, like the Kizashi, TL, TSX and a few others.
At the most recent auto show to roll through town, a few buddies and I were drawn to the RS on display, and since I've never had a new car, here I am...reading away.
After a couple of weeks of dawdling about, we finally found a stick shift locally that was available to test drive...and we did. Sadly, the drive didn't allow much for testing anything aside from the right blinker and acceleration up to 40mph.
Regardless, I liked what was on offer. Aside from the complete lack of cd player, the list of "standard options" on the RS is just ridiculously large. The dealer I test drove at already has provided an out-the-door cost for the black '13 RS that's on their lot...and it looks like they hate the car: the quote appears to be under invoice after taxes, fees and whatnot! So I've been reading here pretty frequently for the last 4-5 weeks hoping something will push me to actually purchase.

So that's it for now. I'll go back to my reading and maybe ask a question here or there.

 

[qwed94]

never complain about a cheap price! Now get that price in writing! Find out what you get after the sale! (I mean like free oil changes, tire rotations, ETC). You could always go to truecar.com and see what others are paying.
Remember the RS is the "mack Daddy" of the Sonics. You already drive a sports car so this Sonic RS will either completely impress you or completely dissapoint you. But it is the Sonic version of "sporty". It will give you a firmer ride, and worse gas mileage than the other Sonic brothers. But the suspension is tighter and it has 4 wheel discs.

Yes the RS does not have a CD player. It should have a USB port though. Gather your songs and put them on a thumb drive. That feature works great.

The Sonic has proven to be a top notch subcompact already. There are plenty of aftermarket gizmos for these Sonics now. Especially for the 1.4 Turbo (that the RS has). They are great little cars. I think you will like it more than any car you ever had. The Subbie is great too. I think the AWD in the Subbie is the cats meow, but you living in Dallas, I know you get snow, but how long does it last usually. I think the FWD Sonic will fit your bill perfectly.

 

[Thaifight-R]

LSx Flyin' Miata? haha

But yeah, you already have the Miata to have fun with. I'd say the Sonic would be a good choice for a daily, especially since it gets better mpg than the cars you listed.

 

[Swordsmith]

If you're looking for a cheap ride for your daily, and are keeping the Miata as your fun and sporty, I question the pick of the RS trim. The same engine can be had substantially cheaper in the LT and LTZ trims, with an arguably better transmission, getting better mpg. The suspension is a little better, but there are aftermarket suspensions that make the LT and LTZ better there than the RS, and RS people are swapping out to that just as often as the LT and LTZ people are. The steering calibration is a little better but that's strictly a software swap and people have social engineered that swap in their LT/LTZ cars, still working on getting GM to offer it officially. The principle differences the RS offers are some tweaks to the look and the interior, it isn't really a performance upgrade, it is an appearance upgrade.

If this is a big deal to you, the LT and LTZ do have CD players.

I think regardless of which Sonic you pick you'll be very pleased at what a fun and solid package you get, and for a few hundred bucks you can get a tune that dramatically improves that, so keep in mind that the Sonic you test drove is probably only 4/5ths the Sonic you'll actually own.

 

[Insanika]

I chose my RS for many reasons, not the least of which was that long list of standard extras. You really do need to get her out on the highway at LEAST! Playing around town is not the same. I took mine on a 5-mile F&F down the freeway and came back unable to wipe the SEG off my face.

I know lots of folks here tried to talk me out of the RS, but I knew what I wanted. If you aren't stuck on the RS, give the others a try. Sword alluded to the biggest difference and possibly the main reason most are not into the RS package: The transmission. It's geared lower, more sporty, but for an idea, highway cruising speeds put us close to 3K RPM. I get an average of 32mpg mix and a high of 37 just highway. Your LT/LTZs are going to let you push 50mpg if you work for it.

 

[Swordsmith]

Yeah I didn't mean to imply that the RS is a bad pick, I just wanted to be sure you'd compared the LT/LTZ trims with the 1.4T as possible alternatives. In addition to the points Insanika makes, though, another issue is price; if LT, LTZ, and RS all cost the same I would still pick the LT, but I'd be much more understanding about people going RS instead, since it would be an "all other things being equal" situation... but the RS is simply more expensive as well as the other tradeoffs.

Now if you look at the options the RS includes and conclude that that's a better fit for you and the car is still affordable, sure, grab it!

 

[Insanika]

Part of my train of thought was this:

I absolutely hate the interior cloth on the Sonic. Therefore my choices were leather"ette" or leather. I decided I liked the leather.

Also I just like being special. Lol.

Most reasonable people should check them all out to be sure, I agree.

 

[AndrewGS]

Welcome! You can't go wrong with the Sonic. I got the first Turbo car that my local dealer received and I love it. Mine has the older head unit with a CD player, but between the XM, the streaming Bluetooth and USB iPhone hookup I've never even used it.

What are you planning with that Roadster?

 

[juxt3r]

Hey, thanks for the input, everyone!
Thai, sadly, I can't even come close to an LSx swap...even if I did it in my own garage/living room. But man, that sure would be sweet!
Andrew, the Miata will be getting a 2005 1.8 VVT engine, '99 transmission, '99 rear diff/prop shaft/axles, and a Megasquirt running MS3. All of that to be a street car, but she's my baby of sorts. What can I say?

qwed, Swordsmith, Insanika, thanks for chiming in with your thoughts! I have given a little consideration to the LT and LTZ, though I have yet to actually get into one. I dig the RS basically for all the reasons this particular appearance package is offered: primarily the aesthetics. The gearing/mileage isn't a huge factor, but I do like the lack of mustache, presence of rear discs (even if I have yet to find performance pads for the rear), the unique foglights, and the fact that most every option is already on the car. I even like the wheels, though I wish they were of a smaller diameter. That's just a nit pick, though. The lack of cd player in the RS isn't a bad thing to me. It's just...different. When we were messing with the car at the dealership, we kept trying to lift the face of the MyTouch unit to see if maybe a cd slot was hidden behind it. lol
Off the bat, regardless of trim level, I'd change the tires, shift bushings/lever, and ride height. After that would be 2.5"-3" exhaust and tune.

Reasons I'd go for a lower trim? Well, it's Texas, so I really don't need leather or seat heaters, right? Ugh. The lower spec wheels would allow for a quick change with no guilt. And it sure would be nice to have more than four color choices! The LT looks like it'd end up around $3k cheaper OTD, too. LTZ with options I'd want (1.4, MyTouch, couple of others) would only be about $1k less. IMHO, the rear discs and full leather of the RS make the LTZ a non-factor...for me, anyway.

Oh, and did I mention I'm indecisive? That's really no help at all. :sadbanana:

 

[Swordsmith]

Well if your main reasoning is the aesthetics you are right in the RS core market, that's what it's really about, I hate to see people picking it because they think it's an SS sort of thing; they added a little sportiness but mostly it's about the appearance package, and you're right, paying for all the parts out of pocket to convert an LT to RS look would probably cost more than just buying the RS.

The wheels, I bet you can sell very easily, or even get the dealer to offer you money back on a swap to lower trim wheels. They seem to be very popular among owners of lower trim Sonics.

I agree with the tires, they seem to me the worst feature of the Sonic line; nice wheels, bad tires, the car handles much more firmly with some nice aftermarkets.

$3000 savings on the LT would let you buy top of the line tires, lowering, exhaust, a tune, and still have cash left over... but it wouldn't look like an RS.

Oh, and you forgot, you're living in Texas, first thing you need is Tint. The Sonic is an OVEN down here, you need to keep the sunlight out!

 

[xsonicLTZx]

LTZ has leather..... or is it pleather..... I hate the chrome accents on my ride -_-. But like your self you will need to look at this car one way or another every day...I personally would do an RS, I like the aggressive look to it and I will have to spend a few hundred bucks in buying a lip kit to make it look close to an RS. I guess it would come down to what can you spend comfortably every month..Good luck on your search.

 

[juxt3r]

Good call on the tint, Swordsmith! Totally slipped my mind, ludicrous as that might sound in Texas.

The more I think about pricing vs trim level, the better the LT seems. I do prefer cloth seating, too. But that mustache...
Thought I was done with drum brakes when I sold my last Cavalier several years ago. But hey, they work fine.
I'll scout my nearby dealers to see what's available locally.

 

[juxt3r]

Oh, if anyone's still here...
Is the clutch runout/continued revving during gear changes a mechnical issue from the heavy flywheel or some sort of tuning issue? That's the one thing that flatout annoyed my during my test drive.

 

[Eric Smit]

Oh, if anyone's still here...
Is the clutch runout/continued revving during gear changes a mechnical issue from the heavy flywheel or some sort of tuning issue? That's the one thing that flatout annoyed my during my test drive.

combination of both.

a tune, I recommend for Trifecta as does most of the forum, and a lightweight flywheel will fix it. member Preloader is the guy you want.

 

[Preloader]

I was sprung on the Kizashi Concept. But the actual production model was very disappointing.

 

[juxt3r]

Ahhh, so the rev hang can be "removed". Excellent!!

Never saw the Kizashi concept. The production model at least looked nice. Never got a chance to drive one, though.

 

[JohnT]

Ha I came from several miatae as well...glad to hear about the 99 powertrain swap, it will be great fun then.

I shopped many of the same cars but was tired of the upkeep/maintenance of something older and just wanted something new and unmolested.

I went with LTZ, but grey not black pleather (not ideal for texas, but at least its not black). I really didn't like the cloth style, that was the main reason I didn't go for an LT. But now that I have the bluetooth stuff I do end up using it and liking it.

The RS had not come out yet when bought mine but I'm not crazy about the super short gearing, that would prevent me from going that route. You can always drop tire diameter to gain a little on the LT(Z), they run fairly tall tires from the factory

 

[juxt3r]

Yeah, I've been looking at tire sizing. The 205-55-16 found on some trims is the same as was on my old Z24s. So I know that, while not an offered oe size, 215-45-17 will work nicely and give a slightly smaller diameter than stock. There are some darn fine summer tires in that size, too! RE-11A, Star Spec ZII, R1R, 'kook RS-3... Niiiice.

 

[JohnT]

Yeah, I've been looking at tire sizing. The 205-55-16 found on some trims is the same as was on my old Z24s. So I know that, while not an offered oe size, 215-45-17 will work nicely and give a slightly smaller diameter than stock. There are some darn fine summer tires in that size, too! RE-11A, Star Spec ZII, R1R, 'kook RS-3... Niiiice.

Sounds like you are an autocross guy. I have 215/45 RS3s right now and I'm actually going up to the 225/45 BFG. The cars power drops so substantially up top so I think it might be better to stay tall...but in reality its only a small 1mph at 60 change though.

 

[juxt3r]

The only cone dodging I've done was at an FR-S ride n drive event last summer. However, I do tend to choose my tires like a typical dodger.
The new bfg Rival is also available in a Sonic-friendly size.