Car and Driver Compares Eight Small Cars in their May Issue

[AVANTI R5]

Car and Driver Compares Eight Small Cars in their May Issue

Results - Points Out of 250

1) Volkswagen Rabbit - 212
2) Subaru Impreza 2.5i - 193
3) Toyota Corolla - 191
4) Saturn Astra XR - 190
5) Mitsubishi Lancer GTS - 189
6) Suzuki SX4 Sport - 179
7) Scion xD - 165
8) Ford Focus SE - 162

http://www.autospies.com/news/Car-an...y-Issue-28752/

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[InvertedB]

Good showing for the 2.5i right there, but the Rabbit smoked them all!

[IMPREZ A WRX]

Isn't this a very old article?!

[Yotsuya]

No, the Rabbit won last year's test, too.
The disappointing thing was the article mentioned these all have mpg ratings of 30+, but none of them made it; the Rabbit and Impreza were below 25 if I remember.

[Tragedy]

No Honda?

[Len]

And no Mazda3?

Weird..

[Dubya R Ex]

honda fit should be there and it gets 30+ mpg

[Handsdown]

fit and yaris are both subcompact. that said, the fit feels just as nice or nicer than all of those. and mazda 3 would more than likely obliterate them as well.

[Calamity Jesus]

Originally Posted by Yotsuya

No, the Rabbit won last year's test, too.
The disappointing thing was the article mentioned these all have mpg ratings of 30+, but none of them made it; the Rabbit and Impreza were below 25 if I remember.

My WRX averages 24mpg.. they obviously weren't trying very hard to get normal mileage.

[reynolca]

Originally Posted by Len

And no Mazda3?

Weird..

Apparently the Mazda3 was beaten by the Golf in their last comparo so the Golf returns to take on the newcomers.

[ptclaus98]

I take IMMENSE pleasure in seeing the Focus dead last.


"But it has our brand new Sync system!"


:slap:

[Doc Holiday]

I was driving in a focus with sync the other day when out of nowhere (truck wheel?) the windshield blue screened on me!






just kidding



Too bad they don't bring over the european focus, I think it would have done much better.

[Stanley]

Originally Posted by Beaverboy

My WRX averages 24mpg.. they obviously weren't trying very hard to get normal mileage.

My WRX got 20 pretty consistently for 112K miles. Having said that, I was able to get about 26.5 out of the loaner Outback I had last winter on a trip to Tahoe. If the larger vehicle with that engine (and crappy 4 speed automatic) can manage that kind of mileage in the mountains, the smaller Impreza should be able to get a bit better. Of course, you have to take into account how the magazine testers actually drive these cars. It's surprising any of them got over 20!

[max_stirling]

I normally get ~22.5 mpg on my AP stg 1 Legacy GT wagon in mixed driving, 23.5 mpg before the AP. Low of 20 mpg on a 90% city tank and a high of 29 mpg on a tank that ran across the WVa, Ohio and Indiana at ~80mph.

24mpg on a NA Impreza is terrible. I thought those NA 2.5i engines normally get 27-29mpg in mixed driving.

All measurements were calculated and not taken from the stock avg. mpg meter.

Originally Posted by Stanley

My WRX got 20 pretty consistently for 112K miles. Having said that, I was able to get about 26.5 out of the loaner Outback I had last winter on a trip to Tahoe. If the larger vehicle with that engine (and crappy 4 speed automatic) can manage that kind of mileage in the mountains, the smaller Impreza should be able to get a bit better. Of course, you have to take into account how the magazine testers actually drive these cars. It's surprising any of them got over 20!

[ptclaus98]

Originally Posted by Doc Holiday

I was driving in a focus with sync the other day when out of nowhere (truck wheel?) the windshield blue screened on me!






just kidding



Too bad they don't bring over the european focus, I think it would have done much better.

Well, they do have it. It's a Volvo.

[Spenk]

Originally Posted by max_stirling

I thought those NA 2.5i engines normally get 27-29mpg in mixed driving.

They don't. My Legacy averages between 23-25mpg, 60/40 highway/city.

Long road trips deliver 28+.

[SiFuSpEc]

my '05 2.5rs gets 29mpg repeaditly mixed mileage.. maybe 27 if i'm stupid with the throttle

[FaastLegacy]

Originally Posted by max_stirling

I normally get ~22.5 mpg on my AP stg 1 Legacy GT wagon in mixed driving, 23.5 mpg before the AP. Low of 20 mpg on a 90% city tank and a high of 29 mpg on a tank that ran across the WVa, Ohio and Indiana at ~80mph.

24mpg on a NA Impreza is terrible. I thought those NA 2.5i engines normally get 27-29mpg in mixed driving.

All measurements were calculated and not taken from the stock avg. mpg meter.

24 mpg isn't terrible, relatively speaking, for a Subaru. My OBS with the 2.2 got around 27 mpg on an excellent day with me driving like a granny. So I don't think 24 is *that* obscene. You don't buy a Subaru to get excellent gas mileage, that's for damn sure.

But uh yeah, no Honda Civic and no 3? Last car rag small car comparo I saw, those two cars ran away with it.

[jtom12]

Originally Posted by AVANTI R5

http://www.autospies.com/news/Car-an...y-Issue-28752/

This article has been posted on the C&D website for at least a few weeks now.

The thing they really need to bring into these comparisons is relaiblity. To me that is more important then anything else. And while the rabbit it nice, especially with the optional body kit/rims, it is still a vw. VW's have always gotten poor reliability and high maintenance costs. These reviews only look at what the cars are like when their brand new or with low mileage. Obviously these cars are not going to show any need for repairs or even standard maintenance and obviously most people dont keep a car for only a few years. I think they need to make an effort to include a category for reliability based on stats of last year or if its a new design the relaibility of the old design. If they included this, the scores will be different. Now I understand relaiblity is subjective but its been shown time and again that vw has poor reliability.

So to me, the fact that the rabbit beats the subaru means absolutely nothing to me. Down the road when I will have to make several costly repairs on a vw, it being first place is meaningless.

[08EJ25]

Nice 2 see the Subi in the top 3

[Derbagger]

Funny how the Subaru did better here than in that other article (R&T?) . Amazing what a 5-speed can do.