2013 Honda Civic vs. 2013 Toyota Corolla

Let's take a look at two powerhouses in the passenger sedan segment, the Honda Civic and the Toyota Corolla.  These cars are staples in America, and I think most people agree they cannot be killed.  But which one is better?

To find out, I'll be using my trusty website, The Vehicle For Me, and I've chosen two mid-level similarly priced trims, the 2013 Honda Civic LX 5-Spd MT and the 2013 Toyota Corolla S MT, both with MSRPs in the low $18K area and both with manual transmissions.

My priorities are probably what most people would have in mind when shopping for a compact sedan.  I'm looking for fuel economy, power to weight ratio, front legroom and headroom, and cargo space.  Now let's see how the two cars stack up!

Link to Comparison Page

Wow this is a pretty decisive, no-nonsense victory for the Civic.  Let's dig into what's going on.

Though it isn't by much, the Civic wins in every category we care about.  It weighs less, has more horsepower , is roomier on the inside, and gets better fuel economy.  So I guess there really isn't much to say here after all.  Get a Civic!

1st - 2013 Honda Civic LX 5-Spd MT

2nd - 2013 Toyota Corolla S MT

2013 Ram 1500 vs. 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 vs. 2013 Ford F-150

Today, rather than looking for a segment/body style of vehicle, I decided to choose three titans of the industry directly and see how they fare against each other.  Those titans are the classic American mid-size pickup trucks, the 2013 Ram 1500, 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500HD, and the 2013 Ford F-150.  As always I'll be using The Vehicle For Me for all specs and comparisons.

Since there are about a bajillion trims for each model I've chosen comparable trim levels for each vehicle, all around the $28,000 mark, and all 4x4s with a regular-sized cab.  Also, my priorities are fairly straightforward as a prospective truck owner.  I'm looking to maximize power, bed size, and tow/payload ratings.  Let's see what we get!

Link to Comparison Page

Given the priorities I set, which you can see in the screenshot, the Ford F-150 beats the Ram and Chevy by a fair margin, though I have to say the Ram looks really good.  In fact, if I remove all priorities, then the Ram actually ends up winning.  But let's stick to the priorities I've set, and see what's what.

Power

First of all, the Ram and the Ford seem to be pretty darn close in the power department.  The Ram bests the Ford in Horsepower, but loses to the Ford in torque.  Interestingly, the Chevy has much lower horsepower here, but a very competitive torque and torque rpm, so the power it does have is available very freely.  The winner in the power department seems to be the Ford, due to it's lower weight.  Otherwise, it really is a toss-up between the Ford and Ram.

Bed Size

Here the winner is clearly the Ram, despite the fact that I couldn't prioritize Bed Width (Wall) due to too many priorities already.  The Ram's bed is longer and wider than the Ford's, and only loses in depth, but the total bed volume on the Ram is significantly more than the Ford's, though it does pay for that with the 100lbs of extra weight.

Tow/Payload/GVWR

The Ford is the clear winner here, thanks to its high torque and low weight.  It achieves the highest tow rating and GVWR, though it does lose to the Chevy in payload capacity.  The Ram is really not that far behind the Ford here, either.

Conclusion

It is surprisingly close between the Ford F-150 and the Ram 1500, but I'm going to have to give it to the 2013 Ford F-150 due to it's better power, front legroom, and not-bad fuel economy, though it seems you do pay a small premium for all that extra goodness, it being the most expensive of the three.  The 2013 Ram 1500 comes in at a very close second, and it would be the one to pick if you're looking for best value for your money, or you need to haul stuff that takes up a lot of space.  And finally, the poor 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 comes in at a meager 3rd, due to it's low power and small size.  However, the icing on the cake is that the Chevy does have the best payload rating, so if you need to haul heavy stuff a lot then this may be the truck for you.

1st - 2013 Ford F-150 XL

2nd - 2013 Ram 1500 Tradesmen Regular Cab

3rd - 2013 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Work Truck 4WD

A look at the state of crossovers with CVT transmissions

I'm going to use The Vehicle For Me to see what the state of the market is with crossovers that use CVT transmissions.

There are actually only five models with this option, and those belong to Suzuki, Dodge, Nissan, and Infiniti, and range from a low price of $18K up to $41K with the Infiniti.  This is going to be a different kind of post, without any specific priorities, because I just want to see how these cars generally compare to each other.  Given these options, I'm expecting the Infiniti to win overall, but another car to win in value.  So let's see what happens!  FYI, I've chosen the FWD trims for each model.

Link to Comparison Page

Looking at the specs, the 2013 Infiniti JX FWD definitely seems like it should win, but the Nissan Juke is somehow able to scrape by on the strength of its cargo space, ground clearance, and front legroom at half the price.  There's no question the Infiniti is the superior car, but is it $20,000 better?  

The value winner here is the 2013 Nissan Juke S FWD, with the Nissan Rogue and Suzuki SX4 coming in a close 2nd and 3rd.  The Suzuki is the smallest of the group, and has some of the best fuel economy, but is quite lackluster in the power department.

My Picks

1st - 2013 Infiniti JX FWD

2nd - 2013 Nissan Juke S FWD

3rd - 2013 Nissan Rogue S FWD

I just realized that the top three vehicles are all Nissan (and Infiniti which is just a high-class Nissan).  I feel bad for the Suzuki and the Dodge getting crowded out, but they just couldn't keep up in the ways that mattered.

Fill my needs: A capable off-roader for camping

This entry is part of a series where I pretend to be a certain kind of shopper and figure out what vehicle is right for me based on my reasoning abilities (and probably my own personal biases as well).  I'll of course be using The Vehicle For Me for all filtering and comparing.

Today's entry has me looking for a vehicle to go camping in.  I don't have much of a preference for SUVs, crossovers, or wagons, I just need something that meets my need to go camping for a reasonable price.  Here's the situation: I have a medium-sized trailed I will be towing, which will require my vehicle to have a tow rating of at least 3,000 lbs.  I also have some kids I'm bringing camping with me (and a wife), so I'll have a voracious need for cargo space.  Beyond that, while I won't be doing a whole lot of off-roading with my trailer hitched, I will definitely want all wheel drive and a high ground clearance, as well as highly available torque at low RPMs.  My price limit for this is $40,000.  Some other features I need are fog lights and traction control.

OK there are a ton options in this category, including wagons, SUVs, crossovers, and even a minivan!  Options range from a Dodge Journey at $26K to Ford Expedition at $39K.  So to get down to a more reasonable number of vehicles to choose from, I've set a minimum horsepower of 200hp.  You can see my filter list here.  On the priorities page, I've set cargo space, ground clearance, total passenger volume, tow rating, torque, and power to weight ratio as my priorities.

Link to Comparison Page

Bottom of Comparison Page

The 2012 Ford Expedition earns a decisive victory here on the back of its excellent cargo space, torque and tow rating, which all are a cut above the rest.  It is the only vehicle here with over 300 horsepower and torque, and it's tow rating of 8,900 lbs is almost 4,000 lbs more than the next contender!  The only chink in the armor is that it is also the heaviest of the vehicles here and it has the worst fuel economy (13/18 mpg), so it is going to cost a lot to drive, but if you're paying $40,000 for a car, then you probably don't need to worry too much about filling up your gas tank (hopefully).

So let's look at some of the runners up, of which there are plenty.  There are four options that come within 25 points of each other (out of over 3,000!), and those are the 2014 Kia Sorrento SX V6 AWD, 2013 Nissan Xterra PRO-4X 4x4, 2013 Toyota 4Runner Trail 4x4 V6, and 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0T AWD.  And of those four, the Nissan Xterra and Hyundai Santa Fe are the clear value winners, with the Nissan doing better in cargo space and clearance, and the Hyundai focusing on power-to-weight and fuel economy.  Both of these can be gotten for around $30,000, which is significantly lower than the Ford Expedition.

Finishing in the middle of the pack are our outliers, the minivan 2013 Toyota Sienna XLE AWD 7-Passenger V6, and the wagon 2013 Subaru Outback 3.6R Limited.  The former obviously focuses more on total passenger volume, sporting a mind blowing 164 cubic feet in that department, and also includes seating for seven, the only entry in this comparison to do so.  The Subaru is the smallest and lightest vehicle of the bunch, and is the more economical, winning the top spot in highway fuel economy (though it comes in behind the Hyundai Santa Fe in city mpg).  These are each great options if you need either more room for your kids, or would like a smaller footprint.

My Picks

1st - 2012 Ford Expedition XL 4x4

2nd - 2013 Nissan Xterra PRO-4X 4x4

3rd - 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport 2.0T AWD

Last Notes: I also have a soft spot for the Subaru because I personally prefer smaller vehicles, so I wanted to give it a shout out here.  Maybe a future post will look for the most economical camping vehicle?

A look into a segment: Compact Pickup Trucks

H628JAUR9M4P This post is part of a series of entries looking at one particular segment and body style, and seeing what the state of the market is by using The Vehicle For Me.  This entry is looking at compact pickup trucks.

I always wanted an El Camino as a kid, and there has always been a soft spot in my heart for compact pickup trucks.  Unfortunately, nobody in the US really makes small trucks anymore like the Datsuns of old.  But let's see what is available.

First of all, let's stick to trucks under $30,000, because I'm not made of money.  That gives us 10 models to choose from.  Second, I can't imagine buying a small pickup truck that isn't a Manual transmission, it just isn't right.  So that leaves us with 4 models to look at, each with a huge selection of trims.  I'll select the base model for each because that will probably be the smallest.  So that leaves us with the Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, Chevrolet Colorado, and the Ford Ranger (which doesn't seem to be made in the US after 2011).

Remember, I'm going to be using this truck for work, so it's going to need decent dimensions on bed size, as well as a good amount of torque and tow capacity.  However, like I said, I want this to be in a small package, so I'm going to select for small exterior dimensions.  

Link to Comparison Page

It is fairly close between the 2012 Chevrolet Colorado Work Truck 2WD at 77% and the 2013 Toyota Tacoma Regular Cab 4x2 at 75%, with the Chevy edging out in front on the strength of it's small size and power in a small body.  However, the Toyota has almost an extra 100 miles of total driving range, due to it's better MPG and larger fuel tank, as well as a better tow rating, that it is really close for me.  This is probably a case where you would have to decide what is more important to you, fuel economy or horsepower.

Trailing behind the Chevy and Toyota is the now-defunct Ford Ranger and the Nissan Frontier.  The Nissan is the largest of the bunch by far, and that pretty much disqualifies it from this discussion, which is strictly looking for compact trucks.  The Ford Ranger is an interesting option if you're willing to buy used, and it is one of the smallest of the bunch (it's the lightest), so it may be worth considering.

Victory: 2012 Chevrolet Colorado Work Truck 2WD

My personal choice here would probably be the Toyota, due to it's better fuel economy and tow rating, though I would definitely want to check out both for a test drive.

A look into a segment: Hot Hatches

This post is part of a series of entries looking at one particular segment and body style, and seeing what the state of the market is by using The Vehicle For Me.  This time I'm looking at hot hatches, a type of hatchback that focuses on horsepower as much as utility.

I'm going to set my hypothetical budget at $40,000 and since I'm buying a car for the thrill it can provide me, I will of course require a sick manual transmission and anything over 175hp.  Other than that I'm not too concerned about features so I'm going to prioritize using the new Power-to-Weight Ratio and Cargo Space.

Coming in first place easily is the 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX STI 5-door with 82%, followed at 72% by the 2013 Mazda MAZDASPEED3 Touring 5-door.  Trailing in 3rd place is 2013 Volkswagen Golf R 2-door at 62%.  The Subaru won handily at Power-to-Weight and comes in second with cargo space, making it a pretty clear winner.  However, if you're looking for a good value then look no further than the MAZDASPEED3, which has slightly lower Power-to-Weight and cargo space but is over $10,000 cheaper, putting it ahead in the Points Per Dollar metric.  The Golf R is kind of in the middle of the pack.  It doesn't offer the power or cargo space of the others, but it's also not as fuel efficient as some of the less powerful options.  However, if you are a diehard Volkswagen person then it is your best bet in this category.

Victory: 2013 Subaru Impreza WRX STI 5-door

I have to give the victory to the Subaru for being such a power house and winning this scenario with such gusto, but my personal choice here would be the MAZDASPEED3, which gets close to the same performance for 2/3 of the price.

A look into a segment: An affordable hatchback for around town

This post is part of a series of entries looking at one particular segment and body style, and seeing what the state of the market is by using The Vehicle For Me.  This go-round is affordable hatchbacks for around town.

I seriously love hatchbacks and wagons, and so this entry is going to be well-trod ground for me.  Hatchbacks are small, inexpensive, easy to drive, have tons of utility for their size, and can be really fun to drive!  So let's jump right in and see what a prospective shopper might be interested in.

For this scenario, I want to focus on hatchbacks that maximize cargo space while minimizing fuel usage.  This really is a strength for hatchbacks so there should be plenty of options.  To limit the number of choices I'm going to require a maximum msrp of $20,000 and an automatic transmission.  Power doors and locks are also a requirement, because I can't be bothered to manually lock and unlock the rear doors for my kid every time I want to leave the car.  That seems to narrow down the field to about 18 models, which still seems like quite a lot, so I'm going to use the Cargo Space filter to only allow vehicles with 15+ cubic feet and Stability/Traction Control.  That still leaves us with ten models to choose from, but I can't think of any more things to filter on here, since we are only really interested in cargo space and fuel economy, so let's move forward.

For priorities, I'm adding cargo space, highway and city mpg, and fuel capacity, because I don't want to be stopping for gas all the time.  Now let's see what the comparison table gives us!

Link to Comparison Page

Looking at this table, there is a lot to take in.  The two Fords, the Focus and the Fiesta, take 1st and 3rd places respectively, mostly on the strength of their fuel economy and range, which is pretty impressive.  Indeed, the Fiesta, with 39mpg highway and a roomy 12 gallon fuel tank, can go 468 miles before it needs a refill!  That's pretty cool for such a tiny car.  Unfortunately, you will be giving up some interior space, but who knows, may you're smaller than me?  The Toyota Yaris, coming in 2nd, is definitely the smallest, but it makes up for it in city mpg, which will come in handy on those grocery trips.  Further down in the pack we get the Hyundai Elantra Touring, which wins in the cargo space department, but things fall apart a bit in fuel economy, where it slurps fuel more than any other car here.  For people who want a little more interior space and respectable fuel usage, the 5th place Nissan Versa seems like a good choice.

Victory: 2013 Ford Fiesta SE Hatchback

I think in this case, the Fiesta wins because I set MSRP plus destination as a priority, and it is the cheapest car on here.  I wonder what would have been first if I had set some other priorities?

A look into a segment: Luxury Convertibles

This post is part of a series of entries looking at one particular segment and body style, and seeing what the state of the market is by using The Vehicle For Me.  First up is Luxury Convertibles.

The market of Luxury Convertibles seems to be fairly niche, with a wide range of options that consider themselves in this class.  At the low end of the price spectrum we see the now defunct Saab 9-3, the Audi A4, Volvo C70, and Lexus IS C all hovering in the $30,000 to $40,000 range. And at the high end we see the Jaguar XK Series, Mercedes-Benz SL Class, and pair of Bentley Continental models all with trims well above $100K.  Of the twelve models available, only four offer a manual transmission, and six offer AWD drivetrains.  Let's look at what comes out on top with a couple scenarios.

Scenario 1: Adrenaline rush for under $75K

I chose the highest level trims possible for each model under $75K, then set my priorities to be Horsepower, Horsepower RPM, Torque, Torque RPM, and Weight.  This will maximize horsepower and torque at the lowest RPM and the lowest weight.

The top three vehicles were the 2013 BMW 3-Series 335is at 74%, followed by the 2013 Volvo C70 T5 Platinum at 69%, and 2012 Saab 9-3 Indepdence Convertible at 64%.  As you can see, even though the Infiniti has more overall horsepower, the BMW hits its maximum thrust at a much lower RPM, and crushes the Infiniti in torque.  Based on the specs, the BMW has it won, but the Volvo appears to be the value pick of the litter with it's much lower MSRP and good gas mileage (unfortunately that part is below the screenshot fold).  If you're on a budget and need to stay under $50K, the Volvo looks like a good bet, but I would probably take the BMW.

Victory: 2013 BMW 3-Series 335is

Scenario 2: Cute "economical" car that looks good

I don't know if this is really what people buy luxury convertibles for, so I just made this up.  In this scenario, I'll be prioritizing total exterior size (smaller is better), fuel economy, and safety.  All cars will need navigation and safety features like parking sensors and stability/traction control, some extra goodies like HID Headlights and power locks/windows, and be Automatics.

Coming in first with 79% of the maximum score in this scenario of "cute" cars is the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class SL63 AMG.  And though it doesn't seem to excel in anything in particular, it comes in the top three in everything important, which is good enough to outshine the rest of the group.  The 2014 Jaguar F-TYPE V8 S and 2013 Infiniti G Convertible IPL 7AT take 2nd and 3rd place respectively.  The Jag is the lightest and the shortest of the three, though it looks like the Infiniti is going to be the roomiest in the inside.  The Mercedes-Benz looks like it could tear stuff up with the power it has, but it may be a little much for "cute", which I think is probably best represented by the Jaguar, which has a better value as well.

Victory: 2014 Jaguar F-TYPE V8 S

This test of scenarios has been helpful for me, as it lets me dogfood my own program on a class of vehicles I would probably never look at, and it shows me that it would be really useful to be able to have more control over certain priorities.  For example, some people might want a car to be longer and some might want it to be shorter, but currently the length priority thinks shorter is better.

Finding the right car for you on The Vehicle For Me

A couple years ago when shopping for a new car, I found myself trying to come to grips with the different options available to me, and I wanted some sort of empirical way to grade each car in a way that was important to me.  At the time, there were "Decision Guide" websites that let you use filters to come up with a handful of cars that fit your needs, but then you were on your own to weigh the pros and cons of each.  So at the time, I made myself a spreadsheet, listed the specs for each car I was interested in, and created a weighted formula.  Each spec was given a weight and I was able to come up with a concrete value for each car based on my priorities, which were front legroom (I'm tall), cargo space, and highway MPG.  I came up with the 2012 Hyundai Accent Hatchback as my top choice, but funnily enough decided on the 2012 Honda Fit instead (I ended up not liking the rear visibility in the Accent).

Cue to this year, I decided that I wanted to give other people the benefits of my spreadsheet formulas without all the muss and fuss.  The result is the The Vehicle For Me!

Front Page

Above, you will see the front page, which provides a simple jumping-off point to start looking at automobiles.  There is also a simple "Highlights" area that shows some interesting info from my database of car info.

So let's say you are looking for a nice little hatchback like I was.  You will want to select the "Passenger Car" segment, and the "Hatchback" body style.  Then click "Let's Go".

Filter Your Choices

On the Filter Your Choices page you can use the links on the left to filter down to exactly the specs and features you are interested in.  Then click the "Compare" button next to the trim(s) you want to compare.  Once you're done, click the "Priorities" button.

Set Your Priorities

On the Set Your Priorities page you say what is important to you.  For me, I've set Cargo Space, Front Legroom, and (below the visible area) Highway MPG.  You can set up your own priorities.  Once done, click on the "Compare" button.

Get The Results

Finally, you're ready to see your results!   Each car gets a certain number of points based on their specs and your priorities, and the percentage is what each car got out of the maximum possible points.  Based on the three cars I'm comparing, the 2013 Ford Fiesta wins by a fair margin.  This is because it had the best cargo space and highway mpg, and came in second in front legroom (though the Kia is spectacular in that category).  You can change your priorities on this page, and see the highlighted rows in the left-most column which priorities are selected.

Once you've seen your results, you are welcome to go back and experiment with other vehicles and priorities and see what the system comes up with!