Advice and suggestions on a car for around 5.5 to 6.5 mil

[Tharusha Amarasooriya]

I'm currently considering switching from my Suzuki Stingray to a sedan, but I haven't decided on a specific model yet. Comfort, reliability, and fuel efficiency are my top priorities when choosing a new vehicle, open to any suggestions and advice . Thank you  

[matroska]

  On 2/11/2024 at 3:52 PM, Tharusha Amarasooriya said:

I'm currently considering switching from my Suzuki Stingray to a sedan, but I haven't decided on a specific model yet. Comfort, reliability, and fuel efficiency are my top priorities when choosing a new vehicle, open to any suggestions and advice . Thank you  

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Well prices are a bit inflated now but decent choices in your budget. Toyota's in this budget range are overpriced. 

1. Honda Civic FD Series (2007 onwards)

2. Mazda 3/Axela - BL Series (2008+)

3. Well below your budget - Mitsubishi Lancer CS3/CS2 (2010ish) 

[matroska]

  On 2/13/2024 at 4:00 AM, Tharusha Amarasooriya said:

Thank you for the reply.

would you say , 

• Toyota Allion 240 2003-2005
• Toyota Yaris/Belta 2007/2008
• Honda Insight 2009-2011
• Toyota Axio 2007/2008

are also comparatively worse than the ones you mentioned ? I've also considered these due to them having decent fuel consumption .

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I wouldn't say they are worse. But consider this. Toyota's are overpriced in Sri Lanka. 

If you look at the prices : the same price of a Honda Civic FD4 or an Axela which are around 13-15 years old will only fetch you an Allion that is 20 years old and  Yaris/Belta which is a class below the Civic/Axela/Lancer. (Yaris/Belta are budget sedans and if you properly inspect one from each model you'll realize that the Civics/Axela/Lancers are much more refined, have more features and generally a better grade of car than the Yaris/Belta)- with the Axio lineup Toyota created a sub-line-up of the Corolla for Japanese domestic market ( @iRage will have more info on that) so if you do a test drive and spend time with each of these cars you'll figure out that the Toyota's in the same budget, while decent cars are a notch below when it comes to overall refinement. 

While acknowledging fuel consumption is important in these times do not base a purchase purely based on it - this will leave you disappointed. Your friends at work, your cousins and your uncles will probably tell you that the Allions, Yariss and Axios give magical fuel economy but in reality it differs based on usage, condition of the car, the state of the engine etc.. For instance the Yaris comes with old school auto gearbox as opposed to the CVT on belta- the fuel economy is really not that good.  Due to the sentiment of fuel economy and reliability Toyota's tend to be seen as investments hence changing hands frequently- meaning that these cars are usually not really cared for, dressed up and sold. If you do get a good honest Allion by all means go for it but honest Allions/Premios/corollas are like unicorns. Of course None of these cars will give you the fuel economy of your Suzuki Stingray. 

RE the insight which is a hybrid - if you're ok with hybrids check out the Civic FD3,  : A much nicer and more complete car than the insight - and yes it's a hybrid. 

Left field suggestion : If you can live with the looks Get a 2008/2009 Nissan Tiida for around 4.5 Million max (if you bargain you can get for well below that)  invest the remaining 2M in a Fixed Deposit. Even if you get 10% interest rate you'll still get 200,000 in interest per annum - which calcualates to 16,000-17,000 per month that you can use on fuel. 

(Suggest to redo these numbers - i'm giving these off the top of my head and it's been a long day so my numbers could be wrong) 

[iRage]

  On 2/13/2024 at 11:30 AM, matroska said:

with the Axio lineup Toyota created a sub-line-up of the Corolla for Japanese domestic market

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With the E140 series the Corolla for the export market increased in body size (i.e. the 140 Corollas that Toy#ta L#nka imported). However, the Japanese domestic market preferred a narrow body version. This was mainly due to the vehicle registration classification system. With a narrow body and an engine less than or equal to 1500cc it fell in to registration category called 5 number.  This category has a slightly lower tax rate than a slightly lower than what the larger global Corolla would have been called a 3 number category (3 number cars are cars with an engine capacity between 1501 - 2000cc OR those that measure more than 5 number car dimensions (so even if it is a kei car if the body is large it will get the larger 3 number car tax). The E140 Axio, global Corolla, Premio/Allion all used the same platform (or some derivative of it). So the E140 Axio was quite nice. The E160 Axio (the one with the Hybrid) changed all of that. The E160 series Axio actually used the Vitz platform which was much smaller and things like suspension setup was not very good. So the E160 Axio feels quite cheap and unrefined compared to the previous gen E140 series Axio.

Toyota released the latest Corolla series in Japan in 2019/2020. The company intended to stop the E160 Axio one year after that after all the orders for the car had been fulfilled. However, the E160 Axio ended up being the only 5 number sedan in Japan (as the Honda Grace was pulled out of the Japanese market and Japan never got a small sedan from any other manufacturers). As a result sales of the E160 Axio saw a sudden spike. The car found a new level of popularity with fleet owners, especially driving schools, and old folks. So 3 years after its planned death, the E160 Axio is still being produced. Oh..and when the E160 was first released the motoring community hated it. Reviews of the car had headlines such as Japan's car to the world is an embarrassment to Japan. 

[Tharusha Amarasooriya]

  On 2/12/2024 at 8:42 AM, matroska said:

Well prices are a bit inflated now but decent choices in your budget. Toyota's in this budget range are overpriced. 

1. Honda Civic FD Series (2007 onwards)

2. Mazda 3/Axela - BL Series (2008+)

3. Well below your budget - Mitsubishi Lancer CS3/CS2 (2010ish) 

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Thank you for the reply.

would you say , 

• Toyota Allion 240 2003-2005
• Toyota Yaris/Belta 2007/2008
• Honda Insight 2009-2011
• Toyota Axio 2007/2008

are also comparatively worse than the ones you mentioned ? I've also considered these due to them having decent fuel consumption .

[Tharusha Amarasooriya]

  On 2/13/2024 at 11:30 AM, matroska said:

if you're ok with hybrids check out the Civic FD3

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I looked into FD3s and asked around a bit, but majority of the people warned me about having to replace the battery and suggested Allion 240 as a better alternative, I really do like Civics so I think ill look into both Civic FD3 and Allion 240 and ill go for one that's well maintained with a good history. Thanks @matroska for the info and @iRage on the in depth info on corollas , Appreciate it !