06 sanata, 06 elantra, or the last of the left over 05 sanatas, or 05 elantras.

Thanks Bill...I just checked out both the Elantra and the Sonata online. I like the idea of the Elantra coming in the hatchback and can be the ABS option. We are kinda curious on these vehicles and are going to visit a dealership tomorrow to see them up close.

Casey

Thinking about a new Civic at all? They're bigger than your Civic (the Civic is now the size of the first Accord). You also might consider a four-cylinder Accord or Camry; reliable, good room, decent economy, and priced much better because most people want the "vroom" of six cylinders. If you'd consider buying from an American company, I would look at the Chevy Malibu. I'd recommend Buick, too, but they don't have anything smaller than "mid-size" or listed below about $22K.

Steve, the new Civic is much larger than my little 1983. We are giving them a thought also. Also giving thought to the Corolla. We are kinda a mixed lot here with buying American for our motorcycle and SUV but have not been so with our small vehicle. Today we are going to take a few quick looks for a better feel before we narrow our research down to a couple of cars. Then a test drive to chose the one, do our research before making an offer.

Wife suggests considering a "certified used vehicle"...wondering if anyone had any thoughts on her idea as it is another one that I want to look into.

Your thoughts are appeciated and I have been looking into them.

Casey

One other consideration would be the Volkswagen Golf. The Golf (and its cousin with a trunk, the Jetta) is very well-equipped at its price (a Civic or Corolla may have a lower list price, but once you start adding options to make them comparable...). And I don't think you'll find a stronger/safer car in its class. I've heard of many accidents from which the VW occupants walked away, while the same could not be said of occupants of the other cars in the accident. They also drive nicely; more fun and more involving than the last Corolla and Sentra I drove. The disadvantage of the Volkswagen is that their initial quality is not near Honda's or even Toyota's and that their maintenance requires more attention on your part than most comparable Japanese cars.

We thought about that one Steve, about the VW Golf...it is Jetta but with a hatchback. We liked the hatchback option and gave thought to the TDI. Money is still a bit of a concern since we are springing for our daughter's college expenses.

We have a 96 Explorer...throwing that in since we looked at the Subaru Forester today. First we checked out the Hyundia lot looking at the Elantra then the Accent. They make it work trying to find an auto trans, abs braking and the such in the same vehicle. Lots of manual trans out there.

Then we dropped by the Subaru lot we drove by. We have always liked the Forester and the new 2006 2.5x with auto trans is running about 21k. Pricey of us right now but...???

Went by the Ford lot because we saw a Ranger pickup and were just curious. Also looked at a few Focus sedans. No complaints but nothing special. Exception is that Ford is having a 3k rebate going on right now. Figure that is just for the 2005 and not the 2006. A 2005 Ranger, auto trans base level could be had for about 11k after the rebate. I know there is more likely more room for negotiating further down but we are not ready for that stage yet.

Now the question looms...the Hyundai does not have the solid feel of the Subaru...and the Subaru is nearly double the price of the Ranger. The Ranger can be used to visit our daughter at college and haul her stuff, can be used by me to commute to work and haul stuff at home along with pulling our utility trailer if needed. The Subaru has AWD and would be more comfortable driving over the mountain pass during the winter and can also be used to tow our utility trailer.

Got thoughts to digest...hmmm. We are the kind of folks who keep cars for the long term. The Civic we have had for the last 22 years. We figure the Subaru will see a couple of decades and possibly the Ranger...not sure about the Hyundai.

Thanks for listening...am always open to your ideas.

Casey

If money is a concern and you want space and comfort, check out the Chevy Malibu Maxx. With the deals available right now, you can drive a Malibu Maxx LS off the lot for about $16,500 and that will include side impact airbags, automatic, flat folding front seat, reclining and forward/backward sliding rear seats, and tons of other stuff. I have not seen any car in this size, fuel economy, or price range that offers the rear seat and cargo room that the Maxx does.

I too would consider the Chevrolet Mal-Max, even over the VW Golf TDI - the VW dealers seem to be determined to ruin the very car they sell.But a good indie can make all the difference...
I've had three Chevrolets - all good vehicles - like to see GM make a comeback...
You may never find another car as good as the Honda was - now nearly an antique !

I have a 2003 Hyundai Elantra that I love. It's almost 10 years old and I have not had any problems with it. It gets great gas mileage. I keep it well maintained and hope to have it a lot longer. It's got over 165,000 miles. I would definitely buy another Hyundai. The new models are really nice. Good luck.

Um, Plgriner? The OP posted this in 2005. That was eight years ago. He probably already traded the car he bought back then.