Battle of the Hatchbacks (used Fit vs. Matrix/Vibe vs. Versa? Which to get?)
 

Hey guys, need some advice. I'm about a year away from buying my next car and I'm stuck between 3 vehicles. I'm looking to spend around 6,000 or under on the next ride.

Honda Fit

Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe

Nissan Versa

Each car has its pros and cons but I would love to hear from you all. Thanks for any advice.

Wait for best Fit
 

I'd say wait right now until the 2014 Fit Hybrid gets to market.
That will have stunning fuel economy, even better than the first gen Insight...!

It will cause an influx of second-hand Fits, so their price will drop a bit. Either get those or the new superefficient Fit and use what you save on gas to pay off the loan.

The Matrix seems to be the one with more aftermarket support, which seems to increase possibilities to some ecomods. But if the US-spec Fit had a CVT, I'd suggest you to get a 1st-gen one.

Both my sisters have Versas and both have had lots of problems with emission controls and rusting exhaust among other things. be warned.

Why not a Toyta Yaris?

Chevy Sonic?

You know for about the same MPG and cost you could have an 04,05 Civic, which is a bigger car, is very comfortable, and has a surprising amount of cargo space with the seat backs down in back. Rated at about 15cu ft trunk space alone. I love mine. Just remember to change the thermostat immediately, a 10 minute job that could save you thousands.

There is nothing like a hatch back compared to a sedan for cargo space and ease, I don't think I could handle owning a car with a trunk.

I was thinking of getting a Fit, Yaris, or Versa a few years ago. My overall conclusion was that the Fit was the best, followed by the Yaris then the Versa. This was only considering the manual transmissions, I didn't even consider an automatic.

How firm is your $6000 budget? The only car you listed that you could easily find for that much is a Vibe/Matrix.

What are you priorities? What kind of mileage are you looking for and what would the driving conditions be? There are countless places you can find the pros and cons for each car, we need to know what you're looking for in a car to help pick one for you.

As for other cars that might fit the bill, Mr. Money Mustache has this list of practical cars that I think is pretty accurate.

I got a used pontiac vibe GT when I was 19. It is a pretty solid ride. My model had a 6 speed manual tranny and an engine that revved to 10grand. Being a child still, I liked to go running around at higher RPMs because it felt "sportier." It has a nice 2nd power band from 6grand-8grand. Just remember that it is a Toyota with Pontiac nameplates. I got pretty good gas mileage doing 15mph over the speed limit on highways with CC. I used to take leave with it and went 900 miles each way on it. Put a K&N "cold air" intake on it, and saw a noticeable increase in power and FE. No numbers, but I did track MPG back then, just didn't realize how heavy my foot was back then. I probably could do quite nicely with it today, too bad my buddy wrecked it while I was deployed x_x

Pros; low maintenance, efficient engine

Cons; peppy engine and the temptation to floor it from time to time. I seriously don't know why it had such a high rev ceiling...