What's The Best Small-Med Sedan to Look at Right Now?

LMexay on 28/05/2022 - 16:47

Looking at potentially snagging a new car later this year and either selling or trading in my 2012 Kia Optima.

Will be looking at 30k or under ideally, but comfortable going a touch higher (say, about 5k) for a good car.

Looking at a Sedan because hatchbacks are ugly IMO and I don't want or need a YUGE SUV. I just want something that gets me to work and up the coast every now and then, but is also fun to drive and has enough room to chuck some music gear in. My Optima fits this bill quite well, but at 10 years old it's starting to show its age and is missing a lot of the nice QoL of modern stuff. No kids or need to fit a small army in the thing.

What are my best options here? I want to stay away from Toyota.

Currently looking at a new or demo Cerato or i30, but curious what others think.

In QLD if that matters.

Automotive Car

Comments

  • kerfuffle on 28/05/2022 - 17:01
    +5

    I'd order your new one now if I were you so you can hopefully get one before Christmas

  • bobokingdom on 28/05/2022 - 17:04
    +14

    What's wrong with Toyota? Made in Japan, less than 30K for Accent Sport model. I don't see why you won't consider it if you are thinking i30 or Cerato, Corolla is 10% more powerful, 20% more efficient than Cerato.

    • boomramada on 28/05/2022 - 18:59
      +11

      I got a one answer for you, there are tons of different car models out there and not everyone want to feel and drive a yet another taxi.
      People get attached to cars for various reasons hence the availability of choice for each for each market segment.

  • oscargamer on 28/05/2022 - 17:07
    +7

    Go to carsales website, put in all your search criteria and see what you like. What anyone else likes is totally irrelevant

  • AndyC1 on 28/05/2022 - 17:24

    Drive to a place that has a number of competing car sales places on the same street and see if you can find a car that you like and when you do then research it as the look of a car is very subjective and only you can tell if you are okay with it or not.

    Ask the sales person what's the best they can do on the car price and say you need it in 5 minutes otherwise kiss a few hours good by.

  • Muzeeb on 28/05/2022 - 17:27
    +2

    Mazda 3 - about a 10 week wait.

  • SF3 on 28/05/2022 - 17:57
    +2

    Needs a poll.

  • Euphemistic on 28/05/2022 - 18:36
    +7

    I think the current i30 sedan looks pretty good.

  • Nugs on 28/05/2022 - 18:53
    +5

    Torana
    .

  • justdigi on 28/05/2022 - 19:18
    +4

    Subaru Impreza

    • davide14 on 29/05/2022 - 12:57

      I like the Impreza too. The similarly sized Mazda, Toyota, Kia and Hyundai cars are popular so any discount may be very unlikely. The Subaru is a great car and does everything well but is not that popular so a decent discount may still be possible. I bought one in 2019 and got an amazing deal but I don't know if this would be possible in 2022. I read Subaru sales are well down as of the March 22 VFACTS numbers but it wasn't published if that was due to stock levels or buyer choice.

      • justdigi on 30/05/2022 - 08:20

        A demo poverty pack one was $30k at my local dealer (Brisbane), which is RRP. So I imagine ordering one in would be more expensive at the moment. Still, it’s probably worth it and shorter wait than more popular brands.

      • Darayus on 30/05/2022 - 12:00

        Subaru Impreza production is stalled due to microchip issues.

        The current waiting time is about 12 months if ordered new. The reason they are not advertising is that they don't have stock. Dealers even removed their sales team as there is no stock to sell.

        But the car you get is too good than what you can buy Kia or I30. At least test drive them and if not in hurry then just ordered it.

  • Jaspa7 on 28/05/2022 - 19:22
    +11

    the one you already have.. keep driving it for another 3 or so years

    • Thinkscape on 29/05/2022 - 09:17

      By that time, with prices going down, you’ll have many more choices for compact electric (they’re already affordable and aplenty in Europe, hopefully we get our gov. getting their shit together too, VW ID4, electric Cupra and such becoming popular in Australia too)

  • Some Human on 28/05/2022 - 19:37
    +8

    I want to stay away from Toyota.

    BLASPHEMY!!!

  • pegaxs on 28/05/2022 - 20:43
    +5

    Hold onto the one you have if it is going alright and wait out the next generation of EV's that are coming out soon. I would have to guess that there are going to be a number of EV announcements coming later this year and there are going to be some compact, smaller EV's that will come in at around that magic under $40k mark. BYD Dolphin, MG 3 EV, Ora Cat, VW ID3 Just to name a few that are going to be pretty close to that sub~$40k mark. Federal and state incentives are going to make these way more attractive in the not to distant future.

  • dylanando on 28/05/2022 - 20:44

    Toyotas have no life and every model has the same interior. The i30 sedan as above is nice on the eyes.

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 28/05/2022 - 23:47
    +1

    i'd probably say An Impreza or a Cerrato

    nothing wrong with Toyota Camry but i go no idea if that is under 30k these days

    • EightImmortals on 29/05/2022 - 07:18

      I thought they were closer to 40?

  • pao2x on 29/05/2022 - 07:32
    +5

    I don't know what exactly you want to get but a 2012 Optima is perfectly fine, I would even say an optima looks better than your Kia cerato, Hyundai i30, Toyota current sedans. Maybe doesn't look as good as a new mazda 3 You want some bells and whistles get an AV unit apple or google compatible and/or some cameras installed. Save the money and get something nicer later.

  • Brick Tamland on 29/05/2022 - 10:01

    Easy. Mazda 3. But I also endorse the earlier Torana recommendation too.

  • HelpMeiCantSee on 29/05/2022 - 10:14
    -1

    Dude, this is ozb. There is only one answer.

    High yield investment suv- Mercedes’ amg or similar.

  • jrowls on 30/05/2022 - 11:36

    You could go 2-3 years old in some of the models that are further into their life span. That way you'd still get carplay / aa et al (the QoL stuff you talk about) and you could get a higher trim or sportier model and stay within your budget.

    e.g. 2018 Civic VTI-L with a 1.5 turbo, 2018 Elantra SR turbo, 2019 Mazda 3 Evolve 2.5, 2019 Cerato GT with a turbo. That's what I'd do anyway. Save a few k and get a better drivetrain, maybe leather interior. Don't think there's any major QoL stuff you're missing after the 2016-18 upgrades to active safety and infotainment.

    here's a link with all the good models and trims included, under 30k, sedan.

    https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/?q=(And.Price.range(..30000)..(C.BodyStyle.Sedan..(Or.BodySize.Medium..BodySize.Small.)).Condition.Used..FuzzyFeature.Apple+CarPlay..(Or.(C.Make.Audi..(Or.Model.A3..Model.A4.)).(C.Make.Honda..(C.Model.Civic..(Or.Badge.RS..Badge.VTi-LX..Badge.VTi-S..Badge.VTi-S+LUXE.))).(C.Make.Hyundai..(C.Model.Elantra..Badge.SR+Turbo.)).(C.Make.Kia..(C.Model.Cerato..(Or.Badge.GT..Badge.SLi.))).(C.Make.Mazda..(C.Model.3..Badge.G25+Evolve.)).(C.Make.Subaru..(C.Model.Liberty..Badge.3.6R.)).(C.Make.Toyota..(C.Model.Corolla._.Badge.SX.))))

    If it was me, i'd be getting this mazda. https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2019-mazda-3-g25-ev…

  • Domicron on 30/05/2022 - 12:37

    Tesla (M)odel 3, because the Tesla diehard fans say so. Don't bother with anything ICE.

    Short on change? No problem… Get a loan.

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