What kind of car do you drive?
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- Master Standardshifter
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Peterbilt, may I suggest a 2dr 95' Toyota Tercel, with a 5 spd. That's the Tercel with a non-interference engine. I test drove that thing when car shopping for my roommate. That thing was an extremely well built car and sort of fun to drive.
-On a stretch of hill, I had to floor it in 2nd just to keep up. So it is definitely not powerful. But it will make you work to go reasonably fast, which is kinda fun.
-Styling is subjective so I won't comment on that.
-It is definitely easier to park than a Corolla.
-I heard that a Tercel should get 32-35 mpg to the gallon doing errans. The Corolla gets 28 on a good day.
-Did I mention the shifter? It felt really mechanical and accurrate, as if the linkages are rods. I was banging from gear to gear without feeling anything in the way. Definitely better than my car.
Sadly, that car had 240,000 mi and my roommate didn't trust the engine at that milage. So he went with a 94 Corolla. IMO, the Corolla is a good all around car (not my parents' failing slushbox Corolla) that can serve a small family well, but the Tercel maybe a better personal commuter car.
-On a stretch of hill, I had to floor it in 2nd just to keep up. So it is definitely not powerful. But it will make you work to go reasonably fast, which is kinda fun.
-Styling is subjective so I won't comment on that.
-It is definitely easier to park than a Corolla.
-I heard that a Tercel should get 32-35 mpg to the gallon doing errans. The Corolla gets 28 on a good day.
-Did I mention the shifter? It felt really mechanical and accurrate, as if the linkages are rods. I was banging from gear to gear without feeling anything in the way. Definitely better than my car.
Sadly, that car had 240,000 mi and my roommate didn't trust the engine at that milage. So he went with a 94 Corolla. IMO, the Corolla is a good all around car (not my parents' failing slushbox Corolla) that can serve a small family well, but the Tercel maybe a better personal commuter car.
Last edited by scionkid on Sat Sep 17, 2005 8:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- jcprov21
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Try looking into like scion kid said, corrollas, they tend to last forever, a tercel is an nice option as well. Also look into some older civics and accords as well. But a geo prizm might be a good choice. Also, he can drive a stick right? But being the fact that he lives in SF he might because he is a n00b want to go with an automatic just to be safe, i would not at my expertese level right now want to tackle those SF hills in a stick.Peterbilt wrote:By the way, what is the gas mileage on Geo Prizm? We are thinking what to buy for my cousin who just got his DL but still doesn't have a car. Oh, he lives in SF Is Geo Prizm ok for a beginner? In my opinion, it is good in this situation because:Warner wrote:1.6 liter 105hp 1994 5-speed manual Geo Prizm, baby!What do you think?
- It's not powerful, so my cousin wouldn't want to play chicken on the road
- It's not stylish, so he wouldn't want to show off
- It's small which is critical for parallel parking in SF
- It should run forever on one tank of gas
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- potownrob
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The Geo Prizm is practically the same car as the Toyota Corolla, except it's hard to find the better 1.8 litre engine and other luxuries of the Corolla on the Prizm, even on the LSi. I personally like the looks of the 93-97 Prizm better than Corollas of the same vintage, though I like the newer Corollas better than the newer Prizms... I've driven a 95 Prizm base 5 speed and I felt like a pro behind the wheel. It was impossible to stall or even jerk around in that car, and I drove it when I was a n00b... Even with one cylinder bad (and I was considering buying it ) the car moved pretty well and was quiet with 175k miles.jcprov21 wrote: Try looking into like scion kid said, corrollas, they tend to last forever, a tercel is an nice option as well. Also look into some older civics and accords as well. But a geo prizm might be a good choice. Also, he can drive a stick right? But being the fact that he lives in SF he might because he is a n00b want to go with an automatic just to be safe, i would not at my expertese level right now want to tackle those SF hills in a stick.
My first car was a 91 Corolla 1.6 litre (almost the same engine as the one in the newer Prizms and base Corollas) with the 3 speed slushbox. Even though the car wasn't fast, it could get out of its way and handled like a gocart. It was very comfortable, too .
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
Now I'm questioning my manual driving abilities =pI've driven a 95 Prizm base 5 speed and I felt like a pro behind the wheel. It was impossible to stall or even jerk around in that car, and I drove it when I was a n00b...
I can drive perfectly smoothly in my Prizm, but that's the only manual car I've driven.
- potownrob
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Probably old clutch, but I've driven several Toyotas with similar ease. I was talking about my old 91 Corolla. The newer ones don't handle as tightly in my experience .scionkid wrote:Either he's really good or the clutch is shot.
Corolla is no go cart. Sure, I've flung the tail of a Corolla around street corners before. But it looses grip before my xB does.
ClutchFork wrote:...So I started carrying a stick of firewood with me and that became my parking brake.
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