Best Medium Cars of September 2011

No changes to the medium car line-up as all offer manual transmission, full size spares and all are sedans.



Hyundai i45 is good value for money. While Hyundai's offerings are now comparable in price to their Japanese counterparts, they still come with a bunch of extras and the fuel consumption isn't bad either.



The Suzuki Kizashi came a very close second. Its specs are quite similar to the Hyundai i45 except it loses out by being a few hundred dollars more than the i45.



Once again, the Mazda 6 Classic is third because its slightly more expensive and having worse fuel consumption.

Best Compact Cars of September 2011

$20,990 is a hard price to beat which helps the Mitsubishi Lancer into first place. True you only get a space saver spare, but it's better than no spare.

While the Holden Cruze SRi is slightly more expensive, its 1.4L turbocharged petrol engine helps to give it a good fuel economy. It unfortunately comes with only tyre sealant though - however there is the option to purchase a full size spare.

The new Elantra is not what you'd usually expect to pay for a Hyundai, approaching the $30,000 mark for a compact sedan. The car is also automatic only which I'm not a big fan. One good thing about it though is full size spare is standard.

Best Light Cars of September 2011

This month, I'm going to be looking at sedans only - consequently it'll really only be Light Sedans, Compact Sedans and Medium Sedans being rated. I'm also taking into consideration whether a spare tyre is included or not since in my experience, I've had to do many a tyre change! Finally, prices are double-checked at corporate websites.

The Hyundai Accent Elite Sedan is a new contender but already shoots to the top.

While the Honda City has similar fuel consumption to the Hyundai Accent and it sports a full size spare tyre, it can't compete with its $2,000 price difference.



The Ford Fiesta LX Diesel Sedan is actually the most economical out all of the options here. It's just a pity that it uses goo to patch up tyres instead of offering you a spare wheel of some sort!

Best Cars of September 2010

The Hyundai i30 now has a special limited edition "Trophy" model - one good thing about it is that it makes the wagon variant affordable. Besides that, not much change.

#1 Subaru Impreza R

Base Model Estimated Price: $24,740

Pros:

• Sedan


• 5 Star ANCAP Safety Rating


• Made in Japan


• Subaru resale value

Cons:

• None

#2 Mitsubishi Lancer Activ

Base Model Estimated Price: $24,290

Pros:

• Sedan


• 5 Star ANCAP Safety Rating


• Made in Japan


• 5 year, 130,000km warranty

Cons:

• None

#3 Hyundai i30 Trophy

Base Model Estimated Price: $23,490

Pros:

• 5 Star ANCAP Safety Rating


• 5 year unlimited km warranty

Cons:

• Korean cars have a perception of poor quality

Best Dirt Cheap Cars of September 2009

Surprisingly the Swift enters the competition giving two Suzukis as a choice. The Getz still wins though due to its value-for-money.

#1 Hyundai Getz

Base Model Estimated Price: $13,990

Pros:

• Excellent warranty


• Alarm included

Cons:

• None

#2 Suzuki Swift

Base Model Estimated Price: $16,990

Pros:

• Made in Japan

Cons:

• None

#3 Suzuki Alto

Base Model Estimated Price: $14,990

Pros:

• None

Cons:

• Puny 1.0L engine

Best Compact SUVs of September 2009

Once again no changes in the rankings here.

#1 Hyundai Tucson

Base Model Estimated Price: $22,990

Pros:

• Safer


• ESC standard

Cons:

• None

#2 Kia Sportage

Base Model Estimated Price: $22,990

Pros:

• None

Cons:

• None

Best Compact Cars of September 2009

The Hyundai i30 gets pushed out (for some reason - although further investigation suggests it is because its ANCAP rating isn't as great as expected for the base model...) - the Suzuki SX4 gets in the fray once again thanks to Suzuki's cut-throat pricing.

#1 Holden Cruze

Base Model Estimated Price: $24,060

Pros:

• Full size spare


• Safe


• ESC standard

Cons:

• None

#2 Mitsubishi Lancer

Base Model Estimated Price: $20,990

Pros:

• Made in Japan


• Great warranty


• ESC standard

Cons:

• Space-saver spare

#3 Suzuki SX4

Base Model Estimated Price: $19,990

Pros:

• Made in Japan

Cons:

• No full size spare

Best Light Cars of September 2009

Not much of a difference and the Suzuki Swift just makes it to first place mainly because of its cut-throat pricing!

#1 Suzuki Swift

Base Model Estimated Price: $16,990

Pros:

• Full size spare

Cons:

• None

#2 Toyota Yaris

Base Model Estimated Price: $19,190

Pros:

• Full size spare

Cons:

• None

#3 Mazda 2

Base Model Estimated Price: $19,190

Pros:

• Metallic Paint standard


• Good warranty

Cons:

• Space saver spare

Best Light Cars of August 2009

Thanks to the new Toyota Edge, the Yaris is now in first place (I actually accidentally deleted this post so figures might not be completely accurate but the rankings are!).

#1 Toyota Yaris

Base Model Estimated Price: $19,500

Pros:

• Full size spare


• Alloys included

Cons:

• None

#2 Suzuki Swift

Base Model Estimated Price: $18,000

Pros:

• Full size spare

Cons:

• None

#3 Mazda 2

Base Model Estimated Price: $19,190

Pros:

• Metallic Paint standard


• Good warranty

Cons:

• Space saver spare

New Cars and Facelifts for September

Suzuki Grand Vitara

Apparently the new generation Vitara is already here but it doesn't look like the site has been updated to reflect that - Features include new engine sizes and ESP standard and other safety features standard across the range.

Holden Barina

The Holden Barina has already had its 2009 model released however they're still offering the older Barina (at a reduced price) so until this transition is made, the older Barina shall remain the reviewed car.

Renault Koleos

Renault is releasing its first SUV in Australia. Interestingly, it's actually made in Korea though (I don't believe there's been a French branded car in Australia that's been sourced from Korea before).

Fiat Punto

A Fiat Punto facelift is to occur in September-October.

Kia Picanto

A micro-car by Kia may be introduced September-October called the Picanto

Kia Magentis

An upgraded version of the Magentis is coming in September-October. This could be why the Magentis was sold for so cheap last month.

Peugeot 107

A micro car by the French manufacturer is expected to arrive September-October.

Toyota Yaris

A facelifted Yaris is expected to arrive September-October.

Best Cars of September 2008

No changes in the current rankings, so you might as well check the previous entries for Best Cars of August 2008:

Best Light Cars of August 2008
Best Compact Cars of August 2008
Best Medium Cars of August 2008
Best Large Cars of August 2008
Best Compact SUVs of August 2008

However some news this month:

- Version 2 of the Honda Jazz has been released. Changes are cosmetic (functionally and aesthetically) and it consumes 0.1L/100km extra fuel. Australians will apparently still receive them from Thailand.

- Renault Megane's sale is over and its price is back up to $25,490 RRP.

- The Subaru Impreza sedan is now available in Australia. It appears to be the same price and almost identical in terms of specs (although it's apparently heavier with the same performance characteristics as the hatch, go figure :)).

- The base model Holden Epica now has a diesel variant that is exactly the same price as the petrol variant which is interesting since usually diesel options are more expensive than petrol ones.

- Ford Escape has a reduced price of $29,990 - still doesn't get it in the top 3 of SUVs though (due to its 4 star ANCAP rating)

- Peugeot have decided to offer an extra 3 years to their standard 3 year car warranties this month. This still didn't get the Peugeot 207 into the top 3 Light cars (since it was still the most expensive 5 star ANCAP rating car in its class).