Which small/mid size car is the most value-for-money in terms of spaciousness

[Aquace21]

Hi all,

 

After trying out and sat in quite a number of cars for the past few years, I came about some findings on the above topic. Would like to share with you guys what I feel and also maybe you guys can chip in your views too. The below is comments are purely on cabin spaciousness (front and rear passengers) and price, ignoring performance as well as looks.

 

1. Toyota Corolla Altis - Good front/rear legroom and headroom. Indeed one of the top few in the 1.4/1.5/1.6 category. A safe choice for those who are practical and prefers to stick to a proven brand.

 

2. Nissan Latio - Surprisingly good rear legroom. One of the best I would say. Airy cabin design makes the whole interior feel even bigger. With price lower than Altis, I think this is one of the best value one can get for the 50+k segment.

 

3. Mazda 3 - Looks big on the exterior but disappoint on interior space. Front passenger feels cramp due to the protruding dash. Rear legroom is also very limited. Only very marginally better than the Sunny. Thou price has come down alot, I find still not worth it if you're the family man who wants good cabin space.

 

4. Nissan Sunny - Decently-sized exterior, but rear legroom is the worst among the 1.6L I tried. Front passenger space is still decent thou. Cheapest among all 1.5/1.6 around but from the spaceiousness perspective, the Lancer GLX is a much better choice if you top up just a little.

 

5. Honda Civic FD - Smart interior design allows excellent rear passenger space. Very roomy rear legroom, thou rear headroom is a tad low. Pricey beauty and highly recommended only if you can afford the extra cash.

 

6. Honda City - Overall spaciousness is good with rear flat floor. Rear legroom I would say slightly loses to Altis. This is always being labelled as the Vios version in Honda's line-up, but I find it is more in the same class as Latio/Altis. However, the price tag is too high even for the basic version.

 

7. Toyota Vios (old) - Front passenger is still ok, but rear legroom is pretty cramp. Very comparable to Sunny. Rear headroom is the worst of the lot. Good for the couple or single. For family guy with young children, I would not recommend it.

 

8. Honda Airwave - Initially thought it is basically a Honda City with upward-extended boot. Front space is very similar to City, but rear legroom seems slightly better. Headroom is decent and ample. Lots of room on the rear and boot space but rather pricey also. Pity it is not a 7-seater.

 

9. Toyota Corolla (G9) - Feels similar to the Altis in terms of space, but somehow the rear headroom and legroom seems marginally better. Good old trusty model.

 

10. Mit Lancer GLX - Front and rear legroom is very good, infact I find slightly better than Altis. Headroom however is shorter but still very ample. This is definitely the best value currently, combining good roominess and price tag.

 

11. Toyota Yaris - Front feels like old Vios. Rear is probably slightly better than the old Vios, thou headroom is much better. Overpriced I find. The new Vios would be a more worthy buy.

 

12. Hyundai Verna - I own this car and honestly the rear headroom and legroom is much better than Sunny and old Vios surprisingly, esp headroom. Of coz its nowhere near the likes of Latio/Altis. Still, it is a great value if you do not mind that its a kimchi

 

13. Kia Rio - Very similar to the Verna in all espects, but somehow the rear headroom seems slightly lower. Quite a bit cheaper than Verna now. Highly recommended I would say, esp for value hunters looking for a sedan in the mid 40k region.

 

14. Hyundai Matrix - Very spacious interior. Legroom is very ample. High headroom + large window panels makes the interior impressively airy. Price has tumbled a bit also but then it is no longer popular.

 

15. Honda Jazz - Initially thought it is just like a City hatch. Front passenger space seems slightly tighter. Rear legroom is also not as good as City, thou quite decent. Extremely popular nowadays thou i still find its a little overpriced.

 

16. Mazda 2 (old) - Surprisingly the interior is more spacious than Sunny and even slightly better than Mazda 3! Maybe in terms of shoulder room its not as wide. The new version should be better I guess.

 

A pity I did not manage to try out some other cars like Avante, Cerato. Maybe someone can help add on? :)

Edited January 15, 2008 by Aquace21

[Miles]

... and there is Chevvy Optra, Subaru Impreza TS, Geely MK & Proton Waja.

 

Frankly, for price-economy-space-MadeInJapan... nothing beats Nissan Latio.

 

Of course if can stretch to 70k... nothing comes close to Civic FD, tho spacewise i think Nissan Sylphy is more spacious.

But for 70k+, can also consider Octavia II A5 (or Focus, Megane, Astra, Jetta, Golf if space is not so important)

Edited January 15, 2008 by Miles

[Diro]

Maybe you can include Kia Cerato.. Drive one before. Spacious for front and rear..can be compared to Altis.

 

cheers!

[Kenmical]

Mitsu Colt Version R...value for $ when need for speed.

[Aquace21]

Thanks guys for the input. Yes, agree that if the budget can go up, there will definitely be more choices. In fact, if increase to $70+k, can even get some SUVs or Korean large sedans liao, haha.

[Sgnick]

Daihatsu Sirion 1.3

[Sporadic]

Definitely a Suzuki Liana Hatchback.

[Deathstalker]

I drove the older Kia Cerato H/B, & IMHO, the leg & headroom is comparable to that of the Corolla Altis. Build quality is as good as any japanese brand, & the best, much value for money than the same Japanese brand...

[Ilix]

The new Subaru Impreza!

[Diehardsu]

[Toyo]

The winner shld be Suzuki APV.

it is the only veh in the 1.6L segment tat can seats 8 adults

[Typhoonz]

Lancer for me...

[Caravan]

Agree, after all it is a van.

[Aquace21]

Yup, the cerato is a very affordable sedan with about the kind of space as a jap 1.6L. The new cerato should be juz as good since its juz a facelift & engine-lift. hehe.. Its also only a couple of Ks more than the Rio and I'm quite surprised that the new variant 2 isn't selling well since its launch last year. Saw very few on the roads. In fact, its almost as good as the Avante but the latter is so much more popular.

 

Oh ya, the Suzuki APV is indeed a steal if you're looking for a budget 8-seater.

Edited January 16, 2008 by Aquace21

[Picanto]

if the APV odd shape does not put you off, i would say its a good value for $$ car.

[Leech]

APV not a car. It is a van!

[Maroon5]

on spaciouness i thk the latio really aced it.....its cabin space is really good..legroom n headroom

[Diro]

I agree with you.. i drove the old cerato sedan and the boot is spacious..