Car seekers that are economy-oriented have may good reasons to be happy in 2011 as numerous cars that are new and well-reviewed are hitting the showroom floors. These cars include hatchbacks, sedans and compact cars. The rise of new and competitive cars resulted in the consumer preferences and cheap gas prices in the past decade. Consumer focus o saving money and rising fuel prices spurred manufacturers to produce new models that are feature-rich, fuel-efficient and masterfully engineered cars that has exceptional ride quality and interior finish. After rigid work and preparation, manufacturers like Ford, Chevrolet, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Mazda have produced economy cars that are now available in 2011.
The good thing about these economy cars is that you’ll find them among the top auto magazines and reviews in the country such as Car and Driver’s 10 Best Cars, Motor Trend’s Car of the year finalist, and AutoMobile magazine’s All-Stars. These are awards and recognitions that every car and manufacturer are dreaming of. Even top critics at Autoblog.com and TheTruthAboutCars.com are loving rides that are below $20,000.
For first-time buyers, for people who are into value and fuel efficiency, and to those who simply want the reliable and basic transportation, then these economy cars are the best and most attractive choices. For families, these cars might not be as comfortable like other cars since it is quite smaller and doesn’t have much interior space as midsize sedans. You can check out Consumer Search and read reports on family sedans and station wagons with starting prices that are not very far from those of economy cars. Also, you can read on our report on hybrid cars if fuel efficiency and environmental impacts are your primary concerns.
photo credit: pedrosimoes7
If you want to check out reviews about the most economical cars in the market today, try sources that cater to average car shoppers, such as Cars.com, ConsumerGuide.com, Kelly Blue Book, Edmunds.com and ConsumerReports.org. The last two sources are concentrating more on the practicalities that many reviewers are looking for—reliability, fuel economy and safety.
Safety is a big concern for economy cars. To lessen the cost, some ultra-cheap base models may not have certain safety features such as curtain airbags and electronic stability control as features or options. According to the independent, insurance-industry-funded “Insurance Institute for Highway Safety” or IIHS, as cars get smaller, they get worse at protecting the occupants in a crash.
Subcompact cars, having been tested with cars their own size, got a high rating in frontal-crash tests. The IIHS in 2009 examined this safety concern by creating a special test in which three economy cars were being put to the test—the Honda Fit (Base MSRP: $15,100 to $16,860), Toyota Yaris (Base MSRP: $12,995 to $13,715) and Smart ForTwo microcar (Base MSRP: $12,490 to $17,690) – ito mid-sized cars like the Camry from Toyota at 40 mph. As a result, the midsize cars protected their crash-dummy occupants better than the other set of cars or the smaller ones. The IIHS reported that “Intrusion into the Fit’s occupant compartment was extensive”. Ditto the Yaris, whose “door was largely torn away,” and the Smart ForTwo, which “went airborne and turned around 450 degrees” on impact. All three subcompact cars had a Poor rating I the test.
Weight and structure size are significant safety factors but not all economy cars are designed to have both in equality. Some are designed to have a better absorption of the impact in a crash. To have the highest possible level of crash protection, it is best to choose an economy car that has a high safety rating, side air bags, and stability control. This year, the IIHS awarded its Top Safety Pick designation to more than 15 small economy cars such as the new 2011 Hyundai Elantra sedan (Base MSRP: $14,830 to $19,980) and 2011 Volkswagen Golf hatchback (Base MSRP: $17,995 to $19,755), both are reviewed as well by ConsumerSearch and are also awarded as the Best Reviewed picks with excellent overall reviewer feedback or rating. The 2011 Ford Fiesta (Base MSRP: $13,320 to $17,120) was also named as a Top Safety Pick by IIHS. By far, this economy car is the only minicar to have earned this recognition.
