Which new car to lease?

F

Frank

Certified not a majority
Veteran
In about 6 months I'm due a new lease car, so I am looking around for one. I might need to order it soon, depending on how long it takes to deliver.

But, I really have no clue whatsoever which one I would want.

At the moment I have a Subaru Impreza 2.0R, and I'm very happy with it. The only negative I can think of is that there is no cruise control option, but traffic congestion make opportunities that I could use that pretty rare anyway, and I like to drive.

And the new model is quite fugly, so that's not an option.

But I really like how my current one drives, AWD, 160 hp, etc. And around this time of the year, it's great to have some off-road fun with it.


A hybrid car might be an option, because it's only taxed half as much, so it's cheap. (I don't have to pay for the fuel, so I don't really care about that.) But the only hybrids available are the Toyota Prius (of which I don't like the looks at all) or the Nissan Altima, (which is hard to find, it isn't even on the site of nissan.nl). Both aren't about great driving, but rather about efficiency. And they don't have AWD. So no deal.

If I go that road, I rather have a PHEV or fully electric car, but one that performs nicely, not one that drives like a golf cart. And I don't think any of those are available in my price bracket.


So, I was looking for a nice-looking car, that has AWD and 150+ hp, for less than 30,000 Euro and is very nice to drive. And I can't find one.

Suggestions?


Edit: a Honda Civic hybrid is also available, it looks acceptable, but 115 hp (ICE+electric) tuned for efficiency and no AWD doesn't sound very good to me.
 
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Volvo's look like squares, they arnt that nice looking. Well, not that I have much better solutions. I'd say pay 4k more and get the 158bhp Alfa 159 (I see a couple every day and they just look so much better than anything else that is around them) but that doesnt has AWD. Than again how much use is there for a AWD car in a country like ours.
 
tongue_of_colicab said:
Volvo's look like squares, they arnt that nice looking. Well, not that I have much better solutions. I'd say pay 4k more and get the 158bhp Alfa 159 (I see a couple every day and they just look so much better than anything else that is around them) but that doesnt has AWD. Than again how much use is there for a AWD car in a country like ours.
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While I agree they look very nice, only the cheapest model available (1.8 mpi, 140 hp) without any options might fit my lease scale, and an acceleration 0-100 km/h of 10.2 seconds doesn't sound good.

While AWD might seem like a waste in the summer, in a wet and cold country like ours, it's actually quite noticeable and nice most of the time.
 
Stick with the Imprezza. If you can stand the looks of the new models, that is ;) The upscale Legacy model is *very* nice. I'd go that route if its in your budget or you don't like the new 'prezzas.
 
I love the Legacy GT or whatever it is. Has a really nice engine, with AWD, and pretty good interior for a Scooby. Nice recommendation there Shaidar. I wonder if it is available in Europe.
 
Yes, the Legacy is very nice, but the cheapest one is 33,000 Euro.

And all the turbo models (except for the STi) are unavailable, because our new car tax makes those very expensive to purchase. We pay almost no extra car tax for hybrids, while cars that are less efficient or with worse than average emissions are taxed a lot more (up to about 80%, depending).
 
Frank said:
While I agree they look very nice, only the cheapest model available (1.8 mpi, 140 hp) without any options might fit my lease scale, and an acceleration 0-100 km/h of 10.2 seconds doesn't sound good.

While AWD might seem like a waste in the summer, in a wet and cold country like ours, it's actually quite noticeable and nice most of the time.
Click to expand...

Yes, but only if you are driving an overpowered car in the first place, which I've never understood the use of in our congested nation. ;)

Suffice to say, I drive that golf-cart - I mean, Prius. I love it. I got the very basic model for 26k and pay 127 euro all in a month - hard to beat! And plenty of room for throwing in some nice extras. The fact that it's automatic may sound boring to you, but it's perfect in traffic (especially jams ;) ). Also, while the Prius 'only' does 1-100 in 10.8 seconds and 'only' delivers 115hp (both match and even beat my old Alfa 155 1.8 TS!), the most accelleration that you do in the Netherlands is from 0-80, and since there is zero slowdown for shifting (or no shifting, depending on how you look at it), in this range you are really ... ehm ... fast! And it already starts moving rather easily because it always starts moving on the electric engine. Then there's the touch-screen, 8 airbags, and practicality of being able to easily flip down all seats, including the front seat which allows you to throw in some really long stuff to take along. Also really great is all the space you have in the center console as the 'shifter' is on the dash. Also, something which you will come to really appreciate, is that it's so nice and quiet when the car is in electric mode ;) Take that enhanced sound system option and enjoy. Or admire the sound of that Spyker standing next to you. ;)

The only downsides to this car so far for me is that 1) while the trunk is fairly high which makes taking stuff in and out of it, it's not that big (440l) and its shape doesn't allow for much flexibility. Not a big problem for us though, as the few times we actually need more space we throw down one of the seats. 2) It leans in the corners. Not terribly, but while comfortable to drive, this is of course not really sporty. In that sense, the Civic has much better handling, but isn't as green or as fun in a technical sense because you never drive fully electric.

However, if I were to go for the kind of car you seem to like ;) I would definitely go for that new Impreza. You may think it doesn't look too great, but this model is more practical (in terms of space) and it drives perfect. The brother of our neighbour and friend drives one and I think you really could get used to it. The old Impreza was never that nice looking either, but you start to associate the exterior with the interior, just like with people. ;)

Personally, I recommend at least trying a test-drive with the Prius. You'll see that it's fun to drive.
 
Can you even lease a new AWD A3 for under 30k? You'll be disappointed, Ostepop, how little you can actually lease over here for under 30k.
 
Well, I went and had a good look at and inside the new Impreza 2.0R Sport (29,295 Euro), and I have to admit it isn't as ugly in real life as it seems on the pictures. But it is a very different car.

Just about everything is standard on that model, including very nice sport seats. So, I think I'll have to get used to the new looks.
 
Arwin said:
Can you even lease a new AWD A3 for under 30k? You'll be disappointed, Ostepop, how little you can actually lease over here for under 30k.
Click to expand...
A basic A3 1.8 (160 hp, but steel wheels etc.) is 30,120 Euro.
 
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