I just bought the most adequate car I've ever owned

Flew down to Phoenix this morning, did the deal on the '13 Sonic, and drove home.

(Minor rant: "Inspected tires" apparently means, "Yes, there are four of them, and most of them have decent tread." It does not mean they are the same brand. Three OE 28k-mile Hankooks and one new no-name tire pass this inspection. I'm not horribly bent - 195/65R15s aren't expensive and I figured I'd need tires soon, just not THIS soon.)

The car is in worse cosmetic shape than any 29k car has any right to be. Then again, it was cheap. Now I don't have to worry about getting my first nick or ding. I think the PO let a German Shepherd chew on the steering wheel for a while, too.

Nonetheless, the car is perfectly adequate - nothing more, nothing less. The things my '05 Scion xB was bad at (most aspects of highway travel) the Sonic is adequate at. The things my Scion was good at (space utilization and a wee bit tossable) the Sonic is merely adequate at.

The car evokes absolutely no emotion in me. It neither makes me happy nor sad. It just makes me feel... adequate.

All this shopping, and nothing I drove felt any more than "adequate". So why buy a $17k Hyundai or a $15.5k CPO Scion? This thing is already depreciated, and just as adequate as anything else.

Drive it 3-4 years, dump it before it's worth zero, and hopefully I will find something more enjoyable next time.

(sigh)

I find your report,

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adequate.

Hatchback or sedan? I mean no offense whatsoever, but I always assumed that Sonics were penalty boxes--what made you decide to pull the trigger?

nderwater wrote: Hatchback or sedan? I mean no offense, but I always assumed that Sonics were penalty boxes. What made you decide to pull the trigger?

Hatch.

I drove 4 other cars that I deemed worthy of consideration:

$17k leftover new Hyundai Accent Sport

$17k used Mazda3

$15.5k CPO Scion xD

None of them felt any more adequate than the Sonic. People go "wow" over the Mazda3, but in base trim, it's pretty meh. I also found the radio placement unconscionable.

The Hyundai was okay, but not $6k more okay than the Sonic.

The Scion was a lot like driving a 2008 Corolla, which it basically is. Again, okay, but not $4k more okay than the Sonic.

i find my 99 Saturn to be adequate now that i fixed the broken exhaust flex pipe (sawzall behind the converter, welded in "temporary" "test pipe") and made a solid shifter bushing out of a ground down nut.. the 39mpg in winter driving is definitely better than adequate, and the fact that i have $400 into it and owe nothing on it is perfect..

novaderrik wrote: and the fact that i have $400 plus laying under the car with a sawzall into it and owe nothing on it is perfect..

FTFY

I'm 51 years old. The idea of laying under a DD car with a sawzall no longer appeals to me

Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you put what you payed for it in your post?

Appleseed wrote: Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you put what you payed for it in your post?

$9988 + TTP

nderwater wrote: Hatchback or sedan? I mean no offense whatsoever, but I always assumed that Sonics were penalty boxes--what made you decide to pull the trigger?

no penalty box here ... I actually like my Sonic Hatch (bought new) .... ~ 40mpg ... cruse all day ... nearly 600 mi to a tank (depending on how much fuel I can squeeze in)

@OP Put a set of koni on it. Add better springs and bars and some better tires and I bet it will be more than adequate. It will also not really change the look so it will not get any attention either.

I've come > < close to buying a Sonic at least two or three times. I actually put a deposit on one a few months back and then changed my mind. I was going to get the RS or LTZ with the 1.4L turbo and then get a Trifecta tune. I could find them all day long for $11k with under 30k miles. For that kind of coin, I found them to be more than adequate. They have body roll, but are still fun. Power in stock form was pretty decent, but reportedly the Trifecta tune really wakes it up. For an $11k car, I thought the interior was a pretty nice place to spend time.

As a daily beater to rack up miles, I think they're great.

In reply to Klayfish:

Naturally, he bought the penalty box version that lacks a turbocharger....

I feel the same way about the Subaru I'm driving now. Nothing really outstanding, but adequate. Ducks getting older and settling for the right tools for the job. I'd much rather be rocking some awd turbo stick shift v8 truck on r comps.

dean1484 wrote: @OP Put a set of koni on it. Add better springs and bars and some better tires and I bet it will be more than adequate. It will also not really change the look so it will not get any attention either.

And Boost. And NOZ.

Dr. Hess wrote:

dean1484 wrote: @OP Put a set of koni on it. Add better springs and bars and some better tires and I bet it will be more than adequate. It will also not really change the look so it will not get any attention either.

And Boost. And NOZ.

Don't forget the Monster Energy stickers, neon lights and electrical tape over half of the headlight.

Adequate can be nice. My civic is near perfectly adequate. Big enough for 4 adults and eats interstate miles, small enough for everything else. It is equally good at being docile as it is being flogged.

Adequate is good.

This thread makes me kinda sad. I mean, I'm glad you're satisfied with "adequate" transportation but for a forum full of enthusiasts, it's a bit lacking.

Several years ago I had more of a commute and drove a Corrolla. It was adequate for the job of slogging to and from work but one day it hit me. Why did my commute have to be "time out" from my day when it could engage me. Make it a time I enjoyed being behind the wheel.

That day I decided my rides would at least be interesting so I sold the Adequate Japanese car and bought the silly and entertaining cars. And I've enjoyed driving more ever since.

As much as I enjoy the entertainment cars, when you're doing 600 miles a week, you use them up at an alarming rate.

That being said, I look forward to fun car Friday every week where I can enjoy the road.

Adequate is just fine for an appliance in my world. However, the weekends are the time to drive something stellar.

KyAllroad wrote: This thread makes me kinda sad. I mean, I'm glad you're satisfied with "adequate" transportation but for a forum full of enthusiasts, it's a bit lacking.

This. I'm not upset that the car is "adequate". What does upset me is that I didn't find anything available in today's market that is more than simply adequate.

Also maybe because I'm getting older - that's upsetting. I could have spent $10k on something more fun. I could have bought a 100,000 mile BMW, for example. At my age, a 29k Sonic sounds like a better idea than that. Sucks getting old.

Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do.

Exactly why I bought my '14 Cruze LT new. Price tag was great, turbo and 6 speed gearbox, great ride, comfy seats, and I really like the styling. That same 1.4t in an 800# lighter chassis would be an abolute boot.

I could have spent less on a used CPO with a couple dozen k's on the clock. But in the end, I wanted to know that it was fresh from the factory, and anything that was done to it, was done right and by me.

All that said, adequate is a decent way to describe a decent car. I would think that adequate beats worried about things falling off, or will it make it the whole trip. I say hooray for adequate.