Car Research

So I’m in the market for a new car, and I’m aiming to go into a dealership and sign my name around Christmas of this year or at most by this day one year from now. Right now I drive a sports car — 2002 Mitsubishi Eclipse — and I’m looking to keep that kind of vibe, but sports cars are expensive and as I’ll be paying for it myself, I think I’m gonna have to keep my options open to a gas-efficient car that LOOKS kind of sporty.

So the options I’m keeping in mind are these (in no particular order):

Kia Rio
Ford Focus
Hyundai Accent
Mazda3

I’ve heard that Kias aren’t good for the long haul — a friend told me he had a friend whose Kia lasted about five years before it died on her. I was under the impression that Kias are great cars that last a long time. So i’m unsure about whether I want to take that risk.

I’ve heard that Hyundais are good cars that do last a long time and they’re very reliable. This seems like a good option for me.

I’ve always been a Ford girl, so I’m kind of leaning toward the Focus, but the Focus is the more expensive of these options, although it’s still affordable at around $20,000 or so.

The Mazda3 is a good option for me because it’s small and pretty cheap and it still has that sports car look that I want.

BUT!!! None of these cars come in cool colors, in my opinion. I want my paint job to pop! I want a bright lime green or a bangin’ blue! But these cars are meh on colors — black, gray, sterling gray, white, red, light blue — and that bores me. Meh.

 

Would anyone have any advice to give me? I’d be very appreciative of anything you can give me, especially something that may be bad about any of these cars or some other car ideas that I might not have thought of (and I’m not going to look into the dodge dart– I really dont’ like dodge). Thanks!!