In order to end up with the compact sedan best suited to your needs, you have to clearly understand what you are looking for and what options are available to you. This is done by researching in two areas.
Firstly, you research the market to find out what kinds of compact sedans are available, familiarizing yourself with the different features, styles and price ranges etc. Secondly, you examine your own unique requirements in a compact sedan.
Research the market: Compact Sedan essentials
Most major manufacturers see this class of car as one of their biggest sellers and they provide plenty of options to make sure that the design has the broadest appeal. They may even produce more than one model in the compact sedan niche, one towards the bottom and another at the top end.
Prices vary depending on the engine size, the internal and external finishes, the amount of automated equipment, the inclusion of devices like GPS, the sophistication of the heating and air conditioning system and the choice of radio/CD player.
The first part of the research step is to investigate just what's available in the compact sedan market. The range of options can seem daunting, but you can make a good start by understanding the following major features:
Types: Body styles are mainly offered in 3 and 5 door hatchback versions, but are also available in two and four door versions with a small trunk. There are generally four or five variants starting with the standard specification and becoming progressively better specified with the flagship sports model at the top of the range.
Engines and gearboxes: Although compact sedans tend to have predominantly petrol/gas fuelled engines, smooth, quiet turbo diesel engines are becoming popular for their fuel economy. Some manufacturers supply only one engine size that they believe to be optimal, others provide a choice from a 1.4 litre to 3.2 litre in petrol engines and from 1.6 to 2.0 litres in diesel. Both stick-shift (manual) and automatic gearboxes are available in most, but not all, compact sedans.
Finishes and Fittings: The choice of external paint finishes starts with an inexpensive range of non-metallic paints through to more costly metallic and pearl effect paints. Metallic and pearl effect paints are more expensive to supply and to repair. At the lower end of the range you won't have much choice in the trim that is provided. It will generally be cloth or a vinyl/cloth mix, however as you move up the range more colour choices will be offered and also the option of leather upholstered seats in some makes. Other equipment is similarly specified; more basic in the standard models and more exotic in the flagship models.
Cost: Most standard models weigh in at around the same price although it is possible to find a manufacturer selling at 10% below the market average. Mid-range models tend to be around 50% more than a standard model. Flagship models can be anything between 70% and 250% more than the standard model.
Research your needs: Questions to ask yourself
Now it's time to determine what your requirements are in a compact sedan. For example, will you use the compact sedan only for commuting to work or will it be the only vehicle in your household?
You can start this process by considering the following questions - as well as any others you think of yourself - and recording your answers.
| Have I driven a compact sedan before? |
| | If you have used a compact sedan, work out what you did or didn't like about the compact sedan. You may be looking for one exactly like it, hoping to upgrade, or even trying to avoid any particular features that you found inconvenient. |
| What exactly will I use a compact sedan for? |
| | You need to decide if you will use the car as a family taxi, a status symbol, or a general workhorse for people and load carrying tasks. |
| How economical do I need a compact sedan to be? |
| | Decide if you need a performance car that can tackle motorway cruising or a lower power car that will keep the driver out of trouble and has low running costs. Or are you only interested in the best fuel consumption around town? |
| How much do I want to pay? |
| | Consider not only your available funds but also loans and financing that you can afford. |
Understanding your needs is the key to a successful purchase and you can revisit your list of needs at any time during the buying process.
Once you complete this Research step, having informed yourself about the essentials of compact sedans and identified your needs, you are ready to move on to the next step: Evaluation.
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