rio or protege

[1chrisapple]

Ok so im gonna get the wife a newer car this comin year.what do yall suggest the rio or a protege it gotta be 5spd and im just not into hondas much so.what do u think

[zoom zoom]

Rio

[bhazard]

Pro5

[Tommychu]

Get a Matrix if you can find one in your price range. I wouldn't go for a Rio unless I was going to do some kind of crazy swap.

[skeeters_keeper]

VW wagon, 5 speed TDI.

[Damkid]

Awd protege

[1990new]

Get a Matrix if you can find one in your price range. I wouldn't go for a Rio unless I was going to do some kind of crazy swap.

Ditto on Matrix. My daughter has a 2004 that she bought new and just turned 100,000. Only a couple of little problem during that time. AC blower motor (replaced myself for $50).
Drive door lock (fixed under warranty). I understand the mechanics are basically the same as Corolla. Pontiac Vibe is basically the same but resale value
appears to be less.

[Tommychu]

Pontiac Vibe is basically the same but resale value
appears to be less.

Yep, which means that you can get some pretty smokin' deals on 'em once they hit about 60k miles.
They really are tough as nails though- I've rambled here before about how awesome and trouble free it's been for me.

[Victor Lang]

Toyota Corolla 2010's and later. Holds the road well and good gas millage. If not that a Rio.

[bhazard]

VW wagon, 5 speed TDI.

That too...but only if she's automotively inclined and you're not worried about misfueling.

[defprun]

Ditto on Matrix. My daughter has a 2004 that she bought new and just turned 100,000. Only a couple of little problem during that time. AC blower motor (replaced myself for $50).
Drive door lock (fixed under warranty). I understand the mechanics are basically the same as Corolla. Pontiac Vibe is basically the same but resale value
appears to be less.

My 2005 Matrix only needed a serpentine belt 20$.

Sent from the trash can.

[Bert]

Mazda products from 15 years ago have some "cachet" but Kia vehicles from that era are widely regarded as inexpensive junk. No one ever said the world was fair! That the Koreans managed to make better engineered and more durable copies of Japanese stuff is inconsequential. It's the name and the reputation that counts.
Wait a minute; didn't Kia products mostly say "Ford" on the grills and hatches from 87 to 98?

[F3BZ]

if by newer you mean like early 2000s then i vote PRO T J. that's if she don't have a sensitive bum because the PRO always was a handler and probably has a noticably tauter suspension. these cars were always rated highly as a performance bargain and didn't have boy-racer looks to attract the law.

[Tommychu]

Toyota Corolla 2010's and later. Holds the road well and good gas millage. If not that a Rio.

Three words. Nonlinear Throttle Map.
DBW Toyotas are kinda fussy to drive because of that. And the 10th gens (and 2nd gen vibe/Matrix) are worse than the 9th for rattles and panel fitment (mainly talking about plastic here but the sheet metal is a little less solid too).
I don't like the ZR engine itself either... it feels kind of boring compared to the ZZ despite the fact that they did improve a few things. And the Camry engine is a poor fit for the XRS models.
Everything in this post is just my opinion, but the following is fact: a tenth gen can't be had on a Kia Rio/late Protege budget. A 1G Vibe or a vanilla 9G Corolla can.