iM confused

I'm so confused on which car to get.

But we finally decided to replace the 2001 Civic after 17 years.
Deciding on a replacement was needed.
Getting a decision was going to be difficult if not impossible.

I had thought that the Toyota iM would be a good replacement for us.  It was a small city car like the Civic, I was hoping it'd be larger to satisfy Tresa's trunkification criteria.  When she first looked at it in the Toyota dealer show room she said the trunk was smaller than the Civic.
She didn't like this and that.  Lots of negatives.  It was a long list.

So then I asked what about a new Civic.  And the response was.  I love the Civic so you don't have to sell me on another Civic.  So but before we confirmed on the Civic we went to go check it out in the real.
I warned the sales guy that it wasn't me that he had to win over.  So I told him to save his breath for when my wife came around.  I liked the new civic.  I think it looks good, lots more power, rides nice, comfy, but one thing I noticed was how hard it was to get out of the seats.

Most of the Honda Civic buyers are young'uns.  They like it's flashy tech stuff and it's new style and everything.  I noticed the new Civic resembles a BMW 3-series in many ways.  And I think the target audience is similar.

But then then Judgement Day came and she said - I Don't Like It!  She commented on how smooth and quiet it was when we were driving the demo.  But it had evolved too far beyond her 2001 Civic that she didn't like the evolved version.  Visibility was not as good.  I guess that's why there's cameras everywhere.  When you put the right turn signal on the camera activates the screen so you see what's to the right, that you may not see.  I thought that was neat.  A bit distracting but neat.  Although it was larger, inside it felt more encroaching.  It didn't feel open and airy.

We both didn't like how low it was.   Getting in both the front and back was more difficult.  A couple of inches makes all the difference in your backside.  I like the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.  But it's not important to us.  Too much technology while driving can be more dangerous than not.
There was a long list of dislikes.  How high the tunnel was between the driver and passenger, the fact she can see the fender humps while driving, cheap fabric, the extensive use of black fabric, the black headliner, the digital display, the digital speedometer, and digital period!

She sat in a Honda Fit and she liked it.  Mostly cuz it reminded her of the 2001 Civic.  It was open and airy for a teeny tiny car. But then we drove it and it's engine is buzzy and we were just driving around city streets.  The seats are firm as in butt numbing firm.  I didn't want such a tiny car and neither did my behind.  I mean the iM seemed to be smaller, but this was even smaller since it's a sub-compact.  And with the APR the cost per month was the same as the Civic.  Even the sales guy was telling us to forget the Fit and get the Civic.  And if you want

We then went back to the Toyota dealership so she could test drive the iM.  We never did the first time, we just looked.  There were so many dislikes, I didn't bother troubling them for a drive.
Tresa would've preferred this 1969 Corolla, the same one she used in Australia.  But it's not for sale.

She said the boot was smaller than the old Civic, but after looking at the photos.  I'm not so sure. It may be a bit. But the hatch lets her put bigger stuff in.  It's just way more flexible that way.  And if she can jam more stuff in when she goes shopping, she'll do it!
Plus, it's way easier for me to get my hockey bag and sticks in.

The extensive use of fabric wasn't appealing to her.  But it was the same in the new Civic.  The light coloured headliner was a plus though.  When she drove it, she liked it.  It didn't feel claustrophobic, the sight lines were better, it didn't have that high middle tunnel that she disliked.  And it was way easier to get in and out.

My original choice for a replacement car ended up being the one.  Or the lesser of two evils.  In any case we came full circle.
One very good thing about the iM is that it has almost NO option choices.  It has 2, Colour and Nav.
That's it!  That's perfect for some one who has a tough time making decisions.
Everything else is standard - heated seats, back up camera, lane departure, pre-collision system, bluetooth.  Like it's got so much more than what was in our old Civic. I mean it is 17 yrs newer.  It should.


I was happy we had made a decision.
So was this guy.  It's a good thing we're good friends.
On the outside he's smiling, but on the inside - we were driving him bananas.
But he got us a great deal.
The iM is a great little car.  The nicer rims, lane departure and pre-collision system are standard (but not on the Civic).  The seats, materials, and overall finish were all better than the Civic.  Not by much, but after looking at both, I began to notice the differences.  It even has a button to fold the mirrors.  This car is built in Japan and is sold all over the world.  So this feature is pretty standard on Asian-Pacific market vehicles.  Due to the tight parking spaces.

If I compared apples to apples.  The Civic would have been thousands more.  And Toyota's APR was way better.

It is smaller and has less power, but the Civic is also bigger and heavier.  The Civic hatch is much more $$$.  That's the version that can hit close to $50Gs (for the Type R - for RICER).

Even though the iM looks small, we can fit 3 adults, with 1 being a large 250lb asian in the back seat.  Something we discovered we couldn't do in the old Civic.

The 6spd MT takes some getting used to.
MT was something we both wanted.  It's rare to find one.  Most are AUTO.  It takes some getting used to. Especially the R next to 1st gear.  That ring attached to the boot is actually a button that gets you in R gear.
It has this neat feature that if you are on a hill, the car has a built in brake assist.  So it won't roll back for 2sec giving you time to get going in 1st gear.  The Civic has that too, but they pointed it out, at Toyota they didn't mention it at all.  So it was a nice surprise.

I kinda wish it had some of the bells and whistles of the Venza, like the push button start and proximity sensor for the door locks, but that's it.  Apple CarPlay and Android Auto woulda been good.  But it's ok.

Insurance is WAAAY better on the iM than the Civic.  Not because it's a safer car, but because it's less popular.  So it automatically has less claims than the Civic.  Because of that the premiums are less on the iM.  That's a savings bonus.  One of the reasons it was on my short list.

We decided on the car just before April.  We coulda gotten it for Tresa's b-day.  But we opted for the one that had never been touched by human hands, that en-route from Japan.  So we waited.  Which gave us time to sell the old Civic.  It worked out.  And it's White.  Like it's shiny White!  Pretty much like everything else in our house.