Volkswagen Golf vs. Honda Civic, Mercury Tracer, and Five More Compact Cars

Volkswagen Golf vs. Honda Civic, Mercury Tracer, and Five More Compact Cars Volkswagen Golf vs. Honda Civic, Mercury Tracer, and Five More Compact Cars
Archived Comparison

"The problem with cars," someone said over coffee one morning, "is that they cost too damn much." If you hang around the C/D offices long enough, you'll hear a lot of deep economic theory like that, most of which wafts its way into the ether as the talk turns to more exciting topics—horse­power and torque, to name two. In this in­stance, however, the discussion continued and resulted in our latest price-based comparison test: eight cars for an out-the-­door price of less than $10,000.

Because we know that young persons are most often the car buyers with low readings on their cash dipsticks, we added three of our road warriors—André Idzikowski, Matthew Smith, and Adam Agranoff—to our four-editor evaluation team. And to even the sides, the warriors called on summer intern Bill Visnic—who had such a good time that he stayed on here as a writer.

Each of our big eight nominated a car, and these nominations begin on page 57. The criteria could not have been simpler: four-wheel transportation costing less than $10,000.

What cars did we pick? An alphabetical listing of our octet follows: Ford Festiva LX, Honda Civic DX, Mazda 323SE, Mer­cury Tracer, Mitsubishi Mirage, Subaru Justy RS 4WD, and two Volkswagens, the Fox GL and the Golf. The Justy alone among the cars had four-wheel drive. The Fox, the Mazda, and the Mirage had four doors; the rest made do with dual side en­trances.

Our evaluation of the eight cars took its usual form. We provided ourselves with the test numbers generated by the technical staff, and we took the cars to Ohio on a two-day escape and evasion exercise run over the rolling and twisting two-lanes that so distinguish that state's southeast­ern quadrant. Changing cars at approxi­mately 30-minute intervals gave us ample opportunity to rate individual cars and to compare them with the group.

At the conclusion of our trip, we each filled out a secret ballot that asked us to rate such subjective categories as comfort, utility, value, fun-to-drive, and so on. The results appear in the chart on page 68.

Our rules did not specify any options—only the price cap. But because comfort was a rating category and because a life without music is no life at all, radios and air conditioning appeared on every one of the entries. After all, driving an inexpen­sive car doesn't require you to sweat in silence.

At $8382 the Festiva LX was the least expensive testee, but it didn't look it. A tiny car with a tiny engine, our top-of-the-line Festiva LX was nonetheless remark­ably well outfitted. Its standard features included tilt steering, power mirrors, a rear wiper-washer, a tachometer, and an AM/FM stereo radio with a clock. The Festiva even sported a set of handsome al­loy wheels.

Next up on the dollar scale, at $9144, came the Subaru Justy RS 4WD. Although not as well equipped as the Festiva was, the Justy came equipped with a part-time four-wheel-drive system. Obviously, that would have made the tiny Subaru a strong contender in a winter driving test. Ours was a summer drive, however, and the added weight of the Justy's four-wheel-drive hardware promised to be a burden when we made demands on its diminutive three-cylinder engine. The Justy looked good, though, wearing a neat black-and­-gold paint scheme.

The Mercury Tracer—a Mazda 323 in luxo clothing built in Mexico for sale by Lincoln-Mercury dealers—cost $9631 and delivered an American-class luxury interior and a long list of standard equip­ment for that money. Mercury has aimed the Tracer at the high end of the econo­my-sedan market; as a result, the Tracer is available only in premium-level trim. Adam Agranoff spoke for us all when he called the Tracer "definitely the plushest car of the bunch."

At $9695, Bill Visnic's Volkswagen Fox GL represented the top-of-the-line ver­sion of VW's least expensive car. The Brazilian-built Fox is based on a six-year­-old VW chassis, but extensive develop­ment has ensured that it still feels up-to-date. And, thanks to the low manu­facturing costs in its country of origin, the Fox's modest price includes a handsome, well-appointed cabin.

In choosing the $9870 Volkswagen Golf, André Idzikowski tried a different ploy. Instead of selecting the top version of VW's cheapest model, André picked a base edition of the maker's most modern, most technically advanced econobox. By forsaking some of the Fox's amenities, André picked up more room, a better chassis, and more power. And his Golf wasn't a stripper, either: in addition to A/C and a radio, it included a rear wiper-washer and a clock.

Larry Griffin's Mitsubishi Mirage, at $9929, was the new-for-1989 version of Mitsubishi's smallest sedan. Completely restyled, it immediately won praise as one of the most attractive cars in the group. With four doors and a big cabin, the Mirage looked plenty practical. But its narrow tires and 81-hp engine didn't do much to raise the eyebrows of our performance-minded bunch.

Despite being a cousin of the Tracer, the Mazda 323SE, $9954, had a personal­ity all its own. A quiet personality. It had no tachometer and no clock, despite hav­ing the word "quartz" on its dash, mock­ing you for deleting the clock. Considera­bly more spartan than its sibling, the four-door 323 nonetheless offered easier entry than the three-door Tracer, and its trunk provided far better luggage space.

Adam Agranoff's Honda Civic DX, at $9975, ranked as the most expensive of our cars. This Civic also came without a ta­chometer, but it had all the good things we've come to expect from Honda—a point made by Matthew Smith, who said, "It's tough not to bias yourself in favor of a car that you're so familiar with."

There, in brief, you have the competi­tors. The winners? Just keep reading and turning pages.