I'm wondering what time of year is the best to buy a new car.
I vaguely recall hearing it's the end of the year (December), since dealers want to move cars off their lots by the end of the calendar year. If you're lucky or not picky, you might also be able to pick up a great deal on the previous model year at that time, too, since the new ones will have already been out for a couple of months.
Marsupial said:
Well my first dip into diesel world didn't work out so well so I'm thinking hybrid of some sorts... I'm in the minority of TDI owners (it seems) that actually bought VW diesel mainly for its economy and "cleanliness".
I'm in this group, too.
Marsupial said:
Honestly, what I would really want and be very interested in is a Golf with the Jetta hybrid's drivetrain and batteries under the back seat - that does not exist though.
At this point I'm thinking about test driving that Hyndai Ioniq hybrid and see how it feels.
Yeah, a hybrid Golf would be interesting -- but even if it existed, VW would have to offer an
amazing deal to get me to replace my Golf TDI with a hybrid Golf.
Given your desires, I think you should at least test-drive a 2016-2017 Prius; by all accounts, it performs
much better than the previous (3rd) generation. Some friends of mine bought one to replace their 2nd-generation Prius. I haven't driven it, but I did ride in it as a passenger, and it seemed pretty nice -- certainly it wasn't anywhere near as noisy as previous Prii have been. If you want safety features, the latest Prius also has a lot of stuff available as options -- lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, forward collision alert with auto-braking, etc.
You may also want to look into the Ford C-MAX hybrid. Its fuel economy isn't up to Prius standards, but it should roughly match a Golf TDI, depending on how it's driven. It's also supposed to accelerate better than a Prius, it's got more cargo space, and its styling is quite different. Right now, Ford is offering ~$3,000 on the hood, so it's less expensive than a Prius -- but of course that could change by the end of the year. OTOH, the C-MAX is behind the curve when it comes to advanced electronics and safety features -- you can't even get a back-up camera except in the top trim line. At least SYNC 3 is now available to replace the dreadful (or so I hear; I've never used it) MyFord Touch -- although I think the latter is still the default in lower trim lines. In any event, given your stated needs, the C-MAX may be a good choice for you.
FWIW, those are the ones I'm considering, too -- the Prius, the C-MAX, and (if it arrives in time and details look good) the Ioniq, in roughly that order.