Sales: Subcompacts, March 2011
Despite the media’s on-again-off-again love affair with the “OMG SMALL CARS ARE TAKING OVER!” storyline, the US-market B-segment isn’t exhibiting many signs of serious competition (at least in comparison to the C- and D-segments). The Versa has ruled the segment largely unchallenged for years, with only the Soul posing anything resembling a serious threat. Former rivals like the Fit, Accent, Yaris and Aveo are getting old and losing momentum, although most have replacements waiting in the wings. A new Versa is about to debut as well, but because it’s based on the smaller, cheaper Micra platform, it may give up the Versa’s value-size advantage. We’re still waiting for American consumers to flock to subcompacts, but maybe they’re just waiting for some serious competition in the segment…
More by Edward Niedermeyer
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What's interesting to me about this one is how much positive press the Mazda 2 and Suzuki SX4 have received, compared to negative press for the Aveo. Yet, the Aveo outsells those to superior cars combined. That just goes to show you, it ain't about "driving," ... it's still about "price" when it comes to small cars.
In my opinion the car that is truly overpriced in this segment is the Fiat 500. After the novelty wears off and given Fiat's limited dealer network I fully expect the 500 to be a non contender. Being that it's built in Mexico there is no logical reason that it's priced about $2k higher than a comparable Fiesta hatchback. Personally, if the Fiesta and 500 were priced the same I'd choose the Fiesta as I think it has a much nicer interior and a superior drivetrain. My guess is that when sales of the 500 flop a multi thouand dollar rebate will kick in to make the car price competitive with others in the class. It would seem Fiat is trying to take a page out of the MINI's playbook but unfortunately for Fiat the 500 is no MINI.
My issue is that for a modest price increase (if one at all) you can get a compact car which gets better mileage and is a more comfortable drive. I understand that highway mileage is all about drag & gearing rather than mass but the elantra beats may of these cars on city mileage as well. One potential difference is none of the sub compacts have direct injection engines (yet)
Is anyone making deals on xD's? I could use an extra set of doors for cheap...