2012 Honda Civic EX-L SedanHonda
So a fierce rival claims to be shocked at how much money Honda Canada is throwing at its Civic compact.
"I can't believe it; I've never seen this before," says the rival car company executive.
Why? The story starts with Honda's plan for a fairly major upgrade of the Civic, changes that should be in showrooms late this year or early next. The Civic re-do is intended to address critics and consumers who were not at all happy with the last Civic makeover.
Between now and the arrival of the updated Civic, Honda wants to ensure that its best-seller remains Canada's No. 1 selling car for a 15th straight year. The company is doing what's required to juice sales in the face of ferocious competition from a hugely long list: Hyundai (Elantra), Mazda (Mazda3), Toyota (Corolla), Ford (Fiesta), Chevrolet (Cruze), Volkswagen (Jetta), Kia (Forte) and more.
More? A reinvented Nissan Sentra is on its way to dealers right now, further complicating things for Honda. Kia is readying a remake of the Forte, too. We're just about set to see updates to the Elantra, as well.
So what's out there? Well, a $14,999 Honda Civic sedan is being offered with a dizzying an array of goodies to sweeten the pot. You will surely want all of the $1,000 factory-to-consumer incentive, the one that can be combined with 0.99 per cent financing for three years.
On top of that, current Honda owners are eligible for a rate reduction that will take your cost to borrow down to $0. Honda has a variety of regional handouts in play, too. For instance, there is a $1,500 factory-to-dealer bonus in the Pacific Region. Honda Canada also deals for current and future leaseholders. Bottom line: if you want a Civic, Honda is willing to deal in ways we have not seen in years, decades, even.
On the subject of best sellers, Ford's F-150 pickup has been on top of the market for four decades-plus and Ford plans to keep it that way, even as Chrysler's Ram division launches an all-new pickup at this very moment – one Chrysler officials argue has better fuel economy than the F-150. Get used to these fuel economy claims and counter claims in the pickup world.
Deals of the Week wondered just how Ford might go on an F-Series, so we priced out a discounted base model. Buyers who manage to string together all the money in play could see a $3,000 or more reduction on a sub-$20,000 F-Series. Not bad.
Meanwhile, Jaguar has been busy juicing sales of the gorgeous XJ sedan with some fat, fat deals. The last, best offer we saw from Jag was a $15,000 incentive on an $88,000 XJ. Cash purchases only. This for the outgoing 2012 model. Check with your dealer for details and availability – and don't overlook negotiating for some sort of dealer discount, too.
Finally, the Kia Forte LX, the four-door hatchback model. This is a story of out with the old, get ready to welcome the new. A revamped Forte is not far away, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with the current one.
That said, Kia has a whole dizzying array of offers on this Forte. You can go with a straight $3,000 off if you pay cash on a $16,695 Forte hatch. Or you can take the $3,000 and combine it with 3.69 per cent financing for up to five years. Or you can take a $1,500 discount and combine that with 0.0 per cent financing for five years. And Kia also has its 90-day payment deferral offer on the table, too. Bottom line here: Kia wants to deal.
As per usual, Deals of the Week obtained pricing information from www.carcostcanada.com, among other sources. Consult your dealer for all the details.
2012 Honda Civic DX manual
- MSRP: $14,999
- Freight, dealer prep, air conditioning tax: $1,495
- Dealer discount (estimated): $450
- Taxable subtotal: $16,944
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $19,146.72
- Factory rebate: $1000. (Consumer Incentive factory-to-customer rebate)
- Final price: 18,146.72
- 0.99 per cent financing for three years might be reduced to 0.0 per cent for eligible buyers
2012 Ford F-150 XL regular cab 2WD
- MSRP: $19,999
- Freight, dealer prep and air conditioning tax: $1,700
- Dealer discount (estimated): $250
- Factory discount: $2,000 (Delivery Allowance factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Taxable subtotal: $19,449
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $20,977.37
- 5.69 per cent financing for up to five years
2012 Jaguar XJ
- MSRP: $88,000
- Freight, dealer prep, AC tax: $1,450
- Dealer discount (estimated): $4,000
- Factory discount: $15,000 (Purchase Cash factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Taxable subtotal: $70,450
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $79,608.50
2012 Kia Forte LX four-door hatchback, manual
- MSRP: $16,695
- Freight, dealer prep, AC tax: $1,455
- Dealer discount (estimated): $500
- Factory discount: $3,000 (Kia Prime Rate Credit factory-to-dealer rebate)
- Taxable subtotal: $14,650
- Total price with 13 per cent HST: $16,554.50
- Can be combined with financing of 3.69 per cent for five years
Pricing information source: www.carcostcanada.com . Calculations based on Ontario customers.
Please note that while the information above is accurate at the time of publication, incentives are given at the discretion of individual dealers, and may be changed or discontinued at any time. Dealer discounts are negotiated with the customer on a case-by-case basis.