Consumer Reports may have named the Honda Fit as the small car with the best overall value in its 2011 Annual Auto Issue, but there are far better deals out there.
That's because Honda Canada doesn't have a decent deal of any sort on the 2011. Nothing. Nada. You pay full price, unless you can swing some sort of dealer discount. That's not a deal.
Sure, CR says the Fit is the best overall value among some 200 different vehicles analyzed. So what? (And for the record, CR also said the Jeep Wrangler is the overall worst value.)
CR's scores are calculated based on the five-year owner cost for each vehicle (shown as cost per mile and reflecting U.S. ownership) along with CR's road-test score and the publication's own predicted-reliability. Such things as depreciation, fuel costs, insurance premiums, interest on financing, maintenance and repairs, and sales tax and were key factors.
Deals of the Week started with CR's list of best and worst values, tossed out the worst ones and then went digging for deals among the best values.
And there they were: $7,000 in cash on the Acura TSX; $3,500 on the Hyundai Santa Fe; and, $4,000 on the Hyundai Genesis. The fourth vehicle, the Mazda5 van, made the list of deals because it's all new for 2012 and a very good vehicle. However, if you can find an old 2010 Mazda5, Mazda Canada had a $5,000 factory-to-dealer rebate that officially expired on Jan. 31, though a deal may be had for the savvy shopper.
Deals of the Week has more details about this quartet of values. Before we go there, here's a look at the best and worst values in each of eight vehicle segments analyzed by CR:
Best Value Small Car: Honda Fit
Worst Value Small Car: Chevrolet Aveo5 1LT
Best Value Family Car: Toyota Prius IV
Worst Value Family Car: Chevrolet Impala LT (3.5)
Best Value Upscale Sedan: Acura TSX (4-cyl.)
Worst Value Upscale Sedan: Buick Lucerne (V8)
Best Value Luxury Sedan: Hyundai Genesis 4.6
Worst Value Luxury Sedan: BMW 750Li
Best Value Sporty Car: Mini Cooper (base)
Worst Value Sporty Car: Porsche 911 Carrera S
Best Value Wagons/Minivans: Mazda5 Grand Touring
Worst Value Wagons/Minivans: Kia Sedona EX
Best Value Small SUVs: Toyota RAV4 (base, 4-cyl.)
Worst Value Small SUVs: Jeep Liberty Sport
Best Value Mid-sized SUVs: Hyundai Santa Fe GLS (4-cyl.)
Worst Value Mid-sized SUVs: Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara
As usual, Deals of the Week obtained pricing information from www.carcostcanada.com. Here are the numbers.
2010 Acura TSX I4
Manual transmission
MSRP: $32,990
Freight, dealer prep, air conditioning tax: $1,995
Dealer discount (estimated): $1,300
Factory discount: $7,000 (factory-to-consumer rebate cash purchases)
Taxable subtotal: $26,685
Total price with 13% HST: $30,154.05
2011 Hyundai Santa Fe GL
Premium four-cylinder AWD
MSRP: $29,699
Freight, dealer prep: $1,860
Dealer discount: $900
Factory rebate: $3,500 (factory-to-dealer; can be combined with special finance rate)
Taxable subtotal: $27,159
Total price with 13% HST: $30,689.67
Factory rebate: $500 (Clean Air Cash)
Government rebate: $300 (Retire Your Ride)
Final price: $29,889.67
Note: Cash can be combined with 3.99 per cent special finance rate
2011 Hyundai Genesis 4.6 sedan
MSRP: $49,999
Freight, dealer prep and air conditioning tax: $1,860
Dealer discount (estimated): $2,000
Factory discount: $4,000 (factory-to-dealer; can be combined with special finance rate)
Taxable subtotal: $45,859
Total price with 13% HST: $51,820.67
Factory discount: $1,000 (Clean Air Cash)
Government discount: $300 (Retire Your Ride)
Final price: $50,520.67
Note: Cash can be combined with 3.99 per cent special finance rate
2012 Mazda5 GT
MSRP: $25,595
Freight, dealer prep and air conditioning tax: $1,695
Dealer discount (estimated): $700
Taxable subtotal: $26,590
Total price with 13% HST: $30,046.70
Factory rebate: $250 (Owner Loyalty factory-to-customer)
Final price: $27,796.70
Note: 0.9 per cent finance rate
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.