That’s such a dumb answer when a double wishbone civic that is still a desirable car today was a choice. The civic kicked the corollas ass in every conceivable metric. Nobody wants a 96 Corolla unless they’re living on social security. Tons of people want that civic.
They want that
Civic hatchback.
And they want it rust free
With a straight body
And they’re going to mod the shit out of it.
Because they don’t want a civic.
Dude tell me you’re not an enthusiast without telling me you’re not an enthusiast.
Civics are great and idk if you haven’t been paying attention but prices on clean ones are well over 10k today. Even w the stock engine it’s fun to drive; a set of coilovers and it’s amazing, and a b swap and it’s incredible.
I bought a 90s civic a few years ago, stock other than suspension. It’s honestly just as much fun to drive as my Porsche, and it makes an absolutely incredible daily
People want the civic because they want it to be something it isn’t from the factory. The person who buys a 96 Corolla today is not the same person looking at a 96 Civic
Mine never had any issues, but like I said it was so gutless.. I traded it for a 2.5 RS a few years later that had a bit more power then traded that for an 02 WRX and drove the doors off it.. it had 279k when I sold it
The Corolla. Listen, you're getting a boring economy car, might as well get the one that'll make it to the next ice-age with some oil changes and a few sparkplug swaps.
I needed a cheap winter beater, as I didn't want to drive my nice car in the salt and snow. I test drove a very high mileage manual Corolla (274k miles). I got on the freeway expecting a car that will have trouble passing at 80-90mph, but I was very wrong, the car had plenty of power, dare say the handling was kinda sporty and fun. Great little cars. I bought it and drove it for a few months until it started knocking. My fault for not checking the oil on my sub $500 beater.
It's not going to beat an rs6 or even an e55 of its time. What you will get is a car with a reliable 1.6 banger, that occationally burns oil and is kinda loud at +120kmh/70mph.
But it's going to run well, not going to be expensive to run, cheap to insure, parts are plenty and it's very easy to drive.
It's the type of a car that rapidly becomes the best car the second it starts raining and your first car is in the shop, if you need to go to work and sometimes visit uncle frank, who lives 200 miles away, there aren't many cars that can surpass a 98 corolla at the same expenses.
I’m on the high plains and I don’t really see Hondas rusting any worse than anything else, if you see civics rusting away to nothing it’s probably less a Honda problem than a problem with your location. And however bad civics might be I promise Tacoma frames are worse
Facts. I'm still worried someone might steal mine. I should probably install a killswitch at least. At least theifs are mostly looking at kias now not 25 year old civics
It's always nice to see my local dealership on Reddit...
Metro Toyota/Lexus was an amazing car dealership. Sales people were not commission based. It's the only dealership I know that actually made that pay structure work for almost 30 years. No haggle pricing was real, they were always under MSRP and always honest. If you didn't give them 5 stars in a survey, they made sure you felt you got 6 stars when you came back.
Unfortunately a month or two ago, the family decided to sell the dealership. They are now across the street with just Metro Lexus. 100% if you're in CLE this is the dealership to buy from.
Corolla, Civic or Cavalier. Those are the only cars pictured that are still on the road today in reasonable numbers.
The rest are all in junkyard heaven.
They are tanks. I still see them on the road near me and I'm just impressed. Sure, it leaks oil like a sieve by now, but the longevity is just impressive.
I've owned 3 of these cars. My Mitsu was the LS coupe with the 1.8 & a five speed, which was a lot of fun, and fairly reliable. The Neon I dropped like a hot rock after 2.5 months of ownership when I saw how much oil it was burning (this was before Chrysler agreed to pay for the head gasket issue). I've had *three* 2nd gen Saturns (when they were very, very used): They were easy to fix as long as you kept oil in them.
Answer: Corolla, Civic, Mitsu in LS form, the Golf or the Saturn (all with a 5 speed).
I bought a used Corolla in the early 2000s that was close to this year. It lasted about 240,000 miles and I owned it for over 12 years. Got me through my entire youth, college and after. What an absolute beast of a car.
i have an euro-spec 4a-fe e110 corolla, it's not a terrible car for what it is(econobox) and highways aren't bad. This one has the manual transmission so acceleration is going to be a bit better, i'm going to be the last owner and i'll get rid of it until rust takes it out and i have to buy a new car.
Where is the Chevrolet Corsica in this list? My dad had one that I rat bagged at a teen and he later he passed onto me when he replaced it. I couldn’t kill that thing.
It was flooded one time parked on the street during a flash storm, I dropped it into 1st gear doing 100 km/h on the highway, and drifted it through numerous farmers fields. Ugly as sin but virtually indestructible
I was literally in that exact situation after college. early 1996 I got a 1995 Toyota Tercel dealer car for around $12,000 and drove it 200,000+ miles with virtually no issues, cheap basic maintenance, $10 to fill up the tank and drive 300 miles, put in a good stereo system. Was a great car for a young kid!
corolla or subaru, subaru because AWD in the nordic winter is a good thing to have. Corolla because my government gets its dick hard once it hears you have AWD(more taxes)
Aside from the Tercel (which is overpriced for what it is) and the Elantra ('90s Hyundai reliability was not particularly good), this is pretty much a personal preference decision. They all have stuff going for them:
- Corolla: Absolutely off-the-charts reliability if somewhat expensive
- SL1: Best of the American compacts in quality and not bad to drive
- Impreza: AWD, reliable, sturdy provided it doesn't rust
- Neon: Get this one with the twin-cam engine and the manual (the auto is a piece of junk) and it's both fun to drive and reliable
- Mirage: '90s Japanese car reliability, easy and cheap to fix and major mechanicals are bulletproof
- Sentra: The best generation of this car easily, stick-shift models are better to drive
- Cavalier: Interior is crap but the thing will run forever if it doesn't rust out and you don't neglect oil changes
- Protege: One of the best cars here to drive, mechanicals are reliable and parts are cheap
- Civic: It's a '90s Civic, which means it's great in stock form and absurdly fun with a few tweaks, and provided no rust it'll live forever too
- Metro: More durable than it looks, great fuel mileage, drivetrain is tough as hell
- Golf: Better built and more refined than many of the others and quite durable though can be expensive to maintain
- Escort: Similar to the Cavalier though the Escort may be better on the interior front
Brand new? I'll go for the Saturn.
They made their own engines and had better build quality before GM took over and part bin assembled everything. (I drove a used Saturn Vue on a test drive and thing rattled like a rattlesnake when I braked. Yuck)
Manual with DOHC, and knowing what I know now ... I'd buy extra shifting cables and keep them in the trunk.
My current car is 2000 SL2. No ac and the radio is wonky. But for me? Car is car. And car work. Me like.
There's a reason you don't see Saturns around anymore. That being said my grandma had a white 2000 sw2, id probably only rock a wagon if I absolutely had to drive it.
Yeah I get that.
My Saturn has only been in the shop twice. To replace a cracked radiator, and the shifter cables. (I was lucky this part broke right before I got onto the highway). It's been a reliable car for me and it starts up every time.
I'd love to rock a station wagon too. I think they're neat.
The Corolla is the champion in this group with the Civic and Tercel in a distant second. Honorable mention to the Cavalier. A disgusting cockroach of a car that survive like automotive zombies, groaning and shedding parts while refusing to die.
The Corolla reigns supreme. Over-engineered like its big brother Camry, everything just works.
Civic all the way. Im daily driving a 98 Civic daily currently and its by far the most reliable car I've ever had. Keep your oil and timing belts changed and that thing can drive you to different galaxies
That generation of Golf wasn’t awful reliability wise. Not Civic caliber for sure, but the 2.slow ran forever with basic maintenance and they hadn’t quite overcomplicated the platform to a total electronics nightmare yet.
I've had a 1996 midori hatch. And a few other Civics of that era, coupes.
I've had the Escort and the Neon, but both in higher trims than here, the Escort a GT, and the Neon a Sport Coupe.
I would've loved a Corolla of that bodystyle, they seemed a lot more solid than the model that came after. Probably because the 93-97 was a Corolla for the world, whereas the next gen was a US only model.
Also, I like most of these cars, but the ones with a sport trim, that's what I would go after. Like that Sentra needs to be a 200SX SE-R, and the Cavalier a Z24, etc. As an Evo fan, I would only want a Mirage in sedan form. I do not like that Protege bodystyle though, I like the one before it, and the one after it, which both have similar greenhouse designs.
I'm going to guess that I can't afford the VW as a TDI, so, I would say the Civic or the Saturn, either with a manual transmission is a good time traveling slowly.
I’m partial. I had a Cavalier, and it was a great, reliable little car. The dashboard was cracked and broken to high hell, but it never left me anywhere. 😂
Manual Subaru Impreza. I had a 98 Impreza Outback Sport for damn near a decade. Super easy to fix. Parts are dirt cheap. I'll choose that tens times out of ten.
I would probably still have the corolla if I bought it and kept it up. My sister just bought my grandparents 1997 Toyota Camry for $200 with 298,000 miles on it and essentially no problems
I actually owned a 1996 Toyota Tercel. The car was not flashy or fast but it was fun to drive and its turning radius made it so you could turn on a dime. I've had many cars over the years (I'm in my mid 50's), but I always fondly reminisce about this car. Most of my others, not at all. It got great gas milage and I NEVER had a problem with it, nor had to put any money into it except routine maintenance. Great little car, wish I never got rid of it.
This is wild, because I've actually driven most of these cars.
Protege hands down. I loved driving that car, but the Civic is also up there.
The Cavalier is the one I would absolutely avoid from this list. I hated that car so much.
In 1996 you could get a single cab, short bed sport 3.9L V6 2wd manual Dodge Dakota for $13,000.
My dad bought one new in 1995 and it's still running strong today.
The Budget-friendly Volkswagens of yesteryear are truly missed. I remember when the '99 Jetta came out and sparked the affordable, pseudo-premium compact. By the time I went to high school in the mid-2000's, we all had some type of VW: New Beetle, Jetta, Golf, Passat... those were the days, man.
We had 3 Saturn SL1s and they reliably hit 40mpg. Easy to fix and service. Good room. And I don't remember my parents spending 13k on one. They were like 11k with the manual. Best deal I still think.
Escort by a mile. I had a 1995 wagon, drove the absolute fuck out of it, nothing ever broke, and it still averaged 36mpg. I beat on it for almost 10 years, then gave it to a buddy and he still drives it. They're indestructible and really fun to drive with good aftermarket support, due to sharing the Mazda BG platform. I miss mine every day.
Ooh, this is a tough one. It's going to be a toss-up between the Sentra and the Civic. Both of those things would have/will run forever. I think I'll give the slight edge to the Civic because of the hatchback versatility.
1996 me would’ve taken the Neon, but then I was 12 so of course I would take the nonsense pick.
I’ve driven two Saturns in the last 12 years—both SL2s, a 1998 and a 1997–and they’ve been great mechanically and fantastic on gas, especially on road trips.
Wasn't a base model economy car much cheaper than $13,000 in 1996?
I paid under $10k for my 2004 Cavalier in August 2003 that was brand new off the truck.
Weird. A base '96 Cavalier was just under 11 grand, and a base '04 Cavalier was just under 16 grand. Must've been a ridiculously hefty discount for whatever reason. Cheapest of the cheap you could possibly buy in '96 would've been ~8 grand.
Definitly civic. Though it can never go wrong with toyota. I had 2 civics of that generation, only reason why they are gone is because good ol' rust and started to drive long distances so switched to diesel.
Definitely the Corolla.
Also noticed the Metro Toyota dealership frame on the Corolla. My family has purchased multiple cars from there and I bought my first car from there (a 2005 Elantra) back in 2013 and they have done right by my family and I for the last 25+ years.
I would go with the Corolla personally due to the reliability and price, though when I was born my Mom drove a ‘96 Sentra so there’s a little nostalgia with that. She passed it to my Dad when my sister was born (so she could get an ‘03 Chevrolet Venture) and he kept it until about ‘07-‘08 when he traded it in for a ‘06 Nissan Titan.
the Civic DX, mainly because i drive a 1998 DX 4 door. have had it for 15 years now and i still love it. Done nothing but basic maintains and its running strong. 528,000 miles and no end in sight.
Im getting the vdub, i recon its the nicest place to be out of all the cars, practical hatch. Good fit and finish. Everyone is talking about reliability but who really owns a new car for longer than 10 years?
Ireland is still crawling with those corollas. You couldn't give them away 10 years back, now everyone wants 1500 for there's.
The gearboxes don't take much abuse either
corolla probably cheap car to keep running, and will do so for a long long time
I just saw one from that generation on the road just the other day.
i see one or two still around where i live
They are gone around here but I bet cause it looks clapped and not cause is broken so people chuck it.
My only Toyota to ever fail me was a ‘91, I couldn’t believe it.
My brother still uses a 89 Toyota pickup for work and back 600k miles strong
My mom had a 1992 automatic Corolla.. transmission failed twice within 160k miles.. I think 140k, actually!
That’s such a dumb answer when a double wishbone civic that is still a desirable car today was a choice. The civic kicked the corollas ass in every conceivable metric. Nobody wants a 96 Corolla unless they’re living on social security. Tons of people want that civic.
They want that Civic hatchback. And they want it rust free With a straight body And they’re going to mod the shit out of it. Because they don’t want a civic.
Dude tell me you’re not an enthusiast without telling me you’re not an enthusiast. Civics are great and idk if you haven’t been paying attention but prices on clean ones are well over 10k today. Even w the stock engine it’s fun to drive; a set of coilovers and it’s amazing, and a b swap and it’s incredible. I bought a 90s civic a few years ago, stock other than suspension. It’s honestly just as much fun to drive as my Porsche, and it makes an absolutely incredible daily
It’s fun to drive bone stock! Guy has a point that no one ever just leaves those things alone
People want the civic because they want it to be something it isn’t from the factory. The person who buys a 96 Corolla today is not the same person looking at a 96 Civic
Not true. That civic bone stock other than a set of coilovers drives better than 99.9% of cars ever created.
If you bought that Corolla new in 1996 and took good care of it it could absolutely still be driving just fine in 2024.
Bro I’ve seen so many still on the road, my lexus is doing just fine after 30 years
I owned that identical Subaru Impreza, gutless but it handled the snow like a champ, I was a WRC driver anytime it snowed..
Mine never had any issues, but like I said it was so gutless.. I traded it for a 2.5 RS a few years later that had a bit more power then traded that for an 02 WRX and drove the doors off it.. it had 279k when I sold it
The Corolla. Listen, you're getting a boring economy car, might as well get the one that'll make it to the next ice-age with some oil changes and a few sparkplug swaps.
The 4A-fe has more torque than the first gen 4a-ge, they evened out at 3rd gen. Not a snooze-fest considering it's reliability
I needed a cheap winter beater, as I didn't want to drive my nice car in the salt and snow. I test drove a very high mileage manual Corolla (274k miles). I got on the freeway expecting a car that will have trouble passing at 80-90mph, but I was very wrong, the car had plenty of power, dare say the handling was kinda sporty and fun. Great little cars. I bought it and drove it for a few months until it started knocking. My fault for not checking the oil on my sub $500 beater.
It's not going to beat an rs6 or even an e55 of its time. What you will get is a car with a reliable 1.6 banger, that occationally burns oil and is kinda loud at +120kmh/70mph. But it's going to run well, not going to be expensive to run, cheap to insure, parts are plenty and it's very easy to drive. It's the type of a car that rapidly becomes the best car the second it starts raining and your first car is in the shop, if you need to go to work and sometimes visit uncle frank, who lives 200 miles away, there aren't many cars that can surpass a 98 corolla at the same expenses.
Fuck this sub is dumb. Yes a Honda d16 isn’t reliable at all 🙄
It's probably because they keep getting butchered by FF-wannabe mods, but I see way more '90s Corollas still tooling around than I do '90s Civics.
I see nearly every one of these daily except the Hyundai
Which is ironic because that gen Elantra disappeared a long time ago but the 2002-2010 Elantras are still quite common
civic, i would get that $13,000 back if i kept it to this day
lol if it didn’t get stolen
Or crumble apart from rust
I’m on the high plains and I don’t really see Hondas rusting any worse than anything else, if you see civics rusting away to nothing it’s probably less a Honda problem than a problem with your location. And however bad civics might be I promise Tacoma frames are worse
Ya I’m in a horrible place for cars super rust belt of northern illinois
My 93 civic was a champ and no rust til I left it out in a hurricane and it got drenched in seawater in 1999.
Facts. I'm still worried someone might steal mine. I should probably install a killswitch at least. At least theifs are mostly looking at kias now not 25 year old civics
A 13k civic DX will come with automatic transmission and a optional AC. Best choice here.
I had a 92 civic dx hatchback 5speed as my first car, paid 700 bucksfor it, Can you tell me why those things are now going for stupid money?
Golf civic or the last choice subie. Most of these are still on the road…. Just goes to show
It's always nice to see my local dealership on Reddit... Metro Toyota/Lexus was an amazing car dealership. Sales people were not commission based. It's the only dealership I know that actually made that pay structure work for almost 30 years. No haggle pricing was real, they were always under MSRP and always honest. If you didn't give them 5 stars in a survey, they made sure you felt you got 6 stars when you came back. Unfortunately a month or two ago, the family decided to sell the dealership. They are now across the street with just Metro Lexus. 100% if you're in CLE this is the dealership to buy from.
I’m glad I am not the only one who noticed the Metro Toyota frame there. They were awesome to work with.
Corolla, Civic or Cavalier. Those are the only cars pictured that are still on the road today in reasonable numbers. The rest are all in junkyard heaven.
There’s Tercels and Imprezas still on the road. I see them often
Yeah but which motor is the Impreza on?
That one has the ej22, which is still the best engine they ever made, reliability wise imo.
Imprezas I see occasionally when I’m down south. I haven’t seen one up north in ages. I haven’t seen a Tercel in years.
Those Imprezas are everywhere in my area of Appalachia.
Come to Alaska 90s Subarus are everywhere still
Cavalier had head gasket issues
Those J-body Cavaliers would run longer with a bad head gasket than most of those cars would run at all.
They are tanks. I still see them on the road near me and I'm just impressed. Sure, it leaks oil like a sieve by now, but the longevity is just impressive.
You are right some of them could. But why choose a car that can run long with a known issue at all if given a choice?
I've owned 3 of these cars. My Mitsu was the LS coupe with the 1.8 & a five speed, which was a lot of fun, and fairly reliable. The Neon I dropped like a hot rock after 2.5 months of ownership when I saw how much oil it was burning (this was before Chrysler agreed to pay for the head gasket issue). I've had *three* 2nd gen Saturns (when they were very, very used): They were easy to fix as long as you kept oil in them. Answer: Corolla, Civic, Mitsu in LS form, the Golf or the Saturn (all with a 5 speed).
Oh boy the poor middle-aged Toyota boys came out in full force as usual with the daily exaggerated tales of reliability.
Saturn
the Civic or the Golf
Had the Subaru Impreza, damn thing would go anywhere. It was fun in the snow.
My 98 is still my daily driver. Kind of insane how long they last.
Civic
I bought a used Corolla in the early 2000s that was close to this year. It lasted about 240,000 miles and I owned it for over 12 years. Got me through my entire youth, college and after. What an absolute beast of a car.
i have an euro-spec 4a-fe e110 corolla, it's not a terrible car for what it is(econobox) and highways aren't bad. This one has the manual transmission so acceleration is going to be a bit better, i'm going to be the last owner and i'll get rid of it until rust takes it out and i have to buy a new car.
Well the Saturn in my front yard hasn't stopped working yet so probably that one.
My head would say civic but my heart would go Volkswagen.
People complaining about the price of cars today, that Geo Metro would cost $19.3k in 2023 dollars...
Saturn. All day
Well in 1996 I was actually in that position. I chose the Geo Metro. It was less than $10K out the door. Car lasted about a year.
NEON! It’s so cute!
The VW Golf might be the second coolest car ever conceived (1st place is the Porsche 911)
Where is the Chevrolet Corsica in this list? My dad had one that I rat bagged at a teen and he later he passed onto me when he replaced it. I couldn’t kill that thing. It was flooded one time parked on the street during a flash storm, I dropped it into 1st gear doing 100 km/h on the highway, and drifted it through numerous farmers fields. Ugly as sin but virtually indestructible
I was literally in that exact situation after college. early 1996 I got a 1995 Toyota Tercel dealer car for around $12,000 and drove it 200,000+ miles with virtually no issues, cheap basic maintenance, $10 to fill up the tank and drive 300 miles, put in a good stereo system. Was a great car for a young kid!
I had a ‘91 Tercel. Loved it.
Wanted to buy American and chose the Ford Contour that year... that was Hecho en Mexico. Good car that lasted into the late '00s
Can I just take the $13,000? I'll take it in 1996 Apple stock, if that's an option.
Tercel. Those things are bulletproof
Amen!
Miss mine 😞
Me too. Would buy another if I could.
I feel the same
Mazda 323, because my father had one like that in silver
Can’t believe more people aren’t choosing the escort. I think either that or the golf are the most attractive options.
Escort gt all the way
Geo Metro baby!!
As a first-gen Neon owner bought right off the showroom floor, I can confidently proclaim Corolla all day long.
The neon is similar to the shitbox dodge colt my mom owned back then so I guess that
Cavalier or Corolla.
Midori green civic is a no brainer to me
Geo Storm
Civic hatch. Just not in that color haha
I had a 96 Camry back in the day. It was the best car I ever owned
corolla or subaru, subaru because AWD in the nordic winter is a good thing to have. Corolla because my government gets its dick hard once it hears you have AWD(more taxes)
If I’m picking solely on nostalgia, the Saturn. Picking logically probably the Civic
Aside from the Tercel (which is overpriced for what it is) and the Elantra ('90s Hyundai reliability was not particularly good), this is pretty much a personal preference decision. They all have stuff going for them: - Corolla: Absolutely off-the-charts reliability if somewhat expensive - SL1: Best of the American compacts in quality and not bad to drive - Impreza: AWD, reliable, sturdy provided it doesn't rust - Neon: Get this one with the twin-cam engine and the manual (the auto is a piece of junk) and it's both fun to drive and reliable - Mirage: '90s Japanese car reliability, easy and cheap to fix and major mechanicals are bulletproof - Sentra: The best generation of this car easily, stick-shift models are better to drive - Cavalier: Interior is crap but the thing will run forever if it doesn't rust out and you don't neglect oil changes - Protege: One of the best cars here to drive, mechanicals are reliable and parts are cheap - Civic: It's a '90s Civic, which means it's great in stock form and absurdly fun with a few tweaks, and provided no rust it'll live forever too - Metro: More durable than it looks, great fuel mileage, drivetrain is tough as hell - Golf: Better built and more refined than many of the others and quite durable though can be expensive to maintain - Escort: Similar to the Cavalier though the Escort may be better on the interior front
Yup, pretty much! I'm surprised a lot of people picked the Corolla over the Civic.
I drive that Corolla 249,800 Great quality just needs a pint of oil every full upt thirsty gal
All of these cars look the same
Yup. Cars have always looked the same, it's not a new thing lol
Brand new? I'll go for the Saturn. They made their own engines and had better build quality before GM took over and part bin assembled everything. (I drove a used Saturn Vue on a test drive and thing rattled like a rattlesnake when I braked. Yuck) Manual with DOHC, and knowing what I know now ... I'd buy extra shifting cables and keep them in the trunk. My current car is 2000 SL2. No ac and the radio is wonky. But for me? Car is car. And car work. Me like.
There's a reason you don't see Saturns around anymore. That being said my grandma had a white 2000 sw2, id probably only rock a wagon if I absolutely had to drive it.
Yeah I get that. My Saturn has only been in the shop twice. To replace a cracked radiator, and the shifter cables. (I was lucky this part broke right before I got onto the highway). It's been a reliable car for me and it starts up every time. I'd love to rock a station wagon too. I think they're neat.
Id rock an Aztek just for the pop out tent in the back. Saturns are neat, just not for me.
The Corolla is way ahead of all the others. That Civic would be ok in a different color
The Toyota.
The Corolla is the champion in this group with the Civic and Tercel in a distant second. Honorable mention to the Cavalier. A disgusting cockroach of a car that survive like automotive zombies, groaning and shedding parts while refusing to die. The Corolla reigns supreme. Over-engineered like its big brother Camry, everything just works.
Any of the Toyotas, the Honda and the Saturn. And I would still have them to this day
My heart says Subaru, but my head wants a Corolla. 🙂
My buddy had the exact same Saturn in college. Parents leased it for $150 a month, no money down for 24 months.
Civic all the way. Im daily driving a 98 Civic daily currently and its by far the most reliable car I've ever had. Keep your oil and timing belts changed and that thing can drive you to different galaxies
Golf or Civic
The mk3 Golf
Golf still has a certain cool factor. Obviously not the most reliable choice though.
That generation of Golf wasn’t awful reliability wise. Not Civic caliber for sure, but the 2.slow ran forever with basic maintenance and they hadn’t quite overcomplicated the platform to a total electronics nightmare yet.
I've had a 1996 midori hatch. And a few other Civics of that era, coupes. I've had the Escort and the Neon, but both in higher trims than here, the Escort a GT, and the Neon a Sport Coupe. I would've loved a Corolla of that bodystyle, they seemed a lot more solid than the model that came after. Probably because the 93-97 was a Corolla for the world, whereas the next gen was a US only model. Also, I like most of these cars, but the ones with a sport trim, that's what I would go after. Like that Sentra needs to be a 200SX SE-R, and the Cavalier a Z24, etc. As an Evo fan, I would only want a Mirage in sedan form. I do not like that Protege bodystyle though, I like the one before it, and the one after it, which both have similar greenhouse designs.
Sentra or Civic.
I would get VW Golf as it's really good car.
Corolla. Duh.
I'm going to guess that I can't afford the VW as a TDI, so, I would say the Civic or the Saturn, either with a manual transmission is a good time traveling slowly.
That’s like 25k with inflation, I’d be rocking a wrangler, and hoochie dad shorts and a tank top
Toyota for reliability.
I can’t believe we’re to a point that I’m nostalgic for 90’s cars
SL1 all day. Manual. Runner! (Owned one and it was awesome)
I’m partial. I had a Cavalier, and it was a great, reliable little car. The dashboard was cracked and broken to high hell, but it never left me anywhere. 😂
Manual Subaru Impreza. I had a 98 Impreza Outback Sport for damn near a decade. Super easy to fix. Parts are dirt cheap. I'll choose that tens times out of ten.
The Subaru or one of the toyotas because they are probably still running now.
I would probably still have the corolla if I bought it and kept it up. My sister just bought my grandparents 1997 Toyota Camry for $200 with 298,000 miles on it and essentially no problems
so many car that i'll never be able to get (not in france)
Civic DX easily
Civic hatch, no question
The Toyota. I’d still have it today.
Shelling out a few extra bucks and getting a higher model civic
If we’re talking new, that gen Corolla was pretty pricy. I think they were in the $15k for base to near $20k for the LE (up until 1995.)
Golf. Had a 95 manual and it was a blast to drive.
96, I had a Tempo
EK hatch for sure
Corrolla , Honda and GTI are the only ones I still see on the road with any regularity.
Me and the ex had a civic much like #11, traded for our first brand new car (Camry) on New Year’s Eve 95/96
The Toyota or Honda. Still on the road these days. Least likely to own, the geo and Saturn lol
I actually owned a 1996 Toyota Tercel. The car was not flashy or fast but it was fun to drive and its turning radius made it so you could turn on a dime. I've had many cars over the years (I'm in my mid 50's), but I always fondly reminisce about this car. Most of my others, not at all. It got great gas milage and I NEVER had a problem with it, nor had to put any money into it except routine maintenance. Great little car, wish I never got rid of it.
Corolla, but I’d take a civic or the Saturn to
Honda civic. Start modding it heavily in the early 2000’s
I owned a Brighton almost exactly like the one shown. Amazing car. I kick myself for ever selling it. If I still had it I would go full 22b replica.
Corolla forever!!!
This is wild, because I've actually driven most of these cars. Protege hands down. I loved driving that car, but the Civic is also up there. The Cavalier is the one I would absolutely avoid from this list. I hated that car so much.
In 1996 you could get a single cab, short bed sport 3.9L V6 2wd manual Dodge Dakota for $13,000. My dad bought one new in 1995 and it's still running strong today.
The Budget-friendly Volkswagens of yesteryear are truly missed. I remember when the '99 Jetta came out and sparked the affordable, pseudo-premium compact. By the time I went to high school in the mid-2000's, we all had some type of VW: New Beetle, Jetta, Golf, Passat... those were the days, man.
Brighton. The only one of the group that's AWD and aside from the Civic has good upgrade potential.
Civic, Tercels and Corolla lasted very long. I had the same Elantra as the picture, was a great car also.
Midori green ek
We had 3 Saturn SL1s and they reliably hit 40mpg. Easy to fix and service. Good room. And I don't remember my parents spending 13k on one. They were like 11k with the manual. Best deal I still think.
The Corolla or the Impreza
Escort by a mile. I had a 1995 wagon, drove the absolute fuck out of it, nothing ever broke, and it still averaged 36mpg. I beat on it for almost 10 years, then gave it to a buddy and he still drives it. They're indestructible and really fun to drive with good aftermarket support, due to sharing the Mazda BG platform. I miss mine every day.
Golf Impreza Civic In that order.
Either the 'rolla, Protegé, Civic, or Golf.
86 crx
the corolla or the nissan
Toyota tercal
I’m taking the escort; I’ve had a few and the air will freeze you out and the base 1.9 will take an absolute pounding
SL1 or Sentra
Civic 100%
Im takin the VW or the Subie
Neon if i can get the coupe
Civic hatch
Saturn, Neon, Civic. Probably in that order
A used car from the 80s
If looks weren't a factor, I'd go with the Impreza or Saturn. Overall though, I'm not a hatchback guy but I could drive the VW Golf.
Ooh, this is a tough one. It's going to be a toss-up between the Sentra and the Civic. Both of those things would have/will run forever. I think I'll give the slight edge to the Civic because of the hatchback versatility.
A Subaru economy car is an oxymoron
1996 me would’ve taken the Neon, but then I was 12 so of course I would take the nonsense pick. I’ve driven two Saturns in the last 12 years—both SL2s, a 1998 and a 1997–and they’ve been great mechanically and fantastic on gas, especially on road trips.
The Corolla or EK Civic would still be running to this day with proper maintenance
Geo metro is always the choice of those with taste, preferably in convertible form with a stick
Corolla or the Civic as they’d both be running still today
Corolla and it is not even close.
I’ll take the mirage. But I’m biased
3-4-11
Wasn't a base model economy car much cheaper than $13,000 in 1996? I paid under $10k for my 2004 Cavalier in August 2003 that was brand new off the truck.
Weird. A base '96 Cavalier was just under 11 grand, and a base '04 Cavalier was just under 16 grand. Must've been a ridiculously hefty discount for whatever reason. Cheapest of the cheap you could possibly buy in '96 would've been ~8 grand.
$13,000 in 1996 would be the equivalent of $25,878 today. The Toyota or the Honda, but always thought the Geo Metro was sporty and stylish.
Mazda 323
Definitly civic. Though it can never go wrong with toyota. I had 2 civics of that generation, only reason why they are gone is because good ol' rust and started to drive long distances so switched to diesel.
Corolla or Civic hatch. Flip a coin.
Definitely the Corolla. Also noticed the Metro Toyota dealership frame on the Corolla. My family has purchased multiple cars from there and I bought my first car from there (a 2005 Elantra) back in 2013 and they have done right by my family and I for the last 25+ years.
I daily a 1996 Toyota Corolla DX, so I guess for something different I'd take a Civic or Tercel 2-Door
Keeping it stock? The Corolla. If I’m allowed to put aftermarket mods on the car you take the Civic
A $100 clunker, what else?
'Rolla.
I would go with the Corolla personally due to the reliability and price, though when I was born my Mom drove a ‘96 Sentra so there’s a little nostalgia with that. She passed it to my Dad when my sister was born (so she could get an ‘03 Chevrolet Venture) and he kept it until about ‘07-‘08 when he traded it in for a ‘06 Nissan Titan.
That first Corolla… it would still be on the road today
the Civic DX, mainly because i drive a 1998 DX 4 door. have had it for 15 years now and i still love it. Done nothing but basic maintains and its running strong. 528,000 miles and no end in sight.
my family had that corolla and the golf too, lovely cars
Im getting the vdub, i recon its the nicest place to be out of all the cars, practical hatch. Good fit and finish. Everyone is talking about reliability but who really owns a new car for longer than 10 years?
Corolla, civic, GEO, Impreza. In that order.
Corolla. You still see them driving around today, can't really see that about the others.
Civic or Corolla. I'd have to decide between 4 doors or a hatchback.
Corolla no question. Which one of these so we still regularly see on the road? yep pretty much just the corolla.
“I’ve got me a *slightly modified* geo metro”
Corolla, no doubt
Corolla. Can't kill them.
I kept waiting for the good one but it never showed.
Id take the Subaru
If you bought the Corolla back then, you’d still probably be using it today
Dodge neon and geo metro Lsi 😍❤ always.
Ireland is still crawling with those corollas. You couldn't give them away 10 years back, now everyone wants 1500 for there's. The gearboxes don't take much abuse either