Clown car hybrid vs clown car hatchback

[browne497]

As mentioned I have a clown car question. I own a paid for 21 Corolla hybrid that was $23K. I love the thing. I get 60 mpg in it until the winter time when I get mid to high 40’s (boo boo, right? And it has 21K miles). It’s impossible to find a reasonably priced Prius in my region given used car prices, which is the only thing I would’ve changed about my purchase. However, I know MMM and the community’s opinion on the Honda Fit. Long story short, there’s a used fit with 5K miles 2 and a half hours away from me for $22K. Given the weird car market right now, it’s now out of the question for me to expect $24-27K in trade-in value. The fit, like the Prius that I wish I had bought for this reason can fit my bike in it and allow me to take it to a local bike advocacy group’s meet as well as any other hauling endeavor that the Fit excels in. I realize that the prices of both of these cars isn’t very mustachian, hence the title of this post, but regardless, I would like to hear opinions based on the difference in prices, fueling costs, insurance costs (I haven’t inquired yet and am unsure if hybrids typically cost more in insurance), and the emotional draw of being able to fit my bike in the fit to be more involved in the local biking community.

[RWD]

Can you get a tow hitch bike rack or similar for your Corolla?

[Syonyk]

I own a paid for 21 Corolla hybrid that was $23K. I love the thing.

Great.  Run it until it dies.  And if you have to swap cells in the battery pack in a decade, do it.

However, I know MMM and the community’s opinion on the Honda Fit. Long story short, there’s a used fit with 5K miles 2 and a half hours away from me for $22K.

No.

Keep the car you have.  There is no advantage to this switch.

...as well as any other hauling endeavor that the Fit excels in.

Put a hitch on your Corolla.  Get a small trailer, and a receiver mount bike rack.

IMO, even though it's absurd, put a 2" receiver on, because the 1.25" receivers are spindly, twisty little pieces of stupidity.  I've got a 2" receiver on our Chevy Volt that I use for a custom built cargo rack and towing solar trailers around.

I realize that the prices of both of these cars isn’t very mustachian, hence the title of this post...

You haven't been around the forum lately, have you?  You're not talking about justifying a $60k luxury car.  A hybrid Toyota is one of the saner cars being discussed around here these days.  If you're hair on fire in debt, no, you shouldn't have it, but if you're not... meh.  It's not a bad car.  And unless you're genuinely hair on fire, keep it, you've eaten the depreciation, the car market is insane lately, so just take care of it and have your transport solved for a long time.  And get an ebike.

and the emotional draw of being able to fit my bike in the fit to be more involved in the local biking community.

2" receiver.  Install it.  Buy a used bike rack that fits it.  Problem solved.  No car swaps involved.

[AccidentialMustache]

You're likely to get about 1/2 to 2/3 your corolla's MPG in the fit, depending on which model year. My 2009 fit is rated at 31 combined. Newer models are more but not a ton more, still well under 40. Factor that into your calculations if you think trading is a good idea.

[Paper Chaser]

I'd also keep the Corolla hybrid. It's going to be more efficient and reliable than the Fit which means your $/mi goes way down.
Add a bike rack to the Corolla and it will still get better fuel economy than the Fit.

[jrhampt]

I just got an older prius because my honda fit got totaled in a car crash.  I would not trade in your hybrid for the fit - it's not worth the time and effort, and as others have mentioned, the main reason is that you will not get nearly as good fuel efficiency with the honda fit.

[Just Joe]

Drive a Fit. I'll bet it revs 3500 rpm on the interstate. And probably has a loud interior. I say this as an enthusiastic owner of several Hondas over the years.

I agree with everyone else. Keep the Corolla. Adapt it to your needs per Syonyk. Drive to for 200K+ miles. It'll do it if you keep the salt off and the maintenance caught up properly.

[Paul der Krake]

Forget the bike hitch, you can just get a clip-on bike holder when needed. Takes under 30 seconds to put on.
https://www.amazon.com/Allen-Sports-Deluxe-2-Bike-Trunk/dp/B00TRTSAZM/

A hybrid Corolla is an all around Mustachian top pick already. Do not take on risk from an unknown car (and transaction fees to buy/sell/register) just because it miiiiiiight be a very marginal improvement.

[ChpBstrd]

Well aren't I the expert of the day! My driveway has both a Corolla and a Fit!

I have a hitch on my Corolla and I use it to haul 3 bikes at a time. It is our family bike destination machine. I also pull a 4x8 trailer behind it very easily, so it is also our "truck". I think the hitch cost $200 and the wiring harness kit cost $40 some years ago. My Corolla is an old model with an antiquated 4-speed automatic that only gets around 30 mpg. I lust for the hybrid but so far I've had zero issues in 8.5 years so no bitchin' here.

Our Fit gets about 32 mpg (manual transmission) and is much more fun to drive, whether playing the sports car game or the hypermiling game. It does have a decent amount of road noise though, and the smaller tire circumference means it has a bumpier ride at high speeds. As @Just Joe guesses, it is louder on the interstate and buzzes along at 3500 rpm. This is what it's designed to do; I've found Honda motorcycles are also geared a bit low and so it brings back happy motorcycling memories. I never got around to spraying undercoating on the Fit, which would quiet the ride a lot, judging by its effect on the Corolla.

More to your point, if I want to carry my 29er mountain bike in the Fit, the front wheel generally has to be removed AND it has to go in diagonally. This is the same amount of trouble as plugging the hitch rack onto the back of the Corolla, and it consumes most of the storage space in the car. I also hate to pull off the front wheel because of the risk of bending the brake rotor as things clang around in the back. When we took the Fit camping, for example, and needed the interior storage, I used my cheap strap-on rack against the trunk. But if you're going to use a strap-on rack, it could as well be any vehicle.

TL;DR: Put a hitch on the Corolla and buy a hitch-mounted bike rack.

[rothwem]

Do the back seats of the Corolla Hybrid fold down? If you don’t want to do a hitch rack, you can probably fit your bike in the car if you pop the front wheel off and fold the seats down. I used to do this in my 2006 BMW 3-Series sedan that likely had less interior room than your Corolla. I could also take both wheels off and fit it in the trunk, or I could fit it in the backseat, so I could put my race wheels in the trunk.

Also, bike advocacy meetup? Why not ride there?

I’ll echo the others though, don’t trade the Corolla Hybrid for anything else right now.

[RWD]

Do the back seats of the Corolla Hybrid fold down? If you don’t want to do a hitch rack, you can probably fit your bike in the car if you pop the front wheel off and fold the seats down. I used to do this in my 2006 BMW 3-Series sedan that likely had less interior room than your Corolla. I could also take both wheels off and fit it in the trunk, or I could fit it in the backseat, so I could put my race wheels in the trunk.

I once fit my wife's bike in the trunk of our Subaru BRZ by folding down the rear seats. I can't think of much that would be a tighter fit than that. Should be fairly easy in a Corolla.

[windytrail]

Since no one else has said it: *facepunch* sell your clown car, move closer to the action and ride your bike more. Gives you extra points in front of your bike advocate friends as well. You’re welcome.

[Metalcat]

Do the back seats of the Corolla Hybrid fold down? If you don’t want to do a hitch rack, you can probably fit your bike in the car if you pop the front wheel off and fold the seats down. I used to do this in my 2006 BMW 3-Series sedan that likely had less interior room than your Corolla. I could also take both wheels off and fit it in the trunk, or I could fit it in the backseat, so I could put my race wheels in the trunk.

I once fit my wife's bike in the trunk of our Subaru BRZ by folding down the rear seats. I can't think of much that would be a tighter fit than that. Should be fairly easy in a Corolla.

We could fit 2 bikes in our Corolla, easily. We can fit one bike in our Chevy Sonic, but have to take the front wheel off.

We only got a bike rack for the Corolla for convenience and just got one that attached with straps that I got used for $20.

[elysianfields]

Do the back seats of the Corolla Hybrid fold down? If you don’t want to do a hitch rack, you can probably fit your bike in the car if you pop the front wheel off and fold the seats down. I used to do this in my 2006 BMW 3-Series sedan that likely had less interior room than your Corolla. I could also take both wheels off and fit it in the trunk, or I could fit it in the backseat, so I could put my race wheels in the trunk.

I once fit my wife's bike in the trunk of our Subaru BRZ by folding down the rear seats. I can't think of much that would be a tighter fit than that. Should be fairly easy in a Corolla.

We could fit 2 bikes in our Corolla, easily. We can fit one bike in our Chevy Sonic, but have to take the front wheel off.

We only got a bike rack for the Corolla for convenience and just got one that attached with straps that I got used for $20.

How do you drive your Chevy with the front wheel off?

[Not Sure]

One more vote to keep the Corolla.

I have used both hitch/roof racks and personally prefer to haul my bikes on the roof where they are out of the way of the trunk and safe from being backed into in a parking lot.