Beetle Gti

What's a good first car?

I'm getting my first car (hopefully) soon, and I'm not sure exactly what I want.
I'd like something that's good in size (not a VW Beetle) but not too big. Here's what I was looking at:

There are two views on what should be a first car:

A. Get a cheap used car because new drivers often get into accidents due to lack of driving experience. A cheap used car cost less when it gets wrecked.

- There is not much to say about this veiw. It's pretty self explanatory. It's also what most people do.

B. Get the safest car you can find because you can always replace a car but you can't replace the driver.

One of the safest cars out there is the Prius, and here's why:

1. There are four braking systems on the Prius:

- Regenerative brakes
- Friction brakes
- Engine brakes
- Parking brakes

2. Vehicle stability control:

- A system that prevents doughnuts during slippery conditions if you are going anything like a reasonable speed. Studies from Europe and Japan indicate that VSC reduces head-on collisions by over 30%. Other cars have this feature, but not in the Prius' price range.

4. Brake assist:

- A system that applies extra force to the brake pedal when it senses an emergency stop. Studies by Mercedes indicate that people press the brakes quickly but not hard enough. Brake assist compensates for this tendency.

5. Brake override:

- A system that stops the acceleration when the brake pedal is pressed firmly.

6. The smooth acceleration of the Prius (there are no gears that shift) helps prevent you rear-ending someone if they slow down right after stopping. (An old fashioned economy car typically has a very low first gear to disguise the fact the engine is small--this creates rapid acceleration up to about 10 mph after which the acceleration bogs down. The Prius smoothly accelerates up to it's maximum speed of about 105 mph which is controlled by the system.)

7. Optionally in the 2010 Prius:

- Radar pre-collision

- Lane keep

Many of these systems prevent the accident in the first place. The best accident is one you don't have.

Besides the safety aspects, the Prius is a mid-size car so there is more room for friends and equipment. It has low maintenance requirements and a very high owner satisfaction rating. I purchased my first Prius (a 2001) for my wife (who was also a new driver at the time). It was so good that I got a 2004 for myself. It's been one of the most exciting and fun-to-drive cars I've ever driven. The 2001 now has 80,000 trouble-free miles and the 2004 has 110,000.

I'd stay away from any sports cars because beginning drivers just don't have the experience to handle them.

Also, I had a VW TDI. It cost about $2000 at every maintenance (something was always going wrong) and the engine blew at 80,000 miles. I'd stay well away from VW--they look cute, but aren't reliable and are very expensive to maintain.

Check out these Beetle Gti-related listings and save big bucks!

OBX 3" Downpipe 99-05 VW Golf GTI Jetta Beetle 1.8T MK4 US $120.00

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OBX 3" Catted Turbo Downpipe 99-05 VW Golf GTI Jetta Beetle 1.8T MK4 Volkswagen US $199.00

Bilstein Sport Suspension Kit VW GTI, Golf, MK4 Jetta, Beetle US $799.00

MEGAN Exhaust DOWN PIPE Downpipe 99-05 VW GOLF /GTi /JETTA /BEETLE 1.8T MK4 US $148.00