Fusion energizes used-car market

"There's a sucker born every minute."

The saying, attributed to circus promoter P.T. Barnum (but actually uttered by competitor David Hannum), was coined 17 years before the first automobile chugged to life in Germany, and decades before the first used-car lots appeared.

Yet the words are inextricably linked to the used-car biz to this day. It's not easy navigating the perils of the pre-owned market, which is why Wheels has been examining used vehicles regularly and recounting ownership experiences.

Here are some of the best and not-so-great pre-owned vehicles we reviewed in 2009.

The Good

Thanks to its Mazda 6-derived bones, the 2006-09 Ford Fusion is a genuine Accord/Camry fighter with all the right stuff: a control-arm front suspension and multilink rear setup for crisp handling, a willing Mazda four banger or smooth Ford V6 in the engine bay and six forward gears in the V6's autobox.

The cabin is big and comfy for five, and the car looks more expensive than it is.

On the durability side, Fusion owners are all smiles. Some pointed to short-lived factory tires, door handles that break easily, a leaky steering unit (there's an improved banjo bolt) and some interior rattles. That's it.

Being a domestic nameplate, the Fusion depreciates faster than its Japanese rivals – always welcome news to used-car shoppers.

Another mid-size sedan winner is the Hyundai Sonata. The launch of the latest generation Sonata for 2006 coincided with the opening of Hyundai's U.S. assembly plant in Montgomery, Ala., and all indications are the cars are well built.

Hyundai apparently used the previous generation Audi A6 as its engineering benchmark, and there's little reason to doubt it. The Sonata drives smartly while suppressing noise and vibration.

Suspension knock was traced to bad strut-mount bushings, which Hyundai redesigned on the fly.

The new-for-2006 Toyota Yaris offered tall seating, easy entry and egress, good visibility and decent power from its twin-cam 1.5 L four cylinder. The only thing that takes getting used to is the oddball centre-mounted instrument panel.

Yaris drivers are among the most satisfied owners we've come across. A few have had bad luck with the air conditioner (road debris can puncture the condenser), and deep snow may pull an engine fairing off the bottom of the car. Also, the paint chips easily, owners reported.

No surprise, the 2003-08 Toyota Matrix made our list after the mechanically identical Pontiac Vibe topped our picks last year. Toyota transformed the wagon version of its interminable Corolla with some aggressive bodywork and optional all-wheel drive, turning it into a cool-as-Keanu crossover.

The Ontario-built Matrix was powered by the Corolla's 130-hp DOHC 1.8 L four-cylinder; all-wheel-drive models got the same engine, but with the power dialled back to 123 hp. Equipped with a different 1.8 L four lifted from the Celica GT-S, the XRS spun only its front wheels. Its frenetic 180-hp engine redlined at 8200 r.p.m.

A small number of early 2003 models experienced automatic tranny failures, traced back to a cold-soldered ECU.

Not content to build a cute-ute, Suzuki buttressed the 2006-09 Suzuki Grand Vitara's unibody construction with a ladder-type frame and specified a true 4x4 system with a rock-hopping low gear. The Grand Vitara spun its rear tires first, like a real truck.

Need more proof? The all-aluminum 185-hp DOHC 2.7 L V6 – the sole powerplant – sits longitudinally in the engine bay instead of sideways. Owners say this Japanese-built compact SUV is uncommonly good – if you look past the little V6's thirst for fuel.

The Bad

The 2004-08 Mazda RX-8 coupe is an avant-garde design that draws inspiration from its unique Wankel rotary engine. But while the twin-rotor Renesis motor makes prodigious turbine-like power – 238 hp – out of 1.3 L of displacement, the torque figure is dismal: just 159 lb.-ft. of grunt.

To move with authority, the little motor has to kiss its 9000-r.p.m. redline, for which the six-speed manual transmission is a must. And, for the uninitiated, Wankel ownership can be trying.

It has a big appetite for motor oil and premium gas, and if you regularly shuffle cars out of the driveway, you can flood your Wankel.

Unlike the Neon it replaced early in 2006 as a '07, the new Dodge Caliber rode tall in the saddle. Available only as a five-door hatchback, consumers surprisingly embraced its utilitarian shape.

Buyers could choose from three four-cylinder engines: the base 1.8 L making 148 hp, an optional 158-hp 2.0 L and, in R/T models, a 172-hp 2.4 L engine that could power the front or all four wheels. Also optional was a continuously variable transmission (CVT) sourced from Nissan subsidiary Jatco.

Some Caliber owners have fallen out of love with their cars after the honeymoon, however. The CVT transmission has broken in significant numbers. Other maladies include computer failures, bad power steering hoses, frequent alignments, and short-lived suspension pieces and batteries.

The fifth-generation Volkswagen Jetta was warmly greeted in 2005, even if it resembled a Corolla from behind. Drivers praised the Jetta for its class-leading steering, braking and handling. It's one of the few European cars Canadians can afford, in part because it's built in Mexico.

As usual, VW offered a variety of engines: the base 148-hp, 2.5 L five-cylinder, a 197-hp, 2.0 L turbocharged four with direct-fuel injection, and the TDI retained its 100-hp, 1.9 L turbodiesel four-cylinder.

Jettas drive sweetly, but watch for costly repairs after the warranty period. The most unsettling find was the turbo's tendency to consume great quantities of oil.

The sixth-generation Nissan Maxima arrived early in 2003 as a '04 model. Another enthusiast favourite, this four-door sports car had grown into a big, heavy sedan loaded down with decadent features. The lone engine was Nissan's VQ-series 3.5 L V6, fortified to the tune of 265 hp – 20 more than that of its platform mate, the Altima V6.

The switch to American production with this generation has led to some reliability concerns. The five-speed automatic transmission, which may shift hard or slip in the first three gears, can fail at around 100,000 km, owners reported.

The Ugly

Built by Chevrolet's South Korean partner Daewoo, the 2004-06 Epica was a contemporary front-drive sedan with a roomy interior and an unusual drivetrain. Shoehorned under the hood – sideways like a Volvo six – was an inline 2.5 L six-cylinder engine, co-developed with Porsche.

Far too heavy, the Epica wheezed as its 155-hp engine struggled to keep up with the four-cylinder sedans in its segment. One owner said it had the "heart of a hamster."

Epica owners dealt with frequent "Check Engine" warnings, traced to short-lived oxygen sensors, as well as faulty ECM and TCM on-board computers. Entire engines and transmissions have been replaced at low mileage.

The Epica didn't stick around long in Canada. Now you know why.

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