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Comment by latchkey | Hacker News Reader

In the US, we literally don't have a choice. The only small (2-door) cars that are on the market are the Mini, Mazda MX5, Toyota GR, Subaru BRZ. The last three being sports cars. Everything else has pulled out of the country or has more doors (and is larger). It is really sad. I really wish Smart cars would come back as an option.

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The VW Golf, which not exactly a compact car by Euro standards, is pretty well sized.

My Mk7 is only a half inch longer and one inch wider than a current gen (21+) BRZ.

I’ve actually owned the Mk7 in both 2 door and 4 door. The 4 door is identical dimensionally, better proportioned, and much easier to get in and out of since you can open the doors more than 10 degrees without banging the car next to you… the doors on the 2dr are loooooong.

Americans like hatchbacks just fine.. Honda sells a bunch of Fits… they just don’t like two door hatches, for mostly good reason.

Funny that you mention two cars that no longer are sold in the states. Honda fits and regular VW golfs are not for sale anymore.

GTI and the R are. Which are the ones you want, really, anyway.

Only because of a small niche that enjoys hot hatchs. Regular people in the US are not interested in these vehicles.

Exactly!

yeah 2-door is a weird place to draw the line. I had a 2003 Ford Focus 4-door, and while it wasn't tiny, it was fairly compact. Meanwhile Plymouth used to make a 2-door midsized station wagon (the Suburban, not to be confused with the Chevy SUV of the same name, came in both 2- and 4-door versions).

I don't need or want more than 2 doors. I want a small car. A big reason for this is that I also have a very small garage. My condo is also very small, so having a bit of extra storage space in there that isn't taken up by a car, is very useful.

Also note that Ford no longer sells Focus in the US.

Against the 4 door is the exact same size of except it has longer doors that make it more difficult in tight spaces, or easier.

Friendly advice: if you go for a Mini, take a 3rd gen (2014+ roughly) or be prepared to wrench on it (because otherwise your mechanic bill will soon be more than buying a newer one in the first place).

They are awesome little cars that are plenty practical for the city and still fun to drive (even the naturally aspirated ones).

Great advice. I do plan on getting one above 2022 cause I like the digital dashboard design better than the big round useless dial in the middle of the car.

I have heard that they generally have a lot of issues though. I also plan on just getting a certified pre-owned to at least give me a few years of warranty service so that I don't have to deal with it myself.

I also hope to just sell it after a few years and get the electric version. I'd get that now, but the mileage is pretty bad. Hoping that it gets better.

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