New here to the forum.Im at the point where I need to go practical in my life.My 04 mustang mach 1 only has 41,000 miles and is mint so Im at a good place where I can trade it in.Not enough room for the dog,carrying art supplies,stuff for the house and so on.So Im tossed up between the hhr,ford escape (2009-2011) or a dodge magnum.Feel to help convince me to get an hhr.The prices are great rite now.I can afford a SS.So any input is appreciated.

 

Welcome to the site , 410marcus. That's a no brainer, I like the Edge sport too, but I got a SS instead liked it so much I got a 2lt panel to carry the work load and now looking for a special SSpanel. By the time I buy three very rare examples of HHR I'll still be 4,000.00 short of the price on the Edge. Go drive a SS, you do the math.

 

Neat little cars to have. I'm happy with mine.

 

My 2 cents. FORD Escape nice car,fairly good reviews on reliabilty Im sure some quarks, The Magnum a buddie had and he LOVED it, very sporty,relibalty good, and Im sure some quarks. The HHR 1LT I had 3 months love it. MPG 25.4 around town, reliabilty good and has some quarks, Never drove the S/S but Im sure I would be happy with the extra power,Im sure less MPG.. Im a old fart so MPG is what I look for , my race days with cars and motorcycles are done lol.. IMO drive them all and see what fits you best . Good luck with your soon to be purchase. I dont think you will go wrong in your choices but IMO the HHR is a GREAT choice :)

Rich

 

That's what I thought too. My SS gets 25 to 30 and my 2.4 averages 24. Buy the SS its the torque difference.

 

Thanks for the input,still reading a lot.Think I have it down to the Dodge magnum RT or hhr SS. Gas mileage is a big plus for the SS.

 

i was going for the magnum also..but we all know its not going to get as good mileage as the hhr, i do a lot of driving everyday to and from work so i was happy with my decision :)

 

Ok so I made my mind up.It will be an hhr ss,gas is way better,insurance will be cheaper and prices are better.So now the question is auto or manual?

 

Auto or Manual , is a personal choice, IMO depends on where you live. In a city with tons of stop and go manual is a pain,Stops on hills suck lol,County living not so bad, I use to like manual but got spolied with the auto, I can just focas on the road. I think you will love your HHR :)
Rich

 

IMO you could have a HHR SS with the same HP/TQ as the stock 04 Mach 1, and it wouldn't cost much....I'm not sure what it will run in the 1/4 mile, but almost any of the SS's with a tune and supporting mods are in the high 13's low 14's

I know there are some that are faster. *2005HHRauto* is in the 12's with probably less than $1000 in mods...E47.5 tune being the key ingredient.

I would test drive a SS before you listen to everyone here that loves theirs...Just my $0.02

oh and the auto vs manual is debatable, but the 12 sec HHR above is an auto...