Car Types

Choosing the right car when you are shopping is the most important deal at all. Even a car at a great price and super financing that you love is going to seem like a prison sentence if you are getting behind the wheel of a vehicle that you quickly decide you just don't like or turns out to be a lemon.

In order to assist with buying the right car, you should do plenty of research on the specific vehicle you want, including reviewing the comments that others who have the car have made. Basic information on car types and their strengths and weaknesses is here for your review as well to get you started.

SUVs

Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs), are large vehicles that have grown in popularity within the last ten years. Their popularity fluctuates greatly, however with market conditions due to the two main downsides to this type of car: their price and their gas mileage. SUVs make great family vehicles for vacations or long trips, or if you are the traditional "soccer mom" having a lot of children to drive around town, but for the regular commute, there isn't much reason beyond status for owning one.

Trucks

Trucks usually serve as second vehicles in most families, in order to provide workhorse and moving functions. The limited seating available in most of them make them inconvenient for driving to PTA meetings, and the gas mileage tends to be lower than other classes of vehicles except the SUV which makes them inconvenient for the daily commute to work. On the plus side, these vehicles come with many varieties from light to heavy duty, standard cab to extended cab that gives them a versatility usually only found in SUVs.

Sedans

When most people think "car" the vehicle that pops into their minds is actually a sedan. The typical 4-door family vehicle which has a lot of versatility and plenty of safety features. Designed to be used both for transporting a decent number of people and even for the commute, the gas mileage for this class of vehicle can vary wildly.

Compacts

Compact vehicles are similar to sedans, though they are smaller and may have substantially less passenger room. Some compacts will only have seating for one passenger in addition to the driver. These compacts suffer naturally from their small size when it comes to collisions, though modern safety features may help mitigate much of the damage. For the price, these vehicles make great get around cars for students or the simple commute to work. Additionally, the gas mileage simply can't be beat by anything short of a hybrid.

Hybrids

Hybrid vehicles are becoming increasingly popular lately and as a result, the price of these cars has dropped tremendously since they were first introduced with the Toyota Prius in 2000. Hybrid cars function through various methods that save gasoline, usually more effectively in city driving as opposed to the highway. Capable of a stunning 50 MPG or more, hybrid vehicles make great commuters or small family cars, and now are being made in SUV varieties as well, though for the money the slight increase in gas mileage for a hybrid SUV may not be worth it.

Now that you have an idea of the different car types you can choose from, you should also consider the cost by understanding credit and interest that will effect your final cost.