Tag-Team Partners: Kia Soul vs Cadillac Sixty Special vs Toyota Matrix vs Dodge Avenger

Happy Friday to all Autopians within the sound of my voice! Today we’re doing another four-car shootout from the week’s winners, but we’re going to do it just a little bit differently: you’re going to choose two cars. We ended up with two American automatic four-door sedans and two Asian stickshift hatchbacks this week, so you will be choosing one of each.

Yesterday it was Stormtroopers vs Velociraptors as we looked at two Korean compacts that were largely the same under their very different bodystyles. The voting was close, but the more conservative and practical Soul won in the end. I think that would be my choice as well. I don’t like the dash in the Veloster, and as several commenters pointed out, it has blind spots that could hide a T-Rex (either the dinosaur or the band).

I was just about to say that Stormtroopers vs Velociraptors would make a fun Star Wars/Jurassic Park crossover movie, except we all know how it would end: the stormtroopers would just miss every shot, even the easy ones, and the raptors would figure out how to work the controls on one of those speeder bikes, and it would be over before the end of the first reel. Oh well; they can’t all be great ideas.

All right; let’s review the week that was, and then you can make your choices. Remember, you’ll be picking two cars: one from the sedans, and one from the hatchbacks. Here they are.

1993 Cadillac Sixty Special – $4,500

This old Caddy beat out Stephen Gossin’s latest rescue, a Chrysler New Yorker, on Monday. I think a lot of it had to do with the eight slappin’ pistons right there under its hood, in the form of Cadillac’s HT engine, in its final and best form. And it is a good engine, certainly better than the early problematic Northstars that some other Cadillacs got. But I remember all too vividly trying to change the spark plugs on my old Coupe DeVille. I had to reach number eight from underneath the car, with a complex combination of extensions and swivels.

I do have to admit that Cadillacs of this era are mighty nice ways to get down the road. The seats are comfortable, the ride is just floaty enough, and because of the modern FWD chassis design, they hold the road a lot better than the RWD dinosaurs that came before them. Set the automatic climate control just-so, turn up the stereo, and just eat up the miles. And the gas. Lots and lots of gas.

2003 Toyota Matrix – $3,150

This Matrix won over a Honda CR-V with a lot more miles on it, but that also had lien papers instead of a title, which I think scared a lot of you off. Apparently an unconventional title situation is more frightening than a noisy timing chain, which the 1ZZ-FE four-cylinder in this car has. Toyota engines aren’t known for snapping chains, even when they make noise; I once had a Toyota pickup with the mighty 22R engine in it that made such a racket on cold starts that I thought it was trying to eat itself. Never caused a problem, but it sounded awful.

This is the first Matrix, the one everybody liked, the one that gave it a following. The second Matrix had more stuff in it, but didn’t make as much sense, and was viewed by a lot of fans as a disappointment. We all tried to like it, but after a while we stopped pretending and admitted that it kinda sucked compared to the original. And the third Matrix was really–Oh. Wait. We’re talking about the car, not that other thing.

2011 Dodge Avenger SE – $1,500

This example of the much-maligned Dodge Avenger sedan has one really good thing going for it: the 3.6 liter Pentastar V6, Chrysler’s go-to engine for the past dozen or so years. It’s a durable and reliable engine, and if it has been maintained, even this one with over 200,000 miles on it should still have some life in it. It’s also hilariously overkill for the mid-sized Avenger; no FWD sedan this size needs nearly 300 horsepower.

This thing is cheap and nasty, but it will get the job done. It’s the automotive equivalent of Pabst Blue Ribbon, but without the ironic hipster seal of approval. It’s okay to enjoy it (responsibly), but if your friends catch you, you have to be ready with a response: “Yeah, I know it’s garbage, but it’s cheap, you know? And it’s not really all that bad.”

2011 Kia Soul – $3,900

And finally, we have yesterday’s winner, this little green Kia from Alabama. More than one commenter informed me that this color is actually called “Alien,” which makes me like it even more. And I suppose that means this car can survive anything except Sigourney Weaver and her cat?

The Kia Soul is one of those cars that, as soon as it came out, I imagined would make a good cheap beater someday. And now this one, at thirteen years old and less than four grand, is fulfilling that promise. I don’t imagine all of them will weather the years as well as this one has, but I fully expect Souls, especially stickshift ones, to be part of the automotive landscape for a long, long time to come.

So there they are: the week’s winners, as chosen by you. And now it’s time to pick your two favorites, one sedan and one hatchback. There are four pairs of cars below, complete with the total price of both. Cast your vote, and have a great weekend!

(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)