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Been lurking here a while, but as a n00b haven't had anything of worth to add. Till now. Just got [mostly] done with my newest acquisition, a '13 Passion dubbed "The Princess", and wanted to show some folks who might appreciate it.
I really expected more derision from friends and acquaintances about buying this little thing, but so far the reception has surprisingly ranged from slightly impressed "huh, ok" to enthusiastic "I love it, I want one so bad".
I bought it from a girl in her 20's and it was a light blue color at the time, approaching magenta to my deuteranopic eyes. Had a crystal tiara on the back glass. Then I found out with my first fill-up that it only accepts 93 octane, the champagne of hydrocarbonaceous fuels. Thereafter she has been referred to in our family as The Princess.
So far I love it. Surprisingly roomy, handles decent, great mileage, enough power to be nice to drive. When I got it with 106k on the odo it was getting 35mpg with the gaps on the factory original (!) spark plugs worn out to .060", but I changed them out and it jumped up to 44mpg for the next two tanks with manual shifting and a lot of neutral coasting. I absolutely despise the auto trans. I die a little inside every time I wait through a 1.5s-2s shift. The radio/speakers are serviceable, but just, and the tires are hard to find and expensive, and the ride is a little rougher than I expected. Overall, much more good than bad and only a few things I would change if I could.
Got done with paint so now, a few months after purchase, she'll be my daily driver.
Harmon
