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deals of the week

2013 Ford Fiesta

Toyota's Lexus luxury brand had a good month in April, with sales overall up 13.6 per cent, and certain specific models really roared along. Sales of the ES, for instance, jumped 82.6 per cent, noted Lexus in a sales release.

Conspicuous by its absence in Toyota Canada's monthly sales summation was the Lexus GS450h hybrid. That suggests to Deals of the Week that Lexus had nothing to brag about for that particular model. That in turn sent our radar twitching, looking for deal on a sedan that has been on the market for barely a year since its last total remake.

And there it was: a $5,000 factory-to-dealer rebate that can surely be combined with a decent dealer discount. Together, the offers designed to juice GS hybrid sales will surely slice the before-tax price to something well below the $64,450 sticker. It is also worth noting that the factory discount can be combined with 0.9 per cent lease or finance rates for three years, or any other lease or finance rate. Apparently, the market's appetite for racy Lexus hybrids needs a boost.

Hybrids, of course, offer the promise of low emissions and a solid fuel economy bump. So do small cars such as Ford's Fiesta subcompact. Deals of the Week, in fact, unearthed a very healthy $3,500 discount on a Fiesta hatchback with a sticker well below $20,000. It can be combined with a 5.49 per cent finance rate for up to 60 months or a 5.99 per cent lease rate for 36 months.

Conclusion: while fuel economy is very important to Canadians, it's not everything. From time to time, car makers often must offer even more than savings at the pump to lure shoppers to take the plunge – juicy incentives. Exhibit A, the GS hybrid and Exhibit B, the thrifty Fiesta.

Meantime, the news has been alive with reports about the struggles Honda's luxury Acura brand is having with the ILX compact sedan. Sales have been slow and disappointing, despite the great effort Acura put behind its latest overall push – a strategy stuffed with tactics such as new customer service initiatives, new models and new pricing.

Sure enough, there is the ILX -- introduced about a year ago to much fanfare -- with $3,300 in factory sales sweeteners on the table. This deal is a little tricky, however. The "stackable" portion of the Trading Dollars offers is $2,300, and it can be combined with another $700 factory incentive, or a $1,000 Lease and Finance Maturity Bonus for existing Acura owners.

As well, Acura has finance rates as low as 1.4 per cent and lease rates as low as 0.9 per cent. Whichever way a buyer chooses to package the factory offers, the discounts are notable. And no buyer should overlook the potential for a dealer discount, too.

Finally, Subaru. This company jealously guards its resale values by limiting the deal-making, among other things. However, a new 2014 Forester compact SUV is on the way, which means Subaru is anxious to clear out remaining 2013s.

Thus, a '13 Forester can be had with a $3,500 factory deal on the table. For price sensitive Subie wannabes, that might just be enough to tip the scale in favour of a Forester.

As usual, pricing information here was supplied by www.carcostcanada.com, among other sources. Consult your dealer for all the details, including expiry dates for all offers.

2013 Lexus GS 450h Lexus Lexus  

2013 Lexus GS450h hybrid

  • MSRP: $64,650
  • Freight, dealer prep, air conditioning tax: $2,095
  • Dealer discount (estimated): $3,000
  • Factory discount: $5,000 (Stackable Trading Dollars factory-to-dealer rebate)
  • Taxable subtotal: $58,745
  • Total price with 13% HST: $66,381.85
  • Note: can be combined with 0.9% lease or finance rates for three years, or any other lease or finance rate

2013 Subaru Forester Subaru Subaru  

2013 Subaru Forester 2.5X Touring

  • MSRP: $29,095
  • Freight, dealer prep and air conditioning tax: $1,695
  • Dealer discount (estimated): $1,000
  • Factory discount: $3,500 (Alternate Cash Credit factory-to-dealer rebate)
  • Taxable subtotal: $26,290
  • Total price with 13% HST: $29,707.70

2013 Acura ILX 2.0L Honda Honda  

2013 Acura ILX Tech Package

  • MSRP: $32,350
  • Freight, dealer prep, AC tax: $2,045
  • Dealer discount (estimated): $1,300
  • Factory discount: $3,000 (Stackable and Non-stackable Trading Dollars factory-to-dealer rebate)
  • Taxable subtotal: $30,095
  • Total price with 13% HST: $34,007.35
  • Note: The Stackable portion of the Trading Dollars is $2,300 and it can be combined with a $1,000 Lease and Finance Maturity Bonus for a total of $3,300 in cash incentives. Finance rates as low as 1.4% and lease rates as low as 0.9%.

2013 Ford Fiesta Ford Ford  

2013 Ford Fiesta Titanium 5-door hatchback

  • MSRP: $18,999
  • Freight, dealer prep, AC tax: $1,650
  • Dealer discount (estimated): $500
  • Factory discount: $3,500 (Delivery Allowance factory-to-dealer rebate)
  • Taxable subtotal: $16,649
  • Total price with 13% HST: $18,813.37
  • Note: Can be combined with 5.49% finance rate for up to 60 months or 5.99% lease rate for 36 months

Pricing information source: www.carcostcanada.com. Calculations based on Ontario customers. Please note that while the information above is accurate at the time of publication, incentives are given at the discretion of individual dealers, and may be changed or discontinued at any time. Dealer discounts are negotiated with the customer on a case-by-case basis.

Correction: A digit was omitted in error from the final price of the 2013 Lexus GS450h hybrid. The price has been corrected to read $66,381.85.

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