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Looking at New Cars and Need Advice

HeltonCreek said:
I'm looking to replace my 2001 Toyota Corolla this summer or fall. I want 4WD/AWD in whatever I get. Also, I'm 6'4" and want more room. Good gas mileage would also be preferrable. I've narrowed down my search to:

Honda CR-V
Ford Escape
Subaru Legacy (Sedan)
Subaru Forester

I would kind of rather go for SUV over sedan. I'm also leaning towards new as I'll keep it for at least 10 or 12 years, probably longer. Any advice would be appreciated.
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The new Escape & CR-V both look awesome
 
HeltonCreek said:
I'm looking to replace my 2001 Toyota Corolla this summer or fall. I want 4WD/AWD in whatever I get. Also, I'm 6'4" and want more room. Good gas mileage would also be preferrable. I've narrowed down my search to:

Honda CR-V
Ford Escape
Subaru Legacy (Sedan)
Subaru Forester

I would kind of rather go for SUV over sedan. I'm also leaning towards new as I'll keep it for at least 10 or 12 years, probably longer. Any advice would be appreciated.
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Our previously mentioned Hyundai is a Santa Fe and it is AWESOME. I would add it to your list.
 
HeltonCreek said:
I'm looking to replace my 2001 Toyota Corolla this summer or fall. I want 4WD/AWD in whatever I get. Also, I'm 6'4" and want more room. Good gas mileage would also be preferrable. I've narrowed down my search to:

Honda CR-V
Ford Escape
Subaru Legacy (Sedan)
Subaru Forester

I would kind of rather go for SUV over sedan. I'm also leaning towards new as I'll keep it for at least 10 or 12 years, probably longer. Any advice would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

i went into my search wanting an SUV and ended up finding more room in the subaru legacy outback. overall gas milage on the highway- i'm consistently in the high 20s or low 30s. and as i said earlier, it's an amazingly smooth ride and handles great... don't rule it out!
 
lbE08 said:
i went into my search wanting an SUV and ended up finding more room in the subaru legacy outback. overall gas milage on the highway- i'm consistently in the high 20s or low 30s. and as i said earlier, it's an amazingly smooth ride and handles great... don't rule it out!
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I like Subarus and drove a hand me down 1990 Loyale Station Wagon in high school. I'm not really wanting to buy a wagon. It didn't have much power and might have gotten to 75 mph when going down hill in 5th gear, gas to the floor, with a wind pushing . . . but had push button 4WD that you could not spin out in slick conditions. From what I've read, they have higher repair/maintenance costs as they get older.

My best friend from college lives here in Roanoke and drives a 2010 Outback. It is a very nice car. I'll test drive several before I decide on something though. I would really like a crew cab Toyota Tacoma but I don't want to pay that much and really have no need for a truck.

CR-V is on the top of my list for now, followed by the Ford Escape, then the Subarus. I'll add the Hyundai to the list too. The Subaru and Hyundai dealers here, as well as Nissan, are run by the same group so I can knock out a bunch of test drives at once.
 
With the mandatory ski/canoe rack on top, the lez factor is reduced.
 
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lbE08 said:
i would have agreed until we headed out here. ive never seen so many men-driven station wagons.
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Subaru. The official car of northern NE.

On any given day at work (nh) roughly 20% of the cars in the lot are Subarus. The wife looked at them but ultimately got the Sonata turbo.
 
Thanks all for your input. I think I have it narrowed down to the Kia Optima, Hyundai Sonata, and Ford Fusion. Probably leaning towards the Fusion because I also have a Z plan employee discount thanks to my step grandmother which should save me on the car over the other two. The main advantages that Kia and Sonata have over Ford is their warranty, which I don't know if that make enough difference or not to me personally.
 
I made a deal with the wife that when she went back to school she was going to have to drive a Camry because round trip it was 60 miles and it got like 30 to the gallon. Now that she is out of school and has a job, practical has gone out the window and fun is now in vogue regardless of the fact there is still nothing wrong with the Camry other than the fact that we replaced the brakes and put a new set of Michelins on it. I get it that is boring and has no power but its paid for and she drives like 10 miles round trip to work. I am not gonna win this argument so...

She is looking at Jeep Wranglers (4D & 2D) and Mini Coopers. Anyone have experience with either?
 
Chrysler vehicles are shit, I had a Jeep and don’t even have the time to list all of the issues it gave me. I’ve had many friends and acquaintances with the same experience with Chrysler vehicles. Mini Coopers on the other hand seem to be well made cars. Pretty sure BMW owns them (good or bad thing depending on your opinion of them). My friend got into a horrific accident in his late 2000’s Mini Cooper S and the thing saved his life. Not sure if the newer models are as tough but his was literally a little tank. He rolled it 12 times without wearing a seatbelt and both occupants survived. Firemen on the scene said any other vehicle that size would have disintegrated or rolled into a ball. In the pictures I saw you could easily still identify it as a Mini Cooper. That thing was also pretty fast, I know he had taken it to a track and gotten it up to 165 mph. (Note his accident was not due to speed.)
 
I have a 2018 Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited JL (4 door). Ditch the stock wheels and tires and upgrade. Do this through the dealer and they should give you some trade value. The car has been great and a lot of fun. I've had the doors off for a couple of weeks now, which can be a hassle if you don't have a garage or can't park in a deck while at work. The car is fine on the highway, just a little louder than you might like. My only complaint is that the gas mileage sucks. When I bought it I figured I would drive it for a couple of years and if I didn't like it I'd get rid of it. If you look at used Wranglers you'll quickly see that they hold a lot of resale value.
 
I think Mini is owned by BMW and they’re all made in England or Europe. A little expensive for what you get but have a good reputation for being decent quality and fun to drive.


We have a Wrangler 2 door sport with soft top. It’s fun to drive around town or off road but hell on the highway (loud, fatiguing). Definitely something to enjoy when younger as the suspension is pretty jarring. Maybe other versions would accommodate the highway and older spines better...?
 
Yeah but she's only driving 10 miles round trip to work each day, which is about twice what I drive. I'm fine taking it on a road trip of a few hours but wouldn't want to do it every week or have a long commute.

Soft top is the way to go. Very easy to remove the side and rear panels and slide it all the way back.
 
ChicdeaC said:
Our previously mentioned Hyundai is a Santa Fe and it is AWESOME. I would add it to your list.
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I'm 6'7" snd I've rented a Santa Fe and found my right knee rested against the center section. No big deal for a temporary rental but it would get annoying long term. Then again I'm taller than most people. Just something to think in about.
 
Yeah, if you're a mutant the Hyundai Santa Fe might not be the car for you.
 
Use to own a Mini Countryman (the 4 door larger Mini). Loved it and the wife loved it. She still says she wants to get another when we get our next car. They are owned and made by BMW. Gas mileage is great on them. We had an "S" version (sport) and it still got something like 32-34 MPG. The sport is the way to go as it provides a little more horsepower. The Countryman is actually quite roomy and can easily sit four adults. Trunk space isn't fantastic, but more than you would think.. We only got rid of ours because we had a kid and we found we couldn't haul everything you need to take for a newborn on long trips (pack and play, luggage, etc.) with the Mini. Now that the kid is 6 and we don't need all that crap for a trip, we will probably look into one the next time we buy.

Downsides to the Mini, the maintenance can be expensive once you get past the maintenance plan (I think we had 3 years, 36,000 miles), again its owned by BMW. Also, you have to use the 93 octane fuel, so more for gas. However, it is, if I remember correctly, an 11 gallon tank and, as I said, you will get 300-350 miles on a tank.
 
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I asked my local mechanic about Jeeps and he said what zpglass did about them being Chrysler made which I somewhat agree with. However had a good friend that had both a Wrangler 2D and Sahara 4D and had good experiences. Like Biff said, these things hold their value as used 2016's are still pushing 26K.

Trying to figure which will be funner: a soft top Jeep or a Mini Countryman with that panoramic sunroof and turbo charged engine. Will test drive both but wanted Pits opinion.
 
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