Quote:
Originally Posted by Girl
We have to buy a new (to us) car. Max budget is $15-16K, assuming we'll also have to fork out taxes and such on top of that.
Vehicles we're looking at (years range from 2014-2017 with mileage ranges of between 20K-50K miles):
- Toyota RAV4
- Nissan Rogue S
- Hyundai Tucson GLS
- Ford Escape
- Honda CRV
We tend to own our cars for 10-15 years, so we're looking for a vehicle that will have longevity and reliability. We don't necessarily care about perks like heated seats or sunroofs. Vehicle will be used primarily for daily commuting - 20 city miles round trip if I end up driving it, 60 highway miles round trip if my husband drives it. |
To me, in this class, there are a lot of competitors but if you care about long-term reliability, there's only two to consider.
My top two votes for the 2014-2017 are:
1) Honda CRV
2) Toyota RAV4
This is almost a tie for me. The Honda CRV wins for a few main reasons: better MPG (especially on the highway), better styling (subjective of course), and experience with Hondas myself (not CRVs) and experiences through friends that have CRVs. They are solid little vehicles and extremely reliable. NOTE: There are 2 different CRVs in your year range. The 2014 has the 5 speed transmission and the 2015+ has the CVT, so if you are concerned about CVTs you might look towards the 2014.
There's nothing wrong with the RAV4 though. I don't care for the styling and wish the MPG was better, but they are also great vehicles.
And miles and miles below:
3) Ford Escape - My friend has a 2013 and I've worked on it a few times. I'm not a fan. Even changing the battery is a pain.
4) Hyundai Tucson GLS - I'm not sure how these will serve you over 10 to 15 years. I've not heard good things.
5) Nissan Rogue S - Nissan is a tough one. I've had bad experiences with Nissans and swore I'd never own another. Other people have almost no problems. Yet others have similar experiences to mine. I suspect they just don't have the consistent quality that Honda and Toyota have. I'd stay away.
6) Anything from VW - Yes, I know some people drive them for 200K miles and do nothing other than normal maintenance. But, like Nissan, they aren't consistent and when you get a bad one, it's bad. Latest example: I know a guy getting head gaskets replaced (under warranty) at less than 10K miles on an Atlas. Yes, it's not the same model you'd be looking at, but this is not as rare as it should be. Around 2004, I knew two people at work who had the same VW model/year Passat. One said it was the best car they'd ever owned and had no troubles. The other said it was the last VW he'd ever own due to frequent repairs.
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