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Buying a new vehicle, will put about 16k to 20k miles per year on it. Not just highway miles, but this includes heavy stop and go traffic in NOVA/DC area. Sometimes the car will carry 4 or 5 passengers with luggage. Not looking for some performance hog, but just saying the engine will be working hard.
I thought I would start with the 3 more popular cars right now for economy and high-mileage. I care about RELIABILITY the most.
I am old-fashioned and I really have a problem with the CVT tranny in the Civic and Corolla now. The new 2017 Elantra has a 6-speed transmission. I have ridden in a 2013 Elantra and it felt solid, good interior and nice to drive. I never thought about it, but is it wrong to put the new 2017 Elantra ahead of the Civic and Corolla for this vehicle purchase? The new 2017 Elantra doesn't look all that bad either. The new Civic has the CVT and would be getting the turbo model. However, do turbo models have a lower lifespan than a normally aspirated engine like the Elantra or has technology improved?
I have a turbo diesel. I had turbo gas cars before and they all seemed to run just fine. I dint care for Hondas. My family has bought Kia Hyundai and they had great luck with them
The CVT on the Subaru Impreza is actually quite good, IMO, better than what Honda's been doing with similar. And the hatch version gets you more cargo space than the sedans. Reliability has been very good in recent years, and the AWD both improves handling on dry pavement and is a nice plus during the annual DC Snowmageddon.
The Corolla has more rear leg room. It still has a 4speed auto transmission in base form. I say don't automatically discount a car because it has CVT. test drive those three and other compact models. The new Elantra rides better than the previous model.
A lot of miles, mostly not on highways? That sounds like the conditions hybrids are made for. I would consider a Prius, but really be aware of which cars have enough room to seat three comfortably in the back. I haven't spend enough time in the back seat of my Prius to know if it qualifies.
I would probably look to move up from the Civic/Corolla category to a bigger car.
I think the difference between these three is merely some small degrees of separation. Driving that much, I would likely buy the one I liked how it drove the most.
Who wants to be behind the wheel of a car for 20K miles a year, hating how the transmission works?
There's also a hatchback option on the Mazda for extra storage space.
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