Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Honda and Toyota have adopted the ways of the "Big 3" and let the bean counters take over. Fit & finish and materials quality isn't as good as the 80s and 90s but the powertrains are still relatively solid. The domestics are pumping out some attractive stuff but I still don't trust what's underneath. They're still plagued with unaddressed issues carried over from previous model years. I want a car that doesn't spend half its life in the shop.
I never had a brand preference until I got my first Subaru. I am on my second now and so far am certain that I will be a loyal Subie fan for life.
I grew up in a Subaru household but never bought one myself because I'm 6'2" and they always felt cramped. The latest generation Outback and Legacy and the previous generation are much larger than the pre-2010 cars. I'm now driving an Outback.
My mom's early ones in the 1970's were not particularly reliable. The were cheap economical FWD when the first Arab oil embargo hit and later cheap 4WD. More recently, Subaru had their head gasket debacle and oil consumption issues. Cars break. Cars with lots of features and electronics are even more prone to break because of the complexity. An average reliability car these days is so much better than 40 years ago that it's mostly not worth worrying about unless it's one of the known-unreliable models. Fiat? Nope. Most Jeeps? Nope.
It's going to take me a long time to overcome my aversion to the Korean brands. I know their build quality is now pretty much the best in the industry and the new ones are probably quite reliable. I still lump Yugo, old Fiats like the 128, and Hyundai together as unreliable garbage. Ditto any Brit car because of memories of Lucas electronics.
I wouldn't call it a deep itch since I'm hedging towards the known and safe choice. It's not like I think the Ford Fusion, for example, is an imminently sex car that I can't resist. I'm just curious if there's cars that are good looking, run well, and are reliable that aren't Accords or Camrys, that deserve some attention despite historic reputations.
I have a Hyundai Elantra rental right now and I like it. A little small, but that's why the Sonata was on my list. But, yeah, anything will seem great when new.
Your advice is well taken.
You welcome. At least, you try listening. 99% of posters asking questions come with a search to have their already shaped opinion confirmed. That's about it.
Btw, Infamous Ford Ranger is re badged Mazda truck, that's why it runs so well. I actually had one and will clearly call it top 3 reliable cars we ever had. So is Escape, as it's Mazda Tribute. So please, spare me Ford praises. Simply go to any Ford forum and read through PAGES of problems upon problems upon problems. Or, any GM or, lord save, Dodge forum.
Ever since 1993 here, we went through about 35 by now cars. So yes, I had 2 Fords - 2 too many. I had Chevys, Buick, Silverado, while community kept telling me - stupid, wake up, don't buy them, buy Japanese.
Many thousands of dollars wasted on repairs later, I wizened. I stay with Toyota/Lexus stable.
I am actually very grateful to domestic brands. That was excellent DIY repairs college. Everything I learned about repairs and dumb, mean designs came from domestics I owned.
Hey, OP. It's an itch. I know it, you know it. It takes some courage to get some wild cash and - spend it wisely. Personally, though I am very happy with my two hybrids, if I had wild cash, I'd have bought Prius. Best utilitarian car ever.
I wouldn't call it a deep itch since I'm hedging towards the known and safe choice. It's not like I think the Ford Fusion, for example, is an imminently sex car that I can't resist. I'm just curious if there's cars that are good looking, run well, and are reliable that aren't Accords or Camrys, that deserve some attention despite historic reputations.
I have a Hyundai Elantra rental right now and I like it. A little small, but that's why the Sonata was on my list. But, yeah, anything will seem great when new.
Your advice is well taken.
I have a 2015 Sonata Limited and I love it. The adaptive cruise control has stop/start functionality, meaning it will bring you to a complete stop and start you back up again. Great for bumper to bumper traffic. The adaptive cruise control in most other cars only works at highway speeds and automatically disconnects when you drop below a certain speed. The lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert also enhance safety. The 2016 Sonata also has automatic emergency braking. The auto climate control had no trouble keeping me cool this summer when I drove thru Nevada and the temp was 118 degrees. My Sonata has the Tech and Ultimate packages and I paid just under $30k for mine. You will not find a new car with that much technology for less. Go to the Hyundai website and see what you get in a Limited with the Tech and Ultimate packages.
Totaled my '03 Honda Accord (190k), which was a great car that gave me little trouble. I had purchased the Accord in March of 2003 after leasing a Civic for three years. Haven't sniffed a car lot since.
I really have to do something in the next two weeks before all the deals expire.
Thinking midsize sedan or small SUV/Crossover. Another Accord is the obvious starting point. Mazda 6 and Mazda CX-5 will get a look. Am thinking about checking out Ford Fusion and Hyundai Sonata and Tuscon. But, the last time I bought a car, Ford was not in a good position and known for a lot of crap (at least for cars, if not trucks), and Hyundai was at best just starting its emergence as something other than bargain basement transportation. So, I have a little bias against those brands, even though I know they've come a long way. I know plenty of people who own Hyundais and love them. I've seen plenty of positive reviews. I don't know a ton of Ford owners, but do know one guy with a Fusion, who really likes it (though it is fairly new).
I don't want to reduce my options by being "bigoted" towards certain brands.
Really just venting as I nervously prepare to buy a car in the coming weeks.
I owned nothing but Honda/Acura vehicles for the first 16 years after I started driving. Then in 2006, Mazda seduced me away and I've been very happy. I still have a 2006 Mazda3 that I bought new and a 2012 Mazda CX-9 (bought in 11/2012 as a 'leftover').
Back in the late 80s and early 90s, when I was a hardcore Honda owner, it was because they were better than anything else (except Toyotas, which were boring). I never considered buying a domestic or other Asian brand (Korean or other Japanese brands) because they were inferior.
But, with a few exceptions, that isn't the case today. I think you should definitely check out the Mazda6 and CX-5. The Ford Fusion has received good reliability ratings for the last few years from Consumer Reports and TrueDelta.com (the only two sites that collect data on reliability). The current Fusion was introduced in 2013 and it had some quality/reliability issues. But those issues and the majority of problems since then have centered around Ford's EcoBoost engines. A new Fusion with the standard (and perfectly adequate 2.5L non-turbo 4-cylinder) is a very good value and a great car! The Fusion got a 'mid-cycle refresh' for 2017 (minor changes), so the 2016 Fusions still out there are heavily discounted. Here in the Atlanta area, a very nicely equipped 2016 Fusion SE with a sticker price of $27k is selling for under $19k!
Two more suggestions just came to mind. The Kia Optima is an excellent car, drives great and looks sharp and it has a 100k Powertrain Warranty. Hyundai and Kia are the same company and share the same powertrains and vehicle platforms. They're some of the highest quality cars around now. Then there's also the option of getting another Honda Accord. If you're trying to keep the price down, there's a 'Sport' model between the LX and EX that looks fantastic and sells for less than $24k.
I wouldn't call it a deep itch since I'm hedging towards the known and safe choice. It's not like I think the Ford Fusion, for example, is an imminently sex car that I can't resist. I'm just curious if there's cars that are good looking, run well, and are reliable that aren't Accords or Camrys, that deserve some attention despite historic reputations.
I have a Hyundai Elantra rental right now and I like it. A little small, but that's why the Sonata was on my list. But, yeah, anything will seem great when new.
Your advice is well taken.
Go to your rental company and see if they can give you the next available Sonata (they should have some base SE models). Drive it for a little while to see if you like it first before buying one.
I never had a brand preference until I got my first Subaru. I am on my second now and so far am certain that I will be a loyal Subie fan for life.
Great if you can trade in every few years.
But older ones are quite expensive to repair. In heavy salt areas they rust which makes repairs even more expensive.
AND
They got the CVT transmissions. Good luck with those.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
