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Price?
Wouldn't recommend looking at any of the incredibly cheap vehicles (Mitsubishi Mirage, Nissan Versa, Chevy Spark)
Test drove the Focus: didn't care much for the cheap looking interior or the transmission, but you can get one for cheap.
Test drove the Soul: The ride was unimpressive (I've heard complaints from other people about this), but it's a good size car with a decent price.
I've driving the new forte's: Everything about this car is normal, Nothing great about it. The one that I drove had 35,000 miles on it and I noticed a strange vibration while reversing. Almost like the engine mounts where lose.
I currently own a newer Mazda 3 Hatchback: Everyone seems to like the look of the car and enjoys the ride which is a plus. The infotainment controls are easy to use. Overall it's been a great car. My only complaint is the amount of times that I've had to take it to the dealership. Three recalls taking care of at the same time. A problem with air in the gas tank that was "A known issue with the mazda's". Got another letter about a possible recall a month ago.
If the Crosstrek wasn't so expensive. I would've like to have giving it a try.
All of the vehicles had back-up camera's The focus didn't have navigation, but the higher end ones should. The soul didn't have navigation, some of the newer forte's have navigation, all of the mazda's had navigation, but you had to pay for a subsumption in order to get it.
I just looked up "Lexus Hatchback", which yielded the 'CT' models.
Then, I googled its death rate, and discovered that it's on a list of the safest cars on the road (there were eleven entries). The CT200H is the one listed. Prius is not on the list. So, you'd be taking a step up, as far as safety goes, and in terms of the LABEL. Apparently, it's just as noisy as the Prius. However, the reliability seems to be a tad better than Prius'.
I'd suggest looking at the Ford Escape Titanium. You should be able to get into one at or below your budget. There's a ton of content in these cars. You'll want the proven 2.0 245 HP EcoBoost engine. The others are a little anemic. You can easily get 24 town with it. The wife has one and it's a lot of car for the money. She's getting 24+ town driving in stop and go traffic and the engine isn't even broke in yet. So there will be a little improvement in mileage. The car is packed with technology including blind spot monitoring. You will be warned when a car is alongside of you via LEDs in the outside mirrors. The car will stop and apply the brakes before you hit something. They call it accident avoidance. It warns you if a car is approaching too fast from the rear. It will parallel park the thing for you. It has dual temp controls for each side of the car. Hers has heated seats and it comes with electric heat when the engine is too cold to provide heat. The tailgate is power as are the windows. Hers has remote start, navigation, killer stereo, leather power seats, bluetooth for the cellphone, has various stereo options like ApplePlay, Sirius, etc. There's a lot in the car she hasn't even found yet. The owners manual will take you at least a week go thru to find out what all the thing does. Take one for a test drive. Most folks that drive one buy one. They are that good.
Our car was stolen and has been deemed a total loss. Thankfully, we have gap insurance and so our car will be paid off that was stolen. The end of the story is we will be going to dealerships soon and getting a new (or new to us) car.
What would you get if your slate was wiped clean?
Requirements:
- Hatchback
- Small/small-ish as we parallel park in an urban city
- Navigation/backup camera, etc but I'm aware that's available on most cars now
We've always owned a Prius.
I have no one to seek advice from unfortunately.
Budget is less than $30k preferably.
Prefer affordable to maintain.
Get another Prius OR a Toyota RAV4 (base 4 cylinder)
Skip any vehicle that has a timing belt. Skip any vehicle that has a CVT automatic transmission. Skip any engine that has a "turbo".
The base RAV4 4 cylinder has a timing chain (no timing belt) and a regular automatic transmission (no CVT transmission). The RAV4 is made in Canada or Japan. Best choice.
I assume you mean new. No budget specified, so I'll assume further $100K.
If it were me, I'd buy a Porsche Macan (not the larger Cayenne, per your needs). From the Porsche configurator, I see there is a GTS model available which is a bit rare. That's the best combo of options vs. cost. I have a 991.1 911 C4 GTS. I'd probably get Mahogany, that being a striking and rare color indeed.
5 min in Porsche's configurator, got it done for $80K well-optioned.
That's that. Please post pictures when it comes in.
Honda Fit - I love mine. It is roomy and reliable.
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