Best 4 door sedan/small suv

[Grainbelt]

Originally Posted by Maggot12

Ford Escape, and they're everywhere in Victoria.

Saskatoon was absolutely ripe with them when I lived there. Had a few coworkers with them, and they all loved 'em.

I pooh-poohed 'merican cars for decades, but picked up an older Focus a couple of years ago, which has been a great car. A recent Ford is an excellent value on the used market.

[a65l]

Why not a Subaru Impreza? Or Legacy, if you need the room? They're pretty much tops in reliability, at least in my experience, and they are pretty good all around cars.

[BigEasy]

I had an Escape but sold it to buy a BMW R1200R it was a great little vehicle but with the six banger the fuel consumption was 22ish mpg. I found that stupid. Why drive a dink car that gets that kind of mileage when my Silverado full size up gets 17?

After I delt the Escape I inherited the wife's '93 Civic that she bought new and I drove it until this March when I sold it with 360k mi. Reliable as a bag of hammers but very domestic.

I replaced it with a '09 Scion XB toastermobile. Again pretty domestic and has so far been reliable and gets 28-30 mpg. It is not super luxurious but it is very serviceable, it just works. I was never a big Toyota fan then Mrs. easy bought a Prius on '07 I was wrong, I freely admit it. Good car but not for everyone. She's put 160k mi on it and we have had zero issues with it.

I don't know that I would call any of the above "best" ( I might call thenRR best but I'm biased) but they have treated us well. Just a couple thoughts for ya

[liquidsmile]

I am actually buying a used Lexus es330. If you look you can find them in your price range. I am picking up a 2006 with 54k miles for 15k on Monday. All the reliability of the Camry without being boring.

[fullmonte]

WTF? 2 pages and not one mention of BMW? Everybody here knows they make the "best" cars out there. Fine examples of The Ultimate Driving Machine can be purchased for 15k and it only costs 10% of that per annum to keep it running. Chump change.

[BCC]

Originally Posted by fullmonte

WTF? 2 pages and not one mention of BMW? Everybody here knows they make the "best" cars out there. Fine examples of The Ultimate Driving Machine can be purchased for 15k and it only costs 10% of that per annum to keep it running. Chump change.

Hey, when you're right, you're right! Just like their bikes.




Hope you're doing well.

[PoundSand]

Originally Posted by BigEasy

it was a great little vehicle but with the six banger the fuel consumption was 22ish mpg. I found that stupid. Why drive a dink car that gets that kind of mileage when my Silverado full size up gets 17?

That's almost 30% difference in fuel economy. That's huge.

[Yellow Pig]

The new Ford Fusion looks fantastic inside and out.

[paco pena]

Toyota Rav 4 with the v6 engine. Fast and reliable.

Paco

[Dave.0]

Originally Posted by TheMuffinMan

Honda Fit. It'll seat 4 adults comfortably, and at least in the USA is close to budget. The engine's a bit lacking but if you get the sport package with paddle shifters you can rev it out for some fun. The layout of the cockpit is amazing, lots of practical nooks to put stuff.

^^^^

this, except I'd get the manual transmission (which I have), its a capable and pretty fun car with more interior room than you would expect and a reasonable peppy engine for what it is. I think we paid under 15k for a new one. The sport package just gets you body work pieces and different wheels, not really any "sport"

to make this car fun to drive you need to drive it like a momentum car, not a power car, if that makes any sense, the cliff's notes version of that without getting into a long discussion is don't use the brakes much and maximize corner entry speed - leads to a lot of

[fullmonte]

Originally Posted by paco pena

Toyota Rav 4 with the v6 engine. Fast and reliable.

Paco

This ^ is what I bought last year. By the time I reach the end of the on ramp, mine is doing 95mph. It gets 23.5-24.5mpg in town and 26-27mpg on the highway at 80. Besides gas and oil changes, it has needed nothing, which means I've missed out on the German brand anal rape experience that so many on this forum seem to enjoy.

[BigEasy]

Originally Posted by PoundSand

That's almost 30% difference in fuel economy. That's huge.

Yeah but when you can't pull a 20' bass boat with the Escape and you still have to have a full size truck 30% don't mean boo. The escape goes by by and you get a get a little high mpg shitbox to back up the truck. The Escape just didn't make sense in my little world. It's a fine LITTLE truck.

[vtwin]

Originally Posted by welder

I am not interested in domestic crap.

Wait, does Canada have a domestic car manufacturer?Sorry, I know some Chevys are built there.

Originally Posted by a65l

Why not a Subaru Impreza? Or Legacy, if you need the room? They're pretty much tops in reliability, at least in my experience, and they are pretty good all around cars.

+1 first car I thought of for your climate.

[koncha]

Originally Posted by Yellow Pig

The new Ford Fusion looks fantastic inside and out.

My parents bought one of those a few months ago. They just received notice from the dealer that the warranty work is complete and they can pick it up.

Other than that, they like it. My dad says the estimated fuel economy is lower than actual. He is exceeding the estimates. My dad is a big GM fan and this is first new Ford. He is really happy, except for the engine fire recall but at least they hooked him up with a rental.

[nigelcorn]

Originally Posted by koncha

Good call on the Korean brands. They seem to age worse than Lindsey Lohan.

While one example won't change anyone's mind, I bought a new 2006 Sonata in 2005. In the last 7 years I have had to fix or replace exactly nothing on the car. Not one thing. I get better gas mileage than the EPA estimates (got 35.6 coming home 210 miles yesterday) and it has an absolutely huge trunk for being a sedan.

I'm not saying they are the best car, but for the money they are hard to beat.