Help! Gotta buy a new car! Advice needed!
Hi, everyone!
My significant other's become legally blind, so we need to pare down to one vehicle. We strongly dislike each other's cars and have decided to sell both and buy a compromise car. Since I'll have to do all the driving, my preferences get priority, but I've agreed to certain concessions.
I've been driving a zippy little Acura RSX-S hatchback, and love how it handles.
My sig. other's car is a Subaru Forrester. It's comfortable for roadtrips, but has no pep, and it feels like it's going to tip over with every turn.
I've agreed we need a car with 5 doors (including hatch or back door) and just a little more interior volume. And I definitely want to stick with brands that are reliable and not expensive to maintain.
My RSX-S was basically the very economical bottom of a very nice line, and I'm kind of hoping to find something like that again – a car that gives me a lot of bang per buck. But it may be the last car I drive, and I'm willing to pay a little more if I have to.
All thoughts and advice re- makes and models to consider or shopping in general will be greatly appreciated! I know some people enjoy shopping for cars but I just dread it.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Of course I'm going to say Chevy Volt. Here's a 2017 2nd gen car.
Here's my 2012;
Volts are a very nice car. Very well built. They weigh a bit more than you might expect due to the battery which gives them a lower center of gravity. They handle well in winter. Not that I would want to take one out in a snowstorm but if I absolutely had to I could and be fairly certain of making it to my destination. Still even with the extra weight they're peppy and will move if you press the accelerator.
In May I only had one trip out of town so I had my average MPG was 528 miles. In June I didn't go out of town at all so I only used about .07 gallons of gas that month for over 8,000 mpg. In July I used a couple gallons of gas and had a work trip where I had flown out east, so my MPG wasn't as high for July. Same for this month.
The battery now has about 50 miles of range opposed to approximately 35 mine has. Of course in winter that goes down a bit so I use more gas then. Still the car gets pretty good mileage even in extended mode - which is nice because it's there for longer trips when you exceed the battery range.
They've come down in price a bit over the past few years, they start out at $33k now and there's the tax credit too. In 2013 my refund was over $10k because of the credit.