I just got a call from the mechanic that it’s REALLY time to replace my nearly 20 year old van, Toyota Ciena 2000.
I’m thinking of buying a new or practically new Toyota or Lexus, and prefer something midsize to full size.
I want reliable and safe mostly, with good trunk space. H prefers it be a sedan because it’s easier for him and others to get in and out.
We keep cars a long time but don’t drive long distances (under 5,000 miles/year) so I’m not convinced electric makes sense. H has a 1998 Volvo sedan s70, so not sure how long it will last either.
Our roads on our island are awful (full of ruts & potholes), so in some ways I don’t want to spend a lot on a vehicle because the roads will do a number on it.
I just bought a Toyota Avalon on Saturday after driving a van for 17 years…and I’m in love!!! Smooth ride, super comfortable seats, 43 MPG, and lots of bells and whistles. I hope to keep it for 15 years.
I just noticed you don’t want to spend a lot of money. I’d go for a Toyota Corolla then. We love Toyotas in our household, and have a corolla, Camry, and Avalon. They make a great product. A Corolla is a great car for a modest price.
Not sure how much you want to spend…but we bought both of our kids 3 year old, just off lease Toyota Camry LE for $15,000 or so. Great cars…very reliable and comfortable.
For cars with much more driving soul than Toyota/Lexus, take a look at Mazda. Or for Lexus money, Audi. Their 2.0t engines are quite reliable for a German car.
We have an old Corolla and, last year, finally sold our 18-year-old Ford Windstar for a Toyota Highlander hybrid which we are really enjoying and expect to have forever. We have found our Toyotas to be extremely reliable with a low total cost of ownership. If you don’t want to pay full freight, buy a one-year used car (you can still get a full warranty) in a size/model that suits your needs. My vote is for Toyota, though. They have a reliable cost-effective car for every need.
Used short range electric vehicles are relatively inexpensive, and you may be on an island where every destination is in round-trip range of a short range electric vehicle. So some such cars may be worth a look, though you probably want to avoid older Nissan Leafs (their air-cooled batteries have a reputation of range degradation, particularly in warm areas).
The trunk of the Avalon is very large. I was concerned about being able to pick up three people from an airport with lots of luggage, and the Avalon has sufficient trunk space for that.
What about a RAV? Maybe the SUV type would be good on those roads. If you have been driving a Sienna, the RAV won’t seem bigger, and the newer ones are really nice.
I love my Lexus 350. It’s a very, very quiet ride. It has a huge trunk. I also like that it comes fully loaded and has a lot of safety features that were must haves for me (blind spot indicator, cross the line in the road and it vibrates, parking assist, etc, etc, etc.) I especially love that my seats heat and cool.
We looked at the BMW and everything I wanted had to be added ala carte.
S has an Audi a4 and it definitely has more pep than my car, but it’s much narrower inside and I find the seats to be very low.
They would not make sense for you if they are at a premium price, but they may be worth a look if they are inexpensive as used cars (they often are, since the short range electric vehicle market is limited). Of course, you may also prefer the convenience of “refueling” at home or the fewer maintenance items to deal with.
Probably why some senior citizens like minivans – lower floor than SUVs means less of a step-up, but a high ceiling means less stooping, and high seating means less dropping in and higher view point. But a minivan may be too large for some, since they have gotten bigger over the years (the Ford Transit Connect and the recently-discontinued Mazda 5 are smaller ones, though).