@romanigypsyeyes I think you can’t go wrong with a Subaru, Toyota or Honda. We’ve had all three…with excellent success. We got a used Outback, standard transmission for a great price. The Outback is almost the same size as the Forester.
The other small SUV we liked was the Mazda CX-5. Loved it actually. I ended up buying a Volvo sedan…because I decided I wanted a sedan. But if we had gone the small SUV route…the Mazda CX-5 would have been our choice. However, they are very hard to find on the used car market!
As a price point, just got a 2014 certified pre-owned VW Tiguan for just under $15k. It has very good seat folding/cargo space features. I’ve never seen this in a car before, but the rear seats slide forward and back.
Thank you all! Lots to think about. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Subarus, Toyotas, and Hondas. My SIL has a Prius that she loves so I just talked to her about that. Her MPG made me jealous
The Suburu Cross Trek may be smaller than you want, but that is one I love. I suspect any Suburu will deliver that great handling in snow, economy, and just nice drive you are looking for. One that is a couple years old will fit your budget and still last forever.
We’ve been happy with our Hondas (2000 Odyssey, 2001 CR-V, 1994 Accord), Toyotas (2010 and 2017 Prius) and 2011 Subaru Outback. The Accord and old Prius were totalled by idiots who hit me. We drove the Odyssey til it died. The CR-V went to one of my brothers, who is still driving it.
The Outback is great in snow. It drives more like a car than a Forester, and the rear storage area is a different height from the Forester. We liked both, but opted for the more car-like ride. We can also put a roof box on the Subaru, which was important to us since this was the replacement to our van and sometimes we have traveled with four people, a dog and equipment for all. The seat height on the Subaru is higher than a Prius, which I also like.
The Prius is not as great in snow, but I don’t live in an area that typically needs snow tires so just have all-weather tires and make do. YMMV – it may be fine with good winter tires. My old Prius averaged 49-50 mpg – my new one averages 60. We live in an area with lots of stop-and-go traffic, which is where the Prius really shines vs. straight highway driving.
The crosstrex is a great car but it will be a tight squeeze if your transporting a human baby and also a fur baby. Also aside from fitting a car seat you will need adequate room in the back for a stroller.
We test drove all the types of cars @CountingDown mentioned in the last three years. Maybe it’s us…but the one that was least comfortable was the Prius. The top of the line one was better…seats were better…but really it was not a comfortable car…and all four of our family agreed on this. It is THE reason we didn’t buy the car.
It’s also not nearly as roomy as the smaller SUV types you are considering.
We were looking for a used, smaller SUV that has good mileage and good trunk space a few months ago and here are some of the things I remember from my research. We are a very happy Honda/Acura family and have been for many years but this time we were thinking of branching out hence the time consuming research(plus I like to research).
We checked car listings on a daily, obsessive basis on several dealer sites, employee perk sites like Working Advantage, PerkSpot, and credit union auto buying sites and it was obvious some of the sites didn’t update often. Several times we called for a car that had already been sold. Still, the online shopping made it much easier and most dealers would give us quotes and updates via email in a relatively timely manner.
We had the unfortunate experience once of having driven out to the dealership to find the car had been sold an hour before we got there (they didn’t bother to call us even though we had an appointment to test drive that particular car). So keep checking the sites and call before you head out to test drive.
We were looking for a small SUV that was less than 5 years old and had lower than 50,000 miles on it. That put our range above the $15k mark you stated in the OP. Most of the cars we looked at ranged from 17k to 20k.
We wanted an AWD model for better all weather driving and it seemed to have paid off this winter with all the driving in the snow the car has seen so far. I know some of the SUVs we looked at were RWD (which according to my research doesn’t drive as well in snow and rain as FWD or AWD).
Our top choices were Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV-4, Subaru Forester, Mazda CX-5. We looked at the BMW X-1
(x-drive is the AWD version) because of the good mileage but ultimately it dropped off the list because the ones we found online were sold before we could even test drive as well as just a bit above our price point.
We looked at Nissan Rogue and similarly sized crossovers and one thing that bothered us(based on anecdotal and not scientific research) was the space in the back row. My sis-in-law who has 2 little ones in carseats and an 8 year old found the space in her crossover(Rogue) much tighter than the space in her car(Leaf). YMMV. My advice would be to borrow a carseat(and maybe a kid:)) from a friend when you test drive.
Finally, once we decided we were ready to buy, we asked the dealer if they would let us drive it to our longtime mechanic so he could check it out. Carfax had a clean record but there are sneaky ways people use to hide damage. They let us do it although I believe we may have put down a small refundable deposit(don’t remember this part too well as DH handled this).
We took about 6 weeks to finalize our decision so I would say take it slowly and thoroughly research all your options if you have the luxury of time. Good luck!
If I were looking for an under $15k, good in snow vehicle, I start with either a Subaru Outback wagon (especially if I could find one of the older ones, before they got big, with low miles) or a Honda CRV. Another one worth looking at is the Mazda small SUV but that might push the price too high. The Toyota Rav 4 is also good and relaxing able. IMO opinion you can’t go wrong with Honda or Toyota.
@thumper1 We didn’t branch out:). We ended up buying an Acura. This is why I like to post about my research - I figure someone should benefit from it;).
I PM’ed you, but my brand new Kia hatchback (Forte5) was about $15k. I bought it a couple of months before the new models came out. 5 year/60K warranty on everything and 10 year/100K powertrain, which my dealer extends to “as long as I own the car”.
@OHMomof2 brings up a good point. As the next few months go buy, it’s often a good time to buy a new car as dealers look to clear the lots to make way for new models. We’ve had good luck buying in the springtime due to this.
S1 bought a brand-spanking-new 2017 Toyota Corolla for under $15k (no sales tax in OR helped) with the first 30k miles of service included. If you are willing to drive FWD instead of AWD, you can save a lot in both purchase price and gas costs, enough to buy a set of winter tires.
We had two small cars and two small kids 20 years ago. With a $100 strap-down roof rack we could still travel with our camping equipment. We graduated to minivans with kid #3.
