What car should I buy?

[cos]

I meant my current car to be "temporary", then four and a half years passed. It's time: I'm not about to move, or change jobs, or spend half the summer away from home, or work on a big campaign in the next few months, so I can do stuff like find a car. What should I look at?

Whatever I get, I want to keep for a long time. At least 200k miles, maybe 300k or more. New or used is okay. I don't plan to resell for a long time.

It needs to basically work, and stay reliable as long as I maintain it regularly and fix things as soon as I know they need fixing.

I don't care if it looks cool or feels great to drive or any of those things, just reasonable.

I do want to be able to get up steep dirt roads in Vermont and the Berkshires and such places in bad weather. That doesn't necessarily mean all wheel drive. My previous car, a Saturn SL2 with front wheel drive and "traction control" (ability to have the two front wheels turn separately) was very good at it. My current car, a Saturn SL1 (less power) with front wheel drive and no traction control, is not good at it. I'd take a front wheel w/traction again.

And I want fuel efficiency, particularly on highways and country roads, which account for the majority of my driving. I've been getting 33-39mpg on those kinds of roads in my current Saturn, though it's not rated that high. I'd like something that good or better.

Edit: I'd also like to have as much space as a Saturn SL2/SL1, for people and for stuff. More space would be fine, but not needed. It'd be annoying to have to adjust to a car with less space.

Suggestions?

Comments

[porfinn.livejournal.com]

I own a Toyota Matrix XR 04 (they come in a couple other flavors-- if you are truly interested in a Matrix I will happily give you more info, but I see no reason to bore you right now) and I regularly drive my parents' Scion A (I believe that is the "box"). Their Scion is the first generation really boxy version. It is a fun car, but I prefer my Matrix for driving comfort and power. I do enjoy driving, and I like my car to be fun to drive, but if I had bought a car with only that in mind, I would have gotten a Mini!

What I was looking for in a car was good gas mileage (I live in LA--'nough said) and as much space as I could possible get in a something that was not an SUV (i really don't like driving those pregnant elephants). My first pick was a Honda Fit. I am 5'10" and the Fit didn't fit me at all. I am very comfortable in a modern Mini, the Fit was seemed absurdly small.

I bought my Matrix with sixty thousand miles on it three years ago and it has not had one problem (my parents bought their Scion new five years ago, and it also has been extremely reliable). The back seat area is roomy enough for my mom's six-foot frame. When the backseats are declined, the trunk-bed goes flat, and provides enough room for me to sleep. My bicycle can fit inside the car. The front passenger seat will also fold flat so I can easily fit a 5'10" surfboard. I also shoved in a washer and dryer (yes, together) back there and still had room for a passenger in the front seat.

My combined street/freeway driving mileage is consistently 30 mpg, but I will get up to 35-39 on a road trip. When I chose the Matrix I also went to a pick-a-part to see how hard it would be to get replacement bits and pieces. There are a lot of Matrices out there. I have also been very, very pleased with the power of my car. Going up to Big Bear (a seven to eight thousand feet elevation gain) is very easy (my parents Scion finds it considerably more effort). I suppose there are two small things I dislike. One is that the bumper on my 2004 model is a very poor design, but that seems to have been remedied in the newer cars. The other thing I don't like is that there is a blind spot (but my Subaru wagon's and the Outback's are worse). The pane behind the main window for the rear passenger, on both sides of the car, is a flawed design that creates a blind spot for me. This was easily remedied by putting a sticker on the window past the blind spot so I have to look all the way to the sticker to make sure I know if there is a car coming up directly behind me in the right-hand lane.

The Matrix satisfied all of my criteria, and exceeded my expectations. I hope what ever you find meets your needs as admirably. I have no trouble recommending a Matrix (if you have any questions, I don't mind answering them). Most cars drive me crazy because the engineers seem to have never driven a car before! (why the hell did you put THAT there?) The interior of the Matrix has been very reasonable.

One last thing. I use to do most of my own repairs, but these days I just take it to the dealer. I have been very happy with the Toyota dealer in my area. Almost without fail I get a coupon for an oil change about the time I need it done. This does NOT mean all Toyota dealerships are pleasant, but you might keep that in mind if you like taking your car in to a dealership to get it maintained. My parents had been very pleased with the near by Toyota dealer. The near by Honda dealership was just ok. Maybe in your area the Honda dealer is fabulous and the Toyota dealer is mediocre, but that is something to investigate and might be a deciding factor in what type of car you buy.