Hyundai vs. Subaru maybe Kia or Mazda

[Dave Williams]

For at least the next 6 months I'll be driving 57 miles one-way to the middle of freakin nowhere, working a 12 hour shift then 57 miles home. Doing that for 14 days straight.
Off 14 days, then repeat the same deal but then it's 12 hour night shifts.
Ridiculously long shifts, but the money and perks they've offered are very, very generous.
I can also use most of the 14 days off to work other jobs.

I would forget the commuter car and buy an RV, sleep in the RV during the 14 days on. Wife could visit a few times during the two weeks for some hanky panky. I do 45 minute commutes and after night shift it is a real challenge.

[DocGKR]

Honda Fit are great and extremely roomy, durable, and great mileage.

Mazda CX5 is nice--several friends have them.

Toyota Corolla is a proven performer.

Subaru works....except the CVT, as mentioned.

[UNM1136]

I have several friends with Subarus, and I got one used for the wife when Brat the First went to college taking the second car with her. All my friends railed about the durability of the Subaru, and told me not to worry about the 150k miles on the 11 year old car. They told me the engine was just getting broken in.

There is a shop here in town that specializes in Subarus. Like, seriously specializes. In almost 4 years my wife has put over 50k miles on it, almost all in town. It does well on long trips, and I have pulled a big deer out of a national forrest in it. They did the pre purchase inspection.

I have come to believe the Subaru longevity is attributable to a really aggressive factory maintenance plan. When the car hit 210k miles the shop could not tell if the timing belt had been replaced at 100k like the factory recommends. Replacing the timing belt also included the water pump, and the radiator. The water pump was part of the timing belt replacement, and the radiator is plastic and should have been replaced at 100k miles, per factory recommendations. Wheel bearings, control arm bushings, and assorted other stuff. We paid the car off this month, and in just under four years have as much in maintenance costs as we have in the car (paid $5500 via credit union financing), including oil changes. It runs really, really well, and the wife loves it. When it is time to replace it, I cannot argue against another Subaru if that is what she wants, because it would make her happy. Most of my other vehicles other than oil, brakes and tires got stuff fixed when it broke. I am not sure how I feel about such an aggressive maintenance schedule, but the car runs like a top. None of my 3 vehicles is newer than 2010, and all are at or over 200k miles, with the 2010 Focus daily commuter needing the most work right now. The 2005 Grand Caravan is 211k miles on the original transmission, which other Grand Caravan owners around here tell me is pretty much unheard of.

Let us know what you decide, @JodyH.

pat

[Gater]

Another CX-5 owner here. Been fairly satisfied with mine (bought new). A CPO might be in your price range--as always with used, there's some risk. I believe the Mazda CPO has some positives (haven't confirmed these myself, so doublecheck me), primarily 7-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty, which is better than new 5-year/60,000-mile powertrain warranty as well as extra 12-month/12,000-mile new car warranty. I have a '17, and recall some negative discussion about reliability of newer models when the cylinder deactivation was introduced in 2018. For your region and use, the cheaper FWD would be the way to go--better mileage, and my biggest bitch was when I got a flat and needed to replace a full set of tires to maintain even wear with AWD. Dealer and vehicle complete unknowns to me, but just for a starting point, here's a one owner 2017 with 25785 mi on it and the GS package (which is a nice but now gone trim package) with $24,000 asking price:

https://www.mazdausa.com/shopping-to...KFBDL1H0203067

ETA: that might actually be an AWD model

[JodyH]

I would forget the commuter car and buy an RV, sleep in the RV during the 14 days on. Wife could visit a few times during the two weeks for some hanky panky. I do 45 minute commutes and after night shift it is a real challenge.

No RV required.
There's available "man camp" housing on site, free to use.

[JodyH]

Bought a 2020 Subaru Crosstrek Base.
Out the door with tax, title and reg was under $25k (helps that our sales tax rate is 4%).
They even through in the factory all weather floor mats and a really nice, heavy duty windshield shade.

Now I have two 2020 Lesbaru Crossdressers in my driveway.

[JodyH]

I have come to believe the Subaru longevity is attributable to a really aggressive factory maintenance plan.

I also think that most Subarus are driven by non-car people who always use the dealer for service and always follow the service plan to the letter.
No shadetree mechanics using Autozone parts.

Excluding the WRX STI owners of course.

[Coyote41]

Out of all you listed, the only one I would consider is the Crosstrek. I’ve had enough Korean rental cars that I will never own one.


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[littlejerry]

Agree with all of this - would have gotten touring with equipment package in hindsight. The CX-5 is basically a hatchback with a lift kit and drives like one, too. Easy to cruise around mountain roads vs. my former 2010 RAV4 which drove a lot more like a truck than a unibody CUV.


A CPO vehicle with 20-30k miles on the odo is basically new, especially if you have factory drivetrain warranty to go with. My CPO mazda with 23k miles had a bumper to bumper warranty for first 36k miles and drivetrain through 100k. From what I've read about these cars I expect the drive train to last me another 100k miles at least if not more. I wouldn't buy a used FCA product, but if you go with a CPO toyota or mazda I wouldn't be worried about repairs.

The big downside with the Touring is the funky suede like material used on the seats. I couldn't get past it, so we decided to get a GT.

Then we test drove the GT Reserve with AWD and the 250hp Turbo. Couldn't go back after that. Ended up with a 2019 CX5 GT Reserve in the dark blue. The cooled seats are frigging killer after an all day USPSA match in August.

[Redhat]

Congrats JodyH.

For you guys touting the Honda FIT, I believe I read that they are discontinuing that model. True?