Hyundai vs. Subaru maybe Kia or Mazda

[scjbash]

Most of the Hyundai and Kia dealers I deal with complain about their motors knocking and having to eat them within their warranty program.

Our Elantra developed a knock at 130,000. Hyundai covered 75% of the replacement which left us paying $2000. In a way I'm kinda glad ours ended up knocking because it's not everyday you get a brand new motor installed for $2000. The rest of the car is still doing great so I probably would have taken that offer even if it wasn't knocking.

From what I understand the majority of the knocking issues were due to a manufacturing error causing piston slap and that has been resolved.

All said I wouldn't have a problem with buying another Hyundai.

[Bratch]

We came close to buying a Crosstrek for my wife. Test drove it and enjoyed it well enough. We then had the opportunity to rent one and drive it for a week on vacation between Seattle and Vancouver. I'm glad we did because both of us had lower back pain after driving for about an hour on the interstate.
.

I had the same problem with my 2012 Outback, 60-90 minutes and I was having back pain. I’ve gone 6-8 hours in my truck that replaced the outback with no back pain.

[Salamander]

I'm on my second Mazda, got seven years and 180,000 miles out of the first one before trading it for the current 2014 Mazda 3. Both have been manual transmission. Went that route because of gas mileage (40 mpg highway) and handling, lots of mountain roads around here. With the six-speed manual trans the 2.0L is plenty gutsy, with an auto I'd want the 2.5L. I'm 125,000 miles into this one, and so far have replaced tires, front brakes, and just recently the battery. There was one recall part replacement which cost me nothing. Except for routine oil changes/air filters, that's it. The first one was almost as reliable.

Note that this works for me because I've also got a pickup to handle the 4x4, trailhead, and hauling niche. Wouldn't be as practical as an only vehicle.

Pros: Economy, reliability, good handling... although the electric steering on the 2014 has less road feel than the previous one it's still pretty good. Interior is well laid out, comfortable enough for long road trips... longest one to date was northern California to the revolver roundup in Dallas a few years ago, southern route out and northern route (mostly I-80) back. However I bought this car because until recently I was averaging 24,000-30,000 miles per year of mostly regional work-related driving, four to six hour unbroken strings of driving and occasional 12-hour road trips were pretty common pre-COVID and this one will get me the 250 miles each way to the Bay Area and back on $30 of gas without messing with my back the next day. The USB connections and bluetooth allow it to pretty much function as a mobile office on the road, although lots of models do that now. And most important of all, the coffee cup holder is well designed and easy to reach.

Cons: Road noise is a little more than I'd like, although allegedly they've improved that in subsequent years. Mazda stereo sound quality is notoriously poor. One occasional passenger says the seats are uncomfortable for her, as far as we can tell it's a proportion thing and she just doesn't go well with the seat dimensions, so try first. I don't really care for the dashboard instrument layout, although they've largely fixed that in the last few years. The same low front end ground clearance that contributes to the great gas mileage means don't even think about going anywhere bumpy or unpaved unless it's very slowly. Having also looked at the SUVs I'd say the CX-5 has enough clearance for this to not be an issue, the CX-3 is basically an around town utility vehicle with not much ground clearance at all, and the new CX-30 is somewhere in between.

[Duelist]

Jody,

My youngest brother bought a brand new Soul as a commuter, and ran it till it fell apart. He loved it, but it died far too soon after the factory warranty went away. Maybe 115-120k. He got, IIRC, a Corolla hybrid after.

One of my mentors in my graduate program drove a Soul, but her commute was rather short. Suited her, though - kind of a hippie. I didn’t hate it when I had occasion to ride in it, even in the back seat.

Personally, Hyundais and Kias seem second tier, at best.

The only Subaru I’ve driven and liked was a 6cyl Outback. Wife didn’t like it, and it would have been her car, so we didn’t get it. Even though her sister has one and loves it. And they don’t do the 6cyl anymore - I haven’t liked the various 4 cyl Subarus my other brother seems to be addicted to. But they last him a long time, as long as nobody finds a sheet of ice and wrecks them. He has a lot of bad winter weather to deal with, which is why I suspect he really likes the Subarus for commuting and for putting his kids in. The smaller ones, I don’t have a lot to say about. Except some of them are pretty fast.

Small Mazdas seem small. A Miata looks pretty sexy till I try to sit in it, and it drives me to look at Mustangs. Which are all beasts nowadays, by the way. Even the turbo 4 gets 300hp. But I digress. Mazda makes a variety of cars, and I haven’t driven any of the recent models, but they look cool.

Bottom line: What I would do, were I in your position and had a budget of about $20k, is the safest thing you could do. I would just get a 2-3 year old low mileage Camry (because I like them better than Corollas and Civics - they’re bigger and more comfortable). I just found a 2017 in Tucson for $15k, that is sitting there with like 19k miles on the clock. The 2.5l 4 gets 33mph freeway, and it’s a very comfortable and quiet freeway cruiser. Even if it’s only a 180hp engine. No, it’s not a crossover, but it’s big enough for that not to matter for what you’re doing.

But then you hate your local Toyota dealer. I’m kind of, so what about that. Anybody can change the oil and tires on a Toyota, and Toyota 4cyl engines and transmissions didn’t get a rep for being bullet proof accidentally.

Anyway, if you hate your Toyota dealers that much, get a similar deal in a Civic. We just got rid of a 22yo, 200k miles Civic. It had been through a lot of stuff, and a lot of college kids.

Yeah, those are the G19/G17 answers for commuter and family cars. If you really need a crossover in your price range, get a 2-3 yo CRV.

[JodyH]

There are a lot of incentives right now on leftover 2020's.
With price cuts, 0% interest, cash incentives for financing at 0% and extended warranty wheeling and dealing, going used in the $20k range doesn't appeal to me.

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.

So a factory warranty and dealer service are important, that way my wife or 17 year old can handle it by just dropping it off at the dealer and forgetting about it until its ready.
For half the month I just won't have time to mess with any of the little stuff that always pops up with used cars. Working a normal 8 it'd be no problem to fix most of that stuff myself, but I'll only have about 2 hours a day "free time" that I don't want to spend laying on the garage floor changing fuel filters, O2 sensors or putting in a thermostat.

[UNK]

The Mazda doesnt get very good ratings at Consumer Reports

Mazda's entry in the mini-utility segment delivers agile, fun-to-drive handling and good fuel economy. The ride is stiff, particularly with the 18-inch wheels and tires that come on most versions, and noise levels are high. The CX-3 is available with front- or all-wheel drive, and the sole powertrain is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and a six-speed automatic. It's a smooth, willing engine but isn't overly powerful. The infotainment system includes a center display screen and a rotary knob to control phone and audio functions, but it takes time to get familiar with its operation. The rear seat is very tight, and cargo space is modest. Forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, and blind spot warning are standard.

ROAD TEST
64 / 100
PREDICTED RELIABILITY
5 / 5
PREDICTED OWNER SATISFACTION
1 / 5

However Mazda has a special offer right now on PPO vehicles. You get an additional year of full warranty and a 100000 drivetrain. Thats through Mazda. Not an aftermarket warranty.
We have driven all the compact SUVs and the CX5 is the clear winner. They were redesigned in 2017 and are super quiet inside. The 2017 only had a 4 out of 5 reliability but the 2018 has 5 of 5. It however doesnt hit your gas requirements.
Used vehicles are going for a premium right now. I have found the best prices on used Mazdas at Mark Mazda in Scottsdale. https://www.markmazdascottsdale.com/
If you go that route get the touring not GT. The low profile tires on the GT make the ride louder and harsher. Get the preferred equipment package it gives you a Bose stereo among other things.
You should be able to get into a 2018 with the preferred equipment package well under your price.
ETA Actually I think you could get into a 2019 low miles.

[UNK]

Mis post

[Bio]

Dammit... anyone driven a RAV4 hybrid?
There's one for sale in a ugly ass color for a decent price (above my desired $24k, but not ridiculously so).

Can I get 30-35mpg hwy. out of it "flat and level" at a constant 65mph?

I bought a rav4 hybrid in February. It's a damn good car. We get about 40 mpg om the highway doing 70 or so. 40 in the city as well on a commute that mostly hills. Up until I bought this one I only owned manual baseline vehicles (Honda Fit and Nissan Xterra), so this thing feels like a spaceship with the adaptive cruise control. I tested that on a 1500 mile road trip a month ago and it worked well both holding lanes and distance from other cars, but I have nothing to compare it to.

It's an efficient car for what it is, but with the electric motors it can put down pretty good acceleration.

It replaced my Xterra, which got totalled by a dumbass running a red light, and I miss the size and capability and simplicity of the manual transmission truck frame, but the Rav4 has impressed me.


Edit: we've also had our Fit (also a manual) for 12 years, and it's been great. I'll echo all the good things mentioned previously about interior size. It's pretty fun for what it is. Ours isn't that good for podcast listening on the road, though. Lots of highway noise, but new ones may have improved that.

[Nephrology]

We have driven all the compact SUVs and the CX5 is the clear winner. They were redesigned in 2017 and are super quiet inside. The 2017 only had a 4 out of 5 reliability but the 2018 has 5 of 5. It however doesnt hit your gas requirements.
Used vehicles are going for a premium right now. I have found the best prices on used Mazdas at Mark Mazda in Scottsdale. https://www.markmazdascottsdale.com/
If you go that route get the touring not GT. The low profile tires on the GT make the ride louder and harsher. Get the preferred equipment package it gives you a Bose stereo among other things.
You should be able to get into a 2018 with the preferred equipment package well under your price.
ETA Actually I think you could get into a 2019 low miles.

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.

For half the month I just won't have time to mess with any of the little stuff that always pops up with used cars. Working a normal 8 it'd be no problem to fix most of that stuff myself, but I'll only have about 2 hours a day "free time" that I don't want to spend laying on the garage floor changing fuel filters, O2 sensors or putting in a thermostat.

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.

[MGW]

I like Crosstreks but I don’t think you’ll stay under your budget with the features you want. They have a 6/60 power train. Extremely planted in bad weather. Good resale value. I bought one a few years ago as a commuter and wish I had kept it. Fun daily driver. I see some dealers are offering a lifetime power train on them. Anything that touches oil or grease is covered. Small deductible after the factory warranty is up.

I see you’re looking used too. As a high mileage use commuter that’s probably the best way to go from my past experience. Zero or near zero financing on new is tempting.