I like your Toyota and Honda options. Dead nuts reliable. I have had 3 Subaru’s and my sister has a 2013 Impreza. I always rank them just behind the first 2 brands above in reliability. I am not sure why though because I have had no issues with any of them reliability wise. I am a Crosstrek fan. I like the slightly bigger motor they now offer. In any kind of slick, they are top shelf. AWD adds cost across the board. Now that I live in Florida I don’t really think I need it like I did when I live in the Northeast but they are good solid cars with good solid features.

Not a Mazda fan. My other sister has the CX3 I believe and it has had some electronic issues and while it has been reliable it isn’t as “nice” feature wise. Not as well thought out as the others.

Zip car is available at most universities. Zip covers gas, insurance , etc.
Otherwise--> Toyota.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
I like your Toyota and Honda options. Dead nuts reliable. I have had 3 Subaru’s and my sister has a 2013 Impreza. I always rank them just behind the first 2 brands above in reliability. I am not sure why though because I have had no issues with any of them reliability wise. I am a Crosstrek fan. I like the slightly bigger motor they now offer. In any kind of slick, they are top shelf. AWD adds cost across the board. Now that I live in Florida I don’t really think I need it like I did when I live in the Northeast but they are good solid cars with good solid features.

Not a Mazda fan. My other sister has the CX3 I believe and it has had some electronic issues and while it has been reliable it isn’t as “nice” feature wise. Not as well thought out as the others.

The CX3 was an odd duck, IMO, and has been discontinued for a while. That said, it would make for a nice city car, since it's very compact. I looked into them, but it didn't handle a carseat at all, kid's knees were touching the back of the driver's seat.

To add a Mazda to the list, the CX30 is compact & gets great reviews from the folks I've seen with them, if you want something a bit taller than a Mazda 3.

I'd have bought a CX-50 over my Explorer, but they were still pretty new & didn't fit the budget at the time. Probably wouldn't handle a trailer as well, either.

That makes sense. It is a wildly compact car. I was told by a mechanic at Mazda that the engine in her car is actually a Toyota engine. Don’t know if that is true or not but the engineer be has been rock solid.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
That makes sense. It is a wildly compact car. I was told by a mechanic at Mazda that the engine in her car is actually a Toyota engine. Don’t know if that is true or not but the engineer be has been rock solid.

Wiki lists both gas engine options as Mazda Skyactiv variants. No mention of Toyota on them. I know the Mazda2 was sold as a Toyota Badged [Scion iA or Toyota Yaris] model, briefly, but with the Mazda drivetrain.

I'd pick Toyota or Honda.
Leaning more to Toyota because the engine is a non-interference engine.

Meaning if the timing belt jumps no damage to the engine. Hondas if the timing belt breaks or jumps the valves will be bent.

.

quote:

Originally posted by Greymann:
I'd pick Toyota or Honda.
Leaning more to Toyota because the engine is a non-interference engine.

Meaning if the timing belt jumps no damage to the engine. Hondas if the timing belt breaks or jumps the valves will be bent.

.

I'm not sure on the L-series in the current Civic, but the last timing belt Civic was the 7th generation which ended in 2005.
The R & K series are timing chain.

Also, I jumped a tooth on my 2004 Civic, and got lucky with no interference damage [despite cranking on it a lot, not knowing it had jumped timing].

I was looking hard at Honda HRV for daughter out in CA, we are in IL. Luckily she has decided to come back to IL, so here Acura TSX will be just fine close to home. I'll also throw in a vote for the Subie, as the neighbor kid had a bad accident in his and walked away.

More importantly, if you want to part with that Benz, let me know! Love those cars

Throwing my 2 cents in here – I don’t think you can go wrong with a Toyota.

• My 2012 Camry w/ 145K just oil changes, brake pads, serpentine belt, battery and one wheel bearing.
  
• My daughter’s 2005 Corolla w/ ~150K just oil changes, spark plugs, valve cover gasket, brake pads, serpentine belt, battery and one brake caliper. She graduated with her Masters in 2019 and plans on driving this until it drops.
  
• My son’s 2010 Camry w/ ~150K just oil changes, spark plugs, brake pads, serpentine belt, battery, and an alternator.
  

None of them use a drop of oil. Toyotas have been the most trouble-free vehicles I’ve owned.

I’m no longer a fan of Subaru. My sister had an engine replaced under warranty due to oil usage, the replacement engine now consumes oil too. My MIL’s 2015 Forester that was only serviced by the dealer uses oil at what I’d call a high rate (dealer did not agree when it was under warranty – and now the warranty has expired). I know that’s only a sample of 2, but both were properly maintained and I suspect there’s a larger issue that wasn’t properly addressed.

No experience with Hondas, but I’d take one over a Subaru.

^^^Honda AND Toyota have had similar oil consumption issues, and both have Class Action Lawsuits against them to prove it. Much of the issue is generally related to low-tension oil control rings, which manufacturers use in order to reduce friction in the engine while attempting to comply with overly burdensome federal (EPA & CAFE) MPG regulations imposed on the auto industry. Some have had worse (really more well known) issues in this regard, but Subaru seems to have had the most public visibility with their recalls. The fact that they have a flat six 'boxer-style' engine, orienting the cylinders horizontally and placing them closer to the crankcase 'may' be a contributing factor, but ALL auto manufacturers have been affected. I don't think it's fair to call out any one manufacturer over another on this...Just sayin'

Kia and Hyundai have long warranties, better than the others, and good quality, always rank high on JD powers for reliability.

Several models from small compacts to full size suv's even a pretty cool mini pickup in the SantaFe

https://www.hyundaiusa.com/us/en/vehicles/venue

If he really doesn't need a car except for SHTF reasons, then you could always rent a car for him to use to come home say on a weekend, holiday, that eliminates parking, insurance, maintaince, theft, etc.

Please for the sake of all things holy don’t buy a Kia/Hyundai. They are tin cans… JMHO.

We have bought all our younger family members basic Mazda’s and all of them have just worked without any out of the ordinary maintenance. Our youngest son got a Mazda 3 when he turned 16 with the instructions that this was the only car we would ever buy him and it needed to last u til he graduated college.

Well he drove it until he was 30! And only traded it in to get a larger vehicle when he started having kids…and yes he bought another Mazda

Our daughter was given a Honda Civic for college use, it has been reliable. Hard to beat a Honda Civic for a school car, reliable, good mileage, easy to drive/park.

quote:

Please for the sake of all things holy don’t buy a Kia/Hyundai. They are tin cans… JMHO.

OTOH both Kia and Hyundai consistently rank in the top 10 quality in the majority of major consumer and industry rankings, generally above Mazda and in many cases above Honda and Toyota.

Any of the four are decent vehicles, the big difference is, if you buy new, a Kia/Hyundai will have a 10 year warranty on the drive train, the others will stop significantly sooner.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

quote:

Please for the sake of all things holy don’t buy a Kia/Hyundai. They are tin cans… JMHO.

OTOH both Kia and Hyundai consistently rank in the top 10 quality in the majority of major consumer and industry rankings, generally above Mazda and in many cases above Honda and Toyota.

Any of the four are decent vehicles, the big difference is, if you buy new, a Kia/Hyundai will have a 10 year warranty on the drive train, the others will stop significantly sooner.

And, the K/H cars on sale today are significantly improved over even those on sale 5-7 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by ShouldBFishin:
I’m no longer a fan of Subaru. My sister had an engine replaced under warranty due to oil usage, the replacement engine now consumes oil too. My MIL’s 2015 Forester that was only serviced by the dealer uses oil at what I’d call a high rate (dealer did not agree when it was under warranty – and now the warranty has expired). I know that’s only a sample of 2, but both were properly maintained and I suspect there’s a larger issue that wasn’t properly addressed.

No experience with Hondas, but I’d take one over a Subaru.

Thinking back, I had to have a CV axle replaced on my Crosstrek. It was out of warranty, but they split the cost or something like that. Maybe I covered labor. I take some of the blame. Where I parked at work was a very steep, very tight bend step-up to the lot. Stupid lot design that I feel stressed the dickens out of the CV. Kudos to Subbie for stepping up some.

Check the insurance rates first, there can be big differences between models. At one point the Civic was very high on the most stolen car list in the country. I owned a Civic long ago and never will again. It ran fine, but lacked room on the interior. The Toyota Corolla on the other hand feels bigger inside to me and is just as good if not better. For what it's worth, their are kits to turn their hatchbacks into light off-road vehicles...2" lift kit and slip on some 15" tires. Just sayin.

Mazda CX-5 is actually made in Japan and the quality shows. Also a real transmission and the base engine is an economical 2.5l 4cyl that is shared across several models and the design is college kid friendly. CX-5 would be on my list for sure.

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:

I had a CVT in my Crosstrek and drove it for seven years. I liked it almost in every situation. Ironically, the one that I didn't was a drive to Philadelphia. I became physically ill from the noise. To be fair I was hauling three sizable guys, and hauling ass too. But it was appallingly noisy in that out and back same day experience. So much so I sold it.....

That's good to know I didn't realize the Crosstreks is that noisy. My friend's son bought a new one last year after someone hit and totaled his old Outback. I've ridden in it twice and didn't notice it being overly loud but I doubt we ever exceeded 65 mph.

quote:

Originally posted by ridewv:

quote:

Originally posted by r0gue:

I had a CVT in my Crosstrek and drove it for seven years. I liked it almost in every situation. Ironically, the one that I didn't was a drive to Philadelphia. I became physically ill from the noise. To be fair I was hauling three sizable guys, and hauling ass too. But it was appallingly noisy in that out and back same day experience. So much so I sold it.....

That's good to know I didn't realize the Crosstreks is that noisy. My friend's son bought a new one last year after someone hit and totaled his old Outback. I've ridden in it twice and didn't notice it being overly loud but I doubt we ever exceeded 65 mph.

Again it was heavily loaded, an old 2014 model year engine, and we were trucking 75+ MPH over the Allegheny mountains. But yes, it was phenomenally loud on that day's 10 plus hours of driving. And I was truly ill at the end of it. Around town, if you drive spirited, it was barky, but not unpleasant. Lots of torque. Quick off the line (or seemed it), but truly rather ho-hum to 60MPH plus.