looking for a new car. suggestions?

Mazda CX5 hands down one of the best small SUVs hou can buy. I'm partial as we have three in the house. Daughter got a new one in March and she paid 32k but for a higher trim level. Can be had in the $30k range. Toyota recently became a majority shareholder in Mazda.Our oldest CX5 is a 2015 has 120k on it now and never needed anything other than brakes and fluid changes.

 

Id check out a corolla hatchback if she doesnt mind something smaller. I had a subaru wrx (the trans blew with 25k on it) and have a bunch of customers who have different subaru models still. I often see issues with the cvt trans in them as well as using oil, and AC problems. Im not as high on subarus as I use to be when I owned one. Toyota for life

 

As someone else mentioned since you’re looking at the Crosstrek I’d suggest looking at Toyotas Corolla Cross as well. I’ve got a deposit down waiting on one for my wife to get here soon.

It doesn’t have a ton of get up and go and not a ton of room in the backseats. But my wife drives like a grandma and we have no kids. So cargo area for our dogs is a big plus. Got the non-hybrid XLE fully spec’d (except for upgraded audio) for right @ 33k out the door (MSRP).

Our dealership offers lifetime powertrain warranty also so that’s another plus for us.

 

I would own an Audi or VW over a CVT Subaru any day of the week. Subaru transmissions are probably the worst POS i have ever driven. I’ve owned both extensively, and was looking for a new daily and ended up getting a used Audi allroad. I looked at the VW Golf Alltrak as well. As long as maintenance is kept up, nothing beats how Germans handle, drive, look, etc. And before everyone starts chiming in about the timing chains in the 2.0, it’s a serviceable item around 100k miles just like a timing belt, and can be done at a local shop for around $1500…ymmv



no way in hell i would drive a Subaru crosstrek over this!
2013 Audi Allroad msrp $45k
Purchased used $15,500
67,000 miles, one owner
Zero issues

 

this…Mazda doesn’t get enough love for their new crossover segment. Well, because…..mazda

 

We love our first year 2019 Subaru Ascent! Awesome fuel economy and no major problems in the 75k miles we've had it. The AWD is awesome!

 

Pretty much spot on…Subarus are bland, uninspiring, plastic cladded cracker jack toys. The only thing they made that was intriguing was the WRX STi, but they discontinued that all together….sigh

 

Prius is solid option, people shame it but its saves lots of fuel and for everyday use its good. New 2023 Prius looks sick too and inside has ok amount of space inside, but its first year of new gen so not sure about reliability.

Camry might also be good option, I personally hate it but its been long known for reliability. Not as great fuel economy as Prius though.

Rav4, another car that I hate when guys drive it. However, along ladies its very popular small SUV.

You could buy used 4runner, very reliable and overall family car. Brand new is like 45K so yeah.

Subaru forester is also popular , Crosstrek is same but smaller version of it. Ive personally never had, or anyone in my family so can't speak for it.

No one spoke of this but, FORD MAVERICK might also be a good option. Its literally a small pick up truck for dirt cheap price.

 

I like the new Prius! Used 4R…16 mpg? Not very practical

 

I know you said no USED cars but I have to just throw this out there…..
Lexus GX 460 can be found for under $30k now.
We all know those are legendary reliable and will outlast many cars mentioned so far regardless of them being new.

 

I have had several Subarus over the years. As they aged, they became troublesome vehicles, but they were deep into used car 100,000 miles plus before you would notice. Easy to to work on though. I’ve sworn off anything but Honda or Toyota unless they don’t make a vehicle in the segment. (We are shopping Transit vans to possibly replace our E250. If Toyota made an equivalent, I would have probably already bought one and I would buy a WRX in a heartbeat if I could afford it and justify its existence.)

 

Absolutely…you can find higher mileage GX for under $20k. I would definitely prefer that to a 4R

 

Hey OP. You’ve had lots of good advice here but I thought I’d add my $0.02. My parents bought a 2003 Subaru Outback for us to use when my siblings and I were teenagers. That car’s AWD coupled with snow tires was fantastic for winter driving. I also walked away from a terrible freeway accident in no small part due to the safety features of that car.

My younger brothers have used a 2015 Outback and I’ve had the chance to borrow it for months at a time. One of my other brothers has a Crosstreck. All of the Subarus I’ve used have been excellent in the winter and very reliable. I’ve heard they have transmission problems these days and that may be true, but I’ve never seen it. Based on that, I would not hesitate to recommend you consider Subaru for your wife and kids.

 

This is crazy and I know nothing about them but I kinda like the Buick encore in that freak show market

 

I’ve got a quote for a forester premium sunroof and all for 30k. Seems reasonable. So they are offering 1500 under msrp +tint + around 1000 over the blue book value on my trade and no adds from the port pretty much base price plus 150$ mudflaps. Seems reasonable.wwyd

 

I'd probably buy it. That's a lot of car for $30k.

 

My wife is in her third Forester, My son a wrx a buddy has a cross, lots of subys around here.
They have all been good and reliable!
Absolutely beasts in shitty weather!
Our foresters have always had power window issues just slow so the wife says.
If I didn’t get my taco I’d probably get a suby!
They just don’t hold value as well.

 

I came in to this discussion late but a lot of guys on Tundras.com have bought their wives and kids Subarus because of the safety ratings.

 

Just sold my 07 Forester with 119,000 mi on it. It was upgraded with many performance goodies including a bigger STi turbo & intercooler. Did have a head gasket leak at the end, but gave me 16 years of stellar performance before that happened & I beat the piss out of it. Almost every start from a light was a hard launch. What a fun car. Upgraded the clutch once I added more power. It was the most reliable vehicle I ever owned. Maintenance was cheap.

 

Is it legal to say that on a Toyota forum?