Please HELP!!! I’m the most indecisive person alive and needall of you to help me make a final decision. I currently have a 2003 Toyota Corolla with 200,000 + miles on it and need to get a new car. About me:
I am a Realtor and have to carry around lots of signs in the back/trunk all of the time. I am also about to start cleaning out 50 years of junk from my father’s house to prepare it for sale (thus the need for a hatchback/wagon, etc.
I often drive more then 100 miles per day showing property. With gas prices rising over the next ten years that I keep the car, I’m concerned about fuel efficiency.
I keep cars until they drop dead so reliability is a top priority for me.
I have to take my 92 year old father to doctr’s appointments and will need to test drive the CRV to learn if it is too high for him to get in to.
Would you purchase a CRV, Impreza hatchback or Prius wagon? If you would choose the CRV, would you choose the FWD or AWD (I live in Washington, DC).
Do you think that over 10 years, considering the higher maintenance costs, it is worth it to purchase the Prius V because of the savings in fuel prices?
Has anyone kept a Subaru for up to 200,000 miles. How did it hold up?
Any thoughts or opinions will be greatly appreciated!!!
FWIW, All my Subarus have lasted way over 200K without major issues.
It is quite a popular brand here in New England as our winter weather is iffy and AWD is a nice feature to have here.
Do you really need AWD in DC, though?
With good maintenance they all should last well above 200K miles. I do not think you need AWD in DC. So we are between the CRV and the Prius V. I think it is a matter of test drive and doing the math on price and gas savings to decide. Some find hybrids very disengaging to drive, some think it doesn’t matter.
Whether you are in DC or the suburbs, you do not need AWD. I have 2 friends with back/hip/knee issues and they both found the CR-V to be easy to get into and out of. And while it’s a good bet it will work for Dad, you are right to have him try it. I would guess that the Prius and Subaru might be too short, but you can find that out with a test drive, too.
You might also look at the Mazda CX-5 2WD SUV. It gets an average of 29 MPG (26 city and 32 highway), while the CR-V 2WD averages 26 MPG (23/31). At you mileage rate, you will save at least $300 each year in gas cost with the CX-5 instead of the CR-V. Maybe you could take Dad for a test drive if the Mazda, too.
the CX-5 will get 31mpg on the highway in AWD trim, so not much of a penalty if you decide to get one. 32 highway with auto and 35 with manual, but I doubt you’d want to drive stick in DC traffic.
If you’re doing a lot of stop and go traveling, then the Prius might be a decent option