My mother-in-law’s old Sentra has finally bitten the dust and we’d like to get her another small econo-box that she can see over the steering wheel of. She’s currently around 4’- 6" and shrinking, and only drives 5 miles to the gym every day. She was thinking used Honda, but they are very expensive. Any other ideas for a safe small used car?
I doubt any ‘small’ car is safe.
How about a mini cooper?
The Beetle, Jetta, Corolla, Scion Xa, Pt Cruiser, Volvo S40 and Toyota Echo are some small cars to consider. The Taurus is a little big, but is the safest car for the money. It is also available with adjustable pedals, which can be a big safety point for shorter people.
Given her stature she really should just try out small cars. People differ in size based on torso and leg length.
Thanks for your ideas; we ran them by my M-I-L. She is currently interested in the Toyota Yaris. She wants 4 doors so even the Mini Clubman http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=121860#2 is out of the question.
Anyone have a Yaris? Opinions appreciated.
The Yaris is an okay choice. It generally is not as highly regarded as the the Nissan Versa and the Honda Fit. It is also not much cheaper than the Corolla, which would be available used as well. It might be hard to find a Yaris in the used market. The Echo was the previous Yaris, which is available used.