No flippin’ way! I would not be caught dead driving any of those! Here’s a better list of the 10 best vehicles to buy today in 2024:
1997-2001 Toyota Camry (4-cylinder only). I can’t think of a better quality, more reliable vehicle. In fact, I doubt one exists!
2001-2007 Dodge Caravan (short wheelbase version, 4-cylinder). Can’t beat the reliability and ease-of-maintenance/servicing. The minivan body style offers excellent comfort and utility. Excellent performance and fuel economy too.
1996-2000 Dodge Caravan (short wheelbase version, 4-cylinder). Early models are less reliable, though most of the original design head gaskets have been replaced by now. Still, these are easy to work on, easy to drive, and offer excellent performance and fuel economy. The minivan body style offers excellent comfort and utility.
2001-2007 Dodge Caravan/Grand Caravan/Chrysler Voyager (3.3 or 3.8 V-6) You can’t go wrong with the classic people-mover. The V-6 engines are harder to work on, and less fuel efficient, but offer better performance.
1993-1997 Toyota Corolla/Geo Prizm. One of the highest quality vehicles ever made. Many last for well over 200,000 miles with few repairs.
2003-2004 Toyota Corolla. The last two years before the electronic throttle body and other nanny-state features were phased in. Reasonably reliable, comfortable, and fuel-efficient, but more difficult to work on than the 1993-1997 generation.
1991-1993 Dodge Spirit/Plymouth Acclaim. Even now, after 30+ years, these offer excellent comfort, performance, and efficiency for a family sedan.
2001-2007 Ford Focus. Comfortable, efficient, and economical.
1996-2002 Saturn SL2. Comfortable, reliable, and economical to operate and maintain.
1997-2002 Ford Escort. Comfortable and somewhat reliable, but easy to work on. Very good performance and fuel economy.
BCohen:
Can you explain what you have against the newer vehicles?
Compared the vehicles that you list, newer vehicles tend to be safer, get better gas mileage, require less maintenance, and will be more reliable than 30 yr old vehicles.
Your list for older used cars looks pretty good to me; but just to clarify, the Consumer Reports article that begins this thread is talking about new cars, not used cars.
Co-worker had an impact on the highway low enough to total her Dodge Dart so after driving a Ford Escape as a rental but wanting something different than most small crossovers she’s now driving a new Ford Bronco Sport Heritage. She’s happy with it and that’s the most important detail for me.
A guy who lives fairly close to my home is an obvious Ford fanatic, and he always has 3-4 Ford-made vehicles on his property. Last year, he bought a new Bronco, and it appears that he must like it because he just bought a second one.
