Need a new car, sonata n line vs Toyota crown G exec vs outlander?

Buying/Selling
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Hey all, so long story short we’ve been looking at getting a new car, since the dear old Merc is begging to falter more and more to the point it’s just an inconvenience (and besides my Lancer, our only other car is an rx8, not exactly a daily driver)

So after having abit of a look, my options for new cars are following

Hyundai sonata N line, definitely a good contender at 50K, seems to be quick, good on fuel, nice internally and out and overall fairly reliable. The dual clutch auto and good sized engine really attract me, plus being a sedan it seems easier to live with, especially being similar to the Lancer. Our work truck is a Hyundai (pavise d217) and has proven to be super reliable. Brand new 23/24 model with 7000km on.

Next is a Toyota crown hybrid G executive edition, this one is personally my favourite as it’s stupidly fast, genuinely looks like a Rolls Royce inside and a nice Lexus outside and is just a Lexus/Toyota platform at the base. It is used, being a 2020 model with 22’000km and is a off the boat import, however it also has all the maintenance logs ect ect. I genuinely love this car from the looks of it, but the fams concerned about the lack of warranty (dealer offers 3-4 year extended if you pay, but 1 year as base) however they’re a 2 year old importer company so I’m 50/50.
The hybrid part entices me alot as well. The only big downsides are being a grey market you can only get insurance from certain companies , but parts seem to be okay since it’s just a normal Toyota underneath. The biggest criticism from the old man is that he’s just concerned over spending 49~K on a car with a warranty from a dealership that’s only new

The one he does like the most Is a Mitsubishi outlander, but this is also the one I dislike the most. I personally find the interior very “workman like” with plastic everywhere and a screen bolted on. I really don’t like the interior when factoring in the price, especially when the only non plastic is the gloss sections which would be horrible to keep clean. Other issues I could see are that it’s a pretty big SUV that has the same engine and CVT as my significantly smaller Lancer, especially when said CVT already had issues lugging around sedans and hatchbacks, let alone SUV’s towing stuff. It also has a relatively small engine with only 180~hp, so I’m just worried it’s going to drive like a cheap CVT hatchback, ie being gutless.

Other issues I see is it’s 2wd, which isn’t bad since all others I’ve mentioned are but still, and with both my parents ageing, I’m worried the whole climbing into an SUV (5’1 elderly mother) is going to be much harder than falling into a sedan.

I just really don’t like them, but the old man’s focused on the 10 year warranty, even though I’ve already said that the warranty isn’t as crucial when A, we have backup cars, and B, it’s a significantly worse car (imo) than the others, and a warranty just doesn’t justify it.

So dear car people of Australia, which of these is the best? I’m really leaning towards the Toyota, especially after looking more into them, but I really need to convince the old man of that, so I need an argument beyond “nice inside and fast vroom”

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Most, if not all of the regular forum members are in the USA. This is a US based site. And as you might know, you have cars we do not get here.

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Mitsubishi might be viable in Australia, but here in the US, it’s circling the drain, and their reliability is so-so. I would avoid a used Hyundai. Of your choices, I favor the Toyota Crown by a wide margin.

Edited to add:
Whatever you wind-up buying, be sure to have it inspected by your own mechanic, prior to purchase.

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Me not in Australia but I would avoid a Gray market vehicle, an expensive used vehicle out of warranty ( backup vehicle means nothing when you have acostly repair not covered by warranty ). I say keep looking.

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Of the 3 on your list, I’d go with the Hyundai. Consumer Reports is an unaffiliated review group. They evaluate just about anything you can buy, including cars. They maintain a database of reliability for used cars which leads to a predicted reliability for new cars. The Sonata reliability is predicted to be excellent, but that includes all Sonatas. The Outlander reliability is a little below average.

Who’s going to drive it? They should get to pick the vehicle, or at least have the most influential opinion. You had some complaints about the Outlander. What about competing SUVs? The Subaru Forester, Toyota RAV-4, and the Mazda CX-5 all have better reliability ratings. The Forester has higher owner satisfaction.

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I love the Crown but personally, I’d prefer the Sonata N line here – the car is spacious, has better performance, is more practical, and has better styling to attract at a better price than the Crown.

If you’re into Kia, you can check the new 2025 Kia K5, FWD powered by a 2.5-liter inline-four with a similar styling to Sonata, and offers a lot for its price (around $30k). It’s definitely a great option to consider

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Id
f it is the old man’s money, it is the old man’s choice.

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I was the only salary for most of our married life. I could say that it’s my money on that basis but that would ignore the realities of a partnership. Mrs JT ran the home including meals, buying clothes for the children, and paying the bills. I wanted a Camry Solara convertible in 2005 but Mrs JT asked for a sedan that could seat 5 in case her van was in the shop and we needed family transport. I bought an Accord sedan instead. It was and is our money.

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I really hope you are making a Joke . In our house we both make decisions together .

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From the tone of the OPs post, I was assuming the “old man” was the father.

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Me too, old man is the father. Father’s money, father’s choice.

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I thought the OP was referring to her husband.

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Ha!! We call our oldest dog, old man sometimes… :wink:

But yeah I thought Old Man was the Dad…

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