Senior female needs used car that is reliable, sits high like a minivan but has some flair and is fun to drive. Was thinking about a jeep renegade but concerned re: repair issues. Suggestions for what might be my last car?
Any Jeep is a compromise in on road handling and a Mazda 5 would sit high and be better handling and more fun to drive. Also much more reliable.
Nissan Murano Convertible? A little on the weird side for me, but some of my female friends find them appealing.
Hardly meets the “flair” requirement…
Oh I dunno. A CX-5 in that incredible new red Mazda came out with is pretty high on the attractive-flair scale.
OP, what’s your budget?
Agree! A Mazda CX5 has all the fun you need; the Zoom Zoom handling, sits high and is economical and reliable. The Jeep engineering and design is Stone Age by comparison.
My wife wanted a hatchback with near sports car handling and we got her a Mazda 3 Sport. Her next car will be a Mazda CX5, with the higher seating.
Who said Jeeps were fun to drive???
Still the Mazda5 is just another SUV in a sea of SUVs, but on the other hand OP did specify used, so that leaves the Murano out.
??? Both are available used.
But how many Murano Convertibles have you seen? I have only seen one.
I had a girlfriend years ago who had a Jeep - the off-road, WWII kind, with big eagle design on the hood. It was fun to drive.
What people find fun to drive really is about how do they feel when they look at their vehicle, get into their vehicle, and drive their vehicle. It’s a very individualistic thing.
1 Like
Which is why I say asking what should I buy on the web is a silly exercise.
2 Likes
“sits high” and “fun to drive” are pretty hard to combine. What cars have you liked in the past?
I owned a Korean War era military surplus Jeep and it was fun like a toy. My boys learned to drive in it and had a lot of fun but above 45 mph it was a death trap even after I installed a roll bar and seat belts. I wish I still had it though.
Jeeps are a lot of fun…if you go rock crawling or mudding with them, not so much for the highway.
1 Like
Jeep offers compact and mid-sized SUVs much like other manufactures, they are not for rock crawling any more than a Nissan Rouge is.
Agree! But being raised on a farm and used to driving trucks and tractors, I find any Jeep less fun than a well designed sports touring vehicle.
She later had a Fiat X1/9. Also fun to drive. Like the Jeep, not very practical. Her next car was one of those VW rear engine jobs like a station wagon, with a sloping curved rear end and hatch. More practical, while maintaining her record of rather odd and varied cars!
Yeah we used an old WWII Jeep for delivering groceries when I was a kid. It’d go anywhere in the snow and fun to ride in. I was too young to drive it. Great for off road for ten miles, but you’d never want to take it on the freeway for 50 miles.
I too am over 60 and looking for a new fun car with a lot of get up and go. I spend 2 hours every day on the highway and need a 4 door that responds quickly. Have been driving an RX8 for 89,000 mi. It looks great and is fun to drive-- when it will start. I shopped for a new car end of 2017 and decided to keep the Mazda another year solely because the colors of the mid range cars were so DULL. Every dealership looked like a pack of playing cards: blood red (dark red is a BAD color), black (never in FL), white (have one already), varying shades of silver (had one already). Ugh. Blah. Meh! Blue is for boys(husband has a navy blue car) and the only other variation was something I call “sweet potato orange.” I had one salesman tell me that those 5 colors are all that people want. I told him I had a turquoise Honda with a cream interior once that I loved for 95k miles and a lime green FIAT 30 years ago, so his claim was not true, and that he should visit a Sherwin Williams store and expand his color horizons. All those paint chips are because people like colors. So I spent all of the holiday this year shopping for cars, and except for the Dodge Charger and some low end cars, the same 5 colors are ALL THAT CAN BE FOUND ON ANY LOT. SCREAM! I considered a Mango Charger, but the dash was sort of ugly and I want sport, not muscle. Also, I cannot stand black interiors–like sitting in a black hole–very depressing. When I bought the RX-8, I had them rip out the black interior and install the palest of grey. So, now here I am, ready and willing to give my money away and the manufacturers offer no appealing color options to women–50% of the drivers in America. I can’t afford the orange 'Vette I saw, but I want something in a pretty color with a light interior and fun to drive with an attractive dash that does not look like a closet shelf. Why is that so hard to find? Why does every car manufacturer–foreign and domestic–make all their cars in
the SAME 5 colors? I considered a white Stinger–could only get black interior! Tested a Prius last year because it came in a beautiful seafoam green. Too bad nothing happened when I stepped on the gas. Women like COLOR. Step it up, car manufacturers!!
YOU can benefit by others’ experiences and maybe learn about a car that you have not considered. I LOVE looking at my RX8. It is fun to drive too, but sucks mechanically. I am not sure what this lady wants to spend, but the Stinger is also very nice to look at, is fairly comfortable, and is fun to drive. A little too expensive for me and the color of the interior options is lacking for my taste (I hate black interiors.)
1 Like