Which car to buy for given requirements - first time buyer

parinda

Hi there,

I am going to buy my first car and I don't have much prior driving experience as well.

We're family of three at the moment, two of us and our little baby. Mostly the car will be used for shopping over weekends, occasional city drive and rarely for long drives

I don't want to buy very expensive car but yet something that is easy to handle, AWD and safe to drive even in bad weather (snow / rains) with good fuel efficiency and requires less maintenance.

I don't know where to start. Any choices which I can further research before making decisions would be helpful.

Requirements
- typically convenient for family of four
- has good legroom and spacious
- would be used frequently for shopping & limited city drives
- occasional long drives
- safe for all types of weather & terrain
- fuel and cost efficient
- under 25k $ (can stretch upto 30k but would prefer inexpensive)

xwesx

Hey, Parinda; are you looking at new, slightly used, very used.... any that fit the bill?

The good news is that, when it comes to AWD, you have a lot more options than you did even a few years ago!

parinda

Hey, i am okay with either new or used (certified), but preferably new one.

nyccarguy

parinda said:

Hi there,

I am going to buy my first car and I don't have much prior driving experience as well.

We're family of three at the moment, two of us and our little baby. Mostly the car will be used for shopping over weekends, occasional city drive and rarely for long drives

I don't want to buy very expensive car but yet something that is easy to handle, AWD and safe to drive even in bad weather (snow / rains) with good fuel efficiency and requires less maintenance.

I don't know where to start. Any choices which I can further research before making decisions would be helpful.

Requirements
- typically convenient for family of four
- has good legroom and spacious
- would be used frequently for shopping & limited city drives
- occasional long drives
- safe for all types of weather & terrain
- fuel and cost efficient
- under 25k $ (can stretch upto 30k but would prefer inexpensive)

It is hard to argue with a CRV. Plenty of room, easy to drive, AWD, holds its value well.

stickguy

Subaru Forester.

xwesx

Yeah, so if you are definitely committed to AWD, then a "compact SUV" is likely the best one to tick off all the requirements you listed. In particular, "spacious, safe through all weather, under $25-30K."

CRV and Forester, yep. Also options of Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4, Chevrolet Equinox. If you want to save some money and don't mind less space, you have Subaru Impreza/Crosstrek. A little different, but you could go sedan and consider the Dodge Charger. Minivans are always the obvious choice when space is a concern, but you'll only get AWD in the Sienna these days, and AWD puts you into a little more expensive territory when new. Used, though, and you can get down into the $20s if you don't "need" a bunch of options along with that.

Probably a few more that I'm not thinking about right now....

abacomike

Sounds like your needs would be met with a Subaru Outback would be perfect for you and the family.  Plenty of room, outstanding value for the money, AWD is standard on all Subarus, and well within your budget.  The Forester is about $2000 less, but the Outback is the better value for what you need.

Give the Outback and Forester a good look - you'll love the Subaru!!!  

parinda

Thanks guys....Here are some of choices which I will now explore
- Honda CRV
- Subaru Forester
- Subaru Outback
- Subaru Crosstek
- Subaru Impreza
- Ford Escape
- Toyota RA4
- Chevrolet Equinox

Any comments about Hundai Tucson & Hundai Santa Fe?

xwesx

I haven't looked at those in the current generation. I suspect the Tucson is going to feel small for what you want, but probably no different than a Crosstrek in space, though lower fuel economy. The Santa Fe should be on par with the CRV/Forester/RAV4 for space and the sport looks a lot like a RAV4. Cost is probably in the range of the Outback.

Really, I think the one drawback of the Korean cars is that they still depreciate much more quickly than other makes, particularly the Japanese. The positive side of that is you can probably get a great deal on a slightly used car. So, if you buy one and plan to keep it for a while, these are a good way to go.