Car Recommendations: Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Subaru

Lately I've been thinking of replacing my current gutless-gas-guzzling Jeep Liberty (3.7L V6) for something a bit more fuel efficient yet has more "get-up".

Things I'm looking for..
-Year 2000 or newer
-$7,500 USD maximum
-Known for reliability/comfort/great mpg

The thing is I got the Jeep for snowboard trips and traveling out in the dunes for dirt biking, but I rarely do much of that anymore and anyways this thing would probably get stuck....it whines out as it lugs up small hills (didn't notice it until a month of purchasing it :bang: )

Cars I'm interested in
-Mazda 3 & 6
-Toyota Camry

As for Subaru, I've had a 93 Impreza..I liked driving around town in it, but on the highway it was like driving a go kart. It felt squirly and the seats got very uncomfortable at long distance travel also every little crack in the road could be felt..Maybe they're better now..? Or the one I had was just sh1t..lol

So specifically which models of these makers do you recommend?

~Thanks

 

Subaru or Honda. Both are quality & reliable cars.

 

Specifically which models do you recommend?

Any experience with a Honda Accord Coupe?

 

Subaru, quality... Riiiiiiight. Those cars are practically built to fall apart.

Honda or Toyota dude, all the way.

 

Toyota Avensis/Camri are great cars, very reliable, comfortable and decent mpg.

In your in interested in hatchbacks, Honda Civic Type R is pretty good.

 

Friend of mine has had a Mazda 3 for years now, never had any major issues with it or so he tells me.

 

get a Nissan GTR.... they are dead cheap ...no they are not..... falling into depression. God I love that car

 

Remember some of these cars are made in different countries for different markets, and quality can be very market dependent. The cars can seem basically identical but be quite different.

The Mazda 3/6 etc are probably a little overrated. Not at all saying they're a bad vehicle!

Honda and Subaru make high quality vehicles. Not sure about the 'Subaru's made to fall apart' comment earlier, that sounds more like a reference to the Subaru Legacy. I surmise this because the Subaru Legacy for the US market is made in the US. Cars aren't made to last since there is no point with the salting of the roads in the colder states, and also to keep costs down.

In terms of ride quality it Honda's and Subaru's, it depends on the model you get. With sport models you will inevitably get a rougher ride due to the suspension set up, but you gain handling ability. Rough travel doesn't necessarily mean good handling, but soft suspension does mean reduced handling. If you push down on the front or rear of a car it should be firm (meaning you need to push fairly hard), and when it comes back up again it should be a smooth one motion, it shouldn't have a second or subsequent movement or wobble.

For a Subaru, probably a Subaru Forester would be a good choice. The Impreza is a great car, but has a stiffer ride due to being a sports model (particularly the WRX).

In Australia we have the Honda Accord, and the Honda Accord Euro, which are different cars assembled at different plants. I believe the US just gets the standard Honda Accord (which is still a good card).

I really like this model:
http://www.fpv.com.au/f6_showroom/f6e

But its pretty much Australia/New Zealand only.

 

Had 4 Hondas and was pretty happy with them - except the exhaust/muffler never got much past 2 years. Now my cheap Volvo runs still the original after almost 8 years...And the Honda batteries died pretty soon, too. Volvo still has the original.

 

Volvo all the way.

 

Gone through 3 Hondas.
All of them were in a great condition when i sold them.
Even my 89 Civic was in a better shape then my buddies 07' Mazda 3 Sport.

I'd say Honda all the way, although the newer models after around 2000 lost their bite,
they go more towards economy then the older, more sporty models.

 

Volvo is crap.. but yea Honda is awesome has least problems out there i guess

 

Just a thought. Why don't you go "Holden" - preferably the commodore model.

We have a saying here in NZ. When all else fails, go HOLDEN! they can take a thrashing, and then some.

They rank with quality cars, but at half the price.

Edit: Apparently "Vauxhall" pretty much stole "Holden's" design and then re-badged it as their own car.

 

I've had the most problems with Honda, and the least with Toyota. But currently loving my Volvo.

 

The Vauxhall didn't steal Holden's design, the Vauxhall is a rebadged Commodore with some design changes (and also sometimes some non-factory mods).

Assuming the original poster is in the US, he will have to wait until the Chevrolet SS is released before he is able to buy it. It looks like it won't be available with a V6 though.

 

You got that the wrong way around. There are no Holden badged cars in Australia currently that are made in the US (although the Malibu is supposedly being offered later).

The HSV is definitely NOT at Pontiac GTO underneath. The Pontiac GTO is a HSV underneath! The Pontiac GTO, Chevrolet Caprice PPV, and the Chevrolet SS are all based on the Commodore range (the PPV based on the Statesman), which are designed, engineered, and built in Australia.

The Holden Cruze is made at the same factory, and is different to the US Cruze models. The Australian model has some local design changes (some of which are very minor), including a locally designed hatchback model. The Cruze is a Korean car originally btw!

 

Vauxhall, holden... all are rebranded Opels, mostly (vauxhall is Opel with different logo and name). They all use GM's platform, so results are more or less the same. Just like Seat Ibiza, Volkswagen Polo and Audi A1 use same platform.

At the moment I'm VW-group car fan, so I'd say don't get nay to all.

 

In the past the Commodore was based on the Opel platform, but wasn't a rebranded Opel. The current Commodore is based on the Australian designed Zeta platform. The only other car that used the Zeta platform is the Chevrolet Camaro (US), which is built in the US but was designed by the Holden design team (something which GM doesn't want the American 'purists' to realise).