Daily driver suggestions between 25-30k

[OppoLock]

My current "beater" got wrecked yesterday. Just sold it today for scrap. Without going into details, I'm in the market for a replacement and am willing to spend up to 30k.

Priorities in order:
-Economy
-Reliability
-Fun to drive (does not need to be fast but steering and suspension can't be sloppy)
-Decent trunk
-Four seats
-Transmission has to be good, but can be auto or manual (yes there are good CVTs and bad manuals out there)
-Can't be ugly
-Really don't care about interior materials, just want decent build quality

Looking for 5 years old or newer (more likely to have standard creature comforts like LKA/ACC/BLIS, CarPlay, etc).

In terms of suspension, comfort, steering, handling, and everything else entailing the driver interface, on an arbitrary scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being a Buick Lacrosse and a 10 being a GT350 R, I'm looking for something like a 6 or 7. Comfy but not wallowy. Don't care about exhaust, don't care about aftermarket potential. Resale would be more important to me at the end.

Candidates: 11th gen Civic Si and MK8/MK7.5 Golf GTI. Would make a concession on the economy and practicality side for something like a GR86 if dealership gestapo didn't treat them like LFAs in terms of markup. Would even consider a plain-Jane 11th gen Civic all things said.

Not interested in CUVs, SUVs, EVs, pickups, or mid-sized/full-sized sedans because I don't have any need for them.

Open to suggestions. FYI, will probably hold onto it for 2 years and I pack mad miles on for work.

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[because_murica]

Civic gets my vote.

 

[BoostRabbitGT]

The new Prius looks promising if the media's first drives are anything to go by. That'd be my pick if my heart wasn't so interested in a Mustang GT or some more interesting-sounding non-4-cylinder vehicle.

 

[DeluxeStang]

My current "beater" got wrecked yesterday. Just sold it today for scrap. Without going into details, I'm in the market for a replacement and am willing to spend up to 30k.

Priorities in order:
-Economy
-Reliability
-Fun to drive (does not need to be fast but steering and suspension can't be sloppy)
-Decent trunk
-Four seats
-Transmission has to be good, but can be auto or manual (yes there are good CVTs and bad manuals out there)
-Can't be ugly
-Really don't care about interior materials, just want decent build quality

Looking for 5 years old or newer (more likely to have standard creature comforts like LKA/ACC/BLIS, CarPlay, etc).

In terms of suspension, comfort, steering, handling, and everything else entailing the driver interface, on an arbitrary scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being a Buick Lacrosse and a 10 being a GT350 R, I'm looking for something like a 6 or 7. Comfy but not wallowy. Don't care about exhaust, don't care about aftermarket potential. Resale would be more important to me at the end.

Candidates: 11th gen Civic Si and MK8/MK7.5 Golf GTI. Would make a concession on the economy and practicality side for something like a GR86 if dealership gestapo didn't treat them like LFAs in terms of markup. Would even consider a plain-Jane 11th gen Civic all things said.

Not interested in CUVs, SUVs, EVs, pickups, or mid-sized/full-sized sedans because I don't have any need for them.

Open to suggestions. FYI, will probably hold onto it for 2 years and I pack mad miles on for work.

I know you said you aren't interested in a pickup. But a Maverick hybrid would be an excellent choice for most of these categories. It's based on the focus chassis, so it's far more composed, and nimble than something like an f-150. It starts at around 20k brand new. The xlt trim out the door can easily obtained for 26-27k. You're getting over 40 mpg in the city. The 2.5 hybrid system is extremely reliable for the most part, and there's a 8 year warranty on the hybrid components. It's not going to throw you back in your seat, but the 0-60 time is about 7 seconds. So it's at least as fast as most of the economy cars out there. The exterior design isn't crazy looking, but I'd call it handsome. The interior uses a lot of plastics, but it has a really rugged and interesting design. It's prob one of the cooler looking interiors compared to other new cars in the 20-30k price point. Plus it has the practicality of being a truck. My family HATES most trucks, never owned one. But we adore our maverick. So I understand not wanting a truck, but I would at least look at one in person.

 

[zstanny]

Hear me out:
I had a new Camry XSE for a rental in October and was impressed enough to look into them. You get get a low miles one under 30K. Not much pep, but the styling was nice, mpgs great, good, tight ride.

My current "beater" got wrecked yesterday. Just sold it today for scrap. Without going into details, I'm in the market for a replacement and am willing to spend up to 30k.

Priorities in order:
-Economy
-Reliability
-Fun to drive (does not need to be fast but steering and suspension can't be sloppy)
-Decent trunk
-Four seats
-Transmission has to be good, but can be auto or manual (yes there are good CVTs and bad manuals out there)
-Can't be ugly
-Really don't care about interior materials, just want decent build quality

Looking for 5 years old or newer (more likely to have standard creature comforts like LKA/ACC/BLIS, CarPlay, etc).

In terms of suspension, comfort, steering, handling, and everything else entailing the driver interface, on an arbitrary scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being a Buick Lacrosse and a 10 being a GT350 R, I'm looking for something like a 6 or 7. Comfy but not wallowy. Don't care about exhaust, don't care about aftermarket potential. Resale would be more important to me at the end.

Candidates: 11th gen Civic Si and MK8/MK7.5 Golf GTI. Would make a concession on the economy and practicality side for something like a GR86 if dealership gestapo didn't treat them like LFAs in terms of markup. Would even consider a plain-Jane 11th gen Civic all things said.

Not interested in CUVs, SUVs, EVs, pickups, or mid-sized/full-sized sedans because I don't have any need for them.

Open to suggestions. FYI, will probably hold onto it for 2 years and I pack mad miles on for work.

 

[OppoLock]

These nazis are charging $5-10k over MSRP on Civic Sis in my area LOL

 

[OppoLock]

Hear me out:
I had a new Camry for a rental and was very impressed. You get get a low miles one under 30K. Not much pep, but the styling was nice, mpgs great, good, tight ride.

I'm honestly open to Camrys even though I'd be paying for more wheelbase than I need... and I'm the kind of guy that would rather opt for a more feature-rich smaller car than a lower-trimmed larger car. But I'll add that to my search. I'll throw in the Accord while I'm at it. Heard good things about the 2.0T/10-speed combo, if I can find a CPO in my budget that is. Plus the new Accord looks like a total regression so I wouldn't feel bad about missing out on the new-car factor.

The new Prius looks promising if the media's first drives are anything to go by. That'd be my pick if my heart wasn't so interested in a Mustang GT or some more interesting-sounding non-4-cylinder vehicle.

I legitimately love the new Prius and actually had a 2nd-gen prius as a beater when I needed to commute 100 miles/day. The new one is unironically attractive. But I have a feeling that it will be marked up to death and out of my budget and I need a new vehicle in the next 6-7 days since that's how long I budgeted out a rental for myself.

Currently riding dirty in a stripper trim '21 Elantra. It's alright but definitely out of my search with how white bread the driving experience is.

I know you said you aren't interested in a pickup. But a Maverick hybrid would be an excellent choice for most of these categories. It's based on the focus chassis, so it's far more composed, and nimble than something like an f-150. It starts at around 20k brand new. The xlt trim out the door can easily obtained for 26-27k. You're getting over 40 mpg in the city. The 2.5 hybrid system is extremely reliable for the most part, and there's a 8 year warranty on the hybrid components. It's not going to throw you back in your seat, but the 0-60 time is about 7 seconds. So it's at least as fast as most of the economy cars out there. The exterior design isn't crazy looking, but I'd call it handsome. The interior uses a lot of plastics, but it has a really rugged and interesting design. It's prob one of the cooler looking interiors compared to other new cars in the 20-30k price point. Plus it has the practicality of being a truck. My family HATES most trucks, never owned one. But we adore our maverick. So I understand not wanting a truck, but I would at least look at one in person.

I really want to like the Maverick but it doesn't click with me for some reason... I love the concept of a normal-sized truck that doesn't need a step ladder to reach into the bed from the outside and the interior looks super cool, but I heard they're getting marked up like crazy? How was your luck with ADMs and finding inventory? That's probably the one truck I would make a concession for in this search.

 

[OppoLock]

I just got quoted $32k for a Sport Touring and $41k for an Si tf

 

[zstanny]

Maverick is a great deal for the hybrid mpgs if you order it. Problem with that is, they’ve taken 10-12 months to get here and there’s too many having electrical issues to my liking. They need a couple more years. Seriously though, for mid 20s you get a mini truck that can get repeat 50+mpgs is awesome.

P.S. you’re too bougie. My daily is an 06 4 dr civic with a glowing net worth of 5K

 

[OppoLock]

Just found a Sonic Gray Si 5 miles from me driving out there rn lmao, quoted 1.5k over msrp, I can deal with the damage to my ego

 

[OppoLock]

Maverick is a great deal for the hybrid mpgs if you order it. Problem with that is, they’ve taken 10-12 months to get here and there’s too many having electrical issues to my liking. They need a couple more years. Seriously though, for mid 20s you get a mini truck that can get repeat 50+mpgs is awesome.

P.S. you’re too bougie. My daily is an 06 4 dr civic with a glowing net worth of 5K

I've had two Civic "beaters" both in the range of like 17k and they've been absolute angels to me. Zero issues. Think I'm going for number three now, will let you know by tonight if I pen this deal

 

[Murfstang]

VW GTI without a doubt.

 

[DeluxeStang]

I'm honestly open to Camrys even though I'd be paying for more wheelbase than I need... and I'm the kind of guy that would rather opt for a more feature-rich smaller car than a lower-trimmed larger car. But I'll add that to my search. I'll throw in the Accord while I'm at it. Heard good things about the 2.0T/10-speed combo, if I can find a CPO in my budget that is. Plus the new Accord looks like a total regression so I wouldn't feel bad about missing out on the new-car factor.


I legitimately love the new Prius and actually had a 2nd-gen prius as a beater when I needed to commute 100 miles/day. The new one is unironically attractive. But I have a feeling that it will be marked up to death and out of my budget and I need a new vehicle in the next 6-7 days since that's how long I budgeted out a rental for myself.

Currently riding dirty in a stripper trim '21 Elantra. It's alright but definitely out of my search with how white bread the driving experience is.


I really want to like the Maverick but it doesn't click with me for some reason... I love the concept of a normal-sized truck that doesn't need a step ladder to reach into the bed from the outside and the interior looks super cool, but I heard they're getting marked up like crazy? How was your luck with ADMs and finding inventory? That's probably the one truck I would make a concession for in this search.

The dealership we got ours through isn't putting a lot of markups on their cars. Out the door, our maverick hybrid xlt with some options like Co-pilot 360 was about 28, and that's with Utah's awful sales tax. We got super lucky too, someone else cancelled their order and it just happened to be virtually identical to what we wanted. I agree, a lot of dealerships are putting insane markups on things, so it can be quite frustrating. The maverick is a solid vehicle, but I definitely wouldn't pay for one that's marked up to like 40 or 50 grand.

 

[DeluxeStang]

I've had two Civic "beaters" both in the range of like 17k and they've been absolute angels to me. Zero issues. Think I'm going for number three now, will let you know by tonight if I pen this deal

But yeah, I saw someone else mention the Prius. The new gen is a massive improvement. Strange how car fans are openly praising a Prius lol. Shows how impressive the new one is.

 

[OppoLock]

I bought the Si

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