My mom currently drives a 2007 Honda Accord. It's been incredibly well maintained but she is growing ever more nervous about it's age. She also lives just north of Atlanta and would like something with newer safety, given the traffic and occasionally driving on I-75. She seems most interested in a small CUV/SUV, as she is very short and would like to sit up a bit in traffic. Something with a footprint a bit smaller than her current Accord would be nice too, as she has a pretty small garage. She will buy used and is probably looking in the 3 to 5 years old range.
Current list of possibilities:
- Hyundai Tucson
- Kia Seltos
- Subaru Crosstrek
- Subaru Forester (I'm concerned that is too big for her to manage)
What else should be on the list?
I don't know your Mother, but I own a shop, where I service vehicles. I do a lot of work for a lot of older people, and I have seen that putting a senior into a new car with all the controls in a different place can be a recipe for disaster. So much time trying to figure out where the light switch is, that they run into someone, then have to go for a drivers test, and then the new car gets sold.
Again, I don't know your Mom, but you should assess how she deals with learning new stuff. Maybe base some of your shopping on how similar the controls are to an old Accord...
My 86 year old father-in-law bought a new Chevrolet Equinox three years ago. It has 3000 miles on it and has been hit twice now.
He brings up the 2001 Buick LeSabre he should've kept - nothing wrong with that car, he tells me every month.
In reply to dyintorace :
Early in this thread you will find my nearly identical experience and results. Cliff notes: paid attention to egress almost more than anything which resulted in CRV or Escape and she chose Escape.
My mom -not tall, 82 - looked at CUVs and ended up with a VW Sportwagen. The biggest reason is that she doesn't like having to climb up into the vehicle. She likes the shape of the load bay of a wagon better as well. She's not worried about getting crushed by a lifted F250 because they're rare where she lives, and she prefers a smaller car for herself.
If she's a satisfied Honda owner currently, then perhaps the HR-V would suit her.
I recently drove sleepydad's ND Miata, "cold turkey" without any "these are the systems on it". Took me a couple of drives to come to terms with all the bits and whirs and stuff.
That said, having come to terms with Mazda's current "Driver's Assistance" suite, I think it would be a really good system for people who are older, and could use the benefits from the system, but are used to not having had them... and would probably resent a more intrusive setup. Dunno if that description fits with the type of driver your mom is?
As such, my vote would be for a CX-5 with the lane departure and blindspot and nav systems.
My Mother is 83. She drives a 2021-2022 Subaru Ascent and loves it. It has almost 35k on it now. No dents or dings and she runs it all over the east coast and Canada.
I think Streetwiseguy made an excellent point about minimizing change so I'd first see how similar newer Honda CUV's are to her Accord ; if it aint' broke...
Disclaimer (I'm a huge Mazda fan boi) but having said that my little CX-3 punches far above its weight...that eager little scamp has been putting grins on my face for four years / 86,000 miles and counting.
Relative to an Accord...
- Higher seating position
- Higher eye position
- Smaller foot print
- Greater cargo capacity
- Drop dead reliable
- Unobtrusive tech
- Well, it's just prettier...there I said it.
Almost all the Asian cars are going to have the basics in the same spot. Wipers on the right, turn signals and lights on the left. Cruise on the wheel. Radio top, hvac below.
having lived with a Seltos for 2 months I cannot recommend it enough. Efficient, well laid out, comfortable and smart. There's no "climbing up" to get in. Wife is averaging 33-34 mpg on a green car (every Korean car I've owned loosened up after about 15k miles to get the best fuel economy).
John Welsh said:
In reply to dyintorace :
Early in this thread you will find my nearly identical experience and results. Cliff notes: paid attention to egress almost more than anything which resulted in CRV or Escape and she chose Escape.
I recently had a rental escape. It was a shockingly good little penalty box.
We had a very similar list a year or so ago for my wife. We're mainly empty nesters, but do take passengers occasionally as well as a couple of dogs. I liked the Tuscon, But she preferred something a little smaller. I have a bit of an anti-Subaru bias, so was pretty surprised when my wife selected the Crosstrek. I said okay, but get the big motor. I was even more surprised when I found that I really like the vehicle as well. Reasonably torquey engine, good ergonomics, comfortable. Good ride/handling balance.
Thanks for all of the thoughts so far!
STM317
PowerDork
2/2/23 5:55 a.m.
Toyota Rav-4 Hybrid
Ford Escape Hybrid
Kia Niro (available as hybrid, PHEV, or full EV)
Hyundai Kona
Ford CMax might also be a consideration. They're a small hatchback, but have a more upright CUV seating position and profile. They were made until 2018 (so last model year might still fit into your 3-5 year old window) and came as a standard hybrid or PHEV
My mom just got a crv and loves it.
Following as my soon to be 75 year old mother has been debating replacing her 2009 Volvo V50. She really needs something (a wagon) about the same size, although a bit more rear seat leg room would be nice as she is often driving around her even older friends.
Crap... VW no longer has any of the Jetta or Golf wagons on their website. I knew they weren't long for this market, but sad to see them gone.
