Sedan recommendations?

J

JessicaS

New member
Hello all, new here.. sorry if this thread already exists or if it's in the wrong place!

We are in the market for a 2-3 year old car. We do not want an SUV, minivan, truck, or compact. Safety is the biggest concern, but next is price. Then gas mileage. Also our Marathon would need to fit, of course. I'd like to spend between 10k and 15k.

I currently have a '99 Chevy Malibu, and I really like it, but it's time for a newer car with LATCH. DH will probably start driving this car when we get the 'new' one, and sell his Ford Probe.

Does anyone like the newer Malibus? I love Volvos, but not sure if I could afford one with that price range. We considered a Prius for a long time, but I don't think they're safe enough.

I'd love to hear all feedback and recommendations. I wanted to come here before browsing a bunch of dealership websites, as there is a wealth of knowledge about safety and cars here! :)

I'm still figuring out how to add a signature. DD is 13-months old, RF in a Britax Marathon, 23 lbs, and 29 inches.
 
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twokidstwodogs

New member
We once owned a 99 Malibu! But that was the last sedan we've owned, so I'm not up to date. A great place to start is www.informedforlife.org. It's a website run by a retired engineer who takes all the available crash test data and plug it into an algorithm that accounts for how frequent various crashes are, and how likely they are to be fatal. Then he ranks them. Any car on the first few pages is likely to be a very safe choice, though. Do know that when he doesn't have actual data for a car, he incorporates the average for a car in that class. So pay attention to how the numbers are calculated for a given car. Generally, a car won't be high on the list *unless* it has been tested and done well, but some cars lower on the list might do very well if they were tested. Does that make sense?

The data goes back several years, so you will find info on cars that are 2-3 years old, though not too much older than that.
 
skaterbabs

skaterbabs

Well-known member
The Hyundai Sonata. Has a nice wide backseat, a 48 lb limit on the lower anchors and no limit on the top tethers. Has had LATCH sine 2002 IIRC.
 
J

JessicaS

New member
twokidstwodogs said:
We once owned a 99 Malibu! But that was the last sedan we've owned, so I'm not up to date. A great place to start is www.informedforlife.org. It's a website run by a retired engineer who takes all the available crash test data and plug it into an algorithm that accounts for how frequent various crashes are, and how likely they are to be fatal. Then he ranks them. Any car on the first few pages is likely to be a very safe choice, though. Do know that when he doesn't have actual data for a car, he incorporates the average for a car in that class. So pay attention to how the numbers are calculated for a given car. Generally, a car won't be high on the list *unless* it has been tested and done well, but some cars lower on the list might do very well if they were tested. Does that make sense?

The data goes back several years, so you will find info on cars that are 2-3 years old, though not too much older than that.
Click to expand...

Thank you SO much for that information! I had never heard of that site. I can't wait to check it out.
 
Patriot201

Patriot201

Car-Seat.org Ambassador
My car, a 2006 Honda Civic, scored a 69 on the informedforlife rating scales. I was THRILLED with that rating. :)

What do you think of a Honda Accord? My mother has a 2003 Accord and carseats install BEAUTIFULLY in that car. She currently has a ROCK SOLID RF Boulevard installation. :)
 
J

JessicaS

New member
skaterbabscpst said:
The Hyundai Sonata. Has a nice wide backseat, a 48 lb limit on the lower anchors and no limit on the top tethers. Has had LATCH sine 2002 IIRC.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the specific info! I put that car ('03 model) into the above website, and now I just have to decipher the outcome! :) I'm glad to see someone recommend a car that is definitely in our price range. Thanks again!
 
S

southpawboston

New member
skaterbabscpst said:
The Hyundai Sonata. Has a nice wide backseat, a 48 lb limit on the lower anchors and no limit on the top tethers. Has had LATCH sine 2002 IIRC.
Click to expand...

the previous generation (pre-06) sonatas did not do very well, safety-wise. they also have some reliability problems. the current sonatas do pretty well, but the OP is looking for 2-3 year old cars. the current sonata came out as an 06.

i second some of the PP's about the malibu. if you can swing an 05 malibu or malibu maxx wagon, those are fabulous cars. i don't know how much they fetch used, but they get pretty good safety ratings (IF you get the optional side/curtain air bags) and they also get remarkably good mileage considering the powerful V6's they come with. i think they also come with dedicated center LATCH, IIRC. the wagons are sporty looking and very roomy.

the second generation prius (04-current) does pretty well safety-wise. the first generation did poorly.
 
oxeye

oxeye

New member
We bought a two year old VW Passat for $17k. Had we gone one year older we could have easily been under $15k.

Car seats install wonderfully it in and it is a very safe car. :) Very, very fun to drive too! :D
 
sirrahn

sirrahn

Active member
oxeye said:
We bought a two year old VW Passat for $17k. Had we gone one year older we could have easily been under $15k.

Car seats install wonderfully it in and it is a very safe car. :) Very, very fun to drive too! :D
Click to expand...

We really like our Passat too. We have an '02 wagon bought at the end of '01. DH has a long commute and travels quite a bit for work. It has almost 100K miles on it and has never been at the dealer for anything other than routine maintenance and a recall issue early on in our ownership. Ours has the turbo engine with a stick shift and it *is* very fun to drive.
 
MagnificentMama

MagnificentMama

Senior Community Member
I have a 2001 Impala. Awesome gas mileage, great crash test ratings- from informed for life and NHTSA, 3 LATCH positions (in 2002+ cars, I don't have LATCH, I bought it a year too soon!), and I can fit a Regent and 2 MAs back there so there is pleanty of room to install seats :thumbsup:
 
Melizerd

Melizerd

New member
I've driven a 2001 Impala and I would definitely recommend it. My Grandparents are going to sell theirs to us. It doesn't make a difference to me to have LATCH, I think the seat belt install is super easy in that car. They get really good gas mileage and we had our Marathon in the center and 2 adults still sat in the back seat comfortably. (all three spots have shoulder belts too, no lap belt only)
 
K

kile529

Member
Have you considered a Pontiac Vibe??

They're safety ratings are great - they are 47" wide (ish - going by memory), 18cubic ft. of cargo space....latch anchors.....not to mention 30-34mpg!!! Oh - and in your price range too!

I'll be posting another thread for help on vehicle selection too! lol

Good luck!!

Heather
 
S

southpawboston

New member
kile529 said:
Have you considered a Pontiac Vibe??

They're safety ratings are great - they are 47" wide (ish - going by memory), 18cubic ft. of cargo space....latch anchors.....not to mention 30-34mpg!!! Oh - and in your price range too!
Click to expand...


did you know that the pontiac vibe is a twin of the toyota matrix? (another of those sister twins that i posted another thread about...). they are built on the same assembly line and only differ in body sheet metal and badging. depending on the incentives offered, you could probably pick up a vibe for a grand or two less than a comparable matrix. but when i was pricing them about a year ago, they were pricing out very close to a matrix.

as for safety, they don't come with side and curtain aribags standard. informedforlife.org rates them pretty poorly, but part of that is because they weren't tested with the optional side and curtain airbags.
 

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