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Maybe a Scion? I don't want to spend more than about 15-17K, and stay away from American cars other than Ford.I want an EXTREMELY reliable car, only drive about 4K miles a year, mostly in the city, plan to pay cash for the car, and own it for about 10+ years....Thanks, Dave!!

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I like Scions; thinking of an xD in fact.

I'd suggest the new Focus, but it doesn't sound like you can wait.

"sometimes compact cars have more head and leg room than bigger cars"

Funny how that works. Don't laugh (too hard, anyway), but a VW New Beetle may fit you well.



And check out the Best Vehicles for Taller/Larger Drivers CarSpace discussion.

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It depends. Do you want a brand new car or can you live with a CPO?

I won't recommend the Corolla, as it suffers from one huge problem: short bottom seat cushion. The length is a bit too short even for me, and I'm just a 5"8. Of course, it's subjective so I really say: try before you buy.

To be honest, given your figure, I think a midsize will suit you better. Stay off any GM or Chrysler products for now. A for Fusion is a nice car, so if you can live with it's somewhat futuristic looks and not-as-smooth-as Camcord interior quality then I'd recommend that. On the other hand, I'm not sure you can get a new Fusion for $17k, perhaps you mean Focus?

If you can live with a used car, then a 2009 Mazda6 is worth a look, it's roomy and the seats are pretty wide. A 2009 Fusion is worth a look, but you might want to consider it's twin, Mercury Milan, which can be had for around $1000 less (even though it costs more when new). Another option is a used Sonata, with 5yr warranty and 10 yrs on powertrain you can keep it forever, and it's a nice car too (plus considerably cheaper than any of the other cars I mentioned above).

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I owned a 1984 Mitsu Mirage for 15 years too! Never had to do one repair on it, just tires and oil changes! If you liked that car, check out the Honda Fit. It is HUGE inside and has "magic seats" that make the car very practical. I was amazed at the head room on the Fit and the seats are very comfortable. Don't be fooled by the outside size, as it is quite roomy inside. It is also at the very top of the list for safety, reliability and resale value and costs about $15K in base trim which is has all the options that you need.

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Fit is a good car, but one problem: the seats are narrow. Again, try it to make sure it, uh, fits you.

Another model just came to my mind: a 2009 Kia Optima can be had for $20k when new (and a nicely loaded one at that), and a 1yr old can save you about $3-4k, you get the same warranty as Japanese makes for so much less. And it's pretty reliable too.

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For new cars the Kia Soul, Scion xB, Honda Fit, and Nissan Versa are the roomiest cars you can buy for $17000. Avoid the Corolla, it's $3000 too expensive, boring, and too small. The Soul and xB are tall and boxy, so they have lots of headroom and large seats. The Soul comes with a 10 year warranty and costs $17000 fully loaded. The xB has slightly better quality that the Soul, but a much worse warranty and higher price. The Fit is very practical, but the seats are better for shorter drivers. The Versa is a small car with tons of space inside, but it's CVT transmission is weird and it could use some extra power.

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