I Need A Car That's Not A Chevy Cruze! What Should I Buy?

Chevrolet

Mike is helping his mom switch her regular driver, a 2014 Chevrolet Cruze. She is disappointment pinch nan slow acceleration and wide value of nan car, and has her oculus connected immoderate benignant of "rugged" looking crossover. With a fund of astir $30,000, what car should she buy?

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Here is nan scenario:

My mom is 56, lives successful Delaware and needs a car that isn't a Chevy Cruze. So my mom's been telling maine astir really her 2014 Chevy Cruze is measurement excessively slow to put up pinch nan postulation connected her measurement successful and retired of activity successful Delaware.

She's really grown to emotion nan caller Trailblazers and RAV-4s, but heavy down she really loves nan caller Broncos and Defenders pinch their rugged, off-road and ace outdoorsy inspired design. She utilized to person an 04 Nissan Xterra earlier her Cruze and she loved that Xterra.

This adjacent car needs to person a somewhat respectable magnitude of power, aliases astatine slightest beryllium capable to velocity up speedy capable to put up pinch road traffic. Budget is astir $30,000

Quick Facts:

Budget: astir $30,000

Location: Wilmington, DE

Daily Driver: Yes

Wants: Good passing power, thing benignant of "rugged"

Doesn't want: A slow poke

Autotrader.com

While nan Chevy Cruze was a decent effort to compete pinch nan likes of nan Corolla and Civic, it often fell short successful a fewer areas. However, it seems for illustration you person gotten your money's worth, fixed that you person had it each this time. With your oculus towards a rugged off-roader, I would be aware you that galore of those rigs aren't rather arsenic comfortable for road cruising and thin to beryllium a tad thirsty astatine nan pump.

The Subaru Outback whitethorn not beryllium nan boxy rock-crawler you had successful mind, but it offers a awesome operation of quality, comfort, features, and safety. The assemblage style besides makes for an easier modulation from a mini car to a bigger crossover/wagon. Outbacks are plentiful astatine this value point, but if you are looking for immoderate other punch for road merging, you will want to target nan XT models that characteristic nan turbocharged 2.4-liter motor, producing 260 horsepower. It will still return a respectable 29 MPG connected nan highway.

Here is simply a 2024 Outback Touring XT, which is afloat loaded for precisely $30,000.

Mike, I'm really excited to spot that your mom realizes she's worthy much than an aged Chevy Cruze. She deserves more, and that's precisely what nan Ford Bronco Sport tin springiness her. Sure, it's not going to beryllium astir arsenic rugged aliases off-road oriented arsenic thing for illustration her aged XTerra aliases a Defender, but it finds a bully mediate crushed betwixt those types of cars and worldly for illustration nan Rav4 and Trailblazer she seems to beryllium fond of.

What you're getting is simply a car pinch plentifulness of pep, acknowledgment to a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-popper that puts retired 250 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque. It'll consciousness for illustration a rocket vessel compared to nan Cruz. Plus, acknowledgment to GOAT modes, she'll beryllium capable to do immoderate light-ish off-roading if her bosom truthful desires, not that I deliberation it will. At nan very least, she'll beryllium capable to tackle nan overseas snowstorm Delaware gets deed with. On apical of each that, you get each of nan modern information and tech convenience features you could want connected a caller car.

Because I'm a swell individual, I recovered you nan cleanable Bronco Sport. It's a pre-owned 2022 Badlands that comes successful nether her fund astatine astir $28,700, and it has less than 30,000 miles connected nan timepiece and a cleanable CarFax. In a word, it's cleanable for your mother. She's going to emotion it.

Mike, I do — and this is uncommon — deliberation Andy has nan correct reply here. The Bronco Sport is really aimed astatine personification who wants nan rugged off-roady looks of a Bronco aliases Wrangler, but doesn't want nan mediocre thrust value of a body-on-frame 4x4. But, if your mom would for illustration to prevention astir a 3rd of nan costs of that Bronco Sport, she tin get different brand's return connected nan aforesaid formula: The Jeep Renegade.

Personally, I've ever loved nan looks of nan small Renegade. It's still boxy, still rugged, but besides benignant of adorable successful its proportions — a combo nan Bronco Sport doesn't rather nail successful nan aforesaid way. It's besides a discontinued Stellantis product, which intends it's ungraded cheap. This one's $20,500, and you tin find them for moreover less.

Sure, a discontinued Jeep built connected a Fiat chassis whitethorn not sound for illustration nan paragon of reliability, but Ford's had issues of its ain precocious connected nan callback front. Consider besides that this Renegade has already made it 4 years astatine this constituent — nan kinks whitethorn good person been each worked out. Save your mom immoderate money, and show her to get thing some boxier and cuter than nan Bronco Sport.

Look, Mike, everyone present has fixed you bully advice, but I deliberation you and I some cognize your mom doesn't really want a Bronco Sport aliases an Outback. What she really wants is simply a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 392. It's rugged and outdoorsy, and dissimilar nan regular Wrangler, it's besides speedy arsenic hell. Perhaps much importantly, though, it sounds fantastic. Even if you don't for illustration it, you cognize I'm right.

Of course, there's 1 large problem pinch nan Hemi-powered Wrangler — it's retired of your mom's budget. Instead of nan debased extremity of nan marketplace being conscionable nether $30,000, we're talking a small little than $50,000. If you want that Wrangler successful a existent color, it'll astir apt costs a small more. Personally, I'm a large instrumentality of this Hydro Blue Pearlcoat Wrangler successful New York that's listed astatine $49,888 pinch only 38,257 miles connected it.

I don't cognize really strict your mom's $30,000 fund is, but moreover if $50,000 is measurement much than she tin spend to spend, if I've learned 1 point from nan internet, it's that she should disregard those alleged "financial advisors" and do it anyway. Having a costs she can't spend connected a car she perfectly adores will motivate her to activity harder. Every month, while her friends are lazily looking guardant to retirement, she'll person to find a measurement to propulsion herself up by her ain bootstraps, and that'll springiness her nan mindset she needs to win astatine life. What could beryllium amended than that?