Need "new" car.

So my oldest is about to get his licence and help with driving his siblings. I have a Yaris commuter car and a Suburban for snow, hard work, camping, weekends. I love the burb but my commute is 40 miles round trip, so the Yaris is the commuter car. The boy wants the burb but the school is far and I dont quite trust him with 5k lb of machine just yet. So for a few weeks I will dtive the burb and he gets the Yaris.
Then he either gets a car or keeps the Yaris and uses the Burb for snow while I get a newer car.
I stared looking around and limited myself to $15k, arounk 100k miles, awd, good milage , some pep, and I need comfort. (My commute is getting to 45+ min, and the Yaris is not comfy enough for that.) No caddies - my wife says I am too young, no lame 4 door house wife rides.

Anyone have suggestions? So far pep and decent milage means a smaller engine with a turbo.

We have 2 Ford Escapes (a 2011 and a 2012) and they are great little SUVs. Have a V6, so decent power for the size. AWD and can carry some cargo. We actaully have owned 3 of them--but our son totaled one . . . so we bought another. But something like that would be right in your price range.

Infinities don’t hold their value well, can probably get an awd g37 with 50-60k in that price range...

Though the pep and good mileage may not be compatable

With those parameters I would say look at Japanese makes and avoid Germans.

My parents have an older high mileage RX350 and love it. It goes to the Toyota dealership for maintenance and so far only tires, oil, battery, brakes, etc... Very reliable.

I don't think their mileage is great but it's a solid year-round car. They don't worry about snow/ice.

If you're driving on I-25 from Longmont, I don't envy your commute.
Maybe comfort and a good sound system.
The 2014 Honda Accord has the highest rating for the price, safety, etc. in the used car forums.
We've been looking for my daughter, and there have been some in the range you want to spend.

Get a turbo subi. Checks all the boxes I had a pissed off forester that still got around 25mpg with 330 hp when it was stock it was close to thirty. And you have lots of models that have the turbo.

Excludes AWD, but in that price you are so close to a new Veloster.

I've had a lot of rentals, but that one is by-far my favorite in that price range for just a fun car, but I only had it for a long 4-5 day "weekend" and took it all over SLC.
Hardest choice would be paddle shifters or a manual.

I want one of these Ns: https://jalopnik.com/the-2019-hyunda...ass-1827804312

There are several in the $13K range with turbo and manual on cars.com locally.
Peppy enough to be fun, but not enough power to get a 16 yo into serious trouble...at least any more than the rest of the toyotas and hondas.

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Cheap, sturdy in a crash, and a perfect first car for a youngster.

Ford Taurus SHO has some pep. Big, comfortable, AWD, and the resale is garbage. Can get a pretty low mileage car for your budget.
They didn't put this engine in the mustang because it would have been too close to the v8.