Quote Originally Posted by eddiememphis View Post
I was a mechanic on all makes for years and was in the wholesale parts business after that.

Reliability- Toyota and Honda, hands down the most reliable. I was surprised at the amount of high mileage Subarus around that only needed maintenance.

An older Subaru Outback or Crosstrek may fit your needs. 25-30 mpg, AWD, safe and reliable. Larger than they look- you can jam a lot of crap in them. And one of the few vehicles you can buy with a manual transmission, if that is a factor.
Quote Originally Posted by Bailey Guns View Post
^^ Just sold my wife's 2017 Crosstrek. Never any maintenance aside from the usual oil changes and such over 108k miles. She drove it back and forth from her place to mine and averaged 30+ mpg on the highway, almost as much otherwise. I can vouch that it holds a substantial amount of stuff. We just didn't need it any longer and my car is newer with 1/4 of the miles.
My first car was a '74 Subaru DL, abused beyond belief and kept running. Kinda partial to Subaru just always needed truck or large SUV.

Outback too small for princess and the prices. Will check out Crosstrek since I am not familiar with it.