Thinking about a new daily...
 

So fellow Pelicanites, looking at a new ride @ around 19 grand. Will be my daily drive/commuter, but in shared carpool most likely.

I'm leaning toward a 2014 or 2013 Fusion for the sedan or a V6 Rustang, any thought about either? Better ideas? Looking in the specified price or less, cruise ac etc... Low maintenance is a plus, I just want something that gets decent fuel economy and is reasonably fun to drive.

Honda Accord is a better car.

Look at Hyundai

Lexus is350- 306 hp- super reliable - well built and luxury to boot- great car!!!

Those Ford Fusions (sold here as Mondeo) are aboslutely fantastic cars. My Account Managers have them as their company vehicles and they are very comfortable, refined and relatively economical.

They also consistently get praise for their handling prowess for such a large vehicle.

I second the Accord, also dare I say Camry as well. Hell, put sway bars on it and change grippy tires. They can be lot of fun. I would just drive it and leave it and enjoy the car for what they are. Super reliable, good MPG and high resale value and the best thing about it is that it sells. A Hyundai or Ford is going to be worth poopoo.

mk6 tdi ;)

Loving my Ford Escape. If the suv size would be useful, check one out. I do like the looks of the fusion, and ford seems to be building some stellar cars lately.

Tdi with stick. Not joking ...

In my neck of the woods, diesel still costs $1+ more than regular.

My carpool partner has a late model Elantra. I've driven it a couple of times on business trips with him. It's nice enough, but totally un-inspiring in an appliance kind of way. It's kinda ugly too IMHO.

I hadn't considered the Accord, but I'll go drive one to see. I had the Camry as a rental. It was quiet, powerful, roomy, but I absolutely loathed the interior. It felt like it was designed for someone 3 inches taller and 60 lbs heavier!

I should check out the Escape... I'm also looking for a really nice Mazda 6 wagon, but they would all be 10 years old by now.

Not interested in a TDI, and if I was I would wait for the dust to settle about what the gubmint is going to "make" owners do to their cars, and what their value works out to be.

don't worry, you will grow into it:D

2006 - 2009 Mercedes-Benz E320 CDI Bluetec diesel sedan

I was given an Elantra for the past month. Not a bad car, but booorrriing. And I agree with you--kinda ugly. The Sonata isn't terrible, but outside your 19k price point.

Kia Optimas are great cars, but also might be outside the 19k; not sure.

I kinda like the new Hyundai Veloster--no clue what they cost, though.

I don't think you'll get a Mustang for 19k. If I remember correctly, the one we just bought my wife (V6) was in the 25k+ range (I wanna say it was closer to 30k; I believe the "base" price was 26k).

To be perfectly honest, I don't think you're going to get anything that isn't a crappy "econobox" for under 20k new these days.

**Edit** My bad, just noticed you were talking used cars. My thoughts on the above vehicles still apply. I love Mustangs, and I've had no reliability issues with the ones I've owned (2009 and 2015). The Fusion isn't bad...but I wasn't sold on the rental I had. I really do like what Kia and Hyundai have been doing lately...

Yeah stay away from the DSG. Not worth the price point for fluid costs and service cost.
Plus they respond really really well to tunes.

While a great driving car, I thought the rear seats were too small to be of any use if needed for carpooling adults.

Mazda6. Reliable and a bit more fun to drive than the others mentioned.

Agreed, they are more on the sport end of the spectrum than the others. Also very nicely styled with high quality materials inside. I've had them in base form for rentals multiple times, and my little sister in law has a loaded Grand Touring model. Great cars and I think by far the best midsized sedan out there.

Others I would consider:

Focus - surprisingly roomy in hatchback form, you can fit two adults in the back seat. ST is a ton of fun.
Mazda3 - similar size to the Focus, you can carry two adults in back and the hatchback is surprisingly big. Again, the fun option.
Hyundai Sonata - very nice appliances
Kia Optima - one of the best looking options with a pretty good interior
Fusion - great car, but the base model is really blah. Get one that has the Ecoboost and some options.
Nissan Altima - often forgotten, but a pretty decent car with a nice V6 if optioned.

Notice no new Toyotas, I find them to be incredibly mediocre. Reliable yes, but I think others make cars that are equally reliable but much better built and styled.

And that is sad. Why has Toyota elected to turn its back on fun/sporty cars. Were Celicas and MR2s that big of a disappointment for the company?

I was reading something about the Toyota Avalon a while back. Every time the Avalon is updated it stated that the dealers can bet on a new wave of senior citizens flocking to the dealers to purchase - funny but true. If Toyota isn't careful they'll slowly morph into Buick.

Toyota seems content building solid reliable cars that go lots of miles with minimal maintenance. There are lots of folks that are happy with that. Older folks like me are not into wrenching. Toyota I think will be around a long time. Mazdas are more fun but not quite the dependability of Toyotas.