Better used car for a new driver - 2016ish Honda CRV EX or 2018ish Mazda CX-50 Sport?

[Anonymous]

This is for our college sophomore, who is a relatively new driver. Both would likely have mileage between 50,000-75,000. Open to other ideas in this category. We are looking for a reliable and practical car with good safety features and to spend under 20K.

TIA for your thoughts and suggestions.

[Anonymous]

Neither. Used Honda Civic.

[Anonymous]

The Mazda is probably a little too sporty and the Honda is disproportionately likely to have issues with the CVT transmission.

Get a Toyota Corolla with a manual transmission.

[Anonymous]

Used Mazda CX-30. The other two are too big.

[Anonymous]

I'd do a Civic as well.

[Anonymous]

Why a compact SUV? Do you mean the Mazda CX-5? (The CX-50 didn't come out until 2023.) The Mazda engine is supposed to be super reliable.

I too was thinking a Corolla could be a good choice. There seem to be a lot of used Honda HR-V's on the market.

[Anonymous]

For those who are suggesting a used civic or corolla why not a new Nissan Sentra or Kia Forte? A lot of cars are resold for a reason, there is something wrong with them. Unless you know a lot about cars why not get a new one with same features for the same price without hidden issues and with a bumper to bumper manufacturers warranty

[Anonymous]

Don’t get an SUV. Just a decent car.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is for our college sophomore, who is a relatively new driver. Both would likely have mileage between 50,000-75,000. Open to other ideas in this category. We are looking for a reliable and practical car with good safety features and to spend under 20K.

TIA for your thoughts and suggestions.

You also should check on insurance costs for both vehicles before you buy. You might be surprised that one may be significantly more expensive to insure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Neither. Used Honda Civic.

No too small.
I’d go with the newer one

[Anonymous]

CR-V was an awesome vehicle for DS’s senior year of high school. Drove himself 30 minutes each way every day. Also did a lot of driving of team members, so vehicle size was really useful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is for our college sophomore, who is a relatively new driver. Both would likely have mileage between 50,000-75,000. Open to other ideas in this category. We are looking for a reliable and practical car with good safety features and to spend under 20K.

TIA for your thoughts and suggestions.

You also should check on insurance costs for both vehicles before you buy. You might be surprised that one may be significantly more expensive to insure.

How do you do this? Just call insurance and ask? Seems like a big hassle.