Eight years ago, I bought a Subaru Legacy because I wanted a sedan over an SUV, but wanted a lot of leg room in the back seat for my growing teen boys. It has not disappointed.

About to purchase a Forester now because our lifestyle has changed. That has reclining back seats which teen boys also will enjoy.

NP. Thank you for that list, very helpful!

We have 2 Subarus-a Legacy and a crosstrek. I’d recommend the legacy, comfortable, huge trunk and good safety features. It had more options at a better than Toyota/Honda

For reliable and safe, you can't go wrong with Honda, Toyota, Mazda, and Subaru. You will pay a premium for new/used Hondas and Toyotas, though (especially hybrids).

Current "best used cars" lists by price range from Consumer Reports, filtered for Japanese automakers only (unsure how realistic these price ranges are compared to the local market):

$20,000-$25,000

Small Cars
Mazda3 2020
Toyota Corolla Hybrid 2020
Nissan Leaf 2019-2020
Toyota Corolla 2020-2021
Toyota Prius 2016-2018
Toyota Prius Prime 2017

Midsized and Large Cars
Toyota Avalon Hybrid 2015-2016
Honda Accord Hybrid 2017-2018
Subaru Legacy 2019
Toyota Avalon 2017-2018
Toyota Camry 2018-2019
Toyota Camry Hybrid 2017-2018
Toyota Prius V 2017

Wagons and Minivans
Toyota Sienna 2017-2018

Small SUVs
Subaru Crosstrek 2018-2020
Acura RDX 2016-2018
Honda CR-V 2017, 2019
Honda HR-V 2019-2020
Lexus NX 2015-2016
Mazda CX-5 2018-2020
Toyota RAV4 2017-2018
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid 2016

$25,000-$30,000

Small Cars
Toyota Prius 2019-2021
Toyota Corolla 2022
Toyota Corolla Hybrid 2021-2022
Toyota Prius Prime 2018-2019

Midsized and Large Cars
Toyota Camry 2020
Honda Accord 2020-2021
Honda Accord Hybrid 2019
Subaru Legacy 2021
Toyota Avalon 2019
Toyota Avalon Hybrid 2017-2018
Toyota Camry Hybrid 2019

Small SUVs
Honda CR-V 2020-2021
Lexus NX 2017-2018
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid 2017-2018
Honda HR-V 2021-2022
Mazda CX-5 2022
Subaru Crosstrek 2021-2022
Toyota RAV4 2019

$30,000-$40,000

Small Cars
Toyota Prius Prime 2020-2022
Toyota Prius 2022

Midsized and Large Cars
Toyota Avalon 2020-2021
Honda Accord Hybrid 2020-2021
Toyota Avalon Hybrid 2019-2021
Toyota Camry 2022
Toyota Camry 2021-2022

Wagons and Minivans
Toyota Sienna 2020
Toyota Venza 2021

Small SUVs
Acura RDX 2019
Lexus NX 2019-2021
Lexus NX Hybrid 2019-2020
Toyota RAV4 2022
Toyota RAV4 Hybrid 2019, 2021

Lastly, below is CR's list of best new (2023 model year) cars for teens that meet the highest safety standards. Sharing because DMV drivers are insane and your kids may end up with this vehicle sooner rather than later...

SMALL CAR
Mazda 3

MIDSIZED CAR
Subaru Legacy

SMALL SUVS
Honda HR-V
Subaru Forester
Mazda CX-5
Mazda CX-50
Toyota RAV4
Honda CR-V
Lexus UX
Lexus NX

MIDSIZED SUVS
Subaru Outback
Subaru Ascent
Hyundai Palisade
Toyota Highlander
Mazda CX-9

MINIVAN
Honda Odyssey

My adult dd just bought a Hyundai Elantra hybrid. She gets like 58 mpg. It was under your budget.

We have a Mazda CX-5 and love it (and my kids are younger - aka bulky car seats). 2022 out-the-door price was $37k or so with the highest trim.

Anonymous wrote:Do you take taxis and Ubers everywhere? Pdo you just get groceries delivered or slept then home on the bus? How do you get your teens to the doctor? Sports?

We live next to a Metro station, several bus routes, and have at least 3 grocery stores within a 10-15 minute walk. Kids are elementary aged and their school is a few blocks from home. One spouse can walk or take a short bus ride to work. All our doctors are within walking distance. We have things delivered and have used Zipcar/Uber for big shops/items.

Do you take taxis and Ubers everywhere? Pdo you just get groceries delivered or slept then home on the bus? How do you get your teens to the doctor? Sports?

We live in DC proper and have lived car free for many years. Due to a job change with a location and hours incompatible with transit timetables, we now need a vehicle.

It’s obviously not a great time to buy and we’re unsure whether new or used makes more sense. Newer cars around us (Toyotas and Hondas$ are often seen propped up on crates due to wheel theft and whatever we buy will be exposed to the elements, so wary of buying a brand new car.

We need space for 2 growing kids, 2 skinny but tallish adults, reliability, safety, and great gas mileage (willing to pay more for a hybrid, EV is not an option for us right now).

We have a small parking spot behind our home that can accommodate a midsize sedan or small SUV (up to the size of, say, an Accord or CR-V).

Budget ideally would be around $35K, five or take a few thousand dollars. We have impeccable credit, no debt aside from mortgage, and are credit union members, so would qualify lower finance rates. We have $20K cash on hand and would finance the rest at the shortest term we can swing (and yes, we know how DCUM feels about car payments). When we had a vehicle, we drove every last ounce of life out of it and will do this to our next one.

What makes/models/years should be considered? Used models are ok, too! TIA