About timing chains:

We have a prius; works pretty well for us. It is also pretty cheap.

Anonymous wrote:Kia Niro. 50 mpg. A cross between a sedan and an SUV, making it the perfect size.

Crossovers like that are the worst of both worlds. The poor handling and slow acceleration of an SUV with the seating and storage space of a sedan.

Another Camry owner here. The car is quite good. It's quiet, drives smoothly, and has Toyota reliability so you know it will still be on the road when you're dead and your great great great grand kids are driving it and everything thinks they're nuts for not using a solar powered flying car.

Also, maintenance on the car is incredibly cheap. 10,000 mile oil changes, 100,000 mile transmission fluid change, brake pads last 45-50k miles. The car has electric power steering so there's no pump or power steering fluid to change and therefore no service on it. It has a timing chain instead of a timing belt and is typically expected to last the life of the engine which means that you never need that replaced (typically a timing belt is replaced at 100k miles and is fairly expensive). The water pump is accessible under the hood making it cheaper to replace than normal. The dealership will try to charge you $50 for an air filter change but that's something you can do yourself in 1-2 minutes (both the cabin and engine filter). They're idiot proof and anyone can do it. The dealership charges $25/minute labor on this task. I just buy the filters from the parts department and put them in myself. Here's two videos on it.

Cabin air filter:


Engine air filter:

Kia Niro. 50 mpg. A cross between a sedan and an SUV, making it the perfect size.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Camry and the Accord are still at the top of the list for family sedans. I have a 2019 Accord and love it - I think the Camry is a little more highly rated, but it only comes in automatic, and I wanted a manual. Both solid cars.

Right back at you! It took a little getting used to a six-speed rather than the five-speed, and I kind of hate hill assist (I worked hard to learn to start from an incline!) - but I just like driving more with the stick shift and it's SO hard to find in a halfway decent car at this point.

Camry TRD or XLE

Anonymous wrote:The Camry and the Accord are still at the top of the list for family sedans. I have a 2019 Accord and love it - I think the Camry is a little more highly rated, but it only comes in automatic, and I wanted a manual. Both solid cars.

We have 2 young kids and have a 2019 Camry, which has a decent amount of trunk space (our other car is a Sienna though so there's no comparison there!). We went with the XLE model which has removable headrests for the backseat, making it easier to get a good fit for a forward-facing car seat/high back booster. It's served us well so far!

The Camry and the Accord are still at the top of the list for family sedans. I have a 2019 Accord and love it - I think the Camry is a little more highly rated, but it only comes in automatic, and I wanted a manual. Both solid cars.

Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla, or Mazda3.

Anonymous wrote:The most popular family car I see around here is a Rav4 or Camry (for Toyota people) or a CRV or Accord (for Honda people). The crossovers sit a little higher, which is easier for car seats, and have hatchbacks, which can carry a bit more.

Sitting higher = difficult for kids to climb in and out of the car.

The most popular family car I see around here is a Rav4 or Camry (for Toyota people) or a CRV or Accord (for Honda people). The crossovers sit a little higher, which is easier for car seats, and have hatchbacks, which can carry a bit more.

I like my Prius. The hatchback has worked out great for big strollers and such. Kids are 2 years apart.

What good sedan recommendations for a family of 4? Kids are both under 4 years old. Want something spacious without having to get a suv