Kids car? Hyundai?

[peggyfromwastate]

Dh's car needs major work. It's a camry with almost 150k miles, it's been an a couple of major accidents, it looks fine but it just has cracked hoses/leaky gaskets/basic wear and tear all over the place. We took it in for an oil change yesterday, and he asked them to look at a leak he'd noticed, and at first they said 900$ to fix it, but dh had them take a deeper look bc he didn't want to keep having leaks, etc. And they found trouble in almost every part of it. Last estimate was around 3000$. So dh just got the oil change only so we cam figure out what to do.

I think we are getting a new Car in the next few months. Dh needs something reliable, with good mileage, and within about 1.5 years that car will be the kids car/third car for us. We also want something cheap.

Anyway-- especially young drivers-- any advice? What was easy to learn on?

I learned to drive in big cars/SUVs/trucks but drove a small car mostly. I also was living in rural America- parking not an issue, lots of big cars everywhere, no traffic... I think we will be living in bigger city areas for the most part.

- stick shift or automatic? I don't know how to drive a stick, but I would like yo get a stick and learn. Not sure if that's practical as a kids car though. Did any of you learn to drive on a stick? Thoughts?

- Hyundai sedans-- anyone have one? My parents rented an elantra this last visit out to see us and really liked it. They are picky, so that says a lit ESP since they logged over 1000 miles in the 10 days they were here!!

Anyway and thoughts would be appreciated!

[peggyfromwastate]

Sorry about the typos... iPhone post obvs.

[ladymoreta]

I like the idea of smaller cars for young drivers. Also, I would recommend only getting a 4-cylinder engine. I could definitely tell which friends learned on more powerful engines - they'd rush out into traffic and gun it, where I knew I'd just get myself squashed...

[peggyfromwastate]

Hadn't even thought of that! Good point! I have a heavy foot too-- and always drove big engines. Even our camry is 6 cyl.

[ladymoreta]

Hehe then you might not be able to talk your husband into going down to 4!

[TigerLily]

We have the 2011 Hyundai Sonata and I love love love love LOVE it. It gets fantastic gas mileage, it feels really safe, it's quiet, it drives really well, it's roomy. We test drove and did a lot of research and liked the Sonata the best by far. The only thing that I can even think of that I don't like is that the passenger seat isn't adjustable up and down, so I always feel like I'm sitting a little low when I'm not driving.
I love it, and would definitely recommend it to anyone!

[Michele]

I learned to drive on a standard Corolla in the mall parking lot on Sunday mornings. Very easy car!!! I also eventually taught Russ to drive a stick using that same car.

[Michele]

Russ had a Sonata for a rental car once and he was really surprised at how much he liked that car!

[diggitydot]

We've had Hyundai vehicles and I'm not impressed with them. We've had far better luck with KIA and they have a much better warranty. DD1 is currently learning to drive on both of our cars and loves DH's over mine. I have an automatic Rondo EX6, DH has a 6-speed Forté. She likes his car WAY more than mine.

FWIW, I flove my Rondo. Holds 7 passengers, moon/sun roof, leather seats with warmers, decent gas mileage -- love this car. As a matter of fact, before we settled on a car for DH, we were originally going to have him drive the Rondo and get me a new one. I didn't find anything I liked more so we bought the dude a car instead.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

I learned on a '96 automatic Saturn sedan (that my brother still drives). Since I don't know how to drive stick, I would never buy a manual car, but that's just me. Since I am the one who ends up taking the cars in for maintenance, etc, I should be comfortable driving them all (unless eventually DH ends up with his "toy" car...he can handle all that crap himself). DH always talks about how our girls won't be getting super "cool" or fast cars to drive because their jerk boyfriends will want to drive them However, I would almost lean towards getting a 6-cyl...there was nothing scarier for me while I was learning to drive than trying to merge onto the highway in a 4-banger. It just doesn't have the get-up to accelerate well onto a busier interstate.

I can't speak to the Hyundai - we are a Toyota family over here (but we LOVE them...we've had a Camry, Sienna, Solara, Highlander, and 4Runner).

[ladymoreta]

However, I would almost lean towards getting a 6-cyl...there was nothing scarier for me while I was learning to drive than trying to merge onto the highway in a 4-banger. It just doesn't have the get-up to accelerate well onto a busier interstate.

This is a good point... It's much easier on highways with a 6, so that's one less worry when they're initially learning. My problem was with my friends who drove that way around town - pulling out in front of people just because they "could" instead of waiting until it was clear. That's something you could just focus on teaching.

[Pollyanna]

All of our kiddos will start out with a Ford F150. Large safe truck, reliable, low maintenance costs, they won't have to worry about a car payment for at least 12-15 years after they start driving, will be good no matter where they live (unless they choose a city like NYC), can only fit a few kids in the car, once you master driving/parking a truck you can drive anything. DD17 has done great and LOVES her truck. She was a bit anxious at first but so are all new drivers no matter what the car. You can also program the truck to only go up to a certain speed (we haven't used that function). I know everyone says to put your child in a smaller car but if my kid is going to be stupid/drive too fast they shouldn't be in a car at all and if they get in an accident the last place I would want them in is a small car.

ETA: If you want to avoid a truck look at the Ford Taurus. Most of the driving schools around here use them exclusively. Quality safe vehicle that is easy to drive.

[scrub-jay]

I learned to drive on a stick...LOVED it. It's hard to explain my love of manuals. I felt more engaged while driving and was glad to have learned on a stick. My brother felt the same way. My mom also required me to know how to change a tire and my own oil (even if I never had to do it).

[SuzySunshine]

I learned to drive on a 63 pick-up standard in the column. My dad's rule was that you had to learn that before anything else. Then I had a VW Rabbit, probably not practical today.

Anyway, I think everyone should know how to drive a standard but I don't think I'd buy one just for that. I love my Hyundai Santa Fe but it's an '04 and they don't make them like that one anymore. I have had it since it was new and have had NO issues with it, it's a great car. I like the look of a lot of their current sedans and if I was a sedan person I'd definitely consider one.

I agree about a V6 not being a bad thing, especially if they're going to be doing a lot of highway driving like on the 101 near PA.

[ides]

I learned on my parents vw rabbit 4 speed stick shift from 72. We were in a small town so my dad started me off on gravel roads which is easier with a stick to 'feel' the right point to release the clutch. My only advice with sticks is that they can be hard to start on steep hills. I remember when we lived in Seattle my mom would use the handbreak to keep from rolling backwards.

Vw's Honda's, subaru's & Toyota's have done us well. I also recomend small cars.