What would you pick?

We have an Outback and had a Fusion for a bit. I'd recommend the Fusion hybrid model , but only if you buy it used. We averaged close to 50 mpg, a bit less at 75mph freeway driving, great for a commuter car.

The Outback is super practical and you never gets stuck. It even has limited towing capacity. If you are buying new look at the Turbo Onyx trim. The regular 2.5 is a bit under powered, but fine for everyday use. It's very quiet and has lot of amenities. The 2.5 limited trim drives like a luxury wagon.
 
Watch out for later model Fords (~2011+), they have really cheapened out on parts and will run you up a pretty good repair bill each year (even if you DIY most things). I had a very bad experience recently with a C-Max (used lots of Focus parts); front suspension issues started around 22K, all rear suspension components were shot by ~50K, fuel injectors kept seizing open and in one case, hydrolocked the engine, all window and door seals had to be replaced multiple times, and the car would go through 70K mile rated tires in under 20K.

You can do a lot better with a used CRV, RAV4, Forester, or Outback at your price point.

Don’t forget to checkout IIHS, they publish a list of the safest used cars each year (the list says for teens, but the info is still good).

 
Experience has taught me to stay very far away from anything American made. My last car, a Toyota Corolla had over 700,000 km (450,000 miles) on it in this picture and was still running like a champ. I sold it and bought a new Corolla and it has over 200,ooo km (130,000 miles) already.
 

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Experience has taught me to stay very far away from anything American made. My last car, a Toyota Corolla had over 700,000 km (450,000 miles) on it in this picture and was still running like a champ. I sold it and bought a new Corolla and it has over 200,ooo km (130,000 miles) already.
Your new Corolla was very likely built in Mississippi.
 
I own a Focus...a Fusion..and an Escape...all have been excellent..

My daughter just traded in the 06' Focus wagon...the dealer ran a Carfax....the odometer had been turned back 100K before I bought it. Instead of 132K...it really had 232K when traded (bought it with an alleged 107K) . My daughter was angry because I had been 'taken' but I laughed since I paid $2K for it nearly 3 years ago and she put over 25K on it and it never burned a drop of oil. The engine internals looked great when I changed the valve cover gasket (because there was oil in the #4 spark plug well).

PS: She (supposedly) got more than I paid for it on the trade....but you know how that goes...
 
2009 Flex FWD SEL with naturally aspirated 3.5 in my fleet has been my lowest cost per kilometre car bar none. Yes, the last year was expensive with suspension parts, but now it has 236,000km and it still runs pretty darn well. I did the waterpump and timing chains 30,000km ago as a pre-emptive project. The interior room and quiet drive has always been appreciated for long drives. Good on gas for highway drives.
 
The wife and I own a Flex, we love it. Great vehicle for a family. As stated a downside is the fuel economy. I was hoping for more, not the greatest. Also, the seats are a little hard after a couple hours of driving. We had a Fusion previous to that (the last body style) and loved that as well. It got descent mileage, still seemed a little shy of what I felt it should do, and was better on long trips, just too small for a family. If you want room, Flex, don't need so much, Fusion.
 
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