Another "what car," this one is for Mom

She hates the Cadillac CTS. She has already hit the garage with it with the right front. I think she has hit the garage with about every car she has had, including the New Beetle she had for awhile.

She is in her early 80's and is completely flustered by the electronic stuff in the Cad. There are too many controls and too many are incorporated into the electronic dash instead of being a knob.

She liked her New Beetle (she had numerous Old beetles over the years and loved them), but it was a maintenance nightmare and Dad won't have another.

I've suggested the Honda Fit, but what else is out there that would be an easy drive for a short, elderly woman? The less electronics and smaller fenders the better. It is just for going shopping, not long distances and they would probably buy new. No small SUVs, please, as she would have to climb up into them, but I think the Fit provides a little more upright seating position than some of the other small cars.

Ideas?

Smart ForTwo

Scion iQ

maybe Fiat 500

Going from a big Caddy to a tiny Fit, is most likely going to intimidate her. She's probably used to torque at this point, so the Fit will feel gutless in comparison to the Caddy. They are also buzzy on the highway if she drives long distances.

I'd recommend a Hyundai Sonata. Cheap, well built, safe, and smaller than the Caddy. If she buys a base one, it's less likely to have all the electronic doo-dads that annoy her.

That or a base Camry or Accord. Hard to go wrong there.

Mazda 2 Chevy Spark Ford Fiesta or Focus.

Whatever the model, it sounds like she wants to avoid the higher trim levels, with all the bells and whistles. But those parking sensors and rear view camera might be a good idea...

https://www.youtube.com/embed/d6AnXi2N_do

The Kia Soul seems to be popular with that crowd, good seat height. I think the base model still comes with a pretty straightforward radio and HVAC controls.

Kia Soul is a really good recommendation.
I don't think you can get the big, Gen2 Scion Xb any longer but good too.

Given that this is for your one an only mom, and the fact that she crashes into things. I'd be looking for a car with much more crumple zone than a fit. Something older, familiar and large like a P71.

Has she hit anything besides the garage?

That Buick that's a Chevy Cruze?

slowride wrote: That Buick that's a Chevy Cruze?

Or the Buick that is a lifted Sonic.

I would look for a restored 200? buick with about 1500 miles on it.

Or the Toyota version the Avalon. Did those come with a column shift in the first few years?

just drove a brand new jeep renegade as a rental and it wasn't half bad. You can get up a little bit for good line of sight, has some room in the back, and easy to drive. The Juke I had right after that was even better driving just had no rear hatch space. Both can be had pretty cheap.

As weird and crappy as it sounds, what about a new Sentra? The memory foam seats are really comfy, and even a fully loaded model has controls as close to a 2003 Corolla as possible.

She hasn't hit anything besides the garage-- yet.

No Buicks. They drove the newer ones and they are as whiz-bang and indecipherable to them as the Caddy. I don't think they want the headaches of an old one.

Kia Soul could be a candidate. How is the visibility out of one of those?

What about a pre-'14 Impala? Still the old W-body style, stayed fully analog inside until the day they died and can be found for cheap. Only warning is watch out if you get a 3.6L one, as with 300hp they can get away from a person fast if they aren't careful

NickD wrote: What about a pre-'14 Impala? Still the old W-body style, stayed fully analog inside until the day they died and can be found for cheap. Only warning is watch out if you get a 3.6L one, as with 300hp they can get away from a person fast if they aren't careful

Thanks, but she is hitting the garage because she can't judge where the RF fender is, though low tech is also a need. She needs a small car that is easier to park and has good all 'round visibility for a shorter person.

Basil Exposition wrote: She hasn't hit anything besides the garage-- yet.

Well, at least not that she is willing to admit to. If she is hitting the garage on more than one occasion with more than one car of more than one size, she isn't all of a sudden miraculously doing any better in the parking lot at the grocery store. Based on the information provided,and similar past experience with elderly relatives, it sounds like she would be best served by the smallest, easiest to maneuver, best outward visibility, car possible with a low floor and slightly-lower-than-standing-butt-height seating...Hence my original recommendations.

I think I already know the answer, but does she have a smartphone? Pretty hard for her to wreck an Uber, and you can go on tons of rides for the cost of a new car. Could be sold to her as being less stress, or luxurious being driven around.

I'd go with the other suggestions of the boxy cars that don't have a ridiculously long front.

Driven5 wrote:

Basil Exposition wrote: She hasn't hit anything besides the garage-- yet.

Based on the information provided,and similar past experience with elderly relatives, it sounds like she would be best served by the smallest, easiest to maneuver, best outward visibility, car possible with a low floor and slightly-lower-than-standing-butt-height seating...Hence my original recommendations.

Exactly. Thank you. The Fiat may be something that should could drive that she would like. But first the family would have to get over our history-- the 850 Spider my Dad bought that exploded in flames from wiring issues, the Ritmo that my brother was making payments on long after it died an early death, the 124 sedan of my sister's that my grandfather rebuilt the lower end on (on his back in the driveway) after the rag Tony left in the oil pan at the factory finally found the intake for the oil pump.

A Scion iQ might be OK, though I think they are thinking new and not used. Not sure how the Smart would go over...

STM317 wrote: I think I already know the answer, but does she have a smartphone? Pretty hard for her to wreck an Uber, and you can go on tons of rides for the cost of a new car. Could be sold to her as being less stress, or luxurious being driven around.

Yeah, you already know the answer. Good thought, though.

The Chevy Spark is just larger than a Smart car, starts under $14k, gets 30mpg in the city. At that price point, she shouldn't have to worry about too many bells and whistles. And there are Chevy dealers everywhere that could service it.

How about something like a new Corolla or Impreza with the automatic braking so the car won't let her hit the garage?