What car do I need?

Ok, so my mother is in need of a new vehicle and its outside of what I normally pay attention to.

Requirements

1. Inexpensive - preferred budget is $6k, can stretch to 8.
2. Current mobility challenge - she's on a walker, so easy to get in and out of.
3. Future mobility challenge - want to be able to put a receiver on it for a mobility scooter.
4. Cheap to maintain. I am several states away, it's off to a mechanic with this one.
5. Cheap to insure. - tight fixed income at play.
6. Not too old. Let's say newer than 2010
7. Location - Columbus Ohio

Ideas? My brother is looking at CRV's. I'm kind of spinning circles.

I helped my parents buy their most recent car, and one of the requirements was #2. Dad was using a walker, Mom is short. We found that wagons accept a walker much better than SUVs/CUVs due to having a long load bed instead of a tall one, and of course they're easier to get in and out of since you don't have to climb up.

They ended up with a VW Sportwagen. Mom is quite happy with it, as was Dad.

Can't comment on the other requirements, but I'd definitely be visiting dealerships and trying to get in and out of the various vehicles being considered.

Lots of previous GRM chatter on the same/similar topic in this thread

Cliff Notes:  For my M-I-L it was either 2013 Ford Escape or CRV.  She chose the Escape.  

In reply to John Welsh :

I'm amazed at how fast you can find stuff sometimes!

That was a good thread. I forgot I started it! 

In reply to SV reX :

Using just the built-in board search I put in "Ford Escape egress John Welsh" and came up with that thread I knew I had written before.

This thread came up too.  

Sort of humorous given your connection to this 2007 Accord

After my issues last year, I had to use a walker for 10 months. My wife's 2006 Scion xB was perfect for ingress/egress. The seat cushion is slightly below butt height (perfect for my five foot tall wife) and the seats are close to the vehicle side, so you're not reaching out far to plant your feet. That made it easier to stand up. Something with a relatively low floor, but upright like the xB works. Not sure what current vehicles meet that criteria, I find a lot of the CUVs have higher floors. Maybe look at a Kia Niro or Soul.

Thanks for the threads and thoughts guys. Added a few things to the list to look at.

Avalon 

How about a smiley-faced Mazda 5? Easy ingress and egress, plenty of space for a walker, solid mechanically.

FWIW, a Kia Soul seat height is about right for me to step directly out of - I'm 6'0.  If your mother is shorter I would suggest looking at a few lower cars.  A CRV, Escape, Rav 4, etc. are generally slightly higher.  Otherwise a soul is a decent candidate.  Its easy to get a reliable solid Soul in that price range that meets all your criteria.  Complete appliance in every way, but thats a redeeming quality in this scenario.

G_Body_Man (Forum Supporter) said:

How about a smiley-faced Mazda 5? Easy ingress and egress, plenty of space for a walker, solid mechanically.

Yes. Every time I drive our 5, I am tickled with just how easy it is to live with. It's a delightful little thing.

In reply to G_Body_Man (Forum Supporter) :

You almost made the GRM milk carton. It's been a while, dood.

Minivans have low load floors, wide sliding door openings, and a huge rear hatch. Driving seat postition/height is likely very close to something like a CRV/RAV-4/Escape/etc, but you get easier access to more utility.

ProDarwin said:

FWIW, a Kia Soul seat height is about right for me to step directly out of - I'm 6'0.  If your mother is shorter I would suggest looking at a few lower cars.  A CRV, Escape, Rav 4, etc. are generally slightly higher.  Otherwise a soul is a decent candidate.  Its easy to get a reliable solid Soul in that price range that meets all your criteria.  Complete appliance in every way, but thats a redeeming quality in this scenario.

Kia might not meet the cheap to insure requirement.

adam525i said:

ProDarwin said:

FWIW, a Kia Soul seat height is about right for me to step directly out of - I'm 6'0.  If your mother is shorter I would suggest looking at a few lower cars.  A CRV, Escape, Rav 4, etc. are generally slightly higher.  Otherwise a soul is a decent candidate.  Its easy to get a reliable solid Soul in that price range that meets all your criteria.  Complete appliance in every way, but thats a redeeming quality in this scenario.

Kia might not meet the cheap to insure requirement.

Possibly.  I have a Soul, its pretty cheap.

That said, pretty much anything you are picking up for 6-8k to fulfull these requirements is cheap to insure.

My 83yo mother has a 2018 Ford C-Max. She lives in a 55+ apartment community, with many friends of similar age. She's usually the chosen driver, and many of her cohorts like her car, for its ease of ingress/egress. 

Also, I'm a TJR knee guy, and it's an easy car for me to get in/out of.