Ironic that it was your last and newest one that had issues. I don’t think I’d touch a GDi Hyundai with a 10 ft pole. 

It’s mostly BS as Euro NCAP now rates any car without active driver assists quite poorly. Considering the Zoe got a full five-stars in 2013, I don’t think it’s gotten markedly less safe.

And from multiple engine plants across the globe!?!

Even better, there’s one around here in Tucson being used as a landscaping truck to tow a trailer full of lawn mowers and weed eaters. It’s quite the sight and honestly a great use for an H2.

They never like to admit their own foibles either. IIRC just last year the Sentra was a ‘top-pick’ and ‘best of the compacts!’ This year it has below-average reliability and they quietly dropped it from recommendations. I somehow doubt those first-year ‘recommended’ models were any more reliable...

I don’t think that’s changed, somehow they only survey the people with reliable ones lol. I still hear horror stories, they’re still cheap BMWs after all, and nothing’s more expensive than a cheap German car. Guess they make them well enough to last through the first owner now, though. 

Just don’t buy a 2018 Tacoma!

BMW is ninth most reliable behind the Japanese brands and Porsche. Mini is somehow third, sitting right behind Toyota and Lexus. This is why I always take CR’s ‘reliability’ ratings with a grain of salt.

~$70k for a base EX90 with ~300 miles of range isn’t bad at all.

Ironically the original 205 Rallye made 102 hp! And weighed less, too.

I guess we must live in very different locales. Around here in border-town the people I see in Mirages, Versas, and Rios aren’t buying them because they’re new. They’re buying them to get around, and run them hard for as long as they can. I would say there’s ego involved with folks who feel the need to switch to the…

Ok, but these cheap-as-dirt new cars often feature fairly old tech so even if issues crop up they’re often easily fixable at a dealer and usually don’t prevent drivability. I speak mostly from anecdote as my former roommate had an ‘04 Civic she bought for $3.5k in 2019 with 120k miles, and it stranded her on a couple…

Take the Chevy Malibu.

Which is still cheap as dirt.

Depends on the country. In Brazil and South Africa plenty of regular folk drive lightly armored cars as gun violence is a genuine concern in day-to-day.

IT’S ALWAYS A NISSAN ROGUE

If you drive this, you’re either:

THE best off-roader you can buy.

$2k down, $300 a month puts you in a brand new Kia Rio. It will presumably work every day, has a warranty, and has brand-new car safety like airbags all around. A used Honda Civic will be at least 20 years old, cost you no less than $3k, most likely need deferred maintenance, and crash like a tin-can. Seems like a…

I dunno, in Tucson Blake’s buns are always sad and mushy whereas In-n-Out’s are crisp and fresh. Maybe it’s the specific locations. Also Blake’s is kind of pricey? Like, almost twice the price for the ‘NM Style’ vs ‘Animal Style’ which are both my go-to.