And this is why there isn’t a single Toyota or Honda on this list, even though demand for vehicles like RAV4s are as high as ever. 

I’m keenly aware, given that I’ve had one (yes, mine was an ‘05 manual) -

Like Tom my mind went to my old Legacy GT wagon as well. Agreed, they are hard to find in decent shape...but with a $40k budget, you can surely find one if you’re willing to wait for the right example to come around. They’re OLD at this point...but so are all the other suggestions in this article, so have at it!

I just saw one the other day and stopped to appreciate how good the styling is. It’s not ridiculous with crazy vents and angles like so many cars today (ahem newer camry included)...just an unoffensive restrained design on a very competent car. 

I’d go as far as saying that with the range extender this thing slots in to the market perfectly. Clearly most people don’t NEED 300 miles of range on a regular basis...this would give plenty of electric range for 99% of peoples’ driving needs, and have that tiny range extender for the rest. But here’s Mazda screwing…

I get what you mean. If 100 miles was all they could squeeze out of this thing, then they should’ve started with the PHEV. I’m in the camp that thinks that 250 miles of range is TOO MUCH for many people who buy BEVs. Yes it’s nice from a peace of mind perspective, but from a macro battery allocation perspective that’s…

Yeah I get that. Had a Spark EV and a Bolt. The Bolt honestly had too much range for our needs (25 mile roundtrip commute + city run around). If for the same money or less I could have something more unique, NICER inside etc. with 100 miles of range that would be plenty. But...how many people fit in to this category?

Exactly this. When their PR hack says this happens infrequently and they are working on improving things, what they actually means is that this means infrequently enough that we intend to do absolutely nothing about this. 

Yes, and are extremely common. Not like it’s impossible to find so you’d have to settle for a swapped car (which should sell at a discount because it’s not a factory manual...but I guess not in this case, because the seller promises it was done perfectly!). 

About Kinja - seriously. How do you even go back to a response you get a notification about anymore? I just end up having to scroll through the entire comment section and hoping to find it.

Outside of current markups - damn, $33k for an XLE hybrid sounds like a reasonable price for a LOT of car.

I’m curious what their plan for all these rotten and fermented apples is at the end of all this?

Amen, great post. Hope your mom has a speedy recovery - being admitted that far away and the over-burdened hospital systems surely aren’t helping the situation. It is so so stupid that this has become a political topic - like even Trump himself getting booed at this point for asking people to get vaccinated. 

Ha...imagine actually getting the results so many of these poseurs are supposedly after by just changing a set of tires...instead of adding light bars, suspension lifts, jerry cans, and ladders.

This topic is one that has driven me livid since the day these companies came in to existence - I won’t get in to any more arguments with fellow armchair experts but will say that it is clearly at least a situation with no clear solution (I happen to fall on the side of thinking that these companies classifying their…

Will admit that I really want (OEM size) Wildpeaks on our Outback partially because they look “aggressive” but mostly because they’re actually a really good true 4 season tire. Beyond that fully onboard with your claims. The only other mod I’m looking at are window visors to keep the rain out.

Agreed. I’ve played the depreciation game many times over and enjoyed some nice cars in my younger years that I never could’ve afforded brand new. But I’m older now, have no need to show off, and no need to drive like a bat out of hell. Why buy an M car or AMG at $30k (don’t get me wrong, I’m still very tempted to do…

So are any of the European brands beyond VW even going to try putting out an EV that is within the realm of reach for average human budgets?

whoops just came over and posted the same. One of the best youtube series’ out there right now, been loving the Hagerty channel lately. 

You’ve got plenty of responses. If you want it in video form go over to the Hagerty youtube channel and watch discount Adam Sandler show you. Very entertaining review -