I currently have a 2014 Ford Focus sedan (bought new) with nearly 90K miles on it. It will be paid off in the spring. I'd keep it, but the danged dual clutch auto transmission is a problem. The whole clutch assy was already replaced by Ford back in early 2016 or so. Starting to have some trans issues again. I had originally considered getting a Focus hatchback, but the hatchback appears to have less cargo space than my sedan.
I need a small SUV with more cargo capacity for scuba gear. I've only ever bought Ford. Period. I'm a Detroit area native and dad worked at Ford for more than 30 years. I've refused to buy foreign badged vehicles.
SUV would probably be a used one. 2-3 years old, probably. New ones are a bit more than I want to pay. Current car payment is only $330 a month and I got a very low interest rate. Around $20K is my limit.
I drive a LOT during dive season (early April to early November). It's nothing for me to drive 200-300 miles in a weekend to get to dive sites, plus several longer trips of 6-8 hours each way. So good mileage is an absolute necessity. Focus gets 34 mph/highway. My daily work commute is 30 miles roundtrip, almost all highway. With the current car, I can go a week on 1 tank of gas if I'm just commuting to work and a few nearby errands. Focus tank holds 12 gallons.
I'd like heated seats if I could get them! Current Focus came with a winter package of heated seats and heated side mirrors, and damn, do I love the heated seats. Wonderful for my sciatica.
I had only been considering the EcoSport and the Escape, but the EcoSport doesn't have a spare tire at all, and I keep running into people with Escape horror stories.
An Explorer, for instance, is too big, too expensive, and mileage is bad. It's just me, and maybe one other person and our diving gear.
Someone suggested I consider the Toyota RAV4. One of my dive buddies drives one. She let me drive hers around the parking lot at the location where we met to dive today, and poke around inside. This was invaluable because I got to see how her gear fits inside.
I looked at the website of the Toyota dealership very close to me. A number of RAV4 models available, many 1-2 years old with less than 40K miles on them, and right around $20K. Maybe lease turn-ins. Interest rate is is 3.4% and comes with 2 years/25K miles of basic maintenance (oil changes and such). I've never seen anything of the like offered on a Ford! Everyone tells me the resale value on Toyotas is good, plus with the RAV4, there are plenty of used ones to choose from.
Anything else I should consider? Any new vehicle will get driven a lot.