Help me choose a car

[LTig]

FIAT is dead here in the US. Came back and failed once again. Sad because back in the day there were a couple of nice models. But became too well known as "Fix It Again Tony".

... or "Fehler in allen Teilen" (German, means "Failures in all parts").

 

[Sean Ku]

... or "Fehler in allen Teilen" (German, means "Failures in all parts").

You can still buy a Fiat here. It's just spelled "Jeep".

 

[Katji]

The Fiat Multipla?

Yes. ...Interesting story there. Design museum and all.
The co-worker, it was a surprise because he got it after writing off his extreme WRX one night, testing some suspension upgrade, in an industrial park. He went through a fence and down an embankment. Expensive.

 

[Katji]

Fiat was good back in the day. [Back in the day as in before most people here were born.] Fiat 1500 - loud, good performance, good enough handling. Maybe more reliable than Alfa.

 

[Head_Unit]

small SUV class. It needs cargo space sufficient for a wheel chair and ease of entry for a disabled person...

Er, you realize that is rather contradictory? Though maybe not impossible...how big is the wheelchair? I used to do test drives for Mercedes, the head guy was in a wheelchair but it was like fiberglass and slim, not like some of the heavy hospital models of yore. Anyway does "ease of entry" mean not too high off the ground? That's why someone I know bought a BMW X1 a few years back, so the elderly husband didn't have the schlep upwards. My neighbor really likes her RAV4 hybrid but you are definitely going UP into that thing, same for a non-hybrid I rented in Vegas and drove to the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley.

I agree with @Marc v E that hybrid is unlikely to save you money. Then again I drove a Toyota Yaris Hybrid all around Ireland last summer and average 62 mpg, even hooting it 140 km/h on the freeways-very impressive! (Nothing like the American Yaris, totally different platform). It was sure addictive to not have to stop for gas often! Rather like the Chevy Volts we have had.

I don't know if any of these hybrid "AWD" systems can really hold a candle to more developed old-school tech like a Subaru.

 

[Head_Unit]

The .gov tried to shove that down our throats once.
The .people said "No Thank You".

Mmmm, I dunno about shove down our throats. I remember highway signs in both kilometers and miles as a transition, seemed like a great idea, simple. Until Reagan got elected and tore all that off in a fit of anti-Carterism I guess. So now we're stuck with ounces and pints and 3/32" and all that stupidity. Sigh.

 

[dlaloum]

I would be looking at an MPV rather than SUV - I've seen quite a few fitted with wheelchair access at the back, roll in, strap the wheelchair down, off you go.

SUV's are basically a standard car that you have to step UP into... pain in the neck for wheelchairs.