New Cars Too Pricey for Many

[sanantone]

Cars! Woo... that's the topic of the day... I upgraded my older Corolla a few years ago to another Corolla (2014).  
They came out with the newer body style and I liked it, further to that, my older model was stolen...
I think people should stick to something they can afford and is in their price range/brand they want.
I would love the new 2018 Toyota Scion 86, but it's not practical enough for the family.

In regards to Kia/Hyundai, they're getting up the charts as their models look pretty good.
I wonder why Hyundai started selling their ownership/shares, they had 51% of Kia and now about 33% ownership.
Hyundai has that luxury line Genesis, the Kia counterpart I don't think has a luxury line.
Anyways, good cars overall and getting better...

Kia doesn't have a separate luxury line, but they have a luxury model - the K900. A lot of people are excited about the new Stinger. It's a semi-premium sports sedan. 

I looked into the Toyota 86, but decided that the Subaru BRZ is better. They're basically the same car, but the BRZ looks a little better, in my opinion. I think it also has more standard features at the lower trims. They're not suitable at all for transporting more than two people unless you have very small children and you expect them to never grow. The backseats are almost non-existent.  

I've never had a diesel vehicle. The most reliable car makers don't have many, if any, diesel models in their lineup.

I've never had any issues with my engines. Usually, it's the technology that starts falling apart and is expensive to fix. I'm afraid of getting the new vehicles, even the ones two years old, because they have so many electronics and computer-controlled stuff.

Gas engines do not last long compared to diesel.  I expect to own my vehicles for 20-years.  My government agency purchased 50 RV type FEMA emergency vehicles.  They went cheap and the gas engines are so bad they are replacing the whole fleet with guess what?   Small diesel engines are everywhere in Europe.  The US buys $13,000 diesel Ford Ranger trucks for the Afghan and Iraq police.  They are excellent and I used one for six months deployed.  My 2005 diesel Ram truck (bigger than I need) I can still sell for a lot of money.  Resell is excellent.  Mercedes Benz makes great diesel cars, but will not import to the USA anymore.  The most reliable car makers make diesel not junk gas engines.

Hondas and Toyotas from the 90s easily lasted 20 years. I had Buicks that lasted a long time. It's just that most American car models and many European models don't last long. Mercedes has always had reliability issues. They're so bad that they shared a platform with the normally reliable Infiniti, and that SUV has low reliability ratings. I don't know about the trucks, but I would never buy a Dodge, Jeep, or Chrysler product. I know Ram has spun off, but Chrysler/Dodge vehicles have had such a long history of being horrible, I have a bias against them. 

TDCJ still has Ford Crown Victoria police interceptors with gas engines in its fleet. They're ugly, but they run fine. Police departments hated when Ford discontinued them. They now have issues with the new Fords, but the issues are electrical. The major components of modern vehicles are more reliable than they ever have been. The average modern vehicles has far fewer problems than vehicles from decades ago. So, everything is all relative. Toyota and Lexus have consistently made the most reliable cars, and they have gas engines. Can't argue with stats. JD Power and Consumer Reports collect data from thousands of people.

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The most reliable car makers make diesel not junk gas engines.

What does that have to say about electric vehicles?

We currently drive a Lexus hybrid as our main family vehicle, and while I normally focus on the high-end performance car market for my personal vehicle, I just sold my last car and instead of a sports car I'm leaning towards of getting an electric or PHEV vehicle this time around. I was originally thinking Tesla, but I'm not sure I'm ready for 100% electric yet. I'm currently considering a PHEV like the Chevy Volt. Not planning to make a decision for a few months yet though.

Price wise, none of these options are exactly inexpensive though. Even with the federal rebate for the electrics and PHEV's, it's hard to find a decent car for under $30K.

Also, like dfrecore, leather is a requirement for us as well, for many of the same reasons.

The Prius has been amazingly reliable. Tesla has a lot of kinks to work out. They're below average in reliability. If I'm going to spend more than $40k or $50k on a vehicle, it better be one of the most reliable around. Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, and Land Rover are notorious for being in and out of the shop.

I currently have leather, and it's great for my dog. I bought a seat cover, but it moves around. I contemplated getting cloth to save money, but then I remembered that my dog has gotten blood and mud on my seats.