Recommend your...

hey_its_jenn

Car! I've drawn my last straw with my Chevy Cobalt last night and I am officially car shopping.  Best time of the year to do it, I guess.  

I'm definitely leaning towards something with either 4WD or AWD as the winters in PA can be gross. Probably a mid-size SUV but I'm open to looking at anything.

 thanks!   

Foster1Mom

We have a Highlander. I love it.

elissaann26

We have a Mazda5 and it is amazing.  All of the perks of a minivan (sliding doors, 4 latch seats, 3rd row, extra room for hauling around junk) with the size, gas mileage and price of a sedan.  We love it!

ETA:  I would recommend buying new since their interest rates are so low.  I believe you can still get 0.9%, which is basically free.  And we really like the 2012 design as compared to the 2010 (there wasn't a 2011 model year).

And if you want leather seats, don't assume that you have to upgrade to one of the packages.  The base package included all of the features we wanted, except leather.  So we just added leather seats to the base package, costing us $1200 vs. $3000+ of upgrading to a fancier model with features we would never use.

We also found that there isn't very much wiggle room on the price.  But we negotiated at one dealership and then online contacted 4 other Mazda dealerships to beat their price- not just match it. Once we got the lowest price (which was lower than we thought we'd get), we told them that we would buy it that night if they threw in all-weather mats and a the cover for the trunk (approx. $300 value).  It worked!

Blsd4given

We have a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee.  We love it.

This site shows rankings too... https://usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/cars-trucks/rankings/Affordable-Midsize-SUVs/ 

orange1414

I love my Mazda CX7.

annalisel

I test drove the new Mazda CX-5 which is the small SUV and loved it. Either 4WD or AWD is available. (We went with a Subaru impreza instead because we wanted a smaller, more fuel efficient car.)

erinms

If you don't need a 3rd row, I would definitely recommend a Honda CRV.  I LOVE mine, and I think Honda makes great cars.

CaptainSerious

My parents live in the Adirondack north country and I spend a lot of time in Vermont during the winter.  I can tell you that the best snow cars are Subarus, and they are built like tanks with regard to safety/crash tests.  There's a reason the are the official car of the US Ski Team.  I've loved every one my family has owned.

sarahtoledo

NariaDreaming:

Agree with the honda CRV or even a newer used Honda Element (discontinued back in 2011). The Element has an all-plastic interior and is basically life-proof. 

I loved, loved, loved my Element and am sorry I sold it over the summer.  Looking to buy another one soon.  

I have seven dogs, and I carry around my bike and inline skates all the time.   

edaire

My husband and I just bought a Chevy Tahoe for me. I LOVE it!!! It's big and comfortable but easy to drive at the same time. My husband has a Ford Edge, which is very nice as well. Good luck!!