I'm Trading My Jeep For Something With Better Comfort And MPG! What Should I Buy?

Kristin lives in West Virginia and drives a lot for both her work and hobbies. Her 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee is getting old and she wants to replace it with something smaller, but more comfortable and with better fuel economy. With a budget of $25,000, what car should she buy?

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Here is the scenario.

I'm a 38 year old woman who has no kids. I currently drive a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. It has 140,000 miles on it so I'm going to need to replace it soon. It was chosen partially by my fiancee who wanted something with towing capacity, and he has since purchased a full size pickup. The Jeep's replacement will be "my" vehicle and I would like something smaller, speedier, and with a lot of creature comforts like heated seats, etc. I live in West Virginia. It snows here and I have to drive through hilly, questionably paved terrain to go pretty much anywhere, so a good AWD/4WD system is a must.

I have to travel long distances for both work and pleasure–I have a nearly 3 hour drive to my otherwise-mostly-remote day job every few weeks, and I'm a hobbyist filmmaker/YouTuber whose content sometimes requires long drives with a car full of camera gear and luggage. This vehicle needs to be comfortable for long drives. I'm 4'11" so it needs to have an easily adjustable seat and mirrors, and a more "upright" driving stance (think SUV or crossover, not car). I'd like for my next vehicle to match or exceed the fuel economy of my Jeep (I get 20 around town and 24 or so on the highway).

I am trying to spend no more than $25,000

Quick Facts:

Budget: up to $25,000

Location: Huntington, West Virginia 

Daily Driver: Yes

Wants: All-wheel drive, comfort, good MPG

Doesn't want: Something too thirsty

Given current global events and rising gas prices, you are likely tempted to shift to a hybrid. This is a solid move, but those cars will carry a premium in the used market due to higher demand. However, there is a strange phenomenon that used plug-in hybrids are deprecating at much more accelerated rate than standard hybrids. This is mostly because many buyers view them as more of an electric car that has to be charged constantly. While it is recommended that you charge a PHEV to get maximum benefit, you don't technically have to because an uncharged PHEV just then becomes a hybrid.

Since the deprecation curves on PHEVs is steeper you can get more car for your money. For example, here is a Hyundai Tuscon PHEV SEL with about 53,000 miles for just under $22,00. This car had an original retail price of close to $38,000 and includes your requested power-adjustable front seats in addition to adaptive cruise for long drives, and this car should get up to 35 MPG once the full-electric mode is depleted.

I would go with a Hyundai Tucson plug-in hybrid, but that's already taken, so instead I'll go with that model's twin sibling: the Kia Sportage plug-in hybrid. Used ones with fairly low mileage are starting to pop up for sale around $25,000, including some sold through Kia's certified pre-owned program. A normal Kia Sportage hybrid would also be great, and you could find a fully loaded SX Prestige hybrid within your budget easily, but I think the PHEV is the one to go with.

You get a turbocharged engine paired with an electric motor for a total of 261 horsepower, which will scoot the Sportage to 60 mph in under 7 seconds. Not bad. The EPA rated them for a 34-mile electric range, which is still pretty good even a few years after launch. The Sportage will drive basically the same as the Tucson, so really it's down to which brand's styling you like more. I think the Sportage has the better interior, and I like how cool it looks from the outside. You really can't go wrong with either.

Well, Kristin, the good news is that no matter what you ultimately buy, it's almost guaranteed to be more enjoyable to drive than a 15-year-old Jeep Grand Cherokee. Which is good, because it means you have plenty of options, but that can also get overwhelming fast. But as much as I hate recommending an obvious pick, that's probably the move here. It might not be cool or exciting, but I don't get the feeling you want to drive three states over to pick up a kei van that was originally only available in Japan and uses parts that may be hard to get in West Virginia.

Looking through what's available in West Virginia, I think the best deal you're going to find is this 2024 Honda CR-V Hybrid. I've preferred the CR-V over the Toyota RAV4 for a while now, in particular because I find it more comfortable, and since it's a Honda, it should last a long time. Even with all the driving you do. Its list price of $26,290 is slightly outside your $25,000 budget, but you may be able to talk them down or stretch your budget a little. In return, you'll get a nearly new Japanese crossover with all-wheel drive, adaptive cruise control, a sunroof, and all sorts of other creature comforts. Even better, it's painted a beautiful blue that really should really stand out in the sea of other generic compact crossovers.

That said, there is one downside to the CR-V I found for you. It may be a 2024 model, but it already has nearly 75,000 miles on it. The title and the CarFax are both allegedly clean, and it looks like it was well taken care of, but that's still a lot of miles on such a new car. Then again, those were most likely highway miles, and if you drive as much as it sounds like you do, most of the miles you add will also be highway miles. It's a gamble, but if it pays off, you may have just found the perfect new-to-you car.