Fuel-efficient short commute car that is comfortable, very safe, and has good reliability with CD radio, USB, auxiliary input

I was thinking of buying a SUV, I like the excellent reliability reports on the Honda CR-V, but I would like something a bit smaller, it was suggested to me that I might take a look at the 2015 Honda HR-V. URL for Honda HR-V (below) http://automobiles.honda.com/hr-v/ It looks very sleek and even coupe-like, the rear doors are cleverly hidden. It is based on the underpinnings of the Honda Fit and will come with a 1.5-litre i-VTEC four-port engine mated to a CVT gearbox it is FWD, however, the scuttlebutt is that in the North American market it will be available with AWD and Turbo (I hope so). They say it will be on the road in the in the winter of 2015, the pics and video look cool, but I would like to see one in person so that I can get a better feel of how Big/Small it actually is. As of now Honda is only releasing info on the HR-V in bits and pieces, although if you sign up on their website they will e-mail you further information as time goes on. I hope this is of some help to you in your search :)

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/11/20/honda-vezel-hybrid-fit-cuv-tokyo-2013/

Above is an URL for the Honda Vezel it is quite similar to the Honda HR-V and I belive its been on the road in Japan for a year or two, hopefully it would give Honda some time to fix any first year of production bugs that there may be, although, Honda has an excellent reputation for getting their cars right before releasing them.

It would be GREAT if the Honda HR-V came out with the same excellent reliability stats as the CV-R and the Civic!

I wouldn't be too concerned about the CR-V's middling score in the small overlap test. This is a new test, and any of these tests covers one possible crash scenario (in this case head-on with a small overlap, most likely on rural two-lane roads) out of a very large number. The CR-V scores well in the other tests.

Both Mazdas (did you mean CX-5?) also score well in the safety tests.

The hatchbacks will get significantly better gas mileage than the crossovers, can't beat physics.

To get good fuel economy in the Mazda3, you'd have to get one with a SKYACTIV engine, which was introduced in the 2012s (and not all 2012s).

I'm personally not a fan of how the CR-V looks or drives, but these things are subjective. If you like it, that's what counts.

The Mazdas are more fun to drive than the Hondas. The main negatives on the 2004-2013 Mazda3 are styling, somewhat cheap interior materials, marginal fuel economy (w/o SKYACTIV), higher than average noise levels (which Hondas also suffer from), and a tendency to rust where the roads are salted (not an issue in Virginia, but watch out for cars that spent some time in the north).

A lot of people like the Honda Fit for its combination of roominess and fuel economy, but it did score a poor in that new test. Worth considering if the car won't often be driven on two-lane roads at fairly high speeds.

The 2009-2012 Elantra Touring didn't sell in large numbers, and tends to be very reasonably priced as a used car. The SE trim is especially nice. This car wasn't related to the Elantra sedan. Instead, it was a car designed primarily for the European market, where it was marketed as the i30 "estate" (British for station wagon). As such, it's has quite a bit more rear seat and cargo room than hatchbacks like the Mazda3--and nearly as much as the CR-V. But it drives like a hatchback, not a crossover. Fuel economy is just okay. It wasn't crash tested in the U.S. In the European NCAP tests it scored okay but not great--better than the European Civic of the same years.

Here's a specs comparison with the CR-V:
http://www.truedelta.com/Hyundai-Elantra-Touring/specs-876-2012/vs-CR-V-110-2012&body_1=18&pt_1=1281&body_2=14&pt_2=141 The Subaru Forester also has a lot of fans. But avoid the 2011, as it's prone to engine problems. And all Subarus have a tendency to get expensive to maintain after 100,000 miles.

Final tip: if your wife really wants one car, and you get her another one, you'll never hear the end of it until the car is gone :)

I did quite a bit of searching a couple years ago for a fun, reliable, efficient long commuter car. I was mainly interested in Hondas and Acuras, as I had two, but was not happy with what was currently available (I also wanted a manual which narrowed the choices quite a bit). Anyway I wound up with a 2012 Mazda 3. It just went to 35K miles, and I've been very happy with it. It's been reliable, confortable and I've averaged 36MPG over that time. (I drive pretty briskly but most is on highways and freeways). The only things I have an issue with are that I'd like the road noise to be a little less and the stock tires are not good in ice and snow. I haven't tried a 2013 or 14 so I don't know how much has changed, but I think the Mazdas are well worth test driving. You may even see if the five door model suits you both. (I've yet to see if it'll be as trouble free as long as the Hondas I've owned, but so far it's only had basic maintenance.)


If you want to go a little upscale I kind of liked the 2004-2008 Acura TSXs I drove, but it may be difficult to find a lower mileage, well maintained one.

Sounds good. Just one note: a car that old won't have the aux and USB inputs. I'd also be surprised if it did better in crash tests, but haven't actually checked those stats.