New wheels Old driver.

For $25,000 and nothing to go on, many can suggest a bunch of new cars that will be highly likely to be reliable. Do you have a certain size or catagory? Since you did not mention a specific thing except five seats, I am going to go by company reliability.

Any Toyota for the most part or Lexus will be reliable. The most reliable are staples like the Toyota Corolla, Toyota Camry, RAV 4, Lexus RX, and a few others.

Hondas are all over the place in reliablity these days in the new models. Some are better than others. The Pilot transmission issues are pretty much gone it is believed so that is probably fine. Essentially, if you get a 4 cylinder from Honda it is going to be durable for the most part.

Hyundai and Kia is next. They are both built on the same platforms for the most part as they share the same engineering department although they are two entirely separate companies. About all of their cars are reliable as well.

Want AWD? Then Subaru is your best bet for an overall car line and they are fairly reliable as well. Some (about 10% on average) burn oil after four years or so but they will run for 200,000 doing that with no problem.

Of the domestics, if you like that, GM is probably next in reliablity (ahead of the European brands these days). Problem with GM is not all are equal in reliablity. Cars developed in Opel in Europe, South Korea - those have no big issues after the first year of production for the most part. The USA developed models are a crapshoot. That means for Cadillac, generally speaking, they have some electrical issues and people dislike CUE except for the audio interface. Buick overall builds solid cars except for the new LaCrosse which may be fixed in the second year of production (2018). Would not get the new Enclave either as it is in the first year of production as is the Regal. Rest of the line is beyond the problems and are solid cars now which can last 10 years. Chevy is all over the place so unless you have a certain class, I cannot recommend it (for example, Cruze is a disaster but Malibu is solid as is the Impala). GMC is a crapshoot as well.

European models in general have electrical issues - new Volvos, BMWs, Mercedes, VWs, all have issues. Audi is the exception and is mostly okay now - at least equal to GM in quality now if not slightly better.

The Chrysler brands (Fiat, RAM, Chrysler, Dodge) should be avoided. Ford is all over the place like GM so unless you are most specific on what you want, steer clear.

Provide more and I can get more specific and others can too.

AcuraT gave you a great, broad run down on various options & manufacturer's reps.

You said you're an "old driver". We have no idea if that means your are a 40 year old feeling sorry for youself or a spry Octogenarian. Assuming you're older than 60 and plan to keep the car for at least 5 years I suggest that seriously consider ease of entery & exit, visiablity, and various safety / nanny features These features are great for all ages but especially helpful for us older folks who's reaction time, neck rotation... are in decline.

https://www.autobytel.com/car-buying-guides/features/10-easiest-cars-to-get-in-and-out-of-131124/

I'd recommend things such as back up camera, foward collision warning /auto stop, blind spot warning, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control are all convenient and potential life savers (for you, pedestrians, other drivers...). While these are becoming more and more common, they are available as standard features a limited number of cars under $25K Notably Subaru, Toyota, Honda, VW, Nissan, and a few Kia/Huyndia models are have such features within you stated price range They are optional on a wider variety of vehicles but often only on the higher end models.

Again, assuming you are 60+ for you I would put the Kia Soul, Honda Fit, Subaru Forester, Nissan Altima or Sentra, Toyota Camry, VW Jetta/Passant on the list of cars to check out.

Happy shopping, would love to hear what you decide on!