Please help my vehicle dilemma?

[oklatom9991]

I've been in the market for a new car since last October. I'm looking for something semi-affordable but not cheap looking or unsafe. I've been reading reviews on different cars like crazy & am lost. There are ALOT of cars out there. I would prefer to buy American, and need something with good gas mileage. I have been looking at the Jeep Compass, Ford Fusion, Cadillac CTS (dreaming a little) and the Ford Escape Hybrid. I'm not set on any of these cars, they are just the ones I've really looked at.I want something that is stable in all weather, I previously drove a PT Cruiser and in it's later years did NOT handle well in any sort of rain or snow situations. I also like the idea of an SUV, because I also drove a VW Beetle and didn't like sitting so low. The gas mileage of the hybrid sounds very appealing but I've read mixed reviews on them and I, myself am not very knowledgable on the subject. On top of that I would also prefer a nice looking interior. Any help would be appreciated!!

[EvelynTheModifiedDog]

a Maybach sounds right up your alley.

[inagaddadavida_loca]

The regular Ford Escape, and Mercury Mariner have high quality ratings from Consumer Reports. If you get a vehicle with All-wheel Drive, it will use a lot more gasoline. The Honda CRV is very cute, and great on gasoline, to compare features with the others, since you want to buy American made. Be sure and get a LONG test drive from the dealer where you are considering buying from, not just a drive around the block, since that is not long enough to know if you will be happy with a vehicle.

[OMG]

My wife went with the fusion after looking and test driving and reading everything she could find on about 8 different cars. She has had it for about 6 months or as and still loves it. By the way hybrids are too costly to make them worth it yet and their gas milage isn't that much better than the base models. And if you go SUV you are looking at about 60-80$ at the pump every week. Just my .02

[Retard]

For the past 3 years I've been driving a toyota tundra, with no problems, I actually love it. And some of my friends that has older versions of my truck love theres too.Toyota is also making new cars with hybrid engines and lower gas milage also.

[AARON]

You didn't mention your budget. An Escape hybrid is a good car but it's not cheap. I would suggest you look at 2-3 year old non-hybrid Escapes -- they depreciate like crazy and can be a great value. The MPG is not nearly as good as the hybrid version, but it would take years in gas savings to make up for the price difference between the hybrid and non-hybrid models.If you previously drove a PT Cruiser, you might also be interested in the new Chevy HHR, which is very similar. It's also not a true SUV, more like a really tall wagon. It gets pretty reasonable gas mileage.Also, regarding your PT Cruiser not handling well in rain/snow in its later years -- this probably had more to do with the tires than the car itself. The stock tires that come with pretty much any car aren't known for great traction, and as they get worn down they only get worse. A good new pair of performance tires, or snow tires, can make a huge difference in any car's handling.