help
 

So i've been given the job of helping my tiny grandmother find a car. right now she has a toyota Camry (the new body style one) and hits just about everything.. i swear there are dings in every pannel. Anyway, i have a 91 integra LS 4 door and she likes "that sized" car because it's easier to park, turn, drive, etc. Also, the camry turns like a friggin boat and stops worse than any car i've ever driven.

Please give me suggestions as to what car you guys think is best. She has already stated that she needs a car with
1) a very adjustable seat (she is 4 ft 10 inches tall)
2) 4 doors (but i'm thinking it's not possible to have a small 4 door anymore)
3) and small (like my old tegra)

anyway, i'm thinking IS300 size.. but heres the list i have come up with so far. Note that that car will be handed down to my little cousin OR my uncle after my grandma stops driving.. that's why i'm thinking along the more "young" sporty line, as my gma will only be driving for another few years and will hardly drive the car.

4 doors.
Subaru Impreza 2.5 or WRX sedan
used lexus IS 300
Used BMW 325i
Used Mercedes c230
Acura TSX
Honda Civic Ex/Lx
VW jetta

2 door
Mini Cooper
Civic Si
VW r32 or Golf

please post!

Well I think your best bet is take your grandma out for lots of test drives.

Hopefully she can give you a good oppinion on what she might like driving!

Just make sure she doesn't have a fender bender on the test drive.

Nissan Sentra SE-R?

Mini cooper!!!!

I can't beleive I am saying this... Scion XB

Much easier to get in and out of than the Mini for her probably.

Mazda 3

You know, I think that Dean is on the right track with the scion xa, xb cars. They have four doors, great gas mileage, deceptively copious amounts of interior room, and you can pick one up brand new, with a good warranty for about the same price you could buy any of your other options used. Just my $.02.

Ill second the Scion XB, would be a great vehicle if small and reliable is what she is looking for.. even if i am not the biggest fan of its styling.

I think the mazda 3 has IMPREZed (lol) me quite a bit for the money... :)

Thanks.. i let her know about the toyota, and she said she didn't want to buy toyota again. Had too many problems with her camry at 15,000 miles.. might be some lemon or something.

15,000 "grandma" miles can be harder on a car than 100,000 "normal" miles. For example, my friend's grandma blew up her brand new Caddy in 3,000 miles... that's because it took her 3 years for driving to church once a week to get the 1st 3,000 miles on it. :lol: That's 3 years before the 1st scheduled oil change!

Now the family takes the car out on the freeway once and a while and puts the hammer down to keep the new motor in there properly used.

I had the impression the Scion requires you to 'step up' into it. (Could be a height-challenging entry/exit into the vehicle?)

Is this grandma in Oahu? (where there can be lots of traffic). If so, I would also be shopping cars which have good crash test ratings - just in case. So many tourists driving around there that don't know how to drive, rubber-necking, etc. Something too small or with negative crash / impact test results would worry me if it was my grandma.