I have a long commute to work - 1 hour each way at least 3 days per week, sometimes 4. I need something that will comfortable but would also like a little more fuel efficiency than what I had with the wagon.

My commute is about 45 minutes each way, 5 days weekly.

I can't give you any specific recommendations, but I'd advised buying a used vehicle. If you're going to be putting that kind of mileage on it, there's no reason for you to subsidize the depreciation of a new car purchase. Let someone else pay for the 1/3 loss of value in driving it off the lot.

We've actually had pretty good luck buying through craigslist, but you'd definitely want to have a professional check such a vehicle before you buy it. Alternatively, depending on your budget, you can get a nice certified pre-owned vehicle from a professional dealership.

You probably already knew that part, but I figured it was worth mentioning.

If so, you might want to check out the Subaru wagons and crossovers like the Forester.

The car I CANNOT recommend is the Toyota Venza. I had one as a rental recently when my car was in the shop. The windshield is so sloped that I hit my head the first time I got in. I'm not tall, only 5'6", but in the quest for aerodynamics Toyota forgot about people's heads! I had to awkwardly lean WAY back to get in and out. Goofy!

A former roommate loves her Mazda CX5.

If possible, try to find the car you're considering as a rental. I was considering buying a PT Cruiser several years ago and got a chance to rent one while I was on vacation. Fun car, but the seats just didn't fit my butt!

My husband is tall, so that's another factor. The Saab wagon was such a good road car. We're going to miss it now matter what we get.

I haven't checked out Mazdas yet but did look at them a few years ago.

I would recommend my Scion xB, but they stopped making the good ones in 2007. The newer models don't get as good of gas mileage. I love mine. It's a 2006 and still gets 28 to 31 MPG and it is really roomy. With the back seat down you can haul a ton of stuff.

If I was looking for cat now, I would be looking at Subaru's and the Honda HRV.

And it sure takes the financial sting out of commuting.

I do own a little house that I paid LESS than that for, though! LOL! It's in an economically depressed region, but it's a nice little get-away shack, where I and my family members go for fresh air and country living on odd occasion!

Good look with whatever you pick--hope you have better luck with this new car!

And I have a long daily commute so I need something that is comfortable and reliable.

It's so important to have a reliable car if you spend a lot of time in it. The stress of having to endure unreliable transport is just an awful feeling.

When I had a horrible commute, many years ago, I used to have dreams (this is for real) that I had a chauffeur - driven limousine pick me up in the morning! The dreams were SO realistic and vivid, too! In the dream, there would be orange juice, danish, and a crisp newspaper in the back of the vehicle! I'd get in, read the paper, have my little breakkie, and arrive ready to start the day! I can't count how many times I had that dream--I guess if wishes were horses, then beggars would ride! I used to wake up SO disappointed that the dream wasn't real...LOL!

And there are so many people from my work who have almost the same commute it could be possible but I've found most people are unwilling to compromise their personal schedules. (I work at a university so schedules can be a little crazy and confining.)

day, in my mind, feel the texture of the newspaper and taste the orange juice! It's one of those things that sticks with me--hee hee!

You can probably guess I really, REALLY hated my commute!

I still hate driving with a passion because of long work commutes for decades.
Years of my life utterly wasted...worse than wasted...stressed out... behind the wheel.

Now I only drive 1/2 mile to the grocery store and only when necessary... I do most of my shopping in one trip at the beginning of the month and then try to get my hubby to pick up lettuce, etc as needed. I just hate driving.

Unfortunately, our families live in other states; I have to drive 8-10 hours to see Dad or bring him here with me for awhile. But at least I'm not on a time-crunch then, and I go down a straight highway through beautiful mountain scenic views.

The worst part of my communiting nightmare was that as a single parent, every five minutes I might be late cost an enormous sum of money I didn't have for daycare.

I love it. You can get a nice one for under $25K if you haggle a bit. It is a well set up car with a lot of high tech stuff. It's comfortable and gets pretty good mileage. The all wheel drive is very handy if you live in a snowy area like Wisconsin. And Subarus are dead reliable.

And our top choice would be a Toyota Prius. In our case, we can't afford a new one, so we hope to find one that's 3 or 4 years old. They get great gas mileage and are highly rated by Consumer Reports. Mileage and reliability are our primary considerations. We currently own a 2005 Toyota Matrix with almost 140,000 miles and hope to keep it going as long as possible.

Because we had to keep it under $10,000 we ended up with a 2006 (for $8500) that we bought in 2013. It is still reliable and economical and still running on the original set of batteries. We get just under 50 mpg whether on trips back and forth to town or on long trips.

The biggest complaint we have is that with the original Prius design there is just no enough space for long trips. My sister has a Prius V and it has just enough additional space to fit what we need. So when our Prius wears out, we will look for a Prius V. They were no in our price range in 2013 since they came out in 2010.

One note - if you buy one from a Toyota dealer, they sell under 100,000 miles and put a warranty on them. Effectively that warranty adds $2000 to the price. Our Prius came from a small car lot down the street from a Toyota dealer. Because our Prius had more miles than the dealer could warranty, they sold it to the car lot. We needed that deal, but at your price range you might want to consider checking dealers and get a newer model with a warranty.

Wow! Looking at Cars.com in my area there is a 2015 Toyota Prius v for $22,250 with only 7,544 miles! If I were ready to replace our Prius, I would jump on that deal!

Our price limit is $15,000 and I will be looking at buying programs through our credit union to see if they can get us a good price.

2012 and 2013 Prius V go for around $17,000 so you might be able to find one closer to your price range. If you don't need the space, the original Prius body style goes for less.

I like searching with Cars.com - you can set the price, the make and model, and other specs, including how far you are willing to go to look. Most of the dealers have CarFax reports available on the cars they offer. I located the last two vehicles I purchased through Cars.com and have been very satisfied. It saved a lot of driving around and let me research the cars offered at my leisure. Since we're in a small isolated market, I could find great deals within decent driving distances without having to drive all over the state.

for 12 years. And, yeah, no issues at all. I could probably still be driving it now.

We could have gotten a brand new one for about the same money but it would have been bare-bones - this had low miles and has about every option there is including sun-roof, fancy stereo system with GPS, premium wheels and tires/ interior.

And they gave us the FULL 10 year/100k mile warranty. just like if we bought new.

It's sporty enough I don't hate driving it and it fits my wife perfectly. (It's her car mostly) We've driven it from Florida to Virginia on vacation (Me, Her, our daughter and an Aunt - everyone reported it was very comfortable) and because of the great mileage, I often steal it from her when I go out of town for work.

Have not had one single problem with it.

I used to hate Hyundais but they got their stuff together. (I test drove one in the 80s because they were so cheap and it drove like a rubber band powered it so I never considered them again until last year after reading some reviews)

I've heard they may start making pick-ups and I'll be in the market for one for work soon so if they do...I'll at least have to take a good look at them. If they can give me Chevy Colorado size and amenities at Hyundai prices it will be hard to turn down that warranty.

they look!

My guess is by now there are some used ones around. Great mileage.

Almost anything in the Honda family (including the upscale Acura SUV)

My sister and one of my oldest friends both have and LOVE their Honda "Fit". My sister had the CR-V before trading it in for the Fit; she also loved the CR-V. My friend had a Saab before the Honda and says she can't believe she drove a Saab when she could have had a Fit. However, both sister and friend are about 5'4" or under. Friend has two big dogs, though, and she and they and her boyfriend all fit into the Fit comfortably.

A (wealthy) friend bought not one, but two Acura SUVs within a 2-month period, she loved them so much.

My husband and I have a Honda Odyssey. We don't have kids; yes we have a minivan. We frequently need to carry items that should be covered - and vans have MUCH more room than SUVs. My husband is 6'4", so many cars aren't that comfortable for him; the Odyssey is wonderfully comfortable for both of us. We can drive for 10+ hours a day and not feel stiff or sore getting out of the car (we're both 45+), and I can't say that with other cars we've had. Ours has over 200,000 miles and we've never had a problem - we just provide regular maintenance. It's an older version (2003) and the newer ones have more efficient A/C systems; the only time gas consumption is an issue is the summer when we use the A/C. We're looking to get a newer (used) version for that very reason.

I'll definitely check out the Honda fit. My husband loves Hondas, so could be a possibility.

we have a 96 Outback and just turned over 308,000 miles. Resale on these (at least in our area) is much higher than most comparable vehicles. We are starting to look at some of their new Impreza and Crosstrek (hybrid) vehicles. We've been *very * happy with what we have been origins for the past 20 years!

Frankly, we bought it because my Son-In-Law works at a Nissan dealer, and he got us a great deal. It's sticker price was 19.5K. It's surprisingly comfortable for a small car, decent performance and we are getting 37-40 mpg, with mostly highway driving where we live.

We got the mid-range option package, it has blue tooth and XM radio. Very nice car and we plan to do some long distance travelling in it in the next sixth months. Maybe even all the way across country.

It was wonderful. Even had a heated steering wheel! I've looked at other Nissan models so that's a possibility.

is the next size up from the Sentra. Around 25K or so I think. A little roomier and more comfortable than the Sentra, and a little less gas mileage.

But that's my answer to every car query

Gets almost 50 mph highway.

It's what pushes VW way down on the list

stupid name, GREAT car. not caddy comfort, but good enough for some road miles, decent mileage (I average over 30 in my automatic) nice entertainment system. comes in 3 models (or at least did, no idea for new ones) get the middle one. the center console and electric mirrors are worth it. yes I went from beaters sometimes missing doors to feeling deprived without electric mirrors.

I drove one of these around Baja as a rental upgrade and fell in love with it. a year later I came into a little money and immediately went looking for one to buy.

I bought a used base model and even forked over the extra to get a console from Amazon.

Yeah I know this is probably more than you'd want to pay but I'd say look at the Nissan Leaf or the Chevy Volt.

The basic 80 mile range Leaf S starts around $29 grand and the next one up is the 107 mile range Leaf SV at abour $34 grand. I tested one not too long ago and it seemed to be a pretty nice car. My only hangups on the Leaf is the limited range, I do go on trips about 100 miles out of town every so often and wouldn't want to rent or borrow a car for those trips. http://www.nissanusa.com/electric-cars/leaf/

Then there's the Volt which that starts out at $33 grand. I love my 2012, it runs pretty good. They redesigned the car in 2016, gave it a new sleeker body shape and were able to reduce the hump in the back so there are actually three seats in the back. The range is up to about 50 miles on the battery now and afterwards another 350 on gas. http://www.chevrolet.com/volt-electric-car.html

Something to consider is that there is a $7,500 Federal tax credit that you can take when doing your 2016 taxes. Depending on what state you're living in there might even be more on top of that.

There are plug-in stations at work - primo parking.

If I finance the car, which I will at least for 1/2 of price, the savings in gas would cover the extra expense.