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Hi
My loved (and well-looked after) 1993 Nissan Primera (with 264,000kms on the clock) was recently written off so I need to look for a replacement. It's been so long since I looked for a car that the sheer variety out there confuses the heck out of me!

I travel every week from Hamilton to Tauranga and back for work, mostly by myself. I want a medium sized car however as my partner has a work car so this would be 'our' only car and will need to be used for the odd bit of towing (only small loads), and we need to be able to fit children in the back seat occasionally. I am also not keen on lap belts. I want something safe that sticks to the road and handles well and is reasonably fuel efficient. I'm hoping to find something between $10,000-$15,000 with under 100,000kms. I figure that something around 2000ccs is fine.

I'm currently leaning toward subaru foresters or legacy sedans (for no other reason than they don't appear to be nana cars and they have good safety ratings). Have no idea of their reliability however.

Any assistance gratefully received (and apologies for being so long-winded).

You are correct about the safety of Subaru’s and because of your daily travels this really does become an important part of your buying decision.

I do get a little hesitant recommending Subaru’s however as there are so many used imports out there which have bleed their owners to death with on-going repairs and mechanical issues.

They are NZ's most stolen brand(used imports) and insurance costs can be higher for this reason.

I wouldn’t say no but try and find a NZ new example with a proven service history.

Another option may be the Mazda6 wagon.

Have you thought about a Kia, I have had one for 6 years and have had an excellent deal with this brand. Sorento is the one I would choose. I currently have a Kia Rio, which I am very happy with it is very peppi for it's size and does for around town and for just the two of us does ok for long trips - not the luxury of the larger Sorento however. Happy searching