[Alfisti]

Small, very, very small. My 9-3 is considerably larger trust me I cross shopped directly.

[Sneekypete]

Don’t sleep on the Volvo V70 XC. If you can find a low mileage example from the early aughts, before they got lifted and adorned with plastic bits, should be very reliable.

[gatorfast]

Kia K5

[stein_325i]

Originally Posted by gatorfast

Kia K5

These new Kia K5's are really nice. My friend bought his son one, so many premium features and touches all inside the cabin, and the exterior looks pretty cool too. Kia's making some great cars, not just for the money, but in general. Definitely a good recommendation.

[Son of Achilles]

Originally Posted by stein_325i

These new Kia K5's are really nice. My friend bought his son one, so many premium features and touches all inside the cabin, and the exterior looks pretty cool too. Kia's making some great cars, not just for the money, but in general. Definitely a good recommendation.

Kia stock is the way to go

[gatorfast]

Originally Posted by stein_325i

These new Kia K5's are really nice. My friend bought his son one, so many premium features and touches all inside the cabin, and the exterior looks pretty cool too. Kia's making some great cars, not just for the money, but in general. Definitely a good recommendation.

Yup I picked up a K5 as a daily driver and I love it. Really nice inside out and comes standard with all the good tech bits. It's very roomy too, plenty of room for adults in the rear seats and the trunk is gigantic.

[AlexFL]

That budget could be enough to buy a used Kia Stinger GT. A fun-to-drive hatchback.

[Our03z4]

Jetta Sportwagen TDI, models between 2010 and 2014. Because of diesel gate there are a ton with super low miles. Have the APR tunes and it becomes quite a fun car. Ours has the DSG trans which after the trans tune is a night and day difference, even has launch control. I can get 48mpg at 70 mph and 36mpg normal/aggressive driving. Car also has a 1300lb payload cap and 3500 towing. We've had SUVs and also have trucks but I absolutely love this car. Even has a built in inverter. It's on the gti platform but lengthened so it handles great for the size. We got ours for $10k with only 40k miles. Just don't look at one with a sunroof! The Smoking Tire did an episode on one and you can watch it on YouTube.

[fgpalmer71]

Originally Posted by AlexFL

That budget could be enough to buy a used Kia Stinger GT. A fun-to-drive hatchback.

Drive the Stinger before you cross it off your list. It seriously checks all of your boxes. I cross shopped them against the Genesis sedan and a few others when they 1st came out and was blown away honestly. I chose the Genesis because it's a larger car and at the time interior space was important. Those Stinger GT's are the ultimate hatchback, in that price range, in my opinion. Seriously, take an hour and drive one.