Help me decide
For the first time in my life, I’m having a hard time making a decision on which car to buy. Mid 50s, single, no kids or dogs. My main transportation need is commuting to work 15 miles each way, two days a week.
My current ride is a leased 2023 Volvo C40 Recharge (all electric), which has 14,000 miles on it. Lease is up in August, and I’ll probably return it because the residual ($33,000 + TTL) is a few thousand dollars higher than the market value. My battery range is on the low end, maybe 200 miles on a full charge, partly because I like to drive fast and blast the AC. Still, it’s been a great car. I love the way it looks and the way it drives and I love not having to buy gas or get oil changes. This car meets my transportation needs about 97% of the time. Buying out my lease would be the cheapest of my current options.
The one situation where the Volvo falls short is when I need to make fast trips to visit my aging parents, who live ~250 miles away. These trips are often due medical needs, not just for fun. There’s always a sense of being squeezed between the obligations I have on both ends of that trip. I’m always in a hurry to get there and a hurry to get back, and the extra 2 or 3 hours on the road is painful.
When I got leased this car, I was married and had access to my ex’s Subaru Outback for these trips. My ex has actually been kind enough to let me borrow the Subaru as needed since our divorce, but I don’t want to depend on that forever, as they may be moving out of state next year.
For the last year or so, I’ve had my eye on a Toyota RAV4 Plug-in electric. This would allow me to do almost all of my daily driving on battery alone while still providing a convenient way to make those quick trips. The downside is that the model I would want is pricey ($54,000 + TTL), PHEVs are complex, and still a lot more maintenance than EVs. In general, I don’t love the RAV4. I see it as a practical but expensive compromise. My monthly payments would be around $300-350 more than the other options, which I could afford but am not am not sure I should. I’m still considering it because these vehicles known being reliable and hold their value well. I’d have it paid off by the time I retire and could potentially drive it for the rest of my life.
My other choice would be a Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid, at around $37,000+TTL. I’d miss driving a full EV, but would get great gas mileage. I love Subarus in general and the size of the Crosstrek is perfect (about like my Volvo and a little smaller than the RAV4). Unlike my Volvo, it would have a new-car warranty and any I’m guessing any longer term repairs would be cheaper than Volvo or Toyota. I’d still be dealing regularly with gas stations and maintenance, and might miss the sweet, sweet horsepower of my Volvo (402hp) or the Toyota (320hp). The Crosstrek payments would be only slightly more expensive than the Volvo.
Looking to the future, I am hoping to retire in around 7 years. My job is pretty stable, but it seems like anything can happen these days. It’s possible I might have to move, either for work or to retire, and if I do it would almost certainly be to a place with less EV infrastructure than I have access to now.
Which car would you buy if you were in my shoes?