I was forced to buy a new car about 6-8 months ago,and bought a 4 cylinder Toyota Camry with 200 hp,auto trans,ps,pb,and all sorts of other crap.
Sticker price was right at $28,00.0,but they gave me a 500 dollar veterans discount.
Damn thing will FLY when I kick in the passing gear,and the typical gas mileage I get in local driving is around 38-45 mph on premium gas. I started out using regular gas,but then discovered I could get another 8 mpg or so by using premium.
I have gotten as high as 54 mpg on highway trips.
I bought it because it was the cheapest new car I could find that I could get in and out of without hurting my back,and the lumbar seat support fits my back perfectly.
It was also the only Camry on the dealers lot,and it was being driven by the sales manager. Had close to 500 miles on it,which didn't bother me at all because if the sales manager had been driving it,ANYTHING that was "off specs" had been fixed.
Went to the Honda dealer first,and they had NO new cars on the lot. The salesman told me "We expect to have 28 coming in some time this month,if you want to put your name on a list in case someone who ordered one backs out."
Went to the Nissan dealer next. All they had in new cars was a few of the mini-whatevers that I couldn't get into,and a super expensive sports car that I would have to have cut the top off of to even get in,and even then might have needed a crane.
Plus it was black,and since I live up a dirt road,it is impossible to sell me a black car at any price.
Went to the Ford dealer next,and didn't even get out of the car. The smallest thing he had for sale on the lot was a 1 ton truck.
Went home because it was getting late and looked up the Toyota dealer inventory on the web,and he had my dream truck. 4 cylinder Toyota pu with an extended (NOT crew ) cab,that was white with tan upholstery,aod trans,ps,pb,radio,and heater and regular tires and wheels. Was there the next morning at 9 am to buy it,and it had been sold the night before. The nearest thing they had to it was a black V-6 4X4 with close to 100k miles on it.
Looked around the dealer lot and it seemed like all they had in stock were the small ones I couldn't get into,and then the woman sales agent remembered the sales manager was driving a white Camry. I bought it despite it having black upholstery. The saving grace was it was black cloth that breathed,and not black leather or vinyl.
BTW,I saw no need to buy anything bigger because I have a GMC 4X4 turbo diesel 3/4 ton pu parked in the yard if I need to haul something. Pretty much had to park it when the price of diesel fuel went through the roof,plus it is a bastard to try to park in a regular parking spot with the extended cab and the 8 foot bed,and my back is too bad now to park far away and then walk into where I need to go.