Seriously don’t buy from a car rental agency. I live in your area and trust me craigslistnis where to go. Look for one owner cars. I got my mom a beautiful acura tl with one owner and every maintenance record since it was delivered. You’ll get a better car and save thousands.
+1.
Happy owner of one.
That’s all political stuff. Considering that VW is the #2 auto maker in the world now (after Toyota), they must be doing something right.
2013 NISSAN Altima 2.5 S - crappy CVT trans.
2014 TOYOTA Corolla LE - good car, a little smaller than the others.
2014 CHRYSLER 200 LX - Crappy build quality.
2014 HYUNDAI Sonata GLS - okay car, nothing to get excited about.
2014 VOLKSWAGEN Jetta 1.8T SE - not a front runner.
I’d find a 2013/14 Toyota Camry 4 cyl. automatic. One of the few cars that has not switched to that CVT trans.
I drove a 2013 Altima rental for 2 weeks a couple of months ago. I loved that car. It was very comfortable, and a beautiful car. I liked that it said “hello” and “goodbye” to me. 
I would go with the Nissan or the Toyota. If you had said Camry, instead of Corolla, that would have been my first choice.
If you can find a late model Honda somewhere, you can’t go wrong with a Honda. There’s a reason they hold their value so well.
That would not do for me. I can’t stand a machine with the effrontery to speak to me before I spoke to it.
I had a friend that had a mid 80s Z car that talked.
Car:
“Door is ajar”
“Door is ajar”
“Door is ajar”
Me:
“No it isn’t a fucking jar it’s a door”
Hated that feature
Having been a service manager at a large Hyundai store, and working now for Toyota I can tell you the Hyundai is every bit as reliable as a Toyota, in some areas maybe more so.
I have one. If the OP doesn’t want a Chrysler 200 because it gets crappy mileage, the WRX is a really bad choice.
Great car if you want a fast yet still practical car that’s great in the snow. Bad choice if you want a boring car that gets good fuel mileage.
YES! I was worried about getting a new car with the feature of alerting you when a door is open or ajar. Fortunately, my new Outback has a graphic that shows which door is open. That’s actually helpful!
Tell that to GM. They were the leader in world automotive sales from 1931 to 2007. They still made some crap cars during that time. I know this from personal experience, I had a 1998 Pontiac Sunfire that was absolute junk. I’d need a LOT of recommendations from Consumer Reports and the like before I’d ever consider buying a GM car again.
Wanted to follow up on this…
I have heard/read great things about Hyundai, especially their reliability. And I have to say, I find many of their cars appealing to my eye. But I can’t pull the trigger on one because I have never owned one, nor have I known anyone in my family or close friends that have one so I can get the true owner feedback from someone I know/trust.
As a service manager, you have seen everything, including recalls, and bad design issues. Would you buy a Hyundai over most other comparable brands? And what about the Genesis? That just seems like a ton of money to spend on a Hyundai (my mental block, I know nothing of the car’s reliability or quality, but I really like it.)
Out of your list I’d definitely get the Toyota, although it’s not going to be especially larger than the Focus other than having 4 doors.
Personally I don’t find rental cars that appealing, you never know how much they were thrashed by the renters. If you have somewhere like Carmax that might be a better bet.
I drove the previous two generations of the Genesis sedans - the V8 and the V6 - a few days each, city/highway. Enjoyed the V8 a lot for obvious reasons but also because I liked the look of the original design more than the last. But the V6 was no slouch either. Both very good cars. Have not driven the latest generation but I’ve read great things about it.
I would not hesitate to pick it above something like a Lexus GS or Infinity Q50. But I would not try stack it against the German sedans like the A6, E-class or 5-series and expect the same build quality and feel.
He doesn’t want to demo the Crown Vic. He wants to RACE IT!!! “It will be an honorable death,” he says, though probably not a quick one. His buddy ran a Grand Marquis four heats a Friday night for two seasons.
New condition: It must carry a discreet sponsor sticker of our design. “dropzone family racing,” or something.
snicker I think this thread has veered into Never Never Land. 
Honestly there are only two things that come to mind. The six speed manual transmission used on the early Genesis Coupes had a relatively weak 6th gear synchromesh. As long as you drove it the way it was intended (6th was an extra overdrive gear for fuel mileage) it was fine. But if you played Ricky racer speed shifting 5-6 the synchro wouldn’t last. This was corrected back in mid 2013 with a new gear box.
The other issue is like other manufacturers Hyundai uses a very low tension piston ring on their V-8 engines. In some cases this has led to excessive oil consumption requiring replacement of the engine. As I said other car makers also use low tension rings and also have oil consumption issues.
I have a 2013 Sonata and it doesn’t use a drop between oil changes.
As far as the Genesis goes I L-O-V-E the new Genesis. That is one hell of a car.
If I hit the Lotto I would get a Genesis as a daily driver.
One more tidbit. I have never seen a car company that stood behind their products even when out of warranty and support the car owner the way Hyundai does. They are good cars and Hyundai is a good car company.
If you have any other questions feel free to IM me.
I’ll second the hyundai recommendations. When I worked the car dealer route all the hyundai dealer techs had been on minimum bookable hours for three years straight.
Great for customers, bad for techs
UPDATE: My Crown Vic at speed: https://sbuckphoto.smugmug.com/Speedway-71715/i-pF7hPJn/A It looked bigger in my driveway. And slower.
Mechanic/driver says it does well, and that he’ll put on larger, steel wheels for next season. And some Mustang Cobra heads a friend has for more power. He already reinstalled the bumpers upside-down because it makes them better for rearranging the field.
A glorious death, indeed! 