Despite the fact that in Consumer Reports’ more recent videos, they seem to have an aversion to lengths of over two minutes, they still deliver the usual message, albeit in a more compact form. This time, the chosen topic is the picking of five used models that are both recommendable and affordable.

What they come up with in terms of choice are two SUVs, two sedans and the 2011-ish Toyota Prius that in their hands returned 44 mpg US (5.3 l/100km or 53 mpg UK). All their picks are sensible, practical and family-oriented, but none offer any kind of excitement and therefore are not for everybody.

However, when it comes to buying a used car, the choice is far greater than merely safe and reliable models, so if you’re willing to look a few extra years into the past (to around, say, 2007), the same money you’d pay for a 2012 Accord could get you at the wheel of something more enjoyable.

It can be a sedan too, if it must, but switch the country to Germany, and the choice is radically different; you could even go down the wagon route.

By Andrei Nedelea

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