My mom has a Jeep that she has been using as a daily driver, but the mileage is getting up there and she intends to keep it for the long haul...

This presents my question: She wants a Nissan Altima, and me being a Ford guy, I want her to get a Ford, although I admit we had an Altima as a rental one time and it was a very nice car...she doesn't want a compact or a small car, and I was thinking about talking her into buying a Fusion or a Five Hundred, I am pretty sure she hasn't paid any attention to them...

Requirements: It needs to get good gas mileage...she drives 80 miles one way to work...also meaning it needs to be dependable...which is one thing I like about the Ford's, they still use the 3.0, which is a tried and true motor IMO...

I went to the Ford Dealer to price some cars the other day and noticed that the Fusion and the Five Hundred are similar in price, but I don't know if she would like the Fusion, and the price the dealer wanted for the Five Hundred for about 3K more she could get a Mustang GT...

So what do you suggest? Do I try to talk them down on the Five Hundred...or Do I go to the Nissan Dealer to price a car for her? I priced an Altima for her online and it came out to $21,215 as the MSRP, plus I would add about three thousand for dealer markup...They wanted $24 and some change for the Five Hundred

Warranties: Ford offers the 3/36 warranty on the Five Hundred and Fusion, and Nissan's Warranty is for 3/36 with a 5/60 Powertrain Warranty, which warranties are what I have to keep in mind when buying, because the car will easily average a thousand miles a week...Although I could buy the extended warranty for the car...

This may seem biased to some, but Ford and Nissan are basically the only two options...Not because of me either...

 

I would say which ever one gets better gas milage since she will be driving 80 miles one way to work. And I would have her test drive the car, because that is a lot of driving for an uncomfortable car. Just my opinion.

 

I'd have her look at the Fusion with the 4-cylinder. It should get good mileage, and it is pretty roomy, probably on par with the Altima. But, as said above, have her sit in it and drive it. With that kind of mileage, a comfortable seat is going to be very important. (And, I know from helping my mother shop for cars, what is comfortable for you may not be at all comfortable for her...)