Hey, love the this site. We are looking for a long term keeper. Looking at Honda HRV, Fit, Mazda 3, Toyota CHR. all automatics. We would like a hatchback, as we are replacing a 09 Forester with 130000 miles. Any advice? Any new suggestions? We have also found that the cars are made in Turkey and Mexico. The Fit is the only one with Japanese made motor and trans., assembled in Mexico
I would narrow it down to the Honda Fit and HR-V personally.
The reason being, the Toyota CH-R isn't nearly as practical as the HR-V. It was originally a Scion made for young kids not really good for a family. You should go check it out and see if its good for you, but I personally have seen that it doesn't make good use of its space the back seats can be claustrophobic.
The Honda Fit is a well engineered hatchback. Since it is discontinued, you might be able to get a good deal, and they tend to hold their resale value well.
The Honda HR-V is a more practical choice to the Toyota CH-R. I would definitely give it a look.
The Mazda 3 isn't bad, but it still isn't at the level of Toyota and Honda in terms of long term reliability.
The CH-R is assembled in Turkey, and their craftmanship is alright. Not great, not bad. The Mexicans pay have assembled the Fit but its been a while since they started assembly there are no quality control problems have been seen yet.
I also personally find the CH-R to be ugly and an engineering catastrophe but thats just me.
You also might get a sweet deal on a brand new Honda Fit since its discontinued.