As far as the Hyundai and Kia being "second tier" vehicles.... That's not the case any longer. Even 5 years ago - perhaps. Not these days, however. Not when they're consistently besting several their domestic, Japanese, and German competition in both Motor Trend and Car and Driver comparison testing.
I have a 2017 Ford Escape Titanium. I absolutely love the little thing. I got it to replace a 2015 Ford Edge, which I had for 3 years on a lease. I have owned several Fords over the years and have always had good luck with them. The only thing that went wrong with the Edge in 3 years was a blind spot sensor, and it was fixed under warranty.
The new Escapes are very comfortable, and even the mid-level models are fairly well equipped. I got the 2.0 Ecoboost engine. Gas mileage isn't the greatest for as small as the vehicle is, but regarding the Ecoboost engine, I was more interested in the boost than the eco anyway. You can get the 1.5 Ecoboost, which should get better mileage.
If your mom wants something smaller than the Escape, the new Ford Ecoboost is a subcompact crossover that would work. This is a brand new model from Ford that is just hitting dealer's lots:
https://www.ford.com/suvs-crossovers/ecosport/
Twin turbo engines may not be the best choice for someone 87 years old who does many trips only a few blocks long
The new Chevy's aren't ranked high because they're churning out piles of dog turds.
Honda, Toyota, Ford, Nissan, or Subaru. They are currently making good reliable cars. Chevy is not.
If you want to dip your toes into the second tier stuff, Kia, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, etc..... are all currently better than Chevy as well.
Do yourself and your mom a favor, and stay away from GMC stuff.
I wouldn't touch a new Nissan. Their CVTs are junk. Too bad....they used to be the Maytag of the car world.
Can't argue with the rest of your advice.
I might add to stay away from anything that says "Fiat Chrysler" on it like it's a man with the plague having a sneezing attack.
My wife has the Hyundai Tucson and she loves it. 65 k no issues at all. Her best ride in years. She ranks it as her favorite ever but liked my old 280z better (except when it would not start). That 280z had a few tricks done to it.
I find the ride disappointing. I think the height is to high for the wheel base but I like full size trucks and very low to the ground cars. What I like does not matter. She loves it good enough for me. I drove it twice.
I gotta say my Nissan Juke is kinda awesome. AWD, compact, and fun to drive.
That sucks. I haven’t touched one of their cvt equipped vehicles. Nissans were excellent. I’ll have to read some more into the recent ones.
I love the look of the Juke. I can't find any 2018 models locally. Was it discontinued?
And I also can't get over the name. Sounds like they tried too hard to pander to a certain demographic.
We love our 2006 Nissan. Though it's kinda starting it's slow and expensive decline to the junk heap. 2006 Altima 3.5 SE with 167k miles on it. Floor rusted out - repaired that. There's a leak in an AC system hose. There may very well be a leaking power steering pump. We MAY repair the AC. Probably just keep adding PSF as needed. OR if I had my own lift I'd give the PSP a go vs. the $400-$600 I've been quoted. I just put new Pirellis on it last fall. I NEED to get another 50k miles out of this.
But - yes. Nissan WERE excellent. They had some rough rough years in the 2010-2016 model years with their CVTs. Multiple models - but especially the Altima and the Pathfinder. Anywhere from 60k miles on and you were essentially on borrowed time with the CVT. SUPPOSEDLY they've fixed the issue. I'm not sure there are enough '17 models with high enough miles to really tell for sure, though. One thing that I DO know for sure - knowing this about their vehicles has, unfortunately, turned me off on buying another Nissan with a CVT (which is anything we'd be in the market for).