I would highly suggest a KIA, if you're buying new. You can't really beat their warranty. I mean 10yr/100k miles? The best I've seen locally, is 6yr/60k miles. My girl loves her '03, and is looking at a newer '09 Optima. We've test drove a lot of vehicles in the past few months. Mainly KIAs, due to the warranty. We drove a '10 Focus SES, and although I'm not a huge FORD guy, I really enjoyed this car. Smooth ride, and gets up even with it's 4cyl... Even the most basic S model was comfortable, and pleasing to drive.