re: Any baw rolling in a sub compact SUV or smaller car for a daily

Model 3. It’s a perfect daily driver with only 2 small kids.

I have a truck and a car.
Lifted F-150 is a pain to get in and out of. Sucks gas.
Honda Civic is the second vehicle. Sips gas, easy to climb in and out of. Can’t tow , kinda of a chick car.
I find it’s better to keep two vehicles rather than making one so everything.
Plus one of my other kids or wife’s vehicles is always in the body shop anyway it seems these days.

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Passengers complaining how hard it is to climb into my lifted truck. I was thinking a Mazda CX3 or a Ford Focus.

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Rented a Chevy Trax once. It's small, and I wouldn't want to drive across country in it. But it was a lot better and nicer than it had to be for a commuter. Chevy has quietly built a very good affordable car that undercuts the Corolla or Civic in price.

I hear similar things about the Ford Maverick too - It's no Cadillac, but it's much better than it has to be.

Model 3 is the GOAT but it's more expensive than the smaller ICE cars like the Sentra, Trax, or even a Corolla or Prius.

It sounds like only one end may be lifted in this situation

Until March of this year, I had a truck for 40 years and loved them. But I sold my boat in 2024 and am now 72 years old and just don't need a truck. I traded my 2019 F-150 super crew, LWB, 5.0 for a Toyota Corolla Cross, non-turbo, non-hybrid 4 cylinder. It is ridiculously easy to drive and park and gets 35+ mpg around town. Drove it to Slidell a couple of weeks after I bought it - while not as comfortable as the LWB F-150 on the road, it was fine.
Wifey drives a Lexus ES-350 so we have all the vehicles we need.

Ford focus was a subcompact sedan/hatch that hasn’t been made here for awhile now. I’d look Toyota Corolla Cross or late model Mazda CX-5 since they just had a body style change for ‘26. CX-3’s are decent too

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Rented a Chevy Trax once. It's small, and I wouldn't want to drive across country in it. But it was a lot better and nicer than it had to be for a commuter.

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I just got out of a 2024 Trax 1RS (the first edition of the refresh), and I put almost 90,000 miles on it before trading it in. For the price ($24K in 2023) and mpg (28 mpg for me) it's the perfect commuter. You can also put a six foot ladder in it no problem if you need a little work vehicle.

Bought a used focus ST for $5k to commute.

It’s practical, 30mpg, and seats 4 comfortably. Has a stick, makes turbo sounds if your on a back road or is totally boring on the interstate when you just need to get from A-B.

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I was thinking a Mazda CX3 or a Ford Focus.

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Beware of the 1.5, 2.0, and 2.3 eco boost engine with Ford. There's currently a class action lawsuit resolving regarding coolant intrusion into the cylinder heads. I wouldn't touch a Ford Focus if I were you.

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I've always had a small car for my commute. Why would I waste money that I earn driving something with shitty MPG if I am not using it for its intended purpose? There are too many people driving around their lifted white F150s that will never go off road and only use the bed twice a year.

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This 1000x. If you don't work on a farm or on a work site, you don't need a truck. It's stupid. I work in a corporate office building and our parking deck is full of big arse trucks that are clean as a whistle and have never had anything in the bed and have never sniffed a grain of dirt.