My wife totaled our 2006 Scion XB. Tires had good tread but may have been underinflated. She was driving at or under the speed limit. She was passing a semi in a heavy downpour, hydroplaned and bounced off the semi and the median. She's OK but afraid to drive in the rain now.

We are grateful and consider this a valuable learning experience. We now promised each other not to pass semi's in the rain. If the semi's are averaging 55 on a 65 posted freeway we'll go 54 and arrive a little late!

Doing the research I learned underinflated tires contribute to hydroplaning. Most or all cars have a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) now. So any new car would feel safer to her if she can easily check pressures.

We want economy and reliability. We loved the XB for it's MPG and big interior volume.

Were testing the 2018 Honda Fit and 2018 Subaru Impeza. We have new studded tires sized for the Honda. I like the idea of AWD and all season tires and no twice yearly tire swaps on an Impreza.

Consumer Reports dinged the Impreza recently for radio and back up camera problems, otherwise the Impreza seems like a no-brainer for us.

Anyone with experience or ideas? Thanks