We used to have earbuds that don't need to be charged because they had a headphone jack, didn't get lost so easily because they had a cord attached to a headphone jack, never lost the bluetooth connection because they had a headphone jack, and they cost less because they had a headphone jack. https://bsky.app/profile/daisyfm.bsky.social/post/3l3mfjc6sn62k
My old car was a Kia. (Don’t hate me. It was 2009, and I was earning $19,000 a year.)
I got a used model that was the one higher than base, that included the deluxe audio package. Basically, it included an aux input and the crappy speakers had metal grills instead of plastic ones.
I spent years trying to figure out why the aux jack never worked, until in 2014 I took apart the insides, and then took it to a dealership to confirm that the factory had installed the standard wiring harness, which didn’t include connectors for the aux jack. They said it would be cheaper to buy a new car than it would be to have them fix the wiring.
I wound up missing the aux roadtrip experience entirely, and replaced the radio with one that did Bluetooth.
Bastards.
If cheap is the goal and Honda is out of budget then Kia appears to be a wise choice.
Why are you worried that others would be unhappy that you chose a Kia?
I’ve never heard of any Kia hate, that makes absolutely no sense. Nobody had any idea that Kia Boyz would become a thing, so nobody judges people who bought Kias before that….
Kia isn't bad, they have a bunch of engines out there that if you stare it long enough it'll kick the rods out, but most of them are covered by the extended warranty. They had dirt from the casting in them and it eats the bearings. The other downside is theft and because of that insurance rates are a bit higher for them.