What car will keep my elderly parents mobile?

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My parents, who are in their mid- to late-80s, are starting to have problems getting in and out of their current vehicle (a 2007 Civic), which has a very low seating configuration. They are looking for a new vehicle, preferably a compact or subcompact car, which has a relatively high seating position with a height-adjustable seat on the passenger side. I own a 2011 Golf, which has a relatively high seating position. I was wondering if you could suggest any other vehicles. The Mercedes-Benz B200 is another vehicle that comes to mind, although I don't like the fact it requires premium grade fuel.

Greg in Oshawa, Ont.

Cato: The challenges facing aging drivers are real and this is a very good example of what they face.

Car companies do get this and they are, at least in some cases, doing quite a bit of research into making new cars user-friendly for 80-year-olds. When I'm that age I imagine all the car companies will have sorted out the problems.

Vaughan: I will make no comment on the likelihood of you facing that challenge given your past and present lifestyle. However, I cannot fail to point out that questions of this nature are the most frequent we receive. Conclusions about what this says about the demographics of the Globe's readership I will leave to the ever-young publisher.

Cato: There you go, biting the hand that feeds you. Shocking as it may be to readers, the Globe actually pays for your meandering and often off-point "witticisms." Incredible, I know.

However, there is a reason why so many readers are tuned into this subject: by 2025, one in five drivers on the road will be 65 years old or older - the big bulge of the Baby Boom generation, people born in the mid- to late-1950s, will be closing in fast on 70 - years, not miles per hour.

Vaughan: The only other reflection I will offer on this issue is to point out the preponderance of non-automotive ads, which are inserted into our TV show - Car/Business - namely Cialis and Viagra. I assume this product placement is due to the affinity the manufacturers of such products have for your previously mentioned lifestyle.

Cato: I realize you have no interest in ... well, let's just say you lead a solitary life. But to the question, Vaughan.

Vaughan: Oh, all right. The Golf is a favourite of mine and is fairly easy to get in and out of for Greg - and me so far - but it's a bit a low for my mother, who accepts no assistance whatsoever when lowering or raising herself from therein. Scottish stubbornness I suspect rather than a ringing endorsement for the "hip point."

No, I suggest Greg's parents shop elsewhere. First choice, because I expect to be impoverished if I reach that age, would be the Toyota Matrix. That's a perfect car for an older person - easy access, solid reliability and a low price.

Cato: The Matrix I would suggest is the all-wheel-drive model. The last thing an 80-year-old wants is to be housebound when it snows. With AWD, owners have better winter mobility and at $24,070 it's affordable.

Vaughan: Greg mentions the Mercedes B-Class as a possibility. They've put a "sandwich floor" into that one. It raises up the floor and thus the seats in order to leave room for the drive train to slide below you if you have the big one. It also leaves room for the batteries under floor for the electric or hydrogen versions. The entry point therefore is way up high. Smart thinking, say I - but too expensive for my meagre resources.

Cato: Meagre resources? Hah!

Look, at $32,400 for the Turbo version, the B-Class is priced right there in the heart of the market.

Vaughan: Now let's take a look at Honda's CR-V. A reliable workhorse if there ever were one. The CRV remains unstoppable.

Cato: I agree. An excellent compact SUV and I'd recommend the EX model with AWD for $31,490. Good price, all the needed goodies.

Vaughan: We have offered brilliant commentary on the three options above, however there's one missing from the list. Scion is Toyota's "youth brand." If you don't show up with a skateboard under your arm, Scion doesn't want - or know how - to talk to you.

The managing director of Toyota Canada actually told me a Scion dealer probably wouldn't sell me a car if I showed up wearing my slightly outdated - but in my eyes terribly fashionable - cap.

Sure, the Scion xD isn't being marketed to me or Greg's parents - but it's the Matrix deluxe. The interior is beautiful, the driving is great, the price is a steal, but unless Greg can persuade his parents to arrive on a skateboard I don't know if anyone will sell them one.

Cato: I like the roominess, but the ride height is a little low. Read the letter and cut the rant, Vaughan.

Vaughan: Then take the Matrix for the price.

Cato: No. Wrong again. The CR-V is the best pick here.

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HOW THEY COMPARE

Source: car manufacturers

Jeremy Cato and Michael Vaughan are co-hosts of Car/Business, which appears Fridays at 8 p.m. on Business News Network and Saturdays at 11:30 a.m. on CTV.