Need some advice from the community- like the title suggests, we have the option of taking a 1994 Corolla or 2011 Fusion from either set of parents. The question is, which one is better to have in the long run?
Background
My husband and I don't currently own a car, but just moved to our first home in an area where it would be useful to have for certain non-walkable/bikeable weekend errands. (We live in the inner suburbs of DC, where car-sharing options are limited, unfortunately.) My parents want to give us their 2011 Ford Fusion SE, that has about 60k miles on it. My husband's parents still have the 1994 Toyota Corolla that he used through high school and college before moving to DC. I think it's got close to 180k on it.
The car will sit in our driveway for most of the time (like many older homes in the DC area, we don't have a garage). So my husband thinks we should drive his old Corolla up from Tennessee and use that, since he believes the Fusion is too nice to just let sit most of the time. Plus the MD excise tax on even an essentially free 2011 car will be about $640 compared to $38 for the 1994. (Although with the drive from TN the cost difference will probably end up being slightly less stark.) I'm voting for the Fusion, but would like the advice of wise people who have owned more cars than me (which is anyone who's ever owned a car).
Pros and Cons
Pros of Fusion- it's got side airbags and is generally probably safer, it has fewer miles on it so would hopefully last another 5-10 years with no major problems, it looks better, no hurting my parents' feelings
Cons of Fusion- more expensive on the front end (taxes), nice car only getting driven ~5,000 miles a year
Pros of Corolla- it's cheaper on taxes, don't have to worry as much about it gets scratched or dented, it gets the job done
Cons of Corolla- paint job is fading, may not have ABS (need to ask his parents), no power doors or windows, lots more miles on it (reliability concern?), might offend my parents if we reject gift
The same or similar- insurance costs and gas mileage
Unknowns- maintenance costs, repair costs if something goes wrong- which will cost more to fix?
Conclusion
If you had to make this choice, and wanted something that would last another 5-10 years, with babies and kids riding in it eventually, which would you choose? Thanks for any thoughts or advice!