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93EXCivic
93EXCivic MegaDork
2/6/13 10:02 a.m.

Requirements (in order of importance):
1. Room for a medium sized dog, luggage, two people
2. Uber-reliable
3. Manual transmission
4. 20+ mpg city
5. 2000lb-3000lb tow rating
6. As new as possible (aka post 2000) with as few a miles as possible
7. Fun enough to drive that I won't want to off my self

Price limit under $6k. I had thought about Subaru wagons or Saab 9-5 wagons.

Edit: No minivans.

Klayfish
Klayfish Dork
2/6/13 10:05 a.m.

Not sure what the tow rating on the 9-5 is, but I'm guessing it's under 2k.

Mazda MPV??

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
2/6/13 10:06 a.m.

Was just gonna say a Subaru wagon, although you'll have to choose the right engine for the uber-reliable part.

McTinkerson
McTinkerson New Reader
2/6/13 10:09 a.m.

SF Forester that has had the HG done.

93EXCivic
93EXCivic MegaDork
2/6/13 10:10 a.m.
Klayfish wrote: Not sure what the tow rating on the 9-5 is, but I'm guessing it's under 2k.

I have seen 3500lbs with trailer brakes or 2000lbs with trailer brakes so not sure which it is. I would only be using it tow something around that limit maybe 4 miles occasionally.

pres589
pres589 SuperDork
2/6/13 10:17 a.m.

2 people and a dog and a ton of tow capacity? 20 mpg city? There's been a couple diesel SN95's built at home...

93EXCivic
93EXCivic MegaDork
2/6/13 10:22 a.m.
pres589 wrote: 2 people and a dog and a ton of tow capacity? 20 mpg city? There's been a couple diesel SN95's built at home...

Umm. The Forester is rated 2400lbs with trailer brakes...

golfduke
golfduke New Reader
2/6/13 10:26 a.m.

um, 4cyl jeep? Wrangler, XJ?

It's definitely not fun to drive in the corner carving ways, but it is in others.

Enyar
Enyar Reader
2/6/13 10:29 a.m.

TDI wagon if you take out the reliable part.

The_Jed
The_Jed Dork
2/6/13 10:47 a.m.

Mustang with a roof rack?

chaparral
chaparral GRM+ Memberand HalfDork
2/6/13 11:05 a.m.

Subaru Legacy Wagon, manual transmission.

Tow-rated to 3500 in Canada.

GameboyRMH
GameboyRMH GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
2/6/13 11:06 a.m.
The_Jed wrote: Mustang with a roof rack?

Mitt Romney approves

Shaun
Shaun HalfDork
2/6/13 11:10 a.m.

6k is right at the bottom of the 2004-2007 v70r pricing. 20mpg city is what people get with the 6 speed manual. they are reliable with the fair amount of care they require and 6k is going to come with 150k plus on the odometer. There was a 5k car up on craigslist in Portland with 86k on the clock that needed a hood, fender, and bumper. it was gone in a day and up at a dealer 2 weeks later for 15k. I have seen a fair number of 7-8k "asking" clean title high mileage cars as they are just hitting the 10 year old mark.

93EXCivic
93EXCivic MegaDork
2/6/13 11:13 a.m.
Shaun wrote: 6k is right at the bottom of the 2004-2007 v70r pricing. 20mpg city is what people get with the 6 speed manual. they are reliable with the fair amount of care they require

Define fair amount of care. And what about a non R model?

JohnRW1621
JohnRW1621 PowerDork
2/6/13 11:22 a.m.

Can an Xtrera get 20 mpg in the city?

jere
jere Reader
2/6/13 11:34 a.m.

Thats an easy p71....oh you said you don't want an automatic . You could always swap the trans

Onetrillionrpm
Onetrillionrpm New Reader
2/6/13 12:29 p.m.

Extended cab ford f250 with a 7.3? Fun to drive in a straight line if you like torque

Also thinking of a BMW x3

Klayfish
Klayfish Dork
2/6/13 12:43 p.m.
chaparral wrote: Subaru Legacy Wagon, manual transmission. Tow-rated to 3500 in Canada.

Yes, but in the United States, it's only 2800. Our air is thicker here...

AngryCorvair
AngryCorvair GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
2/6/13 1:03 p.m.

4-cyl S10 ext cab?

poopshovel
poopshovel UltimaDork
2/6/13 1:07 p.m.

Supercharged Previa?

The0retical
The0retical Reader
2/7/13 12:09 a.m.
JohnRW1621 wrote: Can an Xtrera get 20 mpg in the city?

My wifes 2006 auto gets 18 to 19. She drives it pretty hard around town though. Bet you could get 20+ out of a manual version. I've managed 23 and change on the highway plus I've gotten it sideways too!

On the flip side a WRX wagon will tow 2k I believe, not sure if they can be had at your price range or not though.

fidelity101
fidelity101 HalfDork
2/7/13 8:03 a.m.

Volvo S60 or V70

Jerry
Jerry Reader
2/7/13 8:06 a.m.

Until you said "tow rating" I would have suggested first gen Scion xB. Yes, I'm serious.

bgkast
bgkast GRM+ Memberand Reader
2/7/13 9:12 a.m.

Vibe/matrix meets all criteria except they are only rated to tow 1500 lbs

tuna55
tuna55 UberDork
2/7/13 9:13 a.m.
bgkast wrote: Vibe/matrix meets all criteria except they are only rated to tow 1500 lbs
Jerry wrote: Until you said "tow rating" I would have suggested first gen Scion xB. Yes, I'm serious.

yeah, that's the big issue I see, too

otherwise, Mazda5, Cruiser, Astra all would get a nod too.

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