hate to be that guy but... what car? family edition

well Mrs. Dizzle has decided that she wants a new car to replace our 09 elantra with 81k on it. We travel a lot from indiana to the KC area and now the lil' Dizzle is getting older we are going on more vacations. so the basic rundown goes like this:

-suv/crossover (prefer 3rd row, not absolutely necessary) -good mpg (above ~26, obviously more is better -reliable/cheap maintenance -must be automatic -comfy seats (i cant stand the seats in the elantra, after the 8+ hour drive to KC my lower back is killing me) - ~$10k, not to high of miles

i think that pretty much covers it, really we are just looking for a good travel car for long trips with a good amount of space for luggage/children. I have tried to talk Mrs. Dizzle into getting a wagon of some sort but she's still not sold on the idea (maybe you guys can help with that).

and go!

CRV or RAV4 or whatever Korean Clone is out there..

Great vehicles for families. Get the 2wd 4cylinder versions for MPG. My 2wd 4cylinder rav4(older gen with 4 speed auto trans) does 25-26 around town and 31-32 on the highway.

It has a third row, but it's not useful beyond short cross town trips. I'm kinda sorry I paid extra for it.

Also check out the Mazda 5. It's a minivan without really being one.

Mazda 5.

Tucson/Sportage with the 2.4L GDI.

im a wagon guy. love my protege5, but theyre not applicable due to age/milage on them. mazda3 may be, though. my wife loves her lagacy wagon, and the newer ones get pretty decent fuel economy.

id rock a mazda5 or grand caravan if i had 2+ kids and crap. for my family of 3, the wagons are perfect.

We love our Mazda5. Absolutely the perfect size for a good people mover.

Mazda 5 gets my vote. Plenty of cargo room and its has the manumatic so you wouldn't get totally bored with it if you are behind the wheel. Also, I have gotten 30-31 mpg on longer drives full of cargo in mine.

Ford Flex?

Mazda 5 or minivan

If you want the 3rd Row - Ford Explorer or Flex - same chassis family two different body shapes. We have a 2012 and we average about 21 mpg (US) including operation in the winter. They do better on the hwy. They look pretty sharp with the 20" rims. Sorry - missed your price point. You would have to go older to get one for $10K - Flex has been out longer try that or a Dodge Journey - available in AWD.

Smaller? - Ford Edge - not sure if they come in a 3 row config

In reply to edizzle89:

I was recently in a somewhat similar position except no third seat required.

Wanted: wagon but realistically there are so few offerings I decided a cuv would be easier to find for space, good fuel consumption, reliable, auto, comfy seats, good a/c heat, needed to fit at least one car seat. Wanted to pay less than $10k with my trade in.

I researched and then test drove the following:

2010 Mitsu Outlander ES 2wd- surprisingly good, had everything but had a cvt which was strange. Rear tailgate; bottom folds down like a pickup. Rear seats; back folds down flat or the whole seats moves partially into the footwell. Strong AC, comfy seats with nice soft yet tough material.

2012 Scion xb - thought it was bigger for some reason, it's not, it's too small.

2010 Toyota RAV4 2wd - similar to Outlander but not as comfortable seats, tailgate side opening was not practical for me. Rear seats move forward and backwards like front seats and fold down individually in three parts which is very useful. Decent power in 4 cyc, 4 speed auto. Interior was quite beat up, not sure if this is common or previous owner was rough on it.

2011 Mazda CX7 base - bit out of my price range but very nice. Solid feel, heavy doors, well insulated cabin, lots of electronic goodies, rear seats are big, trunk is not as big as outlander or rav. Outward visibility was not great. 4 cyc NA, auto 5sp was similar to rav and outlander.

Outlanders can have a third seat but only in the v6 I think. Not sure about the others.

Didn't try CRV, I thought they were over-priced. Mazda 5 looked very good but didn't get to try one.

I bought the Outlander. 46k miles, clean carfax, one owner, still has 1 year and 13k miles left on warranty.

thanks for all the help guys, we will look into some of those options

does anyone have any exprience/know anything about Buick Rendezvous's? the wife found one at a local dealer that she likes. 2006, 94k, asking $9900

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gonna drive it this weekend probably and see how we like it

About $3k too much IMO. Not a bad vehicle honestly. Keep an eye on the intake gaskets, it will need them. rest of it is plain early 90's GM minivan platform.

yea shes all about going to a dealer, she feels like they are worth paying more for because they are better cars simply because they are on a lot...

logic is sometimes optional for her

Rendzevous = Pontiac Aztek in lipstick.

co-worker has had good luck with his Aztek. Its approaching 300k miles of long distance commuting. Seems plenty spacious for a family of 3. So yeah like Klayfish mentioned, Rendevous is the same underneath the sheetmetal.

My daughter-in-law has an Explorer with the ecotec turbo 4. It's actually very nice, almost BMW-like, inside, and gets around 30mpg. And I never thought I would say this about a Ford, but it drives pretty good too. They've come a long way. My wife drives a CRV and loves it as well, but to be honest, it is not as nice nor drives as well as the Ford. Who would have thought that would be possible.