Large station wagons?

My experience is this.

Loved my 2000 V70 with the built in booster seats and third row. Stay away from the 2000's get a 1998 or 1999 or 05 or newer.

Due to twins and a wife with a bad back from carrying said twins anything other than a full sized van with captains caused twisting while loading kids. It's a real thing with snow blowing up your back. In the van you just pile in the side door situate all of the passengers then walk to the drivers seat all in the comfort of of the interior. GMC Savana SLT, it also pulls a racecar trailer nicely. I don't need this anymore but may keep it until it returns to the earth.

Mazda 5, does it all with great MPG.

Down side to it, a little noisy, with three kids it could use more space for stuff. We have taken it on several road trips with out the need for a top carrier. 135,000 dead reliable miles, one battery and rear shocks. Handles well but needs more power to be fun.

I like the flex, but couldn't get past the size and gas mileage. Anyone who has a 3.5 needs to keep an eye on their water pump, it is buried and can take out the motor when it goes bad.

I also hate minivans but agree that they are the best for hauling kids. Get one now, use it until the kids are all in boosters then go back to what ever you want. Time flies with kids, it will feel like no time at all. Mine are now 23, 10, 10 and 7. I know something about moving them.

Klayfish, I hadn't told anyone yet! ;)

Akylekoz, wow, 7 and 23 is quite a spread. I'm 14 years younger than my oldest brother and though that was something.

I'm going to have to check out the Flex and mkt. Lots of mentions of it here.

That's what happens when you start having kids when you are 12.

akylekoz wrote: That's what happens when you start having kids when you are 12.

Umm seriously?

No. I'm 42 and she is still 22 for another couple of weeks. I am serious about those 3.5 water pumps, a guy at work had to get one changed at the dealer for $1000. I read on the interweb that when they go bad water can get in to the oil due to their location.

You can get a flex with a built in cooler between the seats.

Two words.

Sliding doors.

Try as they might, my kids have been completely unable to slam them into other parked cars.

tuna55 wrote: Two words. Sliding doors. Try as they might, my kids have been completely unable to slam them into other parked cars.

Yeah, this. ^^

Parked cars like the other one in your garage.

akylekoz wrote: Parked cars like the other one in your garage.

I also have to say, with all of the horror stories and whatnot about power sliding doors failing, my kids have done everything they could to ruin them. Tug-o-wars, open/close multiple times within the same travel, basically riding on them, and the silly Caravan has not had one single issue with the doors ever.

tuna55 wrote: Two words. Sliding doors. Try as they might, my kids have been completely unable to slam them into other parked cars.

Excellent point... I always think of the kids as babies but they won't be babies for long!

I guess it depends on your definition of driving fun, but since we're on GRM I'm going to make some assumptions. Nothing in the USDM mentioned so far is going to come close to a Mazda5 if that's your criteria. They're way more nimble than your other options and can be had with a manual trans. Whoever suggested they didn't have much more room than a Maz6 probably never compared the two. Ours hauls our twin boys, their bags, and a mega stroller no problem.

Cargo volume with 3rd row folded down:

Flex: 43.2 cu ft

Mazda5: 44.4 cu ft

Go drive them back-to-back. They couldn't be more different. As Matt B said if nimble=fun you can't beat the 5 (especially with a manual). If you like heavy muscle cars maybe an ecoboost Flex w/ a tune is the way to go.

The last "large" wagon available was the Taurus and the Sable, I think they made them until 2005. If you could call it large, that is.

Probably not what you're looking for though.

Another option is a 9-5. We were able to fit 3 adults in the back seat for a few hours. Not the best, but not horribly uncomfortable either. (ours was a sedan)

We took our Mazda 5 to the beach for a week. Both dogs (black labs), all their stuff, all my cycling stuff, my wife, myself, and our new baby.

We did put a cartop carrier on it.

We got 27 mpg fully loaded down.

I am sold!

We have three 5's in our family an 09 Touring a 10 Grand touring and a 13? sport. I really wish mine had the dark interior and leather. My mom's 13 is mostly used as a truck, it can swallow a lot of stuff.

A ecoboost with a tune is around 400HP right? That may be the next wagon, once the kids approach 6'.

I have a big wagon too (BMW 540iT) that I'm catching up on maintenance, but you guys have me intrigued in the Mazda5. I never really paid attention to them on the street nor knew they were so lightweight!

I think the 5 is going to be your best bet. My recommendation is look for a 2012 and up manual trans due to getting the 6 speed:

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/vehicledetails.xhtml?endYear=2017&zip=43085&transmissionCode=MAN&maxPrice=12000&transmissionCodes=MAN&showcaseListingId=437959153&mmt=%5BMAZDA%5BMAZDA5%5B%5D%5D%5B%5D%5D&modelCode1=MAZDA5&startYear=1981&makeCode1=MAZDA&showcaseOwnerId=596827&firstRecord=0&searchRadius=100&listingId=435414801&Log=0

They eat struts. I replaced the rear's in mine at about 66k miles. Also, the factory cd player crapped out at about 100k miles. I went through a few tires in the winter due to potholes. The front bumper also scrapped more than a few times due to being lower to the ground. It likes to rev on the highway as well. Mine was around 3500-4000 rpm around 75-80 mph. Other than that, they are a good swiss army knife of a van and nothing else out there like it. I sat in the back seats a couple times and took a nap waiting at the airport for Mrs. DX to land.

akylekoz wrote: We have three 5's in our family an 09 Touring a 10 Grand touring and a 13? sport. I really wish mine had the dark interior and leather. My mom's 13 is mostly used as a truck, it can swallow a lot of stuff. A ecoboost with a tune is around 400HP right? That may be the next wagon, once the kids approach 6'.

400hp Flex??? Is that true?

They have close to 400hp stock!

They run low 14s in the 1/4 stock. An Ecoboost Flex with a tuner/programmer sounds like it would probably be a high-13 second minivan/wagon.

3.5 Ecoboost aluminum f150s with a tune only go 12s in the 1/4. The world is crazy.

Have 3 kids, drove a Mazda MPV for 11 years... great van. Traded it in to get my Fit. Before my wife decided to get a sedan, we test drove a ton of CUVs, SUVs and minivans. The biggest surprise? None of the newer model CUVs from Mazda were as good, economical or fun to drive as the MPV, imo. The Toyota Sienna... fantastic. Drives like a car, handles well, good power, good towing capacity, lots of "usable" room and will really scoot when you put the hammer down. My wife is still kicking herself for getting the sedan instead of the Sienna. She keeps hinting at trading her 2015 in for one. I have severe ocd when it comes to money...might end up agreeing with her. Liked the Flex, too. Just seemed to drive too much like a huge vehicle.

From Wiki 3.5 liter Ecoboost.

365 hp (272 kW) @5500 rpm, 350 lb·ft (475 N·m) @3500 rpm 2013– Ford Explorer Sport[49] 2013– Ford Flex[50] 2014- Ford Police Interceptor Utility

So an Ecoboost with a tune and more can easily surpass 400HP! Someday.

Klayfish wrote: 400hp Flex??? Is that true?

400hp is pretty easy, and will keep up with some seriously quick metal:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzjOupHRxO4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-cysy9-Osc

600hp Flex (Keeps blowing transmissions):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIMsgZgeb4M

Crazy stuff on these beasts.

We can discuss practicality and quantitative stuff here like crazy people, but let's face it: no one makes totally rational, logical vehicle choices.

You've decided you want something bigger than a 6 wagon. Fair enough. You don't like mid-90's GM build quality and you want something new-ish. 50k is out of your price range. You don't want a minivan or an SUV.

Sounds like the Flex is the only answer. Go buy one.

Longer answer: tuna55 and I were discussing how great our wives vehicles were recently. He raved about the features and conveniences of the minivan, and I hopped on our Suburban's reliability and low depreciation and easy maintenance. But we both agreed, the most important feature of these vehicles is that our WIVES (who mostly drive these vehicles) like them.

I'd recommend you try out a minivan, some SUVs, and a Flex with your S/O. Pick what you like. Its hard to go too far wrong with any of those choices.

Ideally, I'd love a wagon about the size of a 60's Chevelle, with modern build quality, a high-$20's price tag, and mid-20s fuel economy. But they ain't making them.

The other nice thing about the Flex, is you can do this to them:

volvoclearinghouse wrote: You don't want a minivan or an SUV. Sounds like the Flex is the only answer. Go buy one.

dculberson in the first post of the thread wrote: The jump up in height to go to an SUV or minivan has so many compromises.

Does not compute. While the Flex may not be considered a minivan or SUV, it certainly has the height of one (or more).