Replacing the unstoppable wagon

My mom has a 2000 Subaru Legacy wagon that's done everything we've wanted it to from commuting to towing to racing (my first trophy!) to road trips around and across the U.S.A., to being the greatest winter car of them all. We've gotten our money's worth out of it. Unfortunately it doesn't have much time left - after ten years and 220,000 miles it's all worn out.

She got a '94 Civic VX to replace it for road trips and commuting, which it is excellent at and much cheaper to run. However, it can't blast through snow drifts with impunity like the Subaru can and it won't be any good for towing.

What kind of car should we look at to replace ithe Subaru for the rest of its duties? Budget is around $8000, it'll go 5000-7500 miles per year, 20 MPG is fine. It'll get snow tires but in return it needs to be GREAT in the snow. It has to be a manual and has to have a low center of gravity.

Head over to www.fueleconomy.gov
From there, try their advanced search fuction being sure to click on 4wd/AWD option.

Seems the popular answers for high mpg 4wd/AWD are:
Subaru Impreza
Geo/Chevy Tracker - Suzuki Sidekick/Vitara
Rav4
CRV
Audi A4

My advise. Sell the Honda VX and buy another solid Subaru. I know you think the VX is going to save you money. I bet you will be amazed how little it will actaully save you for the half year that you will drive it. To prove this point, once again, go to www.fueleconomy.gov and use the compare function.

I just ran and compared a '00 Legacy to a '94 VX
At 15k miles a year at $2.67 per gallon you can expect to save $973 per year. If you only drive the VX half the year then that gets reduced to a $486.50 savings per year.
Now, factor in a $7,000 purchase of a second vehicle and the additional insurance and registration. You will never save money driving the VX if it does not meet you overall needs.

Which 4WD systems work best? The Subaru system works really well on the snow; no binding, lots of grip.

Is it any better than a FWD/LSD/60+% of a 3000 lb car on the front wheels system?

The VX is on track to go 20,000 miles this year; it is used in all but the very worst weather.

Clearly there is one answer
Wagon Attack

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7ZzqBPz4sY

The vibe/matrix look good on paper (why we bought one), but I suggest you stay away. They have no soul. E-throttle+very invasive stability control=not impressive mileage for what it is and boring. Never driven an awd one but can't imagine its an improvement.

We also got a saturn l300 wagon, although it is my new favorite the 3L dohc 6 is not known for reliability and although it is great in the snow, it is no subaru and not awd.

Sounds like you want a subaru. The L300 we have has independent suspension all around and a rev-happy caterra sourced (yes that motor) v6. Traction control actually works in the snow.

If you can get over your low center of gravity thing, I have a old cherokee (98) that always gets me 20-23 mpg. Would kick a subaru's heiny in the snow/off road.

rav4's and crv's still hold their value pretty well around here. I'd get a jeep first.

This blatant Subaru whore says the answer is a Forester with good snows.

jrw1621 wrote: Clearly there is one answer Wagon Attack http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7ZzqBPz4sY

The hard part is finding a relatively rust free example of the RT4WD Civic wagon. I got just under 30mpg out of my automatic version. Don't get the automatic if you can avoid it - I did because I got a deal on the car, but a year and a half later it started skipping 2nd gear on me.

That said, unless another steal like my Saturn wagon falls into my lap, my next practical car will probably be a Subaru, specifically to get a somewhat recent AWD car that isn't all used up already. My SW2 with studded Hakka 10s does pretty well in the snow, but I do miss the AWD of the Civic.

too bad a new v6/awd rav 4 isnt in the budget.... good mileage, comfy, AWESOME middle seat (dont bother with a 3rd row, duh), and with v6 it can haul a bit of ass!!

Lower it +snow tires and outrun the n/a subies easily in snow or on tarmac. I even like the styling.

Get another Subie, you can hardly go wrong...they are still making them rock solid.

Bryce

Its pretty much what she already had, but I really like the 05 up Legacy 2.5GTs. I occasionally see them for as low as $7,500 in my neck of the woods!

They made Legacy GT wagons.