Academic interest: Mulling a Family Sedan

I'm considering getting a family sedan in a very high level way.

My wife came out of a Mazda3, which she loved and into a Jeep Liberty, which she tolerates. She liked how the 3 handled, and prefers a good handling car with enough power to get out of its own way. She is not an enthusiast and does not drive a manual transmission.

I don't tow anything with any regularity that I can't haul behind my Forester, and with the kids starting to get legs, it would be nice if we had something a bit easier on long trips.

It is highly likely that we are going to get a Mazda5, another Mazda3 a VW GTI or a Ford Focus, but it can't hurt to solicit ideas.

The requirements:

1. can't feel like a bloated land barge- it has to handle reasonably well and go where you put it.

2. has to be enjoyable on long (20 hours driving) trips- no crappy flat seats, etc.

3. has to fit two kayaks on top without much of a fuss

4. Not a CUV. If they still made a Legacy wagon, that would be nice, but something like the Outback won't work.

5. four doors

6. under 35k dollars and under 45k miles

7. must be fairly easy to self service and not be a source of stress once the warranty wears out (BMW 5 series, I'm looking at you!)

Right now it is looking like a newer P71 or a Charger might be the best option in this category, but I've honestly not given it much thought.

Go!

A 3 is gonna be tight on rear legroom if you've got legs... I'd go 5. Almost as sporty as a 3, and way more room.

5 series with the CPO 6 year/100 mile warranty :)

I had a Dodge Intrepid R/T for a long while and loved it, my guess is that the Charger would be much the same. (same V6 in the early models)

Accord. A V6 will MOVE, I'm lucky there wasn't a cop around the first time I passed in one.

Acura TSX. Peppy even with the auto, first gen looks nice, handles and rides well, smooth but not numb, lots of standard kit, great DD.

Double double post post.

I can't imagine a better fun + family car than our 325i wagon. That said, they aren't as anvil reliable as the Honda options. Ours has been fairly good, but at 90k miles we have to replace the control arm bushings (again) and the factory amp, heated seats and memory mirrors are flaky. It drives fabulously though, gets good fuel mileage, and sounds great running through the gears.

Here is where I get blasted but... X3

I get 28 mpg on the highway (doing the speed limit), It fits my family of 4 comfortably. 5 not so much. Tows 3750, massive sunroof, fun to drive, (not Miata fun but hey you can embarrass the pony car boys easily enough) AWD.

Looking for a car that I could fit in and this was it. I am very happy. Got a 2004 X3 3.0 6 spd, leather and premium pack for $15K out of Atlanta, with service records and 74K.

Just a thought

A6 Avant?

mazda 6 wagon? i dunno

Mazda 6 wagon would be nice if I could find one with low miles.

I'm really interested in the driving impressions I'm getting from people, even Flightservice. That's what I'm really after.

I'm trying to get a short list of 10 car models to go and test drive, just so we can say we've been very thorough before our purchase.

6 Wagon is what I started looking for, and other than being hard to find, there really is no rear legroom. The 5 is much roomier all around. It really does feel and drive like a slightly taller 3.

Chrysler minivan.

I have yet to ride in something more comfortable on long trips the handling on my moms isn't terrible and it's shocked more than one small car owner that didn't want to let me over on the highway. tons of room on top and inside, does most everything better than cuvs/suvs short of offroading and swallows more stuff than small wagons.

Most everyone makes jokes about them unil they ride in one or use it to move stuff.

Take a look at a 03 + 9-5 sedan or wagon.

Grizz wrote: Chrysler minivan. Most everyone makes jokes about them unil they ride in one or use it to move stuff.

I never had an opinion one way or the other on Chrysler minivans until after I bought my MPV and the dealer would give me a service loaner while the MPV was there for free oil changes. The 3.3 was extremely lackluster, the ride was wallowy, and the steering uncommunicative. I was always happy to be rid of the thing and get my van back. With the passing of the MPV, there are still a couple of better choices in the minivan department than the Chrysler, namely the Odyssey and the Sienna.

We had a Chrysler minivan. My wife hated driving it.

I had pretty much forgotten about SAAB. Thanks for that one.

Item 6 says "under 35k". Is that dollars or miles?

If it's dollars, get a TSX wagon, just because they're cool like that.

Sorry, that is $$$, and that is a high end figure.

Though truth be told, I'm very unlikely to buy a car for my wife with much more than 40K miles on it. It's easier on her nerves. Even though her rational mind understands that high miles and good maintenance usually equals a reliable car, her worry override keeps her from being 100% comfortable with the fact unless she has seen the maintenance done herself.

Then check out the TSX wagon. It's not as pretty as the previous generation (which of course was not sold in the States) but it's pretty shweet.

I really like our new 2012 focus and all....but I am not so sure its actually larger inside than a mazda 3. rear leg room is good, but im thinking the cargo area may be more cavernous in the 3. now i need to measure my brothers 3 vs our focus.

with kids, I would probably reccomend something larger (in the sense of luggage capacity for road trips). we dont have kids, only dogs, so the size is more than adequate.

Panther platform does have a massive trunk, but unless you look at something like a town car with a longer wheel base, the back seat legroom is kind of lacking.

Everyone told me I'd hate the blandness, but I freaking love our '05 4-cyl MT Accord. With upgraded dampers and tires it is not a bad drive. I suspect it'd be damn good with a better set of sway bars.

Dead easy and logical to self-service. Anvil reliability. Great shifting transmission. Cheap 15-16 inch tires. 30+ mpg highway. Safe. Not a lot of extra electronics (no traction control or fancy nav stuff or over-integrated systems). Comfortable. Quiet. Invisible to law enforcement. Longer, wider and roomier than my E34 was, but only ~100lbs more hefty than my E36.

Worst I can say about it is there's not a lot of steering feel, but still better than my E34 and it's at least direct and has a surprisingly quick ratio (feels closer to my Miata than my E36). Also throttle tip-in from rest is, like the brand new '02 Civic SI we leased, irritatingly abrupt. There's no way to smoothly transition from closed to open throttle in gear. Always a little bump. WTF?

An Acura is closer to a sports sedan and better looking, but since this is the wife car...

I just drove the Mazda6 Touring Plus with the 6 cylinder in it, and man, that car was drives very nice. Very nice indeed.

The cheesy faux wood center trim is really sad, though.

ppddppdd wrote: Everyone told me I'd hate the blandness, but I freaking love our '05 4-cyl MT Accord.

I also have a newer 4-cyl MT Accord. 18,000 miles in 7 months - It could have more HP. One of my goals is that since it is a work car I need to have minimum investment for the money.

I actually like this car too!

Brett_Murphy wrote: I just drove the Mazda6 Touring Plus with the 6 cylinder in it, and man, that car was drives very nice. Very nice indeed. The cheesy faux wood center trim is really sad, though.

Que? I've driven 3 different Mazda6 wagons, and none of them had wood trim. I think you found a car with JC Whitney reject add-ons in it...