any station wagon owners here? looking to buy a new car

[gaseousclay]

my car is in its final death throes so the wife and I decided we wanted a slightly bigger car that can accomodate a dog and baby. We've ruled out sedans which pretty much leaves a wagon and/or SUV. However, even though i've done extensive research on the best rated cars I feel like i'm missing something. I've looked at Subaru Outbacks, the Mazda6 wagon (only made in 2007 I think?) and the Ford Taurus X among others.

Can any of you recommend a station wagon that 1) gets good mpg 2) is in the $15k-20k range and 3) is reliable? I'm trying to stick to car brands that have decent reputations but the wife and I don't seem to be seeing eye to eye on things. She's the one that originally suggested getting something with more space but now she seems bent on getting a Toyota Prius. Yes, it has trunk space but it's nothing like a station wagon which has significantly more room. Any ideas what make/models are a good bet?

 

[bassmanlarry]

I drive a 2000 Ford Taurus and it gets around 25 to 26 mpg highway and has plenty of storage. My wife's Pontiac Montanna gets about the same mpg and has alot more storage, but being a minivan, it's a lot larger. The Taurus X I think would be comparable to the old Taurus wagons as far as fuel efficiency and cargo. I looked at Outbacks, the newer ones are larger than the older ones, but I was trying to keep it on the cheap, thus we ended up with the Taurus.

 

[Jawaburger]

VW turbo diesel wagon. You will get ~40mpg.

 

[jamesnj]

If you can up your price a bit, Toyota recently introduced the Prius V. It looks like a pretty good size wagon, and gets better mileage than pretty mush everything on the road other than the original Prius. Since the Prius was already in consideration, take a look at it. I'd be getting one this year, but it's not quite big enough for our family needs.

Be glad that you aren't looking for something that can handle 3 large dogs (greyhounds), a baby, and planning for the potential of another baby in a few years. Best I'm finding so far is a (used) Highlander hybrid....

Good luck!

 

[Mako72]

The wife and I have a Mitsubishi Outlander wagon. Cheaper than the Subarus and comes in 2wd. Ours is an '05 and at about 110,000mls with no problems. I seem to remember the mpgs were 22/27. We take it everywhere, its long enought that we can lay down and sleep in it, but we are both only 5'6". I would check them out.

Otherwise my Mom has a Honda Element that is proably not quite as good on gas but a bit roomier and I like the "Sport" type washable interior. We haven't decided if one of these might be our next purchase, but it is a really cool vehicle in a lot of ways.


Jay

 

[BeeSeeDub]

I love my Subaru Outback - but it does not get great gas mileage. However, it's especially good for hauling all the stuff that comes along when you travel with kids.

You may also want to look at the Toyota Venza - It's kinda between the station wagon and mini-suv size.

 

[Kornphlake]

Rear seat leg room in any of the modern wagons is a joke. A rear facing infant seat will require a shoehorn to install and once your kids are in a forward facing seat they're going to be kicking the seat back constantly. If you don't need cargo space there are several mid size and full size sedans that have plenty of leg room in the back seat, for that matter something like a Camry has a pretty functional trunk as well.

You might consider a Mazda 5, it's basically a mazda 3 wagon with sliding doors, depending on who you ask it's considered a mini-van although the 3rd row of seating is essentially useless and there is no cargo room with the 3rd row in use. Sliding doors make it 10x easier to get kids in and out of a car, especially infants. The Ford flex is the opposite, it's basically a mini-van with doors that swing open instead of a slider, if I had to replace my mini-van and couldn't buy another mini-van, I'd buy a flex, I've got a few more kids than you do though.

 

[Mick]

You are not going to find much in the way of a "real" station wagon anymore. The mini van, SUV, hatch back, and other wagon "clones" have pretty much closed the wagon market.

All we have ever owned is a wagon (the real kind). I could not recommend a mini van, suv, or hatch back because they are not "real" wagons. We do have an outback but it is a hatch back not a real wagon. This is one of the last "real" wagons (it's a 1980)

 

[mmack66]

You are not going to find much in the way of a "real" station wagon anymore. The mini van, SUV, hatch back, and other wagon "clones" have pretty much closed the wagon market.

All we have ever owned is a wagon (the real kind). I could not recommend a mini van, suv, or hatch back because they are not "real" wagons. We do have an outback but it is a hatch back not a real wagon. This is one of the last "real" wagons (it's a 1980)

1980? Doesn't Volvo still make a wagon? I had a 93 Toyota Camry wagon, and there are a few "real" wagons, that aren't crossovers or hatchbacks, made these days.

 

[gaseousclay]

The wife and I have a Mitsubishi Outlander wagon. Cheaper than the Subarus and comes in 2wd. Ours is an '05 and at about 110,000mls with no problems. I seem to remember the mpgs were 22/27. We take it everywhere, its long enought that we can lay down and sleep in it, but we are both only 5'6". I would check them out.

thanks for the recommendation. I was on the fence with Mitsubishi, mainly because I never read about them being in the top tier of quality auto companies. How reliable would you say the Outlander is? I'm gonna mention this to the wife tonight and see what she says.

 

[M80]

How about a Jetta SportWagen

 

[gaseousclay]

How about a Jetta SportWagen

View attachment 216916

hmmm. I currently drive a VW Passat and have had nothing but problems with it. I vowed never to buy VW again. I dunno. are the new VW's any good?

 

[Mick]

1980? Doesn't Volvo still make a wagon? I had a 93 Toyota Camry wagon, and there are a few "real" wagons, that aren't crossovers or hatchbacks, made these days.

They have been front wheel drive or all wheel drive since 1998 (98 being the last year of the full size rear wheel drive wagon with the ending of the V90 series). The last front wheel drive wagon stopped being imported last year (v50). There may be a few left over at some dealers. You would have to do some calling nationally and be willing to travel to get one.

http://www.volvocars.com/us/all-cars/volvo-v50/Pages/default.aspx

The current "wagon" they make now is the all wheel drive mini-van/suv cross over called the XC series (XC70 and XC90)

http://www.volvocars.com/us/all-cars/volvo-xc70/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.volvocars.com/us/all-cars/volvo-xc90/Pages/default.aspx

The wife and I used to joke that when Volvos stopped coming with mud flaps they would stop being Volvos.... I could not believe when they stopped mudflaps as standard equipment in the 80's. Now I don't think you can even get them as an option.

 

[Edcculus]

Don't discount the Subaru Impreza. Its a little smaller than the Outback, but the hatchback makes all of the difference. So far, we love ours. I've never owned a Subaru Subaru before, but from what I can tell, they have a good track record. At least I don't hear many people calling into Car Talk with Subaru problems : ). My father in law was a mechanic for BMW for a long time, then was in Sales for BMW. They own 2 Subarus.

 

[noahpictures]

I would go with a Subaru wagon. The model would depend on how much you want to spend and the test drive...etc.

 

[Quigg]

I love my Subaru Outback - but it does not get great gas mileage. However, it's especially good for hauling all the stuff that comes along when you travel with kids.

You may also want to look at the Toyota Venza - It's kinda between the station wagon and mini-suv size.

Yes, but both the Outback and the Venza will cost more than what the OP wants to spend. That said, I bought an Outback recently and I love it. I researched a lot of cars before deciding on it. It should last a very long time.

gaseousclay, you might consider a slightly-used Subaru. There just aren't many station wagons nowadays. Most are small SUVs that are roomy but don't get great mileage. I used to have a Honda CR-V that was like that. I guess most Americans don't think it sounds cool to buy a station wagon, so they buy a "sport wagon" or an SUV. The only problem with looking for a used Outback is that there aren't many with low miles. People tend to keep their Outbacks forever!

 

[kiwichris]

You could also consider a Skoda Octavia wagon. They make one which is a similar size to the VW Jetta wagon and if you get a diesel, you'll get good mileage. The plus side is you'll get a lot of crossover with Audi and VW parts and design, but a car that is cheaper because it is assembled in the Czech Republic.

 

[jlanger]

A mazda 5 will fit all of your requirements, it's just as big as a mazda6 wagon, is available in mtx, has 3 rows (no wagon has that nowadays), it gets reasonable mileage and is available for around $20k. While more of a mini minivan, I'd think it's very similary to a wagon IMO.

Now if I had my druthers's this would be the wagon I'd have:

Nothing like smoking a few ferrari's while getting the groceries home!

 

[bluepunk18]

+1 on the VW Jetta TDI wagon! They are very affordable, get you around 40mpg and have loads of space! My best friend recently traded in his GTI for one, and he loves it. Its very comfortable! If you're thinking of an SUV, have you looked at the Ford Edge? Good luck, and maybe post a pic of your new car?

 

[Mick]

Yes, but both the Outback and the Venza will cost more than what the OP wants to spend. That said, I bought an Outback recently and I love it. I researched a lot of cars before deciding on it. It should last a very long time.

+1 on Subaru.. We recently bought a 2004 VDC with 40k miles on it (just can't seem to bring myself to buy a new car in the past couple of decades). Went with 2004 as it was the last year of that body style so they "had it together" by then. VDC has a McIntosh sound system and interior noise dampening which is VERY nice as well as the onboard VDC system. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_stability_control