After being my only vehicle for 15 years, my mid 2000s Volvo XC70 has bit the dust, and it's depressing trying to find a replacement option. Seems like what station wagons still exist are really overpriced, even looking at used going back a couple years. I've never liked the overall feel of driving SUVs (although only driven a handful of rentals). I'm thinking about compromising a bit on the storage-capacity and going with a subcompact SUV, which seems to be the closest thing to a station-wagon in my price range... Obviously that's giving up a lot of storage, but the only time the storage will be an issue is camping trips and I can be resigned to using a roof rack in those cases. Thoughts on subcompact SUVs in general? Models to consider or avoid?
Hmm....camping, good storage, wagon fan....wouldn't a used Outback (or base new model at $33K) be the obvious choice here?
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That was one of the things I wasn't sure about when I got my Mazda 3, but now I vastly prefer their control wheel over touchscreens. After getting used to it I can navigate through Android Auto faster than in my wife's Highlander with a touch screen. The tactile feedback from the wheel lets you control things with your periphery vision, vs a touchscreen where you need to look exactly where you want to press, and then sometimes it's a pain to press where you want if the road is a little bumpy
Yeah I think I'm the same. My car is 11 years old and I navigate through the infotainment with a wheel (no touch) and I really like it, too.
Another vote for CX5. Brand new, a base model is just under 35k. FWIW, we’re just about at 8K mostly from highway day trips. It handles nicer, is quieter and better equipped than the competition at its price point, and its 2.5NA 6 Spd power train is a far more enjoyable driving experience than its competition.
Only thing, it’s cargo space is not fantastic. We’re doing a 10 day camping trip with 1 child and probably needing a roof rack/cargo box.
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I know it’s not quite an apples to apples comparison, but we had a 2011 Mazda CX7 that was just an amazing vehicle for us. We owned it for a little over 8 years and we put 240K kms on it and the only reason we sold it was because it finally needed a brake replacement and I didn’t want to sink $1K or so on a vehicle that was nearing end of life for us (we live in the country and put a lot of miles on vehicles). We had zero maintenance on that vehicle other than oil changes and it still drove really nice even though it was getting older. I have a friend with the exact same model but with less miles and she has had zero issues as well. The only thing that hurts Mazda is resale value, but if you’re looking to own it for 6-8 years it should not be an issue.
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Hmm....camping, good storage, wagon fan....wouldn't a used Outback (or base new model at $33K) be the obvious choice here?
Yeah, I really like the Outbacks (never driven one, will definitely test-drive), but after adding on freight charges and such it's over $35K for the low-end, which is really exceeding the top of my budget. I've read that Subarus do an excellent job of retaining their value, which makes the appeal of buying one new great, but it makes it tough buying them used when I'm finding Subarus with mileage over 70k selling for more than the MSRP of equivalent new models.
Another vote for CX5. Brand new, a base model is just under 35k. FWIW, we’re just about at 8K mostly from highway day trips. It handles nicer, is quieter and better equipped than the competition at its price point, and its 2.5NA 6 Spd power train is a far more enjoyable driving experience than its competition.
Only thing, it’s cargo space is not fantastic. We’re doing a 10 day camping trip with 1 child and probably needing a roof rack/cargo box.
Okay, I'll definitely add the CX-5 to the list to investigate. I'm liking what I'm reading about the engine specs on it and it seems like there's some reasonable used deals out there.
I haven't sat in a Mazda in forever. It's that fricken rust that always worries me, but I am going to check them out just to see what I think of the latest and greatest. People sure seem to love them.
I haven't sat in a Mazda in forever. It's that fricken rust that always worries me, but I am going to check them out just to see what I think of the latest and greatest. People sure seem to love them.
I've been drooling over a cx9 for a long while now. The new cx90 coming looks absolutely amazing
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Originally Posted by octothorp
Okay, I'll definitely add the CX-5 to the list to investigate. I'm liking what I'm reading about the engine specs on it and it seems like there's some reasonable used deals out there.
My new neighbor has a CX-5. Took it for a spin this evening and found it a little cramped on the inside but the ride was nice. Her leather seats were very comfortable also.
For a replacement wagon, the Ford Flex is usually a bargain relative to what it actually is. Used market for them is very soft. I test drove the Ecoboost one but didn’t really like it, for having 360 hp it didn’t feel fast, but if you’re just into a big hauler that’s not a van, it could be something to try.
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For a replacement wagon, the Ford Flex is usually a bargain relative to what it actually is. Used market for them is very soft. I test drove the Ecoboost one but didn’t really like it, for having 360 hp it didn’t feel fast, but if you’re just into a big hauler that’s not a van, it could be something to try.
I liked the idea of a Flex and rented one in BC for a few days. They're total dogs. Super lame even though on paper they seems like they'd be a good people mover.
I haven't sat in a Mazda in forever. It's that fricken rust that always worries me, but I am going to check them out just to see what I think of the latest and greatest. People sure seem to love them.
The rust issues are overblown. I had an '08 Mazda 3 that I finally got rid of last year that had a very small bit of rust just above the rear wheelwell, but other than that no issues. I also still see a lot of the OG 3's running around town and they don't look any worse for rust than other cars of that age. They got a bad rap in the 90's due to the Protege being an absolute bucket, but they're fine now
This week's bit of automotive weirdness is learning of the existence of the Camry TRD. By getting one as a rental. This thing is kinda wild - wing, diffuser, skirts. Red calipers and red seatbelts. It actually handles not bad on decent rims and tires. It has 300+ hp, but it's kind of a dog. Must be heavy.
They have it to me as my standard work mandated full size, so nothing extra on the rental. Kinda nice to have a fun car for my last trip to the Carolinas. Pondering whether to rip up to the mountains after work with it one night.
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Are there any good services for oil analysis in Canada? Just a curiousity thing after extending the OCI on our low mileage car.
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Originally Posted by InglewoodFan
This week's bit of automotive weirdness is learning of the existence of the Camry TRD. By getting one as a rental. This thing is kinda wild - wing, diffuser, skirts. Red calipers and red seatbelts. It actually handles not bad on decent rims and tires. It has 300+ hp, but it's kind of a dog. Must be heavy.
They have it to me as my standard work mandated full size, so nothing extra on the rental. Kinda nice to have a fun car for my last trip to the Carolinas. Pondering whether to rip up to the mountains after work with it one night.
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I like the styling on the latest gen of Camry. Wouldn't quite call it sporty, but a TRD doesn't seem as totally absurd as it would with previous iterations.
I haven't sat in a Mazda in forever. It's that fricken rust that always worries me, but I am going to check them out just to see what I think of the latest and greatest. People sure seem to love them.
My brother in law has a Mazda, we used it when we were in Denver a few weeks ago.
It felt cheap, tinny and underpowered, it was a CX-5 or CX30.
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This week's bit of automotive weirdness is learning of the existence of the Camry TRD. By getting one as a rental. This thing is kinda wild - wing, diffuser, skirts. Red calipers and red seatbelts. It actually handles not bad on decent rims and tires. It has 300+ hp, but it's kind of a dog. Must be heavy.
They have it to me as my standard work mandated full size, so nothing extra on the rental. Kinda nice to have a fun car for my last trip to the Carolinas. Pondering whether to rip up to the mountains after work with it one night.
No wonder you were impressed, the Camry has a long sporty history of giving us the stuff we like...like the rims, and the sleekness to the body.
Last edited by Table 5; 05-23-2023 at 11:38 AM.
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I rented a Camry for a work trip last fall and frankly neither I nor my colleague who went with me particularly cared for it. It was a well-equipped four-cylinder—I can't recall the exact trim off-hand—and in most respects it was just 'okay'. "Perfectly cromulent."
However, we both ended up hating the seats, particularly the front passenger seat. We never did figure out what was up with that one, but after a couple hours whomever was sitting in that seat was suffering for it.
