[NA] mid-size hatch/suv?

Drove the sportwagen with a manual transmission yesterday. Felt pretty solid. Driver ergonomics felt slightly different than the automatic, in that the steering column seemed to get in the way of my legs.

The Hyundai Elantra Touring may get cut from the list due to being underpowered. I just discovered, however, that there's a Kia Forte wagon with a 173hp 2.4L...
 
PilotAlan said:
Have you looked at a Jeep Compass? It's smaller than the old Jeep Cherokee, 23 city/29 highway. Less than $20k
Click to expand...

RUN from anything Jeep. My experience with BRAND NEW Jeeps via rental car agencies is abysmal. The engine noise was so bad on my last (and final) Jeep rental was so bad I was afraid to drive it from K.C. to Omaha. It had less than 1K miles on it. I've worked on cars all my life and I know that motor was going south quick.

EdFred said:
My Jeep experience is a brand new Cherokee being in the shop 9 times before I hit 28,000 miles at which point the transmission went out and the 4WD would no longer work. The end of any of my association with Jeep was when the regional manager told me to "deal with it" and to "go f--k yourself"

I will NEVER own anything Jeep/Mopar/etc after that.
Click to expand...

Thus endeth the sermon.
 
Two years into a Honda CR-V. 29 mpg on the road, 22 overall- mostly city. No service trips save change oil in 20K miles.

Nice and tight still.....
 
Honda Pilot. 140,000 miles on a 2004 model. Had to fix the a/c at about 90K, no other service except for wear items like brakes and tires. Full synthetic every 5K miles since new and it still runs like new. And we tow a boat that's 1000 poumds over the maximum rated load.
 
Ken Ibold said:
Honda Pilot. 140,000 miles on a 2004 model. Had to fix the a/c at about 90K, no other service except for wear items like brakes and tires. Full synthetic every 5K miles since new and it still runs like new. And we tow a boat that's 1000 poumds over the maximum rated load.
Click to expand...
I think Adam likes his Pilot, too. And we have 236,000 on my Honda (Acura) CL and the engine is still going strong, though the transmission has required replacement.
 
All I can say is that 4WD was helpful at OSH in Camp Scholler this year. Tim's Subaru didn't get stuck!
 
I have a 2002 VW Passat wagon (manual transmission), purchased new August 2001, now nearly 99K miles. It has been a very good car with minimal problems, but I'm very good with keeping up on preventive maintenance. The only thing it's had is an oil leak, and the mechanic told me that V6 engine is known to leak. VWs also require timing belt maintenance at 75K miles, and that's $1000 bill. No transmission issues.
It still drives great, speedy and fun to drive.

I also have a Volvo. Love my Volvo too. Volvo seats are the most comfortable seats I've sat in. I want to buy another Volvo just for the seats.
 
Keith Lane said:
RUN from anything Jeep. My experience with BRAND NEW Jeeps via rental car agencies is abysmal. The engine noise was so bad on my last (and final) Jeep rental was so bad I was afraid to drive it from K.C. to Omaha. It had less than 1K miles on it. I've worked on cars all my life and I know that motor was going south quick.
Click to expand...

Rental cars are famous for having minimal noise reduction installed.
All I can say is I'm on my third modern Jeep (not including CJ5 and CJ7).
A Wrangler, 2002 Liberty, and now a 2008 Commander. Not a speck of trouble with any of them.
And the Liberty was rode hard, lots of off roading, etc.
 
I had a 1996 Jeep Cherokee and loved that car too. I would have bought that model again but that body style disappeared and I don't like the new ones. I sold that Jeep in Germany for more than it was worth in the US.
 
GeorgeC said:
The Hyundai Elantra Touring may get cut from the list due to being underpowered. I just discovered, however, that there's a Kia Forte wagon with a 173hp 2.4L...
Click to expand...

The saga continues... Drove the Forte 5 door today. Very zippy and responsive, like driving a gokart. Almost as much fun to drive as the outback sport.

It felt like the Matrix or Focus done right. It didn't feel as solid/refined/mature as the subie, but gets better mileage and doesn't have the unnecessary-to-me AWD.

I wish Hyundai would put that 2.4L in the Elantra Touring.
 
GeorgeC said:
Drove the sportwagen with a manual transmission yesterday. Felt pretty solid. Driver ergonomics felt slightly different than the automatic, in that the steering column seemed to get in the way of my legs.

The Hyundai Elantra Touring may get cut from the list due to being underpowered. I just discovered, however, that there's a Kia Forte wagon with a 173hp 2.4L...
Click to expand...

How small do you want to go? We are looking at the VW Golf TDI. Excellent material, fit & finish, very good handling and response. A lot roomier than it would appear from the outside. Very comfortable seats, both the wife and I are tall and there was more than enough room. Having a diesel will be a new experience, but from what I can find, most of the bugs seem to be worked out, although there may be an issue with leaks in the fuel system. Not inexpensive, but does seem to have good value.

Looked at the new Civics, was pretty disappointed. Interior has really been cheapened up, seemed "glitzy" and the ride was choppy. Shame, as we have had three Hondas in the past and were well pleased.

Gary
 
The 4dr Golf looks like a great car, but is smaller than I want to go. In order to get a 4 door with a manual, I'd also need to go for the TDI, which is more $ than I'd want to spend on a little car...
 
GeorgeC said:
The 4dr Golf looks like a great car, but is smaller than I want to go. In order to get a 4 door with a manual, I'd also need to go for the TDI, which is more $ than I'd want to spend on a little car...
Click to expand...

The 5-speed manual is standard on the 2.5L gasoline engine for the Golf, no matter whether it is a 4-door or 2-door. You are correct that you pay a premium for the TDI. A moot point if it is smaller than you want.

Gary
 
Odd; their online configurator only allowed me to select the 6spd auto for the 4dr gas.
 
GeorgeC said:
Odd; their online configurator only allowed me to select the 6spd auto for the 4dr gas.
Click to expand...

That is odd, you are correct the on-line configurator does only allow for the auto. Yet the spec sheets clearly have the 5-speed manual as standard equipment.

Gary
 
Volvo V50? I think you can order manual.
 
We put new shocks/struts on the VW TDI Jetta Wagon today. $269 each (!) for the struts and $83 each for the rear shocks. Monroe Expert Series F-series on the front, SensaTracs on the back.

Replaced a broken CV boot on the front left $73.

Just sharing for parts-cost info. Didn't really shop it around, since I like the work one particular local shop does so we just take it to 'em.

Got a "buy three, get one free" on the Monroe stuff too, so one of the rear shocks was actually $0.

120K miles on the originals. First thing on that car to make it to "expected lifetime". ;) Was gettin' a little "squishy".
 
GeorgeC said:
The Hyundai Elantra Touring may get cut from the list due to being underpowered. I just discovered, however, that there's a Kia Forte wagon with a 173hp 2.4L...
Click to expand...

Drove the Elantra Touring with a manual transmission this weekend. It felt a lot better than the automatic. My wife loved the Forte, but it's too small.

The Elantra Touring SE is our first pick, but it is difficult to find in a manual transmission, so the Outback Sport is currently the backup.
 
Last edited:
Elantra Touring SE manual it is!
 

Attachments

  • photo.JPG
    photo.JPG
    567.8 KB · Views: 12
A year later...

No reservations about the Elantra Touring. Great car, gets >35mpg highway.

This year's Elantra GT and Subaru Crosstrek both look like interesting incremental improvements to their predecessors.

Even though I'm flying less than I was during training (about once a month rather than about once a week), and doing much less r/c flying as well, having a kid means more driving than I'd anticipated, and the amount of available space in the car went down more than I thought after the addition of a car seat, diaper bag, stroller, etc.

In retrospect, I do wonder if my wife should have gotten the Forte, anticipating a possible second/larger car down the road. I've always had a soft spot for the late 80s/early 90s 4runners...
 
None of the above unless the only reason you need that large of a vehicle being that you are large people and don't haul more than groceries. What I have found with most all these SUVs is they have low 'utility' value chassis and drive trains, typically the same as in a car. So that means you get to give up a lot of fuel economy without gaining a lot of utility or strength. If you need a car, get a car, if you need a truck get a truck, a van, get a van. I'm driving around an old Chevy 20 Conversion van right now with a 350 V8 in it and get 23-25 mpg around town. I drove a RAV4, it got 17mpg, anything with AWD/4WD will always get crap fuel economy, just spinning too much stuff. Unless you live out in boonies or mountains, no need for it, just a big waste of money at purchase, in the shop, and at the gas pump. For city winter driving a light front wheel drive car with good radials up front is all you need.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top