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Need 2 new cars - please help
We're facing a dilemma. We have been planning on replacing our ancient Saturn sedan and just totaled our Audi a4 Avant wagon in our first accident ever. So we need one car right away and will need to buy a second car soon also.
I'm a soccer mom with 1 child so my priorities are safety and cargo space for lugging around kids, gardening supplies, tall house plants, etc. My husband is a engineer who wants the smallest car possible, with a manual transmission. We both dislike SUVs for their bulk and styling, but we live in the northeast so we do face some snow days each winter.
Given all that, we've been test driving AWD hatchbacks -- the Suzuki SX4, the Toyota awd Matrix (which we rejected outright due to poor sightlines), the Scion xB, and the Subaru Impreza and Forester.
The Forester was too bulky for us, so we were leaning toward the Impreza 5-door, but then we test drove the Honda Fit. And the problem is, we both fell in love with it. Ironically, I love it for the cargo space and the 3-person rear seat -- which feels bigger and more versatile than the Impreza, whereas he's taken by its small size. So while we need 2 cars, neither of us is thrilled with getting "stuck" with the Impreza -- which is too big for him and too small for me.
BUT, here are my reservations: Despite its stellar safety ratings, I do have worries about the safety of the Fit if it were to go up against a larger vehicle in an accident, and we still should have one AWD vehicle in the driveway for snow storms.
If the old Subaru Outback wagons with non-SUV styling were still on the market, they'd be a natural for us and would complement the Fit nicely. But what to do now???
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I'm a soccer mom with 1 child so my priorities are safety and cargo space for lugging around kids, gardening supplies, tall house plants, etc. My husband is a engineer who wants the smallest car possible, with a manual transmission. We both dislike SUVs for their bulk and styling, but we live in the northeast so we do face some snow days each winter.
Given all that, we've been test driving AWD hatchbacks -- the Suzuki SX4, the Toyota awd Matrix (which we rejected outright due to poor sightlines), the Scion xB, and the Subaru Impreza and Forester.
The Forester was too bulky for us, so we were leaning toward the Impreza 5-door, but then we test drove the Honda Fit. And the problem is, we both fell in love with it. Ironically, I love it for the cargo space and the 3-person rear seat -- which feels bigger and more versatile than the Impreza, whereas he's taken by its small size. So while we need 2 cars, neither of us is thrilled with getting "stuck" with the Impreza -- which is too big for him and too small for me.
BUT, here are my reservations: Despite its stellar safety ratings, I do have worries about the safety of the Fit if it were to go up against a larger vehicle in an accident, and we still should have one AWD vehicle in the driveway for snow storms.
If the old Subaru Outback wagons with non-SUV styling were still on the market, they'd be a natural for us and would complement the Fit nicely. But what to do now???
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Comments
What is wrong with a left over 2009 Outback? The price should be reasonable too.
You and your husband sound like practical people. That being the case I would say go for the following, and in this order:
1) 2010 Outback (or '09, if you can find one—but again, the '10 model is a better choice)
2) Forester (wife drives a '01 Forester S-Premium)
3) Impreza 5-door (I drive an '09 WRX)
4) Honda fit
Get one small city car, one bigger family car for road trips and more comfort. Not to mention an all-weather vehicle.
With that in mind, I think a Fit+Forester team would be perfect.
Why?
Fit is a great little city car. Let that be your hubby's primary car, a manual transmission Sport model ought to run in the high teens, so it's very affordable. Yes it's small for crash protection, but at slower city speeds you should be fine.
Out on the highway you can take your family/road trip car, a Forester 2.5X with the premium package, also available with a manual transmission (rare in this class). It aces crash tests and is a bit more substantial.
Think the Forester is too big?
It's shorter than a Chevy Cobalt coupe!
It is not big, not by a long shot. Tell your hubby he's nuts.
An Outback with a 6 speed manual would be nice, but it's further from your ideal - bigger, heavier, more expensive. Plus it's not as nimble, so it feels even bigger in person vs. on paper compared to the Forester.
Any smaller than a Forester (for your bigger of the 2 vehicles) and I think you'll regret it. Even with just one child, he or she will want to bring a friend along later, plus all your gear.
What else can you get with a manual trans? Not much. Mazda5, but you don't need 6 seats, plus they don't offer AWD in the US models. Suzuki Grand Vitara may also come in a manual, IIRC, but it's less car-like than the Forester.
Otherwise you could go smaller - but for AWD I think the SX4 is the only choice, and it's just too close in size to the Fit, they overlap too much.
Buy cars that meet different needs, I think you'll be happier.
Good luck. :shades:
Given that and everyone's suggestions I'm going to go test drive the Forester again this weekend and try to be more open-minded.
I also think the manual Fit would be great for my husband altho he's considering waiting for the new diesel rabbit (or is that the golf???).
No way can it match the diminuitive Fit in this regard, but it does have best-in-class turning radius, per Consumer Reports.
Diesel sounds good. Audi just showed a new A4 2.0 TDIe that gets 51mpg. It was a sedan, though, and meant for the European market. Wonder if they'll bring it here and sell an Avant version. That would be pretty cool.
You could also do Fit + A4 Avant 2.0 TDIe Quattro.
Thing is, you use that all the time, parking, U-turns, etc.
I think the Fit is a great idea. They are fun to drive and are like Doctor Who's Tardis - carry an extraordinary amount of stuff and seat folding is very clever.
If you are at the soccer mum stage, it might be worth having a look at one or two of the smaller SUV which have seen seats.Whilst some of them are bulky, they are frequently shorter, although wider and higher than station wagons. That makes manoevering them easier. The Forester is a little unusual in that it actually looks bulkier than it is. A very nice drive and quite appealing
Cheers
Graham
Now I'm getting prices. So far I've just heard from one dealer -- $21,700 for the base model in automatic and $24,322 for the premium. Ideally I'd also like the all-weather package.
One last thought: Does anyone have thoughts on how the VW Jetta compares to the Forester? Apart from still not caring for the Forester's looks, I'm a little concerned about its reliability rating in Consumer Reports (just "good").
Thanks again for any thoughts...
As Bob stated, though, if you are not looking for a manual and fuel economy is high on the list, the Outback's CVT is a very efficient bugger.
I'd consider a Jetta TDI Sportwagen, sure, the diesel variety.
Thing is, I've known a lot of VW owners, and they fall in to 2 camps:
* rabid VW fans that will never buy another non-European car
and
* VW lemon owners that will never own another, even if it were free
Pretty scary (to me) all-or-nothing experience.
A friend just traded a Passat for a Honda Ody because it was rarely running. She put more miles on her loaner Ford Five Hundred (comfy, huge car) than she did on the Passat she owned.
I thought the pricing situation might interest others. The deal was just about as good as I could get altho I'm not sure it's a bargain. I called every dealer in Westchester Co (NY) where we live and couldn't get anyone to sell the car below $25,700, which is $300 under the sticker price of $26,000. Apparently Subaru had banner sales in September and inventories are very low in the northeast. (I thought I'd found the car in NJ for $24,100, but it was missing the all-weather package and turned out to be a manual.)
Finally, after checking the inventory of every dealer in NY state I found one within reasonable distance that had the right color, all-weather package, and 2 additional options (cargo tray and mirror compass) in a demo car with 1,400 miles on it. We negotiated a price of $24,256.
That was all great, altho when the car came home last Friday we did hit a minor snag: My husband had not noticed that the cargo tray was missing. I emailed the dealer immediately (Friday) and heard back today (Monday) that (contrary to my original conversation with the dealer and to the online inventory page which is still on the web) that the tray is "not included with this model."
Hopefully we'll resolve this last bit peacefully, and without a 2nd drive upstate.
Thanks to everyone for assistance with the decision!
Good choice!
While it was not one of the factors in my choosing the Premium, I cannot say enough good things about it. I am flat-out sold on that huge moonroof! I hope you really enjoy your Forester.
I read about the missing tray in another thread, but didn't realize it was you who made that purchase.
It's under $50 but I think they owe it to you. Print out the list of equipment from the web site, call the dealer back, and remind them that you have yet to fill out the satisfaction survey.
If they don't agree, call 800-SUBARU3 and explain what happened. Be nice, I bet they take care of it. I can't believe a dealer would soil a relationship with a customer over such a minor item (their mistake, too).
The price sounds good. Supply is indeed very tight right now and 1800 miles is nothing, it's just barely broken in.
Enjoy it! :shades: