suggest st.wagon/small suv for Mom-In-Law, please

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97tbird

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1st of all, my mother-in-law is really nice to me [Smile] she has asked my advice on the replacement for her very old 1980 Dodge Aries station wagon: 1) She needs a not-so-expensive, dependable, economical station wagon like-thing (it CAN be a smallish, easy to drive suv), probably brand-new, or very little used. She doesn't care much about power. 2) so far, my 1st thoughts have been: A) Hyundai Santa Fe(our experience with my wife's '03 Elantra has been great so far) B) Ford Freestyle C) VW Jetta wagon (is this also plagued with vw electrical bugs, etc?) What do you guys think? which one is the best? Any other suggestions to add to the list? Thanks a bunch!
 
B) Freestyle is large enough for ambulance service C) Jetta could be more dependable than her old K-car Have you thought of the bottom end Pontiac Vibe? I noticed they have pretty crummy resale value, which would work in her favor.
 
Vibe / Matrix would be my 1st choice. The Ford Focus Wagon is a deal right now. $14k for one nicely equipped and they have the good warrenty now. I've got a co-worker who bought a Jetta wagon and it's not looking real good right now. Lots of probs with the body and the thing has quit running twice (fuel pumps both times) on her and she had to have it towed. Don't know.. My 1986 Jetta has been the perfect car IMO, but they seem to have gone downhill.. Take care, Bill [Coffee]
 
Vibe/Matrix for the car-end of the spectrum, Saturn Vue for the mini SUV. Both are easy to get in & out of. With GM's "invoice pricing", both the Vue and the Vibe can be purchased for far less than usual.
 
Scion Xa or Xb depending on how much room she wants. Toyota dependability with low prices. I don't think you could go wrong with either choice. We have had an Xa for a little over a year now and LOVE IT!
 
Thanks guys, keep the suggestions coming. Hmm..she's a bit weary of the Vibe/Scion/Element looking things...too freakish looking, she says. She'd like something more conventional looking, I think. VW scares me now. Subaru Forrseter, and also Outback seem to appeal to her. They do have AWD standard... How dependable are the Subarus? Does the Saturn Vue have a Honda engine in it? ALSO: She'll be only driving the car in city (she can't drive on interstate)...shopping/groceries/church...all short trips: I don't think the mileage factor is going to play a big role anyway with that kind of driving. Thanks again.
 
Why not a somewhat older Saturn wagon? They are front wheel drive,goes good in rain snow in city use. It should give descent/good gas mileage,especially good in city use. Theres less to wear out/fix,replace than an AWD/4WD system,especially if she is on a limited income. Tires etc. are less expensive than those needed for many AWD/4WD auto's.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Willy_G: Rant: I think GM is stupid for not selling more wagons. That have that wart Aztec & Buick cousin on a rebuilt Venture chassis, but call wagons not the design customers want. Tell that to Volvo, Subaru, VW, MB and now Jaguar, etc... who can't keep their wagons in stock! WAKE UP GM! Wagons are the real sport/utility vehicles...not stupid/useless vehicles like 6000lb 6mpg trucks used as cars.
Technically, according to the little GM badges, there are some wagons to be found in the GM empire (and sold here). It's just that GM didn't design any themselves, as they were busy on the desguise for the Cobalt wagon HHR. SAAB alone has three wagons (thanks to the new 9-3 Sportcombi and Subaru), Saturn has a wagon, Aveo hatch, Malibu (look what happens when GM designs something), Suzuki sumthin, plus the Vibe. GM's still stupid, though... Personally, now that the IS300 wagon is gone, the wagon I'm waiting for here is the Euro Accord wagon, a TSX wagon. It's just sitting there, waiting for Acura badges.
 
I had a good experience with a rented Ford Escape, and while your mother-in-law won't likely appreciate it, its 200 HP and 200 FT-LB of torque make it one of the faster inexpensive car-based SUVs out there.
 
Run from any late-model VW. I love station wagons, too! I'd go with the Focus wagon. Mazda also has a 6 wagon...not too big, not too small. Too bad Toyota dropped the normal Corolla Wagon and the GM didn't bring any wagon versions of the Opal Astra (ION/Cobalt/Pursuit) to the US. Oh yea, the HHR, but that is not in the employee pricing deal. Rant: I think GM is stupid for not selling more wagons. That have that wart Aztec & Buick cousin on a rebuilt Venture chassis, but call wagons not the design customers want. Tell that to Volvo, Subaru, VW, MB and now Jaguar, etc... who can't keep their wagons in stock! WAKE UP GM! Wagons are the real sport/utility vehicles...not stupid/useless vehicles like 6000lb 6mpg trucks used as cars.
 
I think a vehicle in this category that is flying under the radar is the Saturn Vue with the 3.5 liter Honda V-6 engine.
 
I know what you mean, Willy. T-Bird: I wouldn't make a decision until you sat her in a Mazda3 hatch. A little pricey and kind of in demand right now, but it just feels like a bigger, expensive car. I still say the most bang for the buck comes from a used Vibe. In the right color, it doesn't have to look 'freakish,' and if it's out of warranty you'd never even have to set foot in a Pontiac dealership... Hard to know how to read a person who's spent the last 25 years in a K-car (bless her heart). Seems anything nowadays might be a little freaky. How about a 97 Accord wagon?
 
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