OT: thinking of a new car down the road...is there such a car?

[mudder17]

We're not planning on getting a new car any time soon, but we are thinking it would be nice to have a larger vehicle in the future, especially if we get to the two kiddos stage. What we're wondering is if there is such a car that has the following:

manual transmission
trunk space of >15.7 cubic feet
all the various safety features
American, ideally
if a station wagon (we don't want an SUV or minivan), the ability to bungee cord things into place
>145 horsepower
~$30-35 K

What we're discovering with these larger, somewhat nicer vehicles, is that manual transmission is getting harder and harder to get. What's up with that?


Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif , 17 months & counting


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png

[jbowman]

Eileen,

I can think of cars that fit some of your specifications (I am not sure about trunk size), but not all! Here's what I came up with quickly (with a little help from DH, we both LOVE cars :)):

Nissan Maxima (big, manual, but foreign)
Dodge Magnum (big, domestic, but automatic)
Lincoln LS (same deal, and I think in price range)
BMW 5 series (relatively big, manual, but foreign, and a little over price range)
Cadillac CTS (not quite so big, manual, domestic--this may be the one!)
Acura TL (not quite as big, manual, but foreign)

HTH! DH loved your question, btw!

ETA: Suburu Legacy (foreign though!)

[mudder17]

Hmm...that's a very similar list to what DH was able to come up with last night. We didn't think about the Subaru, though. The problem is that we have an L200 (Saturn) and we love it, but we would like it if it had a more powerful engine. And a little more shoulder room would be nice. But it has lots of trunk space 16.5(?) and it's manual, of course.

The Cadillac CTS is definitely a contender, although its mileage is pretty poor (not horrible, though) and its trunk space, like the Acura, is also pretty small. We've also looked at the Chrysler 300/300C. Now THOSE are pretty big, but automatic only.

Hmm...maybe in a couple years someone will come out with a car that fits the bill? :)

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif , 17 months & counting


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png

[C99]

Nissan Maxima is not a great kids car, mostly because it's very lightweight. We had one and traded it in. It was a great vehicle -- BC. But I just didn't need the sports tires and performance once I had kids, and I actually found the manual to be a PITB w/ kids in the backseat. Plus, the weight of the car meant that it slipped around a lot in snow and slipped somewhat in rainy/wet weather.

[mudder17]

Okay, so we went cruising a couple lots (we were bored at home and thought it'd be fun to visit), but they were closed (not surprisingly). Still, we looked at a few of these and decided:

Definitely not a Nissan. The maxima is a pretty nice car, but it's just not what we're looking for. Reading Caroline's post definitely convinces me of that! I didn't realize it was so light weight, but it explains why we had much less trouble with snowy weather than our friends with their Nissan Maxima.
Cadillac: very nice, but it's not really much bigger than the Saturn we have, and its trunk size is much smaller.
BMW: Probably not...we hear too much about them having electrical problems, and of course, they're much pricier
Possibly a Dodge Magnum or maybe a Chrysler (300 series). Both of those are larger, and while we'd have to give up manual transmission (ack!), they're pretty nice and fulfill a lot of our other criteria.

So I was thinking maybe 2 years down the road, but I think DH is thinking earlier if we can find something we really like for a decent price. We're also considering looking at 2005 models (if were to do it right now) because most dealerships would probably be thinking of clearing them out for the 2006 models.

DH just turned 35, so he said it's sort of one of those midlife crisis things. :P At least I don't have to worry about him wanting a sports car or motorcycle!

Eileen

http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/candle.gif for Leah

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif , 17 months & counting


http://tickers.baby-gaga.com/t/catcatcvi20040222_4_Kaya+is.png

[alkagift]

I would say Subaru Forester, but it's foreign. I have one and it's very sporty to drive and would fit your bill. As would the Outback. The Outback is more traditionally wagon-like, and the Forester is more boxy.

Now, one I've seen but not driven is the Mazda 6 SportWagon. It looks really pretty cool. Mazda, I think, is mostly owned by Ford, and has a manual transmission available.

Allison
Mommy to Matthew, who is TWO!

[daniele_ut]

We've been pretty firm about having manual transmission until now, and we've always driven foreign cars (since my first car was a BAD experience with a Plymouth Neon), but we are reconsidering now that we have a child and a cello to tote around. We drive a Subaru Outback Sport and the cargo area is TINY. We also have a 1988 Jetta that just keeps going. We spent some time this summer driving a Chevy Impala from my company motor pool and I was really impressed. The trunk is HUGE, and can fit the cello case in sideways without any manuevering. It has good pick-up and it also has 3 sets of LATCH anchors in the back and you can fit 3 full size carseats across the back. I am pretty sure it only comes in automatic, though!

[C99]

Eileen,

My parents have a Chrysler 300M (or did until very recently, now that I think about it), which was the last series before the C. We actually considered it before we got the Maxima. It is a very nice car.

[n2ou]

We have always had manual transmission cars, too. Now, I have two kids and I wish I had an automatic. Both of my kids are rear-facing and I am constantly either handing back stuff or holding in a pacifier. Well, one-handed steering is already dangerous enough, shifting on top of that makes it even harder.

What is your thought behind keeping it manual? Gas mileage?

Simone

[tarahsolazy]

We have a car that fits most of your list, except its foreign:

VW Passat wagon! Its pretty roomy, a wagon, so good trunk space, you can get a manual transmission, and it gets 30mpg highway. Its also quite a bit cheaper than 30K. There are tie down points in the back for a cargo net.

[Melanie]

Sounds like a Ford Freestyle might fit your requirements, though I'm not sure about a manual.

Honestly, I can't see ever wanting a manual and I don't know that I'm not alone so that might be why they're phasing them out. *shrug*

[HannaAddict]

Volvo S80? Ford owns Volvo now so it is kind of buying American (that's how I justified it!). Or Volvo V70 wagon? I've seen a few S80's with the manual transmission. Harder to find than with an automatic though. You can get great deals on both of those models in our area at the end of the model year. Or if you will take one that is barely used, they depreciate a lot right off the bat then seem to kind of hold steady.

Or Chrysler Pacifica or Ford Freestyle? Have ridden in a Pacifica and it was pretty nice.

Kimberly
DS 3/18/04