Fun family hauler $32k and under.

SMRTSS1

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Jan 12, 2010
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My wife is in the market for a new car since her Scion TC won't exactly cut it for eventual family hauling duties and her car is showing its age. She's had her eye on a Subaru Crosstrek for a while due to AWD, 4 doors and the wagon type space in the back and I'm not gonna lie, I like her choice but it doesn't exactly scream fun car.
Which brings me to the question.

What would be a good FUN family friendly car that can be driven every day regardless of weather?

THE RULES.
Must be FUN.
Must be $32K or under.
Must be new or a '16 with minimal miles.
Must be 4 doors
Must be daily driven, meaning also good in winter, does not have to be AWD/4WD.
Must be a safe car.
Does not have to be the most fuel efficient car in the world but no shitty mpg's.
Must be able to fit 2 adult human beings, a dog occasionally and eventually a miniature human (the more storage space the better).
She will not drive a minivan. She said that's grounds for divorce.

My brain keeps going back to the GTI or even a Jetta GLI but I'm curious what everyone else thinks.
 

Flyn

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If you don't mind, let me stress the key point in this car buying adventure.

Happy wife, happy life.

IMO, you can gather info and present all the vehicles to her but I strongly suggest, and by strongly, I mean really, really strongly, that you don't have a favorite yourself or, if you do, that you don't push it.

IF you do push one vehicle and she takes it and anything about it isn't to her liking...

If SHE picks from a bunch of decent vehicles and loves the car because she picked it...
 

LoveSpank

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Mar 13, 2012
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My wife and I looked at a Tiguan and it was way too small. The GTI and GLI will be too small as well once you have a kid in car seats and have to be carrying around strollers. I'd look at the new Mazda CX-9 if I was in the market for a family hauler.
Too small.. The wife and I with the 2 kids (2car seats) fit no problem. We love it cause we whip it around.
 

SMRTSS1

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Jan 12, 2010
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Elgin
If you don't mind, let me stress the key point in this car buying adventure.

Happy wife, happy life.

IMO, you can gather info and present all the vehicles to her but I strongly suggest, and by strongly, I mean really, really strongly, that you don't have a favorite yourself or, if you do, that you don't push it.

IF you do push one vehicle and she takes it and anything about it isn't to her liking...

If SHE picks from a bunch of decent vehicles and loves the car because she picked it...

I 1,000% agree and I'm not even attempting to push anything on her, just getting her to look at other vehicles that are decent so she has a broader range and options.. She's like me in the sense that if you try to get her to go one way she'll do the opposite just to spite you.

Used Chevy SS. Most of these suggestions seem like they'd be horrible for kids.

If there's going to be an SS in the garage it's going to be mine. Problem is the SS is a thirsty bitch.
 

Bru

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I nominate the 2017 Ford Escape. See below

My wife is in the market for a new car since her Scion TC won't exactly cut it for eventual family hauling duties and her car is showing its age. She's had her eye on a Subaru Crosstrek for a while due to AWD, 4 doors and the wagon type space in the back and I'm not gonna lie, I like her choice but it doesn't exactly scream fun car.
Which brings me to the question.

What would be a good FUN family friendly car that can be driven every day regardless of weather?

THE RULES.
Must be FUN.
[The Escape has one of the most refined ride qualities in its class and handling is sharp and responsive (the CX-5 is close). The 2.0-liter is a good upgrade, though the 1.5-liter is peppy enough]

Must be $32K or under.
[MSRP might be above $32, but Ford sell these for much lower than their advertised retail price.]

Must be new or a '16 with minimal miles.
[Get the 17. It's redesigned with more-desirable features (Sync 3, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto) and they opened up the center console for more storage space.]

Must be 4 doors
[Technically, it has five]

Must be daily driven, meaning also good in winter, does not have to be AWD/4WD.
[AWD is easy to find.]

Must be a safe car.
[For 2017, Ford added the option of forward collision warning and improved front crash test ratings - not top of the class, but not poor like before]

Does not have to be the most fuel efficient car in the world but no shitty mpg's.
[You pay for the Escape's sportiness here. It's punchy, but fuel economy is low for the class. 20/27 mpg with the big engine and AWD.]

Must be able to fit 2 adult human beings, a dog occasionally and eventually a miniature human (the more storage space the better).
She will not drive a minivan. She said that's grounds for divorce.
[The Escape is roomy in the backseat and fits child seats extremely well. The cargo load floor is easy to access and the liftgate is power on mid-to-high trim levels]

My brain keeps going back to the GTI or even a Jetta GLI but I'm curious what everyone else thinks.
[You'll quickly reach the usefulness of this sized vehicle with a dog and child. It's performance credibility is 100x more than the Escape (duh).]
 
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