New DD desired

[Malakaone]

So my wife needs a new DD. We are looking for some of the following items:

1. AWD or 4x4
2. Good looking (sporty?)
3. Good rear seat leg room.
4. 4 door
5. Decent fuel economy

We looked at the new Kia Sportage, Nice but felt a little cheap. Looked at the Flex, but I would never drive it. We looked at an A4 but it was small. We really liked a A3 with RS badging and TDI, but it doesn't come quattro. We also looked at a WRX, but the back seat is ridiculous.

We also looked at a Subaru Legacy and liked that the most so far. I personally liked the M56x we drove, but she thought it was too expensive with kids destroying the back seat.

Anything I might be missing?

Looking to spend around 30k. No rush either.

Thanks for the help.

Click to read more...

 

[Mook]

Paging Bru

 

[Bru]

Wow you're all over the place

If you like the Legacy, check out the 2010/2011 Outback. Same thing on the inside but as a wagon with a little more ground clearance and cargo room. 22/29 mpg with CVT, standard AWD and four-cylinder.

Won't find much else that's AWD and gets that good gas mileage other than a hybrid. Plus Subaru's AWD is badass in the snow. Less clunky than a FWD-biased system like the CR-V and is very seamless and effective.

If you can take a marginal hit with gas mileage, the Equinox is very nice on the inside. It rides solid, smooth and quiet. CR-V is a safe bet and also nice on the inside, but a little loud on the highway and even with the more powerful engine recently added still feels sluggish.

And if you want something really sporty, check the Mini Cooper Countryman S. Just gave one back and it drives very much like the Cooper, though a little softened. Not by much. It's still crazy stiff, loud and handles well. Not very nice on rough roads, however. Countryman is only a four seater.

 

[Bru]

Paging Bru

:fyws:

 

[Malakaone]

^^ thanks Bru. I came to the same realization. We are all over the place since the requirements are AWD and roomy, but nothing huge like an F150 for her. We lookedbat the Outback, but she liked the Legacy more.

Now the question is....do we get the base engine or the 2.5. I heard (Car & Driver?) the 2.5 needs some refinement.

 

[KagA152]

for a car have you considered a 2nd gen CTS? My aunt just picked up an 08, AWD, direct injection rated at 17/26 mpg. its a lot more sporty then i anticipated. makes me want a cts-v even more

 

[Bru]

Base engine is the 2.5 170 hp four-banger in the Outback. With CVT it's a little buzzy and does feel rough. The only other engine is the optional 256-hp 3.6-liter, which is powerful but still a little meh as far as refinement. The Legacy can come with those two options as well as the turbo engine. Turbo is my fav in the Legacy, but is premium gas.

 

[TransHed]

I love that Joe knows so god damn much about like.. all cars and of all the cars he's driven... he totally rocks a Trans Am. BOOM.

... dont get your wife a Trans Am lol

 

[Bru]

I'm still just working on a journalist's salary

 

[Bru]

Oh, and just because the engine is a little noisy doesn't mean it's unreliable. Subaru's reliability with their 2.5-liter N/A engine is top notch.

 

[10sec]

Bru = FTW with this stuff, got to witness his awesomeness in person. I was speechless

 

[Bru]

 

[blakbearddelite]

Bru = FTW with this stuff, got to witness his awesomeness in person. I was speechless

Awesomeness pretty much runs in his family.

 

[OffshoreDrilling]

Grand Cherokee SRT8

 

[Malakaone]

Any Audi? Benz? Etc?

Sounds like legacy might be it.

 

[Bru]

New A4 is fuel efficient but as you discovered, small on the inside even though it grew in this generation. Q5 is a nice small SUV, but also small in the second row and starts above $35k new.

Acura TL is big and the SH-AWD models are awesome. They are $38k + new but I'm not familiar with used pricing.

 

[Malakaone]

Cool thanks Bru for all the info.

 

[Yaj Yak]

what about the new flex's? i like driving those..

 

[Bru]

No prob dude. The best thing you can do is just go out and drive them! I can tell you what's out there and my experience with all of these cars but it doesn't mean squat if the significant other doesn't like the way it looks or you don't fit in it.

 

[GTwolf]

Sounds like you're looking for an Infiniti/Subaru for sure.

 

[Freebeer187]

Subaru ftw

 

[E]

Bru is like the GPS to the car you want to get to.

 

[xringshooter7]

Depending on how many options you want, You could look at a Nissan Xterra. If you want some more options and a bigger SUV, there is always the Pathfinder.

 

[DOC-Z]

Have you tried looking at a Saab "Aero" or "Viggen". I've never been in one, but they have decent body lines. However, it may run along the lines of the WRX's back seat.

Otherwise perhaps a Trailblazer SS.

 

[Angus]

What about a Ford Edge of Lincoln MKX?

My parents have an awd MKX and it's plenty roomy, awd system is great (got me through the blizzard at midnight that night!), and decent on mpg's. I think ours get's around low to mid 20's around town and I don't know about hwy...