ok - im dead in the water

[Horse]

I need suggestions.

I have decided to hold back on a nicer vehicle for the time being.

I have under 14K to spend - including any mods that I would like to most likely do (wheels tires etc).

Here is the hard part:
I need more capacity than a traditional sedan.
Therefor I need a wagon or SUV or truck.
I also love nice handeling cars.
I would like to get decent MPG - that means close to 30 freeway is a requirement. 20 in city driving as well . . .



So - is there anything that you all can think of?
I can think of only one right now: Vue Redline.
Pro's: Sport suspension, Honda Motor, AWD, 22city 30 freeway.
Cons: SATURN!


PLEASE help me. Also needs to be a fairly newer car, so no real project cars or I would already have purchased a Volvo.

[Horse]

pic from Tire rack with 20" Moda wheels.

I think it could look good . . .

[Heywood]

What do you got against a suby? You should be able to find an Outback or legacy GT wagon for that sort of dough.

[Horse]

they usually cost too much.

thats all - I love subies - but I cant afford "nicer" ones.

Plus anything with the 2.5L non turbo in it has big head gasket problems, and those are engine out repairs that cost a small fortune. No thanks.

[stilov]

how about my Maxima???? if you can hang on a bit...I need it for a trip to UT. It has more room than my WRX wagon did. and just about as fast.

[Horse]

need something with a bigger trunk opening than a sedan. We went to Target a few days ago to get some patio charis, the dang things were in boxes in pieces, and we had to open the box and put the pieces into the trunk of our malibu because the box wouldnt fit.

[Swazo]

Hmmm, the Saturn seems like your best bet considering what you want. Good handling, sperformance, MPG and space is a PITA to get in one package.

[Horse]

Hmmm, the Saturn seems like your best bet considering what you want. Good handling, sperformance, MPG and space is a PITA to get in one package.

blech


but yeah - I hear ya

[BlackwidowSVTT]

So - is there anything that you all can think of?
I can think of only one right now: Vue Redline.
Pro's: Sport suspension, Honda Motor, AWD, 22city 30 freeway.
Cons: SATURN!
PLEASE help me. Also needs to be a fairly newer car, so no real project cars or I would already have purchased a Volvo.

Vue Redlines are more then 14k here in CO, if you can even find one. I thought they were cool looking too, but finding one here is a pain. Just FYI for future mods, there is a supercharger kit for the Honda V6 that would drop right into a Vue. That was going to be my plan. Good luck on the hunt.

I got my 98 A8 for 9k. I bet you could find an 01 or 02' A8 for 14k. Man I miss that car, so much room. We got 20mpg with a 4.2 300hp V8 and 25mpg on the highway. Repairs suck though. A volvo V70 R wagon would be a nice ride too with lots of room. Just my .2 Cents. -B.

[LauraSVT]

I imagine its not your first choice, as I know you're looking for something a bit more performance oriented. However, if you're looking for a car that you don't plan to own for a long time, and will not be overly passionate about (seems the car's primary purpose is to be utilitarian), I'd really consider the following:



With the Duratec V6, they're not slow (don't take it to the drag strip, either, of course), and you'd have both great gas mileage, strong reliability, and terrific cargo room. There's also another wonderful upside to this avenue: savings. The car above is on Autotrader for $7995 with 57K miles, and you could negotiate that price down a bit with ease. Admittedly, this particular dealer is nowhere near you, but there are many such examples nationally. I'd pocket the difference in your case, and when your life really allows for a high performance machine of your choosing, you'll be very prepared to make the purchase.