A painful soul-numbing what-car question (begging your indulgence)

A year-long lurker, I'm hoping to tread on your hospitality with yet another painful what-car thread. Call this the anti-GRM 'what-car' request since the options are neither grassroots nor motorsports.

I'm trying to help out some family members in need of an appliance. They have $7-9k available and want something smallish (monster caveat) with a manual transmission and under 100k. Four doors is a requirement.

Here's the issue: they are not small people. There's no way their large son (6'-4" and at least 260 lbs) can get in and out of a compact or mid-size. So, smallish for them is probably in the range of a Mazda 6 or Accord. Even Subaru Legacys are probably on the small side.

With that, I'm looking at '04+ Mazda 6's with the 4-cylinder and 5-speed. Also, '06+ Ford Fusions & Mercury Milan's. I have found a couple '06+ Accords and Camrys (ironically beige in color) as well. My gut says there's little in reliability difference between any of those options (except for Subies which might want a little more care & feeding.) I personally would lean towards the Mazdas since there are more of them and they aren’t a snooze to drive. However, I’ve never been in the back seat of a 6 so I don’t know if it’s reasonable. Sources indicate their interior volume is at the small end of the scale.

The other caveat is the manual transmission. My cousin's husband is old-school and likes to row his own, and I fully support that notion. However, it’s a very limited pool of available 5-speed sedans that tick the above boxes. So I'm working on him to yield to the lazy, two-footed side and consider autos. This increases availability substantially Now we’re looking at ‘06+ Chevy Impalas or ‘05+ Ford Taurii.

And while we're at it, thinking of Thomas squeezing his bulk into the back seat of an Accord, why not fully give in and start looking at the ubiquitous mini van options. Lots of van options including '07+ Chevy Uplanders, Dodge Grand Caravans, Kia Sedonas and a couple Kia Rondo's. I'm not partial to Dodge products although their reliability seems to be average. I didn't find any reasonable Honda / Toyota options in this price range but will keep looking. I have no experience with Chevy Uplanders, looks like there aren't enough of them to register on TrueDelta.

Anyway, comments would be appreciated. I'd love to help them and kick in some cash so they can expand their shopping range, but that's not an option unless my Powerball numbers come in (finally.) Thanks to the hive mind for input.

Chevy HHR. We rented one for two weeks a couple years ago and loved it. 29mpg, too. Mazda6 or Accord would also be a great choice.

Mazda 5, minivan-ish with large doors and an extreme amount of middle row legroom (but the middle row is only two people wide. Available in manual.

Nissan Versa also has extra square and extra wide doors combined with freakish amounts of rear seat legroom. Narrow, so really only two people fit in the back seat but those two are comfortable. Also manual.

Second generation Scion xB, if they fit in your price range.

my vote is a Saab 9-5. I drove a 99 for 5 years from 2002 till 07. It was a wonderful car ( i passed it on to my sister for another 4 years). You s/b able to buy an 08 or 09 for close to that money. They are very well sorted after 04 when they dealt with the sludge issues.

Chris

JeffHarbert wrote: Chevy HHR. We rented one for two weeks a couple years ago and loved it.

I think that may be the first time that has EVER been said of the HHR.

On top of my head, I can think of:

1) Mazda5: if you push the middle seats all the way back, they have a lot of space but become 4-seaters.

2) Hyundai Elantra: They have a huge in the back seat. (bigger than my Maxima was)

3) Nissan Sentra: Same as Elantra

There are a lot of option, but you need to stop assuming that big car = big back seat because almost all the cars on your list are larger than the ones I have listed, yet have equal or smaller back seats.

The original Saturn Vue suv came with a 2wd manual 4cyl. Decent back seat. Avoid the 4cyl auto/cvt. It is really problematic.

mia....never mind.
Yeah, Mazda 5 comes to mind right away.

Used Patriot? or Compass? One (or both) of those you could get as a stick and 2wd

2 Miatas welded together.

e_pie wrote: 2 Miatas welded together.

I like that idea, but the back seat would still be on the small side.

01+ Camry?

I really dont get this whole thing about size stereotypes. It TOTALLY depends on the car. My 6'7" BIL fits in my 1800 lb Honda Insight just fine! You have to be over 400 lbs before you consistently have problems fitting in ANY entire class of cars. I know this because my 400+lb cousin has some specific requirements because of his size and ive car shopped for him too.

Honestly, 6'4 <300lb people are not that big. They fit in all sorts of cars, even tiny ones. It just depends on the car. Assuming you need a huge vehicle just because you dont want to try out the smaller ones is just a good way to dump more money out the tailpipe in gas for the rest of your entire life.

I will say, one not-huge vehicle that has truly massive headroom in the front seats is the honda element.

Thanks for all the comments / suggestions.

Mazda5 is a great suggestion. I drove one while SUV shopping and I'm still second-guessing buying a Highlander instead. SWMBO made that choice. I haven't found one with the right price, mileage and transmission. I can locate four automatics within 200 miles, maybe that's a compromise they'll be willing to make. Or we test-drive one locally, find out if we like it or not, then cast a wider net to find one at the right price.

Second-gen xB is another potential option but I'm not finding them in the right mileage or price-range. They are kind of funky so the unusual looks of the xB might fit them well. And, 160 hp w/ a manual transmission ought to be mildly entertaining. First-gen Vue, Patriot or Compass, all options I hadn't considered.

The other smaller car options… Sentra, Versa, Elantra… having sat in all of them, I do realize they are deceptively roomy. But, they’re also the approximate same size as the Saturn SL1 they’re getting rid of, so I can’t see them making that choice.

Thanks again, we'll dig deeper and see what they might like. I'd like to get this done soon before the used market perks up and prices start rising again.

Chevy Uplander is equivalent to the Venture/Silhouette/Trans Sport GM minivans. My parents have had a Silhouette from new. Power sliding door has been the only trouble point, although the second and third row seat bases are very very low. At 5'3 or 4, 15-year-old me found the back seats quite annoying. I'd hate to try the back seats at six-foot-plus.

Mazda 5 is a great choice.

I'll second the vote for a Saab 9-5. My wagon is a pretty big car. Someone of larger stature would fit fine it it...back seat would be somewhat tight, but I think that will be true for any sedan when it comes to someone of his size. If he's not sitting in the front seat, the only thing with enough room would be the Mazda5 or any minivan (yes, they're auto trans).