What am I forgetting? A What Car thread

Elantra-Touring / Saturn Vue / SAAB 9-5 Combi / Mazda5

Front Headroom (in.) 40.00, 40.20, 38.70, 40.70
Rear Headroom (in.) 39.40, 39.30, 38.20, 39.40
Front Legroom (in.) 43.50, 40.70, 42.40, 40.70
Rear Legroom (in.) 36.40, 36.90, 36.60, 35.20
Front Shoulder Room (in.) 55.40, 56.00, 56.90, 55.50
Rear Shoulder Room (in.) 54.70, 55.90, 56.50, 55.60
Front Hip Room (in.) 53.90, 52.60, No data, 52.90
Rear Hip Room (in.) 52.60, 52.90, No data, 58.30

I have a 2006 Outback XT Limited automatic. I love it and it makes me smile every drive.

I also have a two year old. His infant seat was the Britax Chaperone, which was maybe the largest infant seat ever. However, not even my 5'4" wife could sit in front of the rear-facing seat. I did test-fit the seat in a first-gen Mazda3 and there seemed to be as much room in the 3, if not more.

I just measured the Britax and it's about 32" long. In other words, it requires about 32" between the rear seat back and the back of the front seat.

Other than fitting the rear-facing seat and the ~20MPG mixed, the Outback/Legacy is awesome. Leather interior is very nice, Momo steering wheel, good stereo. The auxiliary stereo input was added in 2007 so I missed that. It is quiet at 70 MPH and the cruise works great. I bought the automatic so my wife could drive it but I really wish I had bought a manual. I flew to Colorado to buy mine and there were several manual tranmissions and automatic transmissions to chose from. 250 flywheel horsepower isn't as much as it sounds due to drivetrain losses but I think it definitely sufficient. I also drove the normally-aspirated model and it was not sufficient. ;-) There is some controversy over the banjo-bolt oil strainer causing turbo failure and lunching engines. I have left the strainer in place and do 3,750 mile or six month oil change intervals with Wix filters (NAPA Gold) and Rotella T6 5w40.

David

Wow, I had no idea the Elantra Touring was so roomy! Adding that one to the list for sure, thanks!

Drove my MIL's Forester today, I think an XT one of those would work, too.

Javelin wrote: Wow, I had no idea the Elantra Touring was so roomy! Adding that one to the list for sure, thanks!

Keep mine in mind...

The Honda Element came with a stick though they're thin on the ground. The rear seats that fold up and in are awesome for hauling stuff but the downside is that it only seats four.
It's too bad the new Transit Connect doesn't have a manual because that is one cool looking little people mover.

Datsun1500 wrote: Financing or cash? The reason I ask is most banks will no longer finance Saabs, or other orphan makes. It's one of the reasons the cars go cheap.

I am not calling you out on this statement but it is interesting to me and I was hoping that someone could confirm/re-affirm.

I suspect (but do not know) that you can get a Pontiac/Saab/Hummer/Saturn financed. What about Suzuki? Mercury?

I know that this is a bit out there. Malibu max ss can be had under 100k miles for as low as $6k. Manual conversion from Pontiac g6 should be cheap and still have you under $10k.

In reply to Datsun1500:
Personally, I would like to see Pontiac Vibes drop in price to silly cheap levels, but I have not.

JohnRW1621 wrote: In reply to Datsun1500: Personally, I would like to see Pontiac Vibes drop in price to silly cheap levels, but I have not.

snicker You said "vibe" snicker

FSP_ZX2 wrote:

Bobzilla wrote: Elantra Touring. Kia Rondo.

I have a 2011 Elantra Touring SE 5-speed (w/ OE B&M shifter) with 77K. I would sell it for around $11K. Has BTB warranty until 100K. 60K (timing belt etc.) done, new brakes last summer, new tires last fall. Black/black leather... Daily driver for me. Auto-Xed twice. Solid HS car in a pinch, but a little long in the wheelbase to be real great... It *at least* has the room of a Tuscon inside, a very nice back seat legroom-wise. I am 6'6" and can sit behind myself. It is much bigger inside than a Mazda 3, Focus etc. It's bigger inside than it looks, which is why I got it. My ex, before she was my ex, had a Mz5. The Touring is more comfortable in front for me. It just does not have the rear-row seats (and conventional rear doors)...but has similar cargo space.

I have to ask, what real workd fuel economy have you gotten from it?

Datsun1500 wrote: Financing or cash? The reason I ask is most banks will no longer finance Saabs, or other orphan makes. It's one of the reasons the cars go cheap.

Cash money.

Datsun1500 wrote: In reply to JohnRW1621: I'll find the list when I get to the office. It applies to all of the brands you listed. At one point GMAC would not finance them unless you were approved at A tier credit. Many of the "2nd chance" banks won't on the theory of when they get repo'd, they have no resale value. Look on a franchise car lot for a 2010 Pontiac G6 and see how many you find, vs a 2010 Impala.

Then why are G8's still so bloody expensive?

Bobzilla wrote: I have to ask, what real workd fuel economy have you gotten from it?

I get around 27-28 combined in the summer (per onboard mpg display) with mainly highway miles at 75+mph, and not trying real hard for good mpg's...

Winter drops to 25ish.