Learn me family wagons

This is a two part post. I need advice about family wagons and about trading for an older car.

Part 1!

We're trying to get our finances in order right now and I'm looking for places to make cuts. The most obvious is our $200 a month car payment. Our current car (2010 Suzuki SX4) is simply too small for us and we need something just a smidge large. We considered getting an Elantra Touring, because we've found several that we could trade our car in for and have our monthly payments stay the same.

However I've been thinking about trading for something a little older. Still newer than 2000, but still older. I've found several Passat Wagons, Volvos, and even the odd Mazda5 here and again. Is this a sound idea?

And also, please school me on family wagons, under $10k, automatic is a must for the Missus.

Do it! I can't say enough good things about my Mazda5. By trading down you'll lower your payments and insurance, plus have a larger and more versatile car with the same fuel mileage. The auto isn't even that bad.

^ Put me in the get a Mazda5 camp. Can't go wrong.

Friend of mine got an elantra touring. Good amount of room, and are sitting on dealer lots. Can get them for a steal.

Step 1: Trade for Mazda5.

Step 2: Profit.

Agree with the above. But I'd throw in a vote for a Volvo wagon. I love my '96.

Thanks guys. The more I look at the Mazda5 the more I like it. My wife doesn't like it, she's still leaning more towards the Passat Wagen (Hates the volvo). To find a good Mazda5 in my area I had to raise my price a little, but it would still be a small saving in the end.

Oooooo Country Squire!!!

We have a Mazda 5. It was the successor to a Volvo 850 wagon. The Mazda5 is driven by my wife. I overall like the car but there are a few things I dislike.
2010 Sport model with no options other than automatic.

Seating position:
I wish the front seats went back another notch or two.
The seat has a manual "pump up" feature but this feature also moves the seat forward and slopes the seat forward while lifting it. The result is that my 5'4" wife positions the seat all the way back but all the way up for herself. I at 6'1" need the seat all the way back and all the way down. For me there is no lift option since it moves the seat closer. The tilt wheel does not tilt down low enough for me considering that I have to have the seat all the way down. It seems that the tilt feature intends for the driver to have the seat somewhat lifted.

Radio: The stock speakers on the low model are really poor. The radio itself is okay and the wheel controls are nice, just crappy sound.
I really like that climate control is offered on the lowest model.

Dogs: We have found that the center captains chairs are not good for our older dog. At 45lbs she is just a bit too large to lay down on one chair. If we have no luggage she can lay on the rearmost seat but in typical dog fashion she wants to be closer and tends to hang in the middle seat, uncomfortably. The dog liked the large traditional bench rear seat for spreading out in the Volvo

Steering is quick (good) but with little effort to turn the wheel it can seem a little twitchy at speed (bad). This is mostly just a "used to it" type of thing where I am "used to" the slower steering of my e30 or manual rack Miata.

There is no flat floor considering that there is a space left between the captains chairs even when they are folded. The Volvo folded completely flat and we had even slept/camped back there a couple of times. No such with the Mazda 5.

Daily, the Mazda 5 is just a 4 seater and we were fine with that but those 4 ride in surprising room and comfort considering the small size of the vehicle.

FYI jrw: you can get a center console like pad to drop in the middle of the second row seats. I'm considering just making one.

jrw1621 wrote: Daily, the Mazda 5 is just a 4 seater and we were fine with that but those 4 ride in surprising room and comfort considering the small size of the vehicle.

That's pretty much exactly what we want. Plenty of space for baby things and what not, and plenty of space for everyone else. So far I'm really liking the Mazda5.

We don't want to go too big though, because this is the car my wife would be DDing. As such she has a lot of saying in what we get.

Thanks for the help guys.

I'm in the Volvo house because the wife says that's where we will like as long as we have a child. If you plan to crash, they are a great car to crash in.

If money is an object, you don't want a Volvo. They cost to keep and feed. They are rather maintenance intensive when compared to a UJC.

jrw1621 wrote: Dogs: We have found that the center captains chairs are not good for our older dog. At 45lbs she is just a bit too large to lay down on one chair. If we have no luggage she can lay on the rearmost seat but in typical dog fashion she wants to be closer and tends to hang in the middle seat, uncomfortably. The dog liked the large traditional bench rear seat for spreading out in the Volvo

I bought my Mazda5 specifically for my older 60 lb dog. If you take out one of the middle seats it makes a large, relatively flat area for your dog to hang out in. I put a scrap piece of carpet over the area to smooth out the areas where the seat rails were. You do lose one seat but it makes the rear seat on that side more bearable. It also allows you to fit some pretty tall stuff in the car too.

Once again, I'm a little pissed at myself for buying the fit without test driving a 5. Boo.

In reply to sjc:
How hard is it to take out a seat?
Is this just a 4 bolt affair?
I have not tried that in the 9 months we have owned the car.

I have some heavy cardboard cut to dimensions similar to the whole rear cargo area. When I fold down all the seats the cardboard creates a flat floor covering the gap between the middle seats. Tthat improves loading and sliding in items. We bought the 5 in Feb and moved cross town in July. The 5 was quite the workhorse.

In reply to jrw1621:

Yep, just 4 bolts. It's pretty easy to get one of the middle seats out: pop the plastic covers off the ends of the seat rails to expose the bolts.

if you could fine one maybe a mazda 6 wagon?

Gotta mention the Kia Rondo here. For me, it has been the perfect family truckster.

It is larger than the Mazda 5, though less sporty or cool. It comes as a 5-seater or 7, the rear cargo area is huge compared to most other little wagonettes out there (Fit) and the V6 is perfectly adequate.

The warranty is great, nothing ever breaks, and they are cheap.

This! Wait, no option for an auto 'box...

Coming from the Subie camp, I'd suggest at least a test drive of the Forester or Legacy/Outback, but the 5 seems to be a sure thing. It's a whole lot of car/wagon/van for the money.

If looking for affordability AND reliability, I'd be inclined to run like hell from any used Passat without a hefty warranty, unless you're planning to do all your own work, have a second car to drive when it croaks, and a have a Master's degree in German automotive electronic diagnostics. They're a bear to keep up with when aged.

If you can find one Mazda6 Wagons are very nice. They only came with the 3.0 V6, good power, good handling. But curious placement of accessories. (pull a driveshaft to do an alternator?)

But really no major qualms, mine is 7 years old and aged well. Poor resale will help get one for a good price. It's main downfall was not being an SUV in the hey day of SUVs.

have to vote for the Mazda6 wagon - it was a step up from the Mazda 3 we had, and we wanted the "car" look instead of the van styling of the Mazda5.