The time has come to add some safety and practicality to the stable. My wife found a better job and is going back to work 5 days a week. She'll need her SUV. I'm gonna really miss carpooling, saving money on gas and the luxury of her Infiniti FX but I'm looking forward to car shopping again. With a 7 month old baby and more to come I'm leaning towards an automatic Subaru Legacy GT wagon - probably a used 2005 or 2006 model. Is there something else out there I should be cross-shopping?

 

hows VW gti?

 

Depends what you want out of it. The Speed 3 is fun enough and presumably safe (standard side airbags), but gas stings a bit. The GTI is nice, depending on how big you want. There's also the Audi A3, which I find to be a pretty sharp car, but if you want a Quattro, it will run 34k+ (though FWDs start around 25k).

 

Get the Suby. You'll love it!!!! If I needed a wagon, a Legacy or Impreza would be at the top of my list.

 

When I read your thread title Legacy or '07 and earlier WRX was the first thing that came to mind. I like the A3 also but that may be a little small for what your looking for. My favorite is still the one from Vacation though... Just needs some clear corners...

 

The GTI, MS3, A3 and even the Impreza wagon are a little small. Too bad the MS6 isn't offered in a wagon trim. I know I'll be sacrificing a little gas mileage by going with a mid-size car rather than a compact but we really need the extra space and prefer a heavier and, theoretically, safer car. On the flip side, something like a Dodge Magnum is just too damn big and eats up too much damn gas.

 

Lexus IS 300 wagon
Audi A4/S4 Avant
Volvo v50

 

If you can, look into an 07 Mazda6 GT wagon. It is quite nice inside and drove very well compared to the Legacy and the V50. It is unfortunate that US no longer gets the wagon Legacy GT wagon. However you can still score an Outback XT. It's just as nice with a certain outdoorsy flavour to it.
I found the 3-Touring quite small for trunk space. So is the IS300 wagon. Avant is nice. But that 2.0T felt unrefined to me.
Also consider the new Volvo V70.
Sadly there aren't many wagons to choose from these days. Cross over is all the rage....

 

If you can, look into an 07 Mazda6 GT wagon. It is quite nice inside and drove very well compared to the Legacy and the V50. It is unfortunate that US no longer gets the wagon Legacy GT wagon. However you can still score an Outback XT. It's just as nice with a certain outdoorsy flavour to it.
I found the 3-Touring quite small for trunk space. So is the IS300 wagon. Avant is nice. But that 2.0T felt unrefined to me.
Also consider the new Volvo V70.
Sadly there aren't many wagons to choose from these days. Cross over is all the rage....

 

toyota matrix, give tat a try.

 

If I had to get a wagon I'd go with (in order or preference):

Audi S4
Audi A4
Infiniti EX35
Legacy GT
Mazda 6 GT

2 year old S4 Avants will cost you about 30-32k. May take a while to find a manual if that is what you are looking for. Gas mileage also sucks as bad as the RX8 if not worse but they are very nice. A4 with the 4 cylinder is quite affordable, and I think they offered a manual, not sure. Audi autos are pretty good though from my experience.

 

Thanks for the tips guys. I should have mentioned it earlier but I've set aside about $16K for this purchase. I'm just not looking for another car payment. The Evo is paid off but the Infiniti is not. That budget realistically limits me to used cars. The Audi, Volvo and Infiniti EX are all around $30k. I'll look into the Mazda 6 GT wagon. Thanks!

 

You can get a Lexus IS 300 wagon in your price range.

 

LOL here are some bad *** wagons

 

IS 300 wagon

 

As I was clicking on the thread title I was thinking the Subaru. Nice choice!

 

BMW 3-series wagon. 30 mpg, RWD (or AWD), sweet inline 6, super-fun to drive. We adore our 2003 325i.

 

The thought of a BMW out of warranty scares the living hell out of me.

 

Get the Subaru!

I don't think the makers of that movie could have made Clark Griswold's wagon any uglier...

 

My wife is on her third consecutive Subaru wagon, and she swears she will never drive anything else. We both love her current car, an '05 Outback.

And there's a reason the IIHS keeps picking Subarus as 'top safety picks.' We walked away from a pretty bad accident in ours in November. A kid blew right through a stop sign and the Outback absorbed a 30mph impact to the right side doors without any cabin intrusion. Great car.

Top Gear also named the Outback as their car of the year, along with the Mondeo, which you can't get here anyway. :p

Let us know what you pick.

 

For 16k I'd go 3-4 yr old A4 or Legacy GT. The 6 wagon is very attractive if slow and a bit hard to find, looked for one for my mom and couldn't find one in a 100 mile radius.

 

I think the 3 series is probably the most trouble-free European car going. The niggles will be electrical, as the engines and drivetrains are indestructible. Parts are plentiful and not outrageously expensive, and if you have a good mechanic you never need to go to the dealer.

We keep a $2000 slush fund at all times for maintenance and repair, and we've only had to touch it a few times in 5.5 years.

 

My wife had a Forester before we got her the CX-9. We bought it new and kept it for 7 years. Not one issue other than having to change the digital clock. While she loved the Subaru, she likes the CX-9 better.

Have you considered a CX 7? With kids you will want enough space for all their crap.

 

I am another Subaru owner. It's my wifes D.D. She loves Subaru's and we are on our 4th one. Our last Outback, we bought new in "99". It recently gave up at over 150K. We didn't want to put any more money into it so we got another Outback.

 

My wife had an 02 outback and loved it, very rugged car and held its value pretty well. It must have been geared more for fuel economy though as you had to go WoT to get anything out of it or before you knew it you were in fourth gear.