YACT: Wagons / Hatchbacks

[Red]

Any of you drive em? Every time I need to ship or buy a larger item (ie, TV / monitor) or go on a road trip (luggage) I am reminded that my Civics rear seating and trunk area sucks. Are wagons roomy enough to hold larger items like this? Any wagons that don't look like junk?

Goal: Find me a used, super reliable wagon with decent gas mileage, automatic, for under $7,500.

My list after a brief search:

(1) Camry/Accord Wagons (94-96) ... these meet all of the criteria I'm looking for but are really rare.
(2) Subaru legacy/forester wagons ... don't look that great and bad gas mileage from AWD. One notch below toyota / honda reliability.
(3) VW Golf ... apparently has a ton of storage when you fold down back seats. Poor reliabilty, however, unless I find a Golf TDI, but those usually don't sink as low as $7,500. Anyone have experience with TDI reliabilty / cost of repairs? I've always been taught diesels run forever.

What else fellers?

 

[BCYL]

I drive a civic hatchback, and as long as I can fold down the rear seats the trunk is huge... Can definitely carry more stuff tha my parents 4-door civic (especially large boxes, just fold down the seats and the boxes slide right in)...

 

[Red]

Originally posted by: BCYL
I drive a civic hatchback, and as long as I can fold down the rear seats the trunk is huge... Can definitely carry more stuff tha my parents 4-door civic (especially large boxes, just fold down the seats and the boxes slide right in)...

Yeah, but I'm thinking the insurance will be higher on that. My Civic insurance right now kills me, but thanks for the suggestion, I'll consider it.

 

[BCYL]

Originally posted by: Redhotjrm

Originally posted by: BCYL
I drive a civic hatchback, and as long as I can fold down the rear seats the trunk is huge... Can definitely carry more stuff tha my parents 4-door civic (especially large boxes, just fold down the seats and the boxes slide right in)...

Yeah, but I'm thinking the insurance will be higher on that. My Civic insurance right now kills me, but thanks for the suggestion, I'll consider it.

Remember the trunk space is only good if you can fold the rear seats down (or at least 1 side, mine have 50/50 rear folding seats)... else the trunk is quite small (not as small as the mini, but still small)... I think this goes for all hatchbacks anyways...

 

[Crazymofo]

Focus ZX3 or ZX5 has a ton of space if you fold the seats down...

 

[LordMorpheus]

Those subarus are real nice! You can get a Turbo- flat-four and they are quick, too!

AWD great for snow and rain, they look slick, and they have all that extra cargo space.

If I wasn't such a fan of 70's-early90's American Behemoths, I would probably be drooling (from a distance) over one of thems right now.

 

[TechnoKid]

I vote for a focus as well considering the price range you are looking at. Though the focus has had more probelms (namely electrical) than a comparable civic hatchback, there is the price and "newness" of the car to consider. If you can drive a manual, by all means get a manual; it will generally last longer than an auto and cost less to fix.

 

[FrustratedUser]

Volvo makes the best wagons on the road.
A used 850 GLT wagon is a great car. If you can accept an older model then the 940 wagon is excellent.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Volvo makes the best wagons on the road.
A used 850 GLT wagon is a great car. If you can accept an older model then the 940 wagon is excellent.

We have an 850 GLT 96 or 94, I don't remember and it runs great. No major problems yet, tons of space and nice interior.

 

[Red]

Originally posted by: AgaBooga

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Volvo makes the best wagons on the road.
A used 850 GLT wagon is a great car. If you can accept an older model then the 940 wagon is excellent.

We have an 850 GLT 96 or 94, I don't remember and it runs great. No major problems yet, tons of space and nice interior.

How much more does maintenance cost on a beaut like this? There is a really nice 96 GLT Wagon for $7,000 in my area. What kind of gas mileage do you get?

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: Redhotjrm

Originally posted by: AgaBooga

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Volvo makes the best wagons on the road.
A used 850 GLT wagon is a great car. If you can accept an older model then the 940 wagon is excellent.

We have an 850 GLT 96 or 94, I don't remember and it runs great. No major problems yet, tons of space and nice interior.

How much more does maintenance cost on a beaut like this? There is a really nice 96 GLT Wagon for $7,000 in my area. What kind of gas mileage do you get?

If its a non-turbo you'll get decent mileage tho not as good as an Accord/Camry wagon. And don't overlook 91-93 Accord Wagons. Also hard to come by but they have the same drivetrain as the 5th gens.

 

[guapo337]

Dude. Subaru Impreza.

Impreza Outback Sport

Impreza Wagon

By far the best choice.

 

[Kelvrick]

Legacy Wagons, especially the new ones look really nice.

Mazda 3 wagons are pretty cheap too. Audi A4's look nice, and so do WRX wagons.

 

[MovingTarget]

I would hardly consider the choices you put up as "station wagons". I can see why people call them "wagons" for short because when compared to the real thing, they come up as such. The 70's through early 90's were the heydey of real station wagons. Large V8, rwd, full size metal frame....Power, strength, and room to boot! A freind of mine has recently restored his 87 caprice station wagon inside and out. Sweeeeet!

But if you want a "wagon", I'd suggest one of the last of the second gen cavalier wagons...with the 3.1 liter engine. It truly was a great car for me and had great power/torque/gas mileage.

 

[PCMarine]

As a Taurus owner myself, you may want to check out a Gen 3 or 4 Ford Taurus Wagon.

They would fit your price range, have decent fuel economy, and with the vulcan engine you can really drive the piss out of them (though the wagon can come with an optional 200 HP duratec engine which is more powerful but possibly less reliable).

*Puts on flamesuit*

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Volvo makes the best wagons on the road.
A used 850 GLT wagon is a great car. If you can accept an older model then the 940 wagon is excellent.

best friend has a '95 850 turbo wagon... still runs strong

 

[Cyberian]

Toyota made a Corolla wagon up until about 1996, and Ford made an Escort through 1999.
Both of these should hold quite a bit more than a Civic, get good gas mileage, and be well within your budget.
As for reliability, YMMV.

 

[Spencer278]

In my Saab 900 hatchback I fit
42" x 29" X 16" dresser
19" monitor
21" Tv
computer
and a lot of other junk with out having to put a lot of effor into packing.

 

[Quixfire]

Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Volvo makes the best wagons on the road.
A used 850 GLT wagon is a great car. If you can accept an older model then the 940 wagon is excellent.

I disagree, Mercedes makes the best wagons on the road. I had a 88 300TE that went 295K miles and I only sold it because of the rust. I was able to fit a dryer in the back of that car among other activities.

 

[woowoo]

Saturn makes a wagon
There cheap and get good gas mileage

 

[TheAudit]

You already have a Civic, if you like that then check out a Civic Hatchback.

 

[tnitsuj]

wait...didn't you just buy an old Toyota Celica or something?...and you want to get rid of your Civic? How many cars do you need?

 

[EyeMWing]

I drive a van. Plenty of cargo room. I don't see how you hatchback/wagon/SUV people think you have cargo space.

"A cavernous 100 sq feet of space"
I have 7x6x5 (200+) easily.

 

[Viperoni]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
I drive a van. Plenty of cargo room. I don't see how you hatchback/wagon/SUV people think you have cargo space.

"A cavernous 100 sq feet of space"
I have 7x6x5 (200+) easily.

cubic feet