Thinking of a new vehicle for the wife

[KestrelBike]

I love my impreza hatchback. I can fit an insane amount of cargo in it, and the mileage is pretty decent. Unfortunately, that's because it's just a 4cyl and power is obviously severely lacking. Having ridden sportbikes for a few years, I'm over having a fast car so this isn't an issue for me. So far (knock on wood) I've had no mechanical issues with it. Just my $0.02!

[hollohas]

I hadn't thought about an Outback but the Forester with the turbo might be something we'll look at.

My wife drives a turbo Forester. She loves it and I think it's pretty good too. It's the last model but I hear the new model has a much better transmission.
Very good ground clearance for this type of vehicle ( for comparison a 2013 jeep grand Cherokee Laredo has 8.6" and the Forester has 8.7") and the turbo gets you into traffic with ease.

Comfortable interior but not made for big dudes to drive. My 6'2" buddy drove one for work and hated it because of the driver leg room...however, that was the old model too.

This is our second Forester. I crashed the 1st on Hwy 285 doing 45-50'ish when a funeral precession ran the red light across 8 lanes. Totalled car and the only injury was the wife's nose got bloodied from the airbag. The car started up and drove out of the intersection even though the front end was collapsed. So in the safety regard, I can say from personal experience it passed.

I like some of the other cars on your list but don't have personal experience so I won't comment on those.

PS - my wife and I have owned 3 Subarus. The first was a 91 Legacy. Had over 200k on it by the time the tranny gave up and I didn't feel like fixing it. Never ate oil. In fact, one time I drove around for a week after my dumb ass forgot to put the oil cap back on after I did an oil change...other than a big mess, the car didn't care. I drove that as a college kid and only changed the oil like every 10k. It didn't seem to mind that either.

My folks have had two Subarus. A Legacy GT that never had problems until some kid in a parking lot crashed into it and they currently still have a Forester that's a couple generations back. It's a turbo with 200k+ on it and runs like a champ. Turbo still works, doesn't eat any oil and has never had any major work done. Original clutch and all.

[ray1970]

OK. Looks like the wife and I have somewhat of a plan for Saturday. Can't fit in a full day of dealing with salesmen but we are going to have her test drive a few things.

We'll the Toyota dealer and put her behind the wheel of a 4Runner and possibly a Highlander. I'm cleverly steering her towards the 4Runner. She seems to like the looks of the thing and I told her without stepping up to something full sized this might be her best bet for a comfortable, solid feeling ride since it has an actual frame under it. I will omit the part that it might actually get worse gas mileage than my full size truck.

We are also going to look at the Honda Pilot. I think they are too boxy and ugly but have to admit I have had nothing but excellent luck with Honda products in the past. I know a couple of people who have them and they swear they are the best vehicle they have ever owned.

That's probably all we will have time for. If she falls in love with one of those it will likely follow us home. If not, we might be back looking around next weekend and driving other stuff.

[Ridge]

Was at the Mazda dealer today getting a service appointment set up. There was a woman there with a CX-5 to buy another key. I asked her, she says her car is quiet on the road, no road or wind noise that she's noticed.

[ray1970]

Was at the Mazda dealer today getting a service appointment set up. There was a woman there with a CX-5 to buy another key. I asked her, she says her car is quiet on the road, no road or wind noise that she's noticed.

Pretty sure the one the wife and I test drove was a 2010 model. Maybe they have improved them since then.

Funny you should mention the key. Reminds me I need to get a spare for my truck. Just having a tough time spending the $200 for it.

[tmleadr03]

Pretty sure the one the wife and I test drove was a 2010 model. Maybe they have improved them since then.

Funny you should mention the key. Reminds me I need to get a spare for my truck. Just having a tough time spending the $200 for it.

Tires have a lot to do with road noise. I can quiet a vehicle dramaticly by changing out the tires.

[Gman]

Tires have a lot to do with road noise. I can quiet a vehicle dramaticly by changing out the tires.

Did that with 3 of my vehicles when I changed out the OEM tires for some better Michelins.

[TheGrey]

Pretty sure the one the wife and I test drove was a 2010 model. Maybe they have improved them since then.

Funny you should mention the key. Reminds me I need to get a spare for my truck. Just having a tough time spending the $200 for it.

Before shelling out $200, check with Home Depot. They've expanded their key options to encompass vehicle keys. The dealership wanted $150 for our Nissan key; Home Depot charged $70.

[ray1970]

Before shelling out $200, check with Home Depot. They've expanded their key options to encompass vehicle keys. The dealership wanted $150 for our Nissan key; Home Depot charged $70.

Thanks. I'll look next time I'm there. It's a Fobik style key so I'd be really surprised if they had it. Plus, I'd still have to pay the dealer to program it.

[Madeinhb]

OK. Looks like the wife and I have somewhat of a plan for Saturday. Can't fit in a full day of dealing with salesmen but we are going to have her test drive a few things.

We'll the Toyota dealer and put her behind the wheel of a 4Runner and possibly a Highlander. I'm cleverly steering her towards the 4Runner. She seems to like the looks of the thing and I told her without stepping up to something full sized this might be her best bet for a comfortable, solid feeling ride since it has an actual frame under it. I will omit the part that it might actually get worse gas mileage than my full size truck.

We are also going to look at the Honda Pilot. I think they are too boxy and ugly but have to admit I have had nothing but excellent luck with Honda products in the past. I know a couple of people who have them and they swear they are the best vehicle they have ever owned.

That's probably all we will have time for. If she falls in love with one of those it will likely follow us home. If not, we might be back looking around next weekend and driving other stuff.

The 4runner drives more like a truck than SUV. So All depends what she likes.