more on cars

[flea]

mr. flea and Dillo went out and drove a Ford Fusion tonight. mr. flea loved the Fusion. It drove really nice, he likes the style a lot (I think it's ugly.) But. It's too small for him.

So, where we stand is:
Casper now wants a minivan.
Dillo still wants a Ferrari.
I want a hatchback, and liked the Fit a lot although we didn't drive it and it may not be powerful enough. I have this irrational thing where I think sedans are dorky and old-personish.
mr. flea wants a car he can get excited about, that he likes the look of and the driving feel of. he's leaning towards the Matrix at this point, of what he's looked at, but he's not excited about it.

Our criteria:
1. It must fit mr. flea comfortably, and also a car seat in the back. Dealbreaker.
2. We want good gas mileage, good safety, good reliability. A manual transmission.
3. Style issues.

So, we'll probably satisfy one and two, and forget about 3, I guess.

Comments

[truejavachik.livejournal.com]

The very nice thing about sedans, though, is that it is SO much easier to get kids and groceries out of the backseat. I loathed going shopping with Steve's 2-door Saab for this reason alone.

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

Oh, I want a 4-door hatchback. Two-door is Right Out.

[dxmachina.livejournal.com]

Sadly for Dillo, I don't think Ferrari makes a hatchback... or a four-door. Pity.

[(Anonymous)]

I want a Mazda 5 minivan. Tiny, kind of like a big hatchback, and comes with manual transmission. Mileage about as good as my 15 yr old Accord -- mid-20s maybe. I also like the Kia Rondo, but I don't think that comes with a stick shift. (I also hate driving automatics.) I used to have a Subaru Imprezza Outback Sport, or something like that. It was SO MUCH FUN to drive. But Subarus are wicked expensive to repair, and ours needed a trip to the mechanic before every emissions inspection (the check engine light was always on despite the fact that nothing was actually wrong with the engine). But Clarke Co does not have emissions laws, unlike Massachusetts, so that may be an option.

Clare

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

I had a Subaru with that check engine light problem! My sister called it "Roxanne." ("You don't have to put on the red light.")

Unfortunately the nearest Mazda dealer is in Buford, at the Mall of GA, so it's harder to check out the Mazda 5. I'd like to; it looks interesting.

[(Anonymous)]

You might try Enterprise in Athens. I had a rental from them (a Sienna, which was nice if you want a bus-sized minivan), and they told me they also have the Mazda-5. I am certain they have only the automatic version, but it would give you a feel for the size, and to decide if you want to make the trek to Buford.

Clare

[wandsci.blogspot.com (from livejournal.com)]

Did I mention that we like our new Mazda 5?

Oh, yeah, I did. Repeatedly. Sorry.

But we really do like it. I LOVE that we can actually carry both kids (in car seats!) AND my parents when they are in town.

We looked at the Kia Rondo, too, and liked that. The Mazda 5 won because it is easier to get into its 3rd row of seats when there are car seats in the second row- you don't have to fold down the second row to get to the third row in the Mazda 5. If you don't have two car seats, that is less of an issue.

Casper would like it- it is a minivan. As opposed to the things that are called minivans these days, which are actually not "mini" at all.

Our car search dragged on and on because no one made what we actually wanted (a minivan or full size station wagon that got 30 mpg- so probably a hybrid). We had to compromise, and we kept arguing about what to compromise on. I really wanted the third row of seats. Hubby really wanted that 30 mpg (there is a Jetta diesel that would do it). I won.

We're about to take our first road trip in the Mazda 5. I can report back in a couple of weeks and let you know how that goes, if you are curious.

[haphazardmethod.livejournal.com]

I keep getting laughed at when I ask about manual transmissions. A colleague recommends the Jetta or Passat, which has some kind of dual transmission that satisfies users of both.

[casperflea.livejournal.com]

Ooh, Consumer Reports likes the Jetta TDI, which is a manual and gets good mileage. It won't work for us - we need at least 40" of head room and this only has 38.5", but it might for you. But most things I've mentioned have a manual - it's just harder to come by.

Anybody laughing at you does not deserve your business.