We've lived in France, where you'll find tons of ingenious sedans or ultra-compact minivans that carry 6-7 people. Almost all come with manual transmissions and diesel-fueled models, giving a fuel efficiency that comes close to our Golf.
But here? There are really only two choices: minivan or SUV. No thanks.
So we need help finding a new vehicle. Here's what we're looking for, in order of importance:
- Seats 6+ people
- Good fuel economy
- Manual transmission (a.k.a. stick shift)
- Not too big
- Around 3-6 years old, $8-10K maximum budget
- Diesel fuel (we can always wish...)
Are there any other vehicles in the North American market that meet our needs? Please, please let me know if you find anything else! We only have 2 months left to look.
ps--anyone want to buy our VW Golf? It has 108K miles, heated seats, power windows, Monsoon sound system, roof rack, Greasecar conversion done in 2006 (secondary 13-gallon heated fuel tank for waste VO), and more. You can fit 3 car seats side-by-side: 2 front-facing & 1 rear-facing, or 2 front-facing and 1 booster.
My friend had a Kia Rondo for many years and loved it. It seats seven. The very back row of seats is quite small but fine for children in car seats or boosters, but not really for good for older children who need some leg room. When the back seat is in use, the trunk is pretty small. This wasn't a big deal for day to day use, but a problem for family trips. She solved this for by getting a roof-top carrier. She recently upgraded to a Kia Sorento now that her kids are bigger.
ReplyDeleteAvital, that also looks great! I've never even heard of it before.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your criteria, I immediately thought of the Mazda 5.
ReplyDeleteI have a Honda Odyssey, which is bigger, but it gets the same/better fuel economy than the Mazda 5...and I love the extra space. It drives really, really well- I don't feel like I'm in a big vehicle. They are also reliable and hold their value. But anyways...they don't meet your other criteria. Just what I've enjoyed.
We bought a Mazda5 for all the reasons you mentioned. I love the minivan doors. We've never gotten anything over 22 mpg highway or city. Not sure about years prior to 2012 but our version has custom tires that are Ill-suited to driving on anything but perfect pavement and are expensive to replace. The price is good but I wouldn't probably get it again. I wish there were better options. A friend with four kids recently settled on a Toyota Highlander.
ReplyDeleteI know it isn't the case, but if you were able to wait until the end of the year - oh and looking for something new, the new Ford Transit Connect with EcoBoost would be really cool :) I am considering that for a next vehicle (3-4 years from now, LOL)
ReplyDeleteWe too have considered a Mazda 5 for the same reasons you are looking at it. A neighbor of mine has one and I've had a chance to ride in it. I would say the same thing that Avital says about the Kia: the back row is a tight fit for bigger people, but is good for smaller kids.
ReplyDeleteWe just found out about the Chevy Orlando (34 mpg highway, some report up to 37 mpg). You can get a manual transmission and it fits 7. It's only sold in Canada, so we're trying to see if it can be brought into the US. But this looks even more promising than the Mazda 5, since it has much better fuel economy. Downside is that they only started making them in 2012.
ReplyDeleteI drive a 2007 mazda 5 and we like it. I don't know about the newer years but ours only has two seats with latch. The third row (fold up seats) don't have LATCH. The gas mileage is okay (better than a mini van). I really like the sliding back doors and that it's lower than a mini van. I can get the kids in and out easily.
ReplyDeleteWe've only got two kids so the third row is bonus/car pool/field trip seating. Adults wouldn't fit comfortably for a long trip in the third row. When my son (7) sits in the third row, he needs to second row pushed forward so his feet can fit. This means the passenger seat needs to go forward so my daughter (3) has room for her feet (in the second row), if there is a passenger, they are then squashed slightly.
The storage is very limited when the third row seats are in use. I can fit 4-5 paper grocery sacks across and that's about it. Roof racks and a luggage bin would be needed for longer trips.
I say drive one or two. Rent one for a day. Good luck, car shopping is not fun!
My car recommendation may not fit your description, but I wanted to share our experience with buying a bigger car. I spent weeks researching car options about 3 years ago (day and night, literally having car-related dreams). We were looking for something more compact at first, resisted the idea of mini-van, but in the end, after comparing all kinds of features, safety ratings, how different cars fit car seats (check car-seat.org for reviews of different vehicles and if they have any particular issues with fitting multiple car seats), got Hyundai Entourage. They stopped making them the same year we bought one, ours was previous year's model with only 30K miles, excellent shape and was priced very reasonably at 16K (had a lot of handy 'extra' features as well). I bet if you can find one right now, it would be in 8-10K price range. We average at 24 MPG, and the warranty is 60K/100K instead of typical 35/60 (?). It had best safety ratings at the time when we bought it (I have a bit of a car/driving phobia so I value safety of the car and car seats more than looks/features/price). It seats 7 and has good amount of storage for family trips without being too big. Really, as much as I didn't like the idea of getting a mini-van at first, we fell in love with our Hyundai and still love it to this day. I think Kia Sedona is almost identical to Entourage, but I don't remember why Sedona wasn't our first pick back when we were looking for a car. It was our second or third choice, even though it seemed to be about 2K cheaper than Entourage. As for Mazda 5, our friends had one, and it is quite tight in the back row, with barely any space left in the trunk. As much as we wanted to get a compact car, we just didn't think it would be a good fit for 3+ kids. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteWe too own a Mazda 5. We chose it for all the reasons you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteMy sister Loves her Mazda 5.. It's so practical! :)
ReplyDeleteHow much are you asking for the Golf? We are in the market for a car and I'm intrigued by yours! You can email me at sesquiped at gmail. Unfortunately I'm no help in helping you find a new car but when we do have to upgrade to a 6-seater I may be returning to this post. :)
ReplyDeleteI've been researching bigger cars, too. I have heard good things about the Mazda 5 but yeah, you're kind of stuck with fuel economy issues and I've also heard it's underpowered. I don't know what your price range is, but if you can swing it, the Highlander Hybrid looks pretty awesome. I would get that if we could afford it. I also think that the Odyssey/Sienna are great vehicles and much nicer inside than a Mazda 5, although pricier and mileage is only so-so. I drove a Dodge Journey and loved it but the mileage is absolute crap!
ReplyDeleteDear, first you tell your budget then I am able to tell you that which car is best for your family. But in my opinion you should buy mazda 5 which is pretty good for you.
ReplyDeleteFree Auto Classifieds | Used Cars For Sale Online
"It gets around 21 mpg city/28 mpg highway," I get that gas mileage with my 99 jeep grand cherokee. Gas mileage is all on how you drive. We took a minivan to florida and got 32m.p.g. highway.
ReplyDeleteWe had to buy a minivan this past summer because I'm due w/ number 4, and we couldn't afford a Mazda 5 (which was what I was looking at, too). I don't mind it, but I REALLY miss my stick shift. :(
ReplyDeleteThat being said, we actually get better gas mileage now than we did before (not significantly, so, though). I think the Ford Flex seats 6 or 7, although, I don't know what it gets for mpg, and I doubt it has a manual option. So, never mind.
Haha! We have a Mazda5 and love it! The whole time I was reading your post, I was thinking "I wonder if they've checked out the Mazda 5..." And then, boom! there it was at the end :) Ours is a old model-- 2004, with high mileage, but we have had it two years now and it's still going strong. It has a surprising amount of haulage room in it, considering the size and it handles beautifully! J loves to do wheelies in it in empty parking lots-- it turns like a sports car! We bought a roof rack and a luggage bag and have driven it from Florida to Virginia twice now. Comfy ride-- even for five people.
ReplyDeleteFor another perspective-- friends of our family got the Mazda5 when their third was born, and hated it. Their car seats were really hard to fit in the back, particularly since both parents are tall, there wasn't enough cargo space for a week's groceries, and when they went for a weekend trip the roof cargo thingie they got wasn't enough space for all the rest of their stuff. So when you look around, I'd recommend not only installing all your car seats (including a new one) and trying to get everyone in the car past them, but also bringing bags to represent a typical grocery haul to test out how the space will work for you.
ReplyDeleteI got part of the way through this and thought "The mazda5 is the way to go..." Then saw that's what you are thinking. We recently replaced my 11yo RAV4 (which seats 5) with a new Mazda 5. We have an automatic though. It does have a fake-manual setting, standard.
ReplyDeleteWith the back seats up, you don't have much leg room OR much cargo room. I carpool to preschool, 3 kids in car seats, so I usually have one up and one down. I like the car but it's pretty much the only thing like it on the market. We briefly looked at a Kia Rondo too.
Thank you for this information. This post really gives me a lot of idea because I'm planning to buy a new car. Fuel Conversion Melbourne
ReplyDeletea vintage stick shift volvo 240 wagon with 3rd row of seats.
ReplyDeletewe love ours!
If you want to stick with diesel what about a VW Diesel Jetta station wagon. It might have a third row rumble seat in the back. Otherwise, I think the Mazda 5 might be a good choice. My sister has one - but I will second the person above - no LATCH in the third row and there isn't much storage space when the third row is up (although if you all have made it this far with a Golf then you should be okay). Good luck! And hurray for Greastcar - they are located one town over from me.
ReplyDeleteI love, love, love my Mazda5! I have PTSD from a car accident I was a passenger in 16 years ago and I didn't drive for 15.5 years because I hated driving big cars, ad even small ones at first. We have a Hyundai Elantra and it is huge and I a very uncomfortable driving it. The Mazda 5 was our (first) second car and it is mine. We get up to 28 mpg on longer highway/ freeway driving and 20 mpg in town. We have a 2012 version and I find the tires have done very well in the Utah snow. They are the pressure monitoring tires which has already saved me once because I went right to the dealership when the light lit up and was able to have the tire patched but had I not had the light I would have had to replace the tire. Our dealership pays half of tires for life if you do your service there as well as fills the tires with nitrogen any time they need to be filled. They also pay for the oil in oil changes and we can use their car wash at any time. Those may be individual dealer perks and some are if you are buying brand new. We got ours brand new for $18k.
ReplyDeleteThere is VERY little storage space when the 3 row is up but we still manage to fit all of us and a shopping in. There is not latch in the back but it hasn't been a problem for us. As long as a carseat is installed correctly it is just as safe as LATCH. My seven and a half year old just switched to a booster seat so we had all 4 rear seat filled with carseats until very recently.
It drives like a car, it is economical. It doesn't use close to the gas our full size minivan does. We have been very, very pleased with the purchase. I grew up in Europe and am used to squeezing in small cars and making things fit. It seems very natural to ave a Mazda 5. It isn't for everyone but after all my research and looking into it all, this was the best and smallest choice for our family of six.
Oh, we were told they don't make the manual ones anymore but there were still a few new 2012 ones out there or we could get a used one. We went with a new 2012 manual be ause we got a good deal on it and the used manual would have cost us just as much.
ReplyDeleteThe Tesla sounds perfect for you. Unfortunately, they're about $60-$80k ...
ReplyDeleteOh yes, Eric's been talking about the Tesla for ages now. "Are you sure you don't want to get a Tesla?" he'll ask just about every other day. Great idea, but who has $70k to spend on a car?
ReplyDeleteAHH! You totally have the car we want! If you were selling in June after I get my Master's we would buy it from you in a heartbeat.
ReplyDeleteWe have looked at a Kia Rondo and the Mazda5. They get similar gas mileage which is ... just OK. My sister gets 24 on her small size Toyota sienna, so at that point, most of my family has decided to go ahead with the minivan because the mileage is really quite similar.
The Mazda handles much better than the Kia if that floats your boat (I used to race cars, so its a draw for me... so hard to have the mom-mobiles!!)
A Jetta sportwagon seats only 5, as does the passat, both of which are much bigger and available as diesel.
I have looked into importing a car (my mom brought over the Mercedes they had)it looks complicated....but the US options are pretty sad.
Doesn't exactly meet all of your requirements, but we love our Toyota Sienna. We are also a family of 6, and we have a 2009 that seats 8. I like the option of being able to carpool to preschool with our extra seat (we have space for up to five 5 point harness seats, and my oldest is still in one at 6). And the cargo space is AMAZING.
ReplyDeleteBest to you on your journey!
My brother’s Hyundai Santa Fe fits your description pretty well. It’s an SUV, but it’s not too big, and it can seat seven people. It’s safe to drive, and its compact dimensions guarantee comfortable handling and maneuverability while driving in the city.
ReplyDeleteCarry Demaggio
We had the same dilemma recently as well....not too many options for a family vehicle that runs on diesel, unfortunately! I don't know what they are called, but VW does make vans that I have seen around. We recently had to buy a new vehicle and diesel/extra seating was a priority. I am a novice driver and terrified of something huge...but I got over it, basically. We got an imported Mitsubishi Delica with right hand drive. It is so big and weird, but I love it now that I am used to it.
ReplyDelete