[sschevellefan]

Looking for a family car that has enough room for my wife and I and our 2yr old and 6yr old. He have a 2dr honda civic now and its just too small. We usually pack a stroller, diaper bag, toy bags, extra cloths for the kids, the usual stuff. We are looking to keep it under $10k and fuel economy is important. Our honda gets 38mpg and is going to be tough to give up, we might still keep it with current gas prices climbing daily. Make isnt important but we have been looking at the Chevy Trailblazer, Chevy Equinox, GMC Envoy, and last night a Chrysler Pacifica. None of these are known for their fuel economy but thy are roomy enough. Any suggestions?

 

[zeke67]

What about a full size car instead of an SUV. Impala, 300, Taurus. Maybe a Crown Vic, laugh if you want' but very roomy. Car mileage fleet averages were mandated to have better mileage than trucks. That's changing, which is why you see crossovers, which are basically cars (station wagons if you will) coming out.

In our case, we bought a 2 year used Cadillac DeVille. It would be more than you want to spend, but you could pick up one slightly older. It gets mid 20's on E10 fuel. Plenty of back seat room, enough height to be easy to get my daughter in/out of the car seat. And a big enough trunk that we can pack a family of three with a week of gear and go somewhere. And all the comfort and luxury adults need to feel good after a long trip.

 

[1BLACKHARLEY]

10k would make a heck of a down payment on an hhr, and I think G.M. has 0% finance right now. Or honda has a no $ down lease on Accords right now, and you can invest that 10k for three years, give you time to see where you really want to go vehicle wise. Accord is more than big enough for a family of four.....

 

[sschevellefan]

What about a full size car instead of an SUV. Impala, 300, Taurus. Maybe a Crown Vic, laugh if you want' but very roomy. Car mileage fleet averages were mandated to have better mileage than trucks. That's changing, which is why you see crossovers, which are basically cars (station wagons if you will) coming out.

In our case, we bought a 2 year used Cadillac DeVille. It would be more than you want to spend, but you could pick up one slightly older. It gets mid 20's on E10 fuel. Plenty of back seat room, enough height to be easy to get my daughter in/out of the car seat. And a big enough trunk that we can pack a family of three with a week of gear and go somewhere. And all the comfort and luxury adults need to feel good after a long trip.

I actually started looking at Impals today. found a 2005 for $9500 that shows 21/32mpg. Dont know what the actual mileage would be but better than a SUV.

10k would make a heck of a down payment on an hhr, and I think G.M. has 0% finance right now. Or honda has a no $ down lease on Accords right now, and you can invest that 10k for three years, give you time to see where you really want to go vehicle wise. Accord is more than big enough for a family of four.....

Bill, $10k is the most I want to spend, only have $3000 to put down. New cars are out of the question because my credit is shot and my wife has none so the intrest rate would be stupid as well as the payment. Looking to keep it under $200 a month. My wife doesnt seem to understand that economy is important. She says she does but then goes straight to the SUVs. A Honda Accord, Toyota Camry or even the Impala would be ok by me but I`m driving a 83 chevy truck so any of these would be nice to me.

 

[Motorvation]

We love our 08 Impala. Lots of room for 5 passengers. I just added a K & N air filter. I got 33 MPG on the freeway with 5 on board last weekend. If I could stuff the interior in the 65, it would be there, too......

Steve O.

 

[pnugene]

Anthony, you'll be hard-pressed to find anything more reliable than a Camry. Good economy, enough room for your family, and they seem to run forever with just normal maintenance.

 

[novaderrik]

pack less stuff.. i don't remember getting to bring along any toys or riding in a stroller when i was over about a year old.

 

[sschevellefan]

pack less stuff.. i don't remember getting to bring along any toys or riding in a stroller when i was over about a year old.

Well I don`t remember anything from being 1yr old but my 2yr old gets heavy real fast when he falls asleep and we are out and about.

 

[Dave427]

I work at the GM Factory that builds the Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain.
They come with either a 2.4 Litre 4 Cylinder and a 3.0 Litre V-6.
They are both very good built vehicles, top in their class for fuel mileage and crash tests.
The older Equinox's and Torrents that have the 3.4 Litre engines are good also but a bit tougher on fuel.

Dave

 

[LeoP]

Just an FYI, the HHR is way to small for a family. A 4 door Civic would be a good fit too.

 

[sschevellefan]

Just an FYI, the HHR is way to small for a family. A 4 door Civic would be a good fit too.

A HHR was never in the running and we are using a 4dr honda civic now and its too small as well. Just feels like we are crammed in there. I think my wife is pretty stuck on the pacifica though.

 

[YankeeRodder]

Chrysler??!!! Are you kidding? Come on man. Impala SS, well priced, classy and roomy. I see them around 10K for 2004-5

 

[Stikman33]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the pacifica yet... shoot!

 

[sschevellefan]

Chrysler??!!! Are you kidding? Come on man. Impala SS, well priced, classy and roomy. I see them around 10K for 2004-5

Well the wife doesnt like the Impala even though I do and it would probably suit our needs. In the end its mostly going to be for her anyway so I got to make her happy. Plus I can use it as blackmail down the road when I want something, lol.

I can't believe no one has mentioned the pacifica yet... shoot!

I mentioned it in my first post.

 

[rubadub]

The bride and I always had little cars and we had four children, keep what you got and hang on to your money.

Rob

 

[LS_5]

Everyone swears they'll never own a minivan, but you really can't beat them for a family. Better on gas than an suv, lots of room, easy access to kids in car seats, great grocery hauler, easy to drive/park, etc.

Personally, I'd be looking for a used Toyota Sienna.

 

[Andy69]

we went the minivan route 6 years ago. got a Grand Caravan. It's quirky, the German ownership shows through as it has typical Benz type problems like electrical and that, but nothing major. Engine, trans, and chassis have been rock solid so far. It's a 2005 model built April 2004 and has about 70k on it now.

 

[berner]

We have a couple of '10 Impalas at work for driving out to the minesite. They're decent vehicles, nice to drive on the highway, have good passing power. They'll do close to 100mph in second gear. (Oops! Was that my outside voice? )

I bought my wife an '02 Nissan Ultima with the 4 banger. I've never had a Japanese car before and was leery. So far it's been great. It looks good, drives like it's on rails, and has tons of back seat and trunk room. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

 

[sschevellefan]

The bride and I always had little cars and we had four children, keep what you got and hang on to your money.

Rob

The wifes Honda runs great but has issues with the transmission, missing 2nd gear. The body needs work, needs windshield, interior is stained but not ripped. Plus its a 2dr. We just need more room.

 

[70_Malibu]

Word of advice... if you get a used Impala, expect tranny problems between 60-100K. Buy an extended warranty. Mine started slipping around 80K and needed $2,200 worth of work. Mine's an '04. Other things to be wary of are the passlock issue, the intermediate steering shaft clunking, the blower fan, and the lower intake manifold gasket failing. I'm also not a fan of the Dexcool crud. My coolant recovery tank looks like someone dropped a duece in it.

Hmmm... after reading all this.... why the heck do I drive an Impala????

It is roomy(er) with a decent interior, and makes OK power with the 3800. Oh, and it has a decent stock radio with an amp.