Anyone got any car advice?

[elfs]

Omaha and I are thinking about buying a new car. The Ford Escort, which was 4 year old when we bought it, has been a reliable friend now for ten years, but it's time to let it go. Fuel economy is down 10%, there's a slow oil leak in the front, a worrisome rythmic sound from the bearings when turning left, and the rear defogger doesn't work. That said, it still gets 28MPG in mixed driving, the cabin is roomy and comfortable, braking and handling are excellent, the stereo sounds pretty good, and the trunk space is amazing. (A friend of mine once said that, having decided that trunk space was important, would tell salesdweebs, "Don't show me any car where the trunk can't handle two bodies." This both set his criteria and rattled the salesdweeb.)

Our current list of makes and models is:

• Subaru Outback (2008, 2009)
• Toyota Matrix (2008, 2009)
• Subaru Legacy (2009)
• Pontiac Vibe (2009) - may have road noise issues
• Subaru Forester (2009)
• Mitsubishi Outlander (2008, 2009) - may have road noise issues

The comments are there because road noise has always been an issue with the Escort. While obviously not so annoying that the car was a flop (actually, the Escort was always a best-seller, even when it morphed into the Focus line), it was the single most annoying thing about our car in all the years we had it.

Anyone out there have any experience with any of these cars? Any tips or recommendations? All of these are family-of-four-with-sporting-equipment models, station wagons and car-frame SUVs with decent mileage and excellent ratings from Consumer Reports, which is where we started.

Comments

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

"Don't show me any car where the trunk can't handle two bodies." This both set his criteria and rattled the salesdweeb.

SWEET!

Well, ix-nay on the Vibe. Don't care if it is a badge-engineered Toyo, you've still gotta deal with GM.

Money no object, I would lean strongly towards the Subarus. The Legacy is smaller (and cheaper), but you might have a height issue. The Outback is taller than that, has better ground clearance, and the Forester is yet higher, which means more room in which to stack the bodies. :) :) :)

The Matrix may be your best bang-for-buck; talk to codeamazon about hers. Downside, no four-wheel-mush. Upside, no four-wheel-mush maintenance and accompanying ding on the mileage.

I'm neutral on the Mitsu; I haven't driven anything Mitsu in over ten years, so I dunno. The Toyos and the Scoobies are Known Good.

If I won the lottery tomorrow, I'd probably get a Forester as my return point to four-wheeled vehicles... that, or if I could come across a 4WD minivan... but barring the four-paw-mush compact bus, the Forester has the best versatility on the market. 4WD, a cavern in the back, good mileage, and it's not a boat on the outside.

runnerwolf either has or had a Forester...