Need an "affordable" family car - recommendations?
Mazda 5. It is pretty much the middle ground between compact car and minivan. I sold my 91' Suburban 4x4 (below) and Wife's Nissan Maxima when we found out we were being transferred all over the States in a 6 month period. I loved both of those cars. We needed something that I could drive (6',6" and back problems) and get our 1 year old in and out of. It also had to be small enough for my wife to park. Gas mileage was a big concern and also we did not want a traditional minivan. Mazda 5 fit all of our needs and then some. It's coined a "Microvan". Basically a car-sized vehicle with sliding rear doors. It feels like driving and parking a car. The third row seats can only realistically fit up to a teenager or small person. The front fits me well and doesn't hurt my back. It's not fast by any means but has a good 5 spd trans-axle that shifts in the right places and gets you in and out of traffic. I drove it fully loaded with family belongings and dog from Seattle to Charleston SC, back and forth to Virginia several times, to Rhode Island, back to SC, and then out to San Diego within the first year we had it. It handled itself well in the mountains, snow,desert, etc.. The two rear rows of seats fold down and make a sizeable cargo space. There's also standard and optional creature comforts like rear AC, rear power outlet, mp3 plugin, heated seats, and dvd player. On the long highway stints I got 30+ mpg and standard commuting seams to be around 26. I've had it almost three years and it's held up really well against some rigorous use and travel time. The only thing I don't like is the road noise is too loud. They should have added more sound deadening behind the front wheels.
When we drove it off the lot I was pretty skeptical if I would ever like this Microvan thingy. 3 years later and I can't say enough good things about it. Two of our close friends with kids ended up buying one after riding in ours.
You can pick a used one up pretty cheap too.
Mazda 5. It is pretty much the middle ground between compact car and minivan. I sold my 91' Suburban 4x4 (below) and Wife's Nissan Maxima when we found out we were being transferred all over the States in a 6 month period. I loved both of those cars. We needed something that I could drive (6',6" and back problems) and get our 1 year old in and out of. It also had to be small enough for my wife to park. Gas mileage was a big concern and also we did not want a traditional minivan. Mazda 5 fit all of our needs and then some. It's coined a "Microvan". Basically a car-sized vehicle with sliding rear doors. It feels like driving and parking a car. The third row seats can only realistically fit up to a teenager or small person. The front fits me well and doesn't hurt my back. It's not fast by any means but has a good 5 spd trans-axle that shifts in the right places and gets you in and out of traffic. I drove it fully loaded with family belongings and dog from Seattle to Charleston SC, back and forth to Virginia several times, to Rhode Island, back to SC, and then out to San Diego within the first year we had it. It handled itself well in the mountains, snow,desert, etc.. The two rear rows of seats fold down and make a sizeable cargo space. There's also standard and optional creature comforts like rear AC, rear power outlet, mp3 plugin, heated seats, and dvd player. On the long highway stints I got 30+ mpg and standard commuting seams to be around 26. I've had it almost three years and it's held up really well against some rigorous use and travel time. The only thing I don't like is the road noise is too loud. They should have added more sound deadening behind the front wheels.
When we drove it off the lot I was pretty skeptical if I would ever like this Microvan thingy. 3 years later and I can't say enough good things about it. Two of our close friends with kids ended up buying one after riding in ours.
You can pick a used one up pretty cheap too.
