What's the best wagon you CAN own?

"SweetSadie" (sweetsadie) 08/12/2013 at 14:57 • Filed to: None

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The article on best wagon you can't own prompted me to post this: what's the best wagon you CAN own? I'm in the market for a daily driver and am probably going to get a wagon. I need something with space that can also take on gravel and dirt roads. My heart wants an Acura RSX, but that isn't practical at the moment. I had a 2001 Volvo V70 and it was an absolute lemon, but that could have just been that particular car. The Civic wagon looks great, but, y'know, you can't buy it. What do you guys think?

GeorgeyBoy > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 15:03

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Same goes for the Roadmaster. Future classics.

J. Walter Weatherman > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 15:03

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Jetta Sportwagen. Because manual. And diesel.

I am particularly looking forward to the new 2014 model. It looks fantastic.

Edit: I meant to add that there are rumors that they are going to be introducing an allroad-type model. Nothing is confirmed yet though, to my knowledge.

Tom McParland > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 15:05

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What is your budget?

Decay buys too many beaters > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 15:05

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Is this even a question?

CTS-V Wagon! Its a big wagon, that can eat many supercars for breakfast. Sure, it will return similar fuel economy with similar off-road prowess as those supercars, but come on it's a 556HP sleeper.

duurtlang > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 15:08

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Depends on what you mean by 'can'; I could own everything if price wasn't an issue.

Realistically, after a few years of depreciation, I could go for a Focus ST wagon. Alfa Romeo 159 maybe? Some kind of Audi A4 or A6 variant or a BMW 3 or 5 series? There's too much to choose from.

If I were forced to buy a wagon from my own money within a month and given my limited budget (I don't believe in financing something that depreciates rapidly) I'd probably get a Peugeot 406 wagon or Citroën Xantia with the PSA V6. Cheap, relatively durable, relatively characterful and quite spacious.

SkarTisu > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 15:10

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If you need to be able to go on dirt/gravel/snow/slush, you'll probably have a hard time beating a Subaru like you posted. I'd go for a Legacy GT spec instead of an Outback spec, personally.

Who needs sway bars anyway > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 15:14

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One of the most beautiful and most elegant wagons ever made, the 1963 Ford Country Squire. and here is one for sale for 5k:

http://detroit.craigslist.org/okl/cto/397944…

and all cleaned up they look like:

Yes I would DD this. I would DD the ever loving piss out of this lovely machine. But where I would need better gas milage, I would opt for a similar vintage Ford Falcon Squire. almost as much style, twice the gas milage:

Dusty Ventures > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 15:16

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I'd go Outback or Forester. Both very capable off the beaten path. I've beat the hell out of our Outback and it's shrugged everything off with no I'll effects

Scott Keelan > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 15:27

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If you have the cash, I'm sure the new 3 series sports wagon is pretty nice.

SweetSadie > J. Walter Weatherman 08/12/2013 at 16:04

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Oooh, that looks nice. How's the reliability on modern Jettas? We had a 1986 Wolfsburg Jetta that simply wouldn't die, but I don't have any experience with newer ones.

MonkeePuzzle > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 16:07

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you already nailed it, and I suspect when my GC sedan dies, this will be my next subaru. I want a 2002 generation Subaru outback, in blue. Dark grey cloth interior, manual, winter pack if possible, 2nd sunroof if possible.

I'll lower it, tastefully, put a larger OEM wheel on it, and paint the lower trim pieces black. Black and blue she will be a bruiser. A dark tint and my next family car daily driver will be complete.

SweetSadie > SkarTisu 08/12/2013 at 16:08

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I live just outside a mountainy college town and absolutely everyone drives Subarus, which has kinda scared me off. They seem like the most practical cars for the money, though. Do you have a preferred year/generation?

SweetSadie > Dusty Ventures 08/12/2013 at 16:10

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Another vote for the Outback. Reliability is very important to me, especially after the Volvo from Hell. What year is/was yours? Anything to watch for when evaluating them?

commander warsstar is smitten with subaru legacy outbacks (and redheads) > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 16:12

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Subaru Legacy Outback. Duh.

(Yes, those are both mine :D )

davedave1111 > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 16:20

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Nissan 300C Estate. And it's old enough for you lot to import as well. Great eighties Japanese luxo-barge interior, amongst other things.

I love those original wheels.

Interior:

And of course...

boxrocket > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 16:45

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Mine:

Hoccy > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 16:46

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The best wagon I can afford; the Volvo 940

If I sell my 142 (which I won't) I could even get a Turbo!!

Also, a honorable mention for the Subaru Legacy, but good examples in my price-range are hard to come by.

SweetSadie > Hoccy 08/12/2013 at 17:02

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We actually had a 1991 940 wagon! It had nearly 200,000 miles on it and ran beautifully until it was stolen. (Who steals an old Volvo wagon???) The guy who stole it ran it into a massive brick wall and totaled it. I'm not sure what happened to the guy, but with all the damage he did to that tank of a car he definitely didn't walk away. I would get another 940 but my s.o. is still not over the heartbreak of losing the old one.

SweetSadie > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 17:10

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After the 940 wagon hit the wall we got the V70, which was our biggest car mistake ever.

SweetSadie > boxrocket 08/12/2013 at 17:14

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That's a beauty! See painful 940 wagon story above.

boxrocket > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 17:53

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I soooooooo want the euro lights. It's my first dissatisfaction about my car, mostly because mine has yellowed fog lights.

SweetSadie > MonkeePuzzle 08/12/2013 at 17:58

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You may be fighting me for the dark blue, manual Outback! I love dark blue cars but have somehow always managed to end up with silver. I hadn't thought of painting the cladding, and the blue/khaki contrast was throwing me off. May I steal your idea?

SweetSadie > commander warsstar is smitten with subaru legacy outbacks (and redheads) 08/12/2013 at 18:03

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That road looks exactly like the ones near my house, so I think we have a winner! The Subie love is converting me. Manuals?

Dusty Ventures > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 19:09

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2002 Outback. Some of the tabs and trim pieces in the cabin are cheap and easy to break, but that just means you won't have all your dry cleaning hooks, or you lose some cargo tabs, nothing big there. The biggest issue really is having to replace the timing belt every 100k miles. Ignore that bit of maintenance and the engine pretty much becomes a time bomb. In the past year we've also had to replace the power steering pump and the radiator, both of which were age issues, but it's an 11 year old car with 195k miles on it, so that kind of maintenance isn't much of a surprise. In the time we've owned it we also had to tighten/replace some fuel lines, replace a seized brake caliper, fix the alignment a few times (we live in pothole country, it happens), and replace at least one wheel bearing. Also installed an aluminum skid plate because I occasionally use it at rallies as a recce car. Starting to have some rusting issues, particularly on the rear hatch which has one of those big grab handles. It's rusting where the handle meets the door and will need to be taken care of in the near future.

MonkeePuzzle > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 21:21

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umm, hell yes! Feel free to pave the way and see if it actually looks good before I expend any effort on it too :P

Some plastidip might make it an easy thing to paint with low chance for screwing it up.

commander warsstar is smitten with subaru legacy outbacks (and redheads) > SweetSadie 08/12/2013 at 23:11

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Sadly neither of them are. They are pretty rare around here.

If you get one with a pre 2003 or so 2.5 engine, get one that just had headgaskets done, or get one with a H6.

SkarTisu > SweetSadie 08/13/2013 at 09:03

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I haven't owned one, so I can't speak from any experience. I'd suggest getting the newest one you can afford just as a general tip.

cuts_off_prius > SweetSadie 08/13/2013 at 13:01

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2014 E-Class

Kugelblitz > Dusty Ventures 08/23/2013 at 17:52

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SECONDED. The only thing that my Forester lacked was some more ground clearance and I took it into creeks, busted up farm fields and the other half of the world. Loved that car, it just went where I pointed it and if it got stuck it was because I had no business going there, which happened only a few times.