Need Car advice

mmarsh

mmarsh

Active member
My pops has decided to send our 20 year old Volvo 240GS liftback out to pasture. It was a great car, and even saved my entire family life once when we hit a deer head on. Unfortunately its making a death rattle and our mechanic says it not worth to keep on fixing it because he can no longer fine parts.

So I need recommendations for a replacement for him. We are looking for a 5-door sedan sized car (or semi-SUV) preferably a Lift-back, with some some long range (say 300 miles) and bad conditions (heavy snow/rain, unpaved roads) capability. Reasonably priced.

There seem to be some good Japanese cars out there such as the Toyota Matrix. I prefer to stay foreign because as it pains me to say this, the Japanese make a better automobile. (Sad but true).

Any suggestions?
 
newer land rovers such as the freelander 2 & the discovery 3.

afaik they get good-ish MPG

4x4, powerful, can go just about anywhere.

if the mpg ain' a problem as much, go for a freelander / discovery 1 or discovery 2.

also, an LPG conversion for a 4x is a good idea, much cheaper + better mpg.

another point; landy's can literally, go anywhere.
 
Insomniac said:
newer land rovers such as the freelander 2 & the discovery 3.

afaik they get good-ish MPG

4x4, powerful, can go just about anywhere.

if the mpg ain' a problem as much, go for a freelander / discovery 1 or discovery 2.

also, an LPG conversion for a 4x is a good idea, much cheaper + better mpg.

another point; landy's can literally, go anywhere.
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A good suggestion, but its not quite what I am looking for.

My dad doesn't need 4x4 and its much too big for downtown New York City. 4x4 tend to be gas hogs and at oils price of $135.

What I am looking for is a urban car that is ideal for quick trips to suburbia but that can also handle the winter weather of upstate New York and Vermont. Think Dirt roads, lots of ice and snow. But I am not looking for a ATV.

This is what we have now, I am looking in something in the same vein, although slightly smaller (big cars are a parking nuisance in big cities)


250px-Volvo240Polar.jpg
 
mmarsh said:
My pops has decided to send our 20 year old Volvo 240GS liftback out to pasture. It was a great car, and even saved my entire family life once when we hit a deer head on. Unfortunately its making a death rattle and our mechanic says it not worth to keep on fixing it because he can no longer fine parts.

So I need recommendations for a replacement for him. We are looking for a 5-door sedan sized car (or semi-SUV) preferably a Lift-back, with some some long range (say 300 miles) and bad conditions (heavy snow/rain, unpaved roads) capability. Reasonably priced.

There seem to be some good Japanese cars out there such as the Toyota Matrix. I prefer to stay foreign because as it pains me to say this, the Japanese make a better automobile. (Sad but true).

Any suggestions?
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Well if you want to go down the Japanese line the Subaru Outback isn't a bad vehicle and pretty much meets all of your requirements and is one of the few Japanese manufacturers that match Volvo in terms of safety, alternatively the Volkswagon W8 is a nice vehicle as well.

Subaru
http://www.subaru.com/shop/model_consideration.jsp?model=OUTBACK

Volkswagen
http://www.vw.com/passatwagon/en/us/
Sadly neither of these vehicles can emulate the Volvo "brick on wheels" look though.
 
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mmarsh said:
I prefer to stay foreign because as it pains me to say this, the Japanese make a better automobile. (Sad but true).

Any suggestions?
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Your statement above was definitely true 10 to 20 years ago, but today most American automobiles are right up with the foreign cars and some even beat them in quality according to recent J.D. Powers surveys.

I suggest you look at the Saturn Vue for one.
 
tomtom22 said:
Your statement above was definitely true 10 to 20 years ago, but today most American automobiles are right up with the foreign cars and some even beat them in quality according to recent J.D. Powers surveys.
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Slam the doors. That's the biggest difference-maker for me. The American cars thwack. The Japanese cars whump.
 
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