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Small Suv Or Station Wagon


George

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Something i thought of when looking for mine was towing capacity, especially for the Z going to panel beaters ect. I ended up with a Subaru Forester XT. Has the turbo engine out of a WRX and can still tow about 1800kg breaked, but I think the newer ones can tow a bit more.

Edited by Hokin
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IX35, the only model in the Hyundai range to break from I _ _ naming convention (I20, I30, I45 etc)

 

Just add an X then turn the name badge upsidedown = SEXI

 

Bit of industry humour to be had by putting posters in dealerships upside down.

IX35 is the only Hyundai i wouldn't touch, Having worked for Hyundai for a while i see a lot of issues with these cars.

 

In saying that every other Hyundai gets the thumbs up from me.

 

My first thought when you mentioned what you were after is the Santa fe.. Great car.

 

Or you could come into work and i can sign you up for a Levante! Spacious with plenty of power from the twin turbo 3.0 V6 with the econemy of a diesel.

 

$155,000 drive away. :) 

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I'm surprised the current generation Mazda 6 wagon hasn't been mentioned yet (petrol version). Super reliable, economical Japanese servicing costs and all the mod cons (well spec'd if you like it too). Barely a bad word said about them (diesel version is plagued with issues) and well within budget for a near new car.

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Volvo xc60 or a v60 volvo diesel or the mighty 3 litre 6 , The build quality in these is superb. Service cost are fine and volvos are just that bit quirky, and have the adaptive cruise plus 1000 other driver aids. Look for one with a sunroof.

Also agree with Scott on the 2011 2012 rav4 V6 , rare car, look for a ZR6. Only glitch with this model rav is the annoying road noise and lack of insulation, and boring plastic interior.

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I'm surprised the current generation Mazda 6 wagon hasn't been mentioned yet (petrol version). Super reliable, economical Japanese servicing costs and all the mod cons (well spec'd if you like it too). Barely a bad word said about them (diesel version is plagued with issues) and well within budget for a near new car.

With identical twin boys on the way we are upgrading from a mazda3 to one of these shortly. The styling, interior finish and value for money are very hard to beat. For a medium sized car externally the interior space is big, I'm 6ft 3 and can fit in the front and rear very easily. The touring model with all the bells and whistles and leather can be had as an ex demo for high 30k.

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Also agree with Scott on the 2011 2012 rav4 V6 , rare car, look for a ZR6. Only glitch with this model rav is the annoying road noise and lack of insulation, and boring plastic interior.

Word of caution on the Rav V6 - they drink more than I do.

A lot of the guys at work reported 18-20/100 when we were running them as reps cars.

 

Possibly due to heavy footed operators, but.......

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Something i thought of when looking for mine was towing capacity, especially for the Z going to panel beaters ect. I ended up with a Subaru Forester XT. Has the turbo engine out of a WRX and can still tow about 1800kg breaked, but I think the newer ones can tow a bit more.

What year is your car? My brothers g/f is looking at 2012/13 models and I don't know anything about them. Wondering if anyone here knows if they are any good as a small-mid size SUV?

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Word of caution on the Rav V6 - they drink more than I do.

A lot of the guys at work reported 18-20/100 when we were running them as reps cars.

Possibly due to heavy footed operators, but.......

18/20 per 100ks Wow, I can tow my 1.5t caravan and get 16/18. They must have been lead foots. They do go well 0-100 in 7 seconds.

I do cruise around town hence my fuel consumption figures of 10.5 /11.

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AU to BF Falcon wagon, preferably on gas would be the perfect family truckster.

 

Solid, parts are cheap and they go on for ever.

 

But I would also vote for any Valiant wagon from VE to the CM, preferably with an engine change to either E49+ spec on triples 265 or proper six pack on top of a 440.

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Gav,

 

The Foresters are pretty good, haven't had any issues with them and have found them easy to work on (not sure if its due to ride height and being able to fit under). They are essentially Lego cars so parts are easily interchangeable and accessible with liberty, impreza\wrx and sti models. It never ceases to amaze me the combinations of parts people use for upgrades.

 

My Forester is an 07 XT model, the only bad thing and i've become used of it now is the tractor engine sounds from the boxer. Quite a difference given i've driven Z's with L series engines since i got my licence and still do.

 

Check out the ozfoz.com.au forum, the community is pretty good and there is an abundance of information on there (much like here).

Edited by Hokin
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We tried the Mazda 6 with the rear facing baby seats in the back today. We found it didn't have enough room in the front for either of us to be able to drive. If your short it may be ok.

That is a true "real world" test for a family car, but not one you ever see in any major magazine reviews.

When the kids get a little bigger it is how easily can they kick the seats in front.

Edited by PB260Z
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That is a true "real world" test for a family car, but not one you ever see in any major magazine reviews.

When the kids get a little bigger it is how easily can they kick the seats in front.

 

Yeah spot on PB.

 

I guess it could be a little out of the ordinary as we have twins so you can't offset the seat behind the passenger or driver (which ever needs the room) or in the middle. We had quite a few sales people come out to look. They were very surprised to see how little room there was left in the 6 wagon with two people over 6ft and having looked at it last week I was shocked it wouldn't work. 

 

Just for the record we are using rear facing baby seats as these were smaller than the smallest capsule available currently.

 

I must say, I'm very impressed with Mazda's, The Mazda 3 hatchback has been bulletproof. We ended up going for the new CX-9. Sub 40k with a trade in, from test drive and first impressions it's great. The value for money, styling and drive quality are wonderful.

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We tried the Mazda 6 with the rear facing baby seats in the back today. We found it didn't have enough room in the front for either of us to be able to drive. If your short it may be ok.

Your next test will be fitting 3 forward facing seats across the back seat.

It is quite difficult to find a car that will fit them. I normally find the outer seats foul on the inner wheel arches as they protrude into the back seat somewhat.

Many cars don't even have 3 tether points.

Quite surprisingly we have our 3 squeezed into an '04 focus

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Yeah Cozza those wheel arches are a bugger! It's something I wasn't bothered about until recently. Good work with the focus, surprising that they all fit.

I'd definately recommend taking seats with you to try before you buy.

Better still, ask the dealer to let you take the car home then you can try fitting them at your own pace.

This also gives you a chance to see how you getting prams etc in as well.

Unless the vehicle is in extreemely tight supply, a good dealership will agree to this. If they don't agree take your business elsewhere.

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I was in the used car market looking at Santa Fe's and found that dealers were very wary of letting us take the car home. Normally they would want to come for the test drive. All seemed a bit weird when we were fitting our 3 car seats and kids then had to put the sales guy in the 3rd row of the Santa Fe.

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Good point, I was reffering to New Cars. Used cars is a very different situation and generally don't like letting the car go for more than a quick lap.

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