Automobiles

[Honus]

I drove a Mazda 5 when we went shopping for a car before my third son was born. I really liked it a lot as it drove more like a car than a van and it had a manual transmission. Sliding doors rule when you have little kids. We ended up with a low mileage MPV and kept it for a couple of years until I could get all three of my boys in the back of a Passat wagon. The MPV was terrible to drive in the snow and it had all kinds of little glitches that were hard to track down and fix- minivans are a PITA to work on.

All the talk of MGs and Lucas makes me think of that old joke- "Why do the English drink warm beer? Because they have Lucas refrigerators." One Rover mechanic I knew used to refer to Lucas as "the Prince of Darkness."

[rmplum]

Un-minivan content follows:

About 20 seconds after I pulled in the driveway yesterday:


Snug. Even for the 50th percentile 3yr old


Two cramped thumbs up. This will be fun for a few days, but it's quite a feat getting the crew in and out and buckled back there. Plus, 6yr old complains if the passenger seat is anywhere except the full forward position. The kids absolutely love the car though. It sounds/feels much faster than it is, so their need for speed is more easily/legally satisfied.


This one lacks a radio, so we just put the windows down and enjoy the natural sounds. Did I mention that toll booths/drive in windows etc are all about a foot too tall now?

Averaging 8L/100km fuel consumption after about 800km. Yeah they sent us a metric pre-production model.

[Jayme]

"My wife insists on AWD though."
Well Toyota DID make an AWD Sienna. That said they're bigger than the 5, expensive, rare, thirsty like the aforementioned Odyssey and not sure if they're available in Canada. If you or anyone else needs more car "advice" feel free to contact me. Bear in mind my first car was a hand me down Renault Fuego.

Thanks. Don't really want a minivan. No kids, no pets, just bikes. This is probably the only one I could see myself driving:

2014 Volkswagen Microbus Illustrations: VW Microbus News – Car and Driver

[Jason Musgrave]

Un-minivan content follows:

About 20 seconds after I pulled in the driveway yesterday:

Color me extremely jealous! Especially knowing full-well my 99+ percentile 6.5 year old won't fit back there... :-(

Still gotta get behind the wheel of one.

[rmplum]

My 6yr old is similarly tall, pretty much nose to nose with all of the 3rd graders at her school.

[Monsterbot]

Mazda5 is on the short list for when we replace the Element. It's AWD, so the mileage is kinda shite, and being back in California, we don't really appreciate it like we did back in CT. We have a Passat sedan, but that's pretty much good for nothing, and a pain with the kid seat, so the wife drives the Ellie. Plan would be to get both paid off, sell the Passat, get the Mazda, and keep the Ellie for "my" car, as I don't really have a need for that much driving, and it is handy when you want to pick up big/dirty stuff.
Like the access of the sliding Mazda doors, without it being a full-on minivan...

[rydesteel]

Uhmm... for everyone wanting fun, room for a 63.5 cm bike or room for 4 Adults try a Golf in it's many variations.

My favorite is the Graphite blue TDi 6mt 47+ on the highway and about 30 combined and yeah I drive it like I stole it :>).

[swt]

Un-minivan content follows:

About 20 seconds after I pulled in the driveway yesterday:

Try my AA bred 10yo built like a stack of bricks. Thanks for the imagery tho...

[Jason Musgrave]

I got outbid on a worked over RHD Levin hatch last night :-(

[Jason Musgrave]

should I bid on this:

Subaru : Legacy GT limited in Subaru | eBay Motors

[christian]

Can't be many in that color, that's for sure. I prefer the slate blue ones, but if red is your thing, that's not a bad one.

[Jason Musgrave]

white imho!

a bit worried that it's been ragged on hard enough the turbo needed replacing...

[cody.wms]

white imho!

a bit worried that it's been ragged on hard enough the turbo needed replacing...

Do it!!!!! I'd be less worried about a Legacy being ragged out, even with replaced turbos, than any WRX ever.

[agrabau]

The Legacy and other 2.5 liter turbo Subaru had small filters pressed into the variable cam timing system (barrel shaped screen pushed into the banjo bolts) and turbo oil feed line that led to a semi-very non official recall and also a lot of failed turbos. The screens were too fine and they led to oil starvation at the turbo. This was a pretty common occurance. The issue with replacement was that the VF-52 turbo on the Legacy is not interchangeable with those from WRX and STI as the compressor outlet is shaped differently. This means $1600 for a replacement with no reliable used market.

Other than that; transmission output shaft bearing, wheel bearings and other wear items will start to show at that mileage. The 5 speed transmission is overtaxed in the WRX, nevermind the heavier Legacy.

Timing belt @100k (should have been done)
Clutch coming up most likely..



Alex

[nahtnoj]

If that gets re-listed I'd be happy to go check it out for you.

[Jason Musgrave]

yeah it's back on ebay. thanks for the offer! let me try and nail down Heather on what she wants before you check it out.

[nahtnoj]

The surroundings scream "wealthy gentleman farmer". I'm having a hard time imagining the kind of guy who lives on that property drag racing STIs and Evos.

[ned]

Un-minivan content follows:

About 20 seconds after I pulled in the driveway yesterday:

Saw one of these in a local driveway. Almost fell off the bike trying to figure out what it was. Nice upgrade from the old wedge. What's under the hood?

[Jason Musgrave]

I saw my first 86/FRS/BRZ this weekend at the trailhead on Pisgah!! Owner let me poked around a bit in it, REALLY want one, but backseat looks a bit tight for any offspring with musgrave genes...

p.s. wife is pushing hard to buy this thing :-(

Toyota : Corolla DX in Toyota | eBay Motors

[al415]

After several years of AWD cars I got the urge to try something different. I just picked up this MINI clubman in John Cooper Works guise. I've got a roof rack on it already. For the first time in quite a few years I'm going for drives to nowhere, as much to hear it pop and snap on downshift as for any other reason. It turns in and exits like a proper little race-car. Has more grip than any FWD car I remember driving back in the day and has room for four grown ups and my dog, this is all while averaging over 30mpg so far.

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