Current car is a 2005 Mazda 3 5-speed manual with 220k on it. Still running mostly OK. We now have a kid on the way and the wife is not a confident city driver. She can drive stick fine but the 3 is a bit rough, low sightline and driving the stick in stop and go is frustrating/distracting blahblah. She's going to have to drive more with the kid and we want more space for road trips so time for an upgrade. We are only having one kid so don't need a giant vehicle.
Been looking at compact SUV or whatever you call the CRV, CX-5/7, Forester, RA4, Tucson etc. I like these for better sightline, bit more cargo space than our 3 hatchback, auto transmission, AWD (a must, will run proper winters of course) and just more modern features that our 2005 lacks. Basic safety stuff like lane departure, back-up cam is nice, not sure if these cars have auto braking etc. as I'm just starting research.
Budget is around $20-25k so we are looking for a few-years-old. Thoughts on vehicles in this class? Mostly concerned around reliability/operating costs and comfort. As long as it has enough guts to get up and down the Sea to Sky loaded with gear and pass on highways that is enough performance for me.
One thing I keep thinking of is if a hitch mount North Shore or tray style bike rack is gonna be a pain in the ass with the rear hatch. I know some of those racks can pivot out of the way. I've run Thule sidearm roof racks on the 3 but I want to go hitch on the new vehicle.
Last edited by: grambo on April 25, 2018, 3:20 p.m., edited 1 time in total.