Safe, Mid-Size, Roomy, Easy on the Gas?

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Looove my Chevy Crew Cab (red ), love the safe feeling of driving my baby around with a lot of steel around her--hate spending all my retirement money on gas, or sitting home cause it cost too much to drive!!! (Hate parking it, too.) We seem to always get Chevys, DH likes them. He's 6'8", and needs to be able to drive vehicle occasionally with us, but I am short, and need a mid-size vehicle! Back is giving me fits--this is too high, and my Malibu was too low. About to be squiring TWO grandbabies around. Any suggestions? I am over the sportscar thing (not really, but I keep telling myself that --was a Camaro girl), and am trying to just get something quite reasonable. Priorities change. Thoughts welcome!

[Itchy]

Have you looked at the Chevy Equinox?

I had a 2011 and really like it but I traded it off on a 2012 Chevy Cruze for the extra fuel economy.

The Equinox has a lot of head and leg room, and with the power driver seat it should adjust for both you and your husband.

Hope this helps...

[Lizzy]

I just bought a 2012 Journey last weekend I love it. It has the 3rd row seat. It has been a averaging 23 miles to the gallon (I drive half highway and half city every day)

Its so comfortable.

[disney obsessed]

Mini Countryman.

[BriarRose0708]

Have you looked at the Chevy Equinox?

I had a 2011 and really like it but I traded it off on a 2012 Chevy Cruze for the extra fuel economy.

The Equinox has a lot of head and leg room, and with the power driver seat it should adjust for both you and your husband.

Hope this helps...

Completely agree! I am 5 feet tall but in my Equinox I can see everything and not feel like I'm riding an elephant. The gas economy is good but has improved since my year model (I have a 2009 and the newest ones get better mileage). I don't have family or kids to transport around but I move fairly often and the cargo space is great. It's a deceptively roomy and spacious interior, especially when the back seats are down.

You may want to test drive a Traverse for something a tad larger, but the gas economy may not be at the level you're looking for. Good luck!

[DizneyRox]

We've got a Subaru Outback and love it. Ended up getting the 4 cyl model ad it gets great mileage compared to where we came from. Very roomy, easy to drive, excellent in the elements. I ha e nothing bad to say about it.

I don't buy American cars, too many problems... There are a few foreign makes on my DNB list, Nissan being one of them.

[Dulcee]

We had a dodge charger for a few years. Smallest engine on the market so it was great on gas but for a car it was roomy. DH is over six feet tall and he loved it. With almost 79k mile's on her she ran great and repairs were always affordable. Decent amount of trunk space too.

We traded it in recently for a jeep patriot. Not as hot on gas but two dogs plus discussions of kids in the future meant we needed a suv again.

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Thanks, folks! Enjoying reading these and checking every one of them out! Keep them coming!

[mickeys_princess_mom]

Have you looked at the Chevy Equinox?

I had a 2011 and really like it but I traded it off on a 2012 Chevy Cruze for the extra fuel economy.

The Equinox has a lot of head and leg room, and with the power driver seat it should adjust for both you and your husband.

Hope this helps...

I DO like the looks of this. One was parked right next to my pickup when we came out of the store today. Was able to compare size. Definitely a better height for me, and I'm hearing good things.....

[mickeys_princess_mom]

We had a dodge charger for a few years. Smallest engine on the market so it was great on gas but for a car it was roomy. DH is over six feet tall and he loved it. With almost 79k mile's on her she ran great and repairs were always affordable. Decent amount of trunk space too.

We traded it in recently for a jeep patriot. Not as hot on gas but two dogs plus discussions of kids in the future meant we needed a suv again.

I don't know why but I just assumed that it had a lot of power and would be hard on the gas! Or is it like that commercial where the car just "looks fast" ?...

[diz_girl]

How about the VW Passat TDI - it's a diesel. It's roomy, fun to drive and gets great gas mileage.

I had a diesel Jetta and it was the best car I've ever owned. Please don't confuse the diesels of today with the clunkers made by GM in the 70s and 80s.

My beloved VW Jetta (a 2005 model) was a diesel and I averaged 42mpg, but I would regularly get 50+ mpg on the highway. On my first WDW trip in it, I got 52 mpg over a 2400 mile round trip. It only needed two tanks of gas from NJ to WDW. One trip to Canada, I went 675 miles on 13.5 gallons of diesel.

The Jetta was too small for our growing family, as the backseat was too small, so that's why I'm recommending the Passat, which has a roomier back seat. I now drive a GMC Acadia and lament my choice every time I have to stop for gas.

I've heard great things about the Subaru Outback too.

[Dulcee]

I don't know why but I just assumed that it had a lot of power and would be hard on the gas! Or is it like that commercial where the car just "looks fast" ?...

Lol it looked far faster then it was! Purposely got the smallest engine available for gas reasons (DH could tell you better the size, car lingo eludes me) but it still had the look of a sporty car. We consistently used it for traveling from NC to NJ and never had any complaints on size.

One down side was our insurance still considered it a sports car so that ran us a bit more then I would have liked.

[MargaretMessler]

Hyundai SantaFe - great on gas for a small/mid size SUV and very reliable. Also drives very much like a car so it doesnt feel like youre driving a big truck. I'm at over 100k miles and nothing more than routine maintenance has gone into it.

[SBETigg]

I love my Nissan Rogue, great on gas, very comfortable seating, even plenty of cargo room and backseat space enough to suit my grown kids, petite daughter and 6 foot son.

[tjstrike]

How about the VW Passat TDI - it's a diesel. It's roomy, fun to drive and gets great gas mileage.

I had a diesel Jetta and it was the best car I've ever owned. Please don't confuse the diesels of today with the clunkers made by GM in the 70s and 80s.

My beloved VW Jetta (a 2005 model) was a diesel and I averaged 42mpg, but I would regularly get 50+ mpg on the highway. On my first WDW trip in it, I got 52 mpg over a 2400 mile round trip. It only needed two tanks of gas from NJ to WDW. One trip to Canada, I went 675 miles on 13.5 gallons of diesel.

The Jetta was too small for our growing family, as the backseat was too small, so that's why I'm recommending the Passat, which has a roomier back seat. I now drive a GMC Acadia and lament my choice every time I have to stop for gas.

I've heard great things about the Subaru Outback too.

I 2nd the vote for a VW Passat, lots and lots of leg room and the TDI clean diesel averages almost 45 mpg. Very nice car !!

[mickeys_princess_mom]

I really appreciate all these posts, and will check out every vehicle!! Keep them coming!

[Princess'Mom]

I 2nd the vote for a VW Passat, lots and lots of leg room and the TDI clean diesel averages almost 45 mpg. Very nice car !!

Ditto - just bought a 2013 Passat TDI. I needed a break on gass fill-ups. I have a 136 mile/day commute and was tired of filling up my Toyota Venza 2.5 times/week. I'm hoping with the 40mph VW is promising me, that I won't have to fill up nearly as often!

[mickeys_princess_mom]

And the winner is--Chevy Equinox! Went to look and came home in it with a great deal! I LOOOVE it!!! Getting up early tomorrow to try it out a bit and get used to it before my babygirl comes over. Sooo happy! I think it needs a Disney roadtrip to break it in properly!
Thanks to EVERYbody for all your helpful suggestions! I appreciate them!

[Jeri Lynn]

I love my Ford Edge. I've had big SUV's for so long and really didn't need that size anymore. I got my Edge a year ago, it is AWD. I get about 22mpg around town, more on highway. It seats five but I would have to say three adults in back seat would be squishy. Lots of room in the back for groceries and such. The only minor complaint I have about it is where they put the safety "flasher" button, I sometimes hit it when playing with my radio. I also wish I had gotten leather seats, all my past vehicles have had leather and when I was looking at these cars I found this one, I LOVED this particular color (tri color white) and it did not have leather seats, they found me another white one with leather but it was a different white. I didn't think it would be a big deal at the time, but having a dog that goes in the car does make it an issue with protecting the seats.
The next one I get will definately have leather seats.