Starting the new car hunt: Which practical wagon/CUV would you choose?

B

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My wife's car, a 2004 Nissan Sentra 1.8 automatic, has started having a few quirks that make us uneasy. With 100,000 miles on the odometer and the car nearly paid-off, we're thinking very seriously about starting the hunt for a new car now, before any big issues rear their ugly head. She has about 65 miles of commute everyday, and we work different shifts (she's on second shift, I'm on first) in different towns, so she really needs something dependable. Plus I don't want to spend weekends working on her car, as I increasingly find myself, instead of spending time with her.

We've been making a list of possible candidates that we want to whittle down over the next year or so. With that said, bear in mind we'll probably be looking at lightly used or "program" cars that are a year or two old, and we won't be doing any serious shopping until late 2010-early 2011. Here's our list of cars to check out so far:

* Ford Escape (2.5 four-cylinder, front-wheel drive, automatic transmission)
* Chevy Equinox (2.4 four-cylinder, front-wheel drive, automatic transmission)
* Nissan Cube 1.8S (1.8 four-cylinder, front-wheel drive, CVT automatic transmission)
* Hyundai Elantra Touring (2.0 four-cylinder, front-wheel drive, automatic transmission)
* Scion xD (1.8 four-cylinder, front-wheel drive, automatic transmission)
* Suzuki SX4 Wagon (2.0 four-cylinder, front-wheel drive, CVT automatic transmission)
* Chevrolet HHR (2.2 four-cylinder, front-wheel drive, automatic transmission)
* Mazda 5 (2.3 four-cylinder, front-wheel drive, automatic transmission)

Which do you like, and why? Are the others you'd include on the list?
 
Personally I am ahuge fan of GM cars,ut in this case I am not so sure I would pick, styleistically, However if you are looking for a car that will run excess of 160,000 miles I would go witht he GM, It is not just that I am an american motorhead this is my real world experience. A friend has a mazda, and that car is quite efficient. The cube however I feel like is a waste of time,it's ugly and small and from wht I have seen can't quite fit as much in it as you would expect. The hyundais are notoriousl for have crappy timing chains that crap out ,this is a costly repair. I would personally Go with either the Scion or Equinox. That is my opinion. Enjoy!
 
im a honda/toyota guy. plus these vehicles are now being manufactured here in america........so the jobs are still in america. Ive had an 88 toyota pick-up (175k+ biggest problem - timing belt change), 2006 tacoma (100k+ no problems at all), 2003 civic si (I turboed this vehicle and drove the hell out of it for over 120k with only an oil line leak being my worst fix), 1991 crx (250k, no problems just basic wear an tear, alternator went out @ 200k.
 
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