I'm currently driving an old outback, and the fuel efficiency is kinda killing me. I appreciate the lesbian aesthetic, but it's costing too much.

The must have "features" of the car:

  • Improved gas millage over my current car (~20)
  • A reasonable quantity of storage space for camping equipment and moving stuff around.

  • 4k usd

Features I would appreciate but are not a dealbreaker:

  • The vehicle looks decent
  • The car is pre 2005 model year ( This is not very important)
  • Has a standard center console that can take aftermarket devices.

Thanks a ton!

  • Grownbravy [they/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    I dont know what can get all 3 of the "must haves", but if we can start with just the storage requirement, we can pare down from there.

    • Accord Wagon
    • Volvo Wagon
    • Mazda 3 Hatch
    • Ford Focus Hatch
    • Honda CRV
    • Toyota Rav4

    the problem is, being an older car, i doubt any of them can do better than 20ish MPG.

    • FloridaBoi [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I would add:

      • Mazda5
      • Subaru Impreza wagon/hatch
      • Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute
      • Honda Fit
      • Honda Element
      • Toyota Matrix/Pontiac Vibe

      I’d probably stay away from euro and American brands.

      Your budget will make this extremely difficult tbh

      • Grownbravy [they/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        for certain model years the Impreza wagon was an Outback, which wont really solve her problems

        a real headscratcher

        • FloridaBoi [he/him]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Outback could be legacy or Impreza and she didn’t make that clear in the post

            • FloridaBoi [he/him]
              ·
              2 years ago

              I mean there is a difference between going from a legacy outback (which may be the 6 cylinder) to an Impreza wagon/hatch which may or may not be an Outback trim.

              There is at least a couple hundred pound curb weight difference between all legacy and Impreza models so it’s worth considering if there is a worthwhile mpg gain.

              • Grownbravy [they/them]
                ·
                2 years ago

                true, i didn't think of that.

                if she's getting up to 20 mpg then it's a good guess that's what she may have, from what i read the 4 cylinder imprezas should be getting slightly better

                • FloridaBoi [he/him]
                  ·
                  2 years ago

                  Yeah ultimately this is a cars.com or autotrader.com search and see what ticks the most boxes. The limitation will just be the available inventory for those particular cars in a particular radius.

                  Another wrench is that older cars from the northeast and Midwest are likely gonna be rust buckets.

                  • Grownbravy [they/them]
                    ·
                    2 years ago

                    oh yeah, and who knows the state it's in when you get it too.

                    even a "reputable" dealer wont give the whole car a once-over to make sure all the parts are in good working shape