Need recommendations for used vehicles in the 12000-15000 range.

[jindogae]

Hi, a friend of mine is a personal trainer and is looking for a vehicle in the 12000-15000 range. She runs a lot of boot camps and needs something that has ample cargo room for her heavy equipment (however a minivan is not an option). She's looking for a wagon (a hatchback is probably too small) or a midsized SUV/CUV. She's willing to go to 20k OTR if she found the perfect vehicle. Just to give you an idea she really likes vehicles like the infiniti fx35, ford edge, and audi b7 a4 avant. All of them are slightly out of her budget.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

[KevC]

First thing that comes to mind is the Honda Element =)

[DavidY]

2007+ Mitsubishi Outlander 3.0 L V6 AWD (LS or XLS trim). 2006+ RAV4 has similar cargo space figures to the Outlander.

For 2007, 36.2 cu.ft seats up; 72.6 cu.ft seats down. Not sure why these numbers are significantly different from the table below.

Here's a comparison table for various vehicles:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/cars/new-cars/cr-recommended/best-in-cargo-capacity-fuel-economy-1205-fuel-economy-cargo-haul/index.htm

Dave

[poedua]

In terms of small non-luxury SUVs............I'd look at an Escape, Forester, CRV and Rav-4.

In terms of mid size non-luxury SUVs.......I'd look at an Edge, Sorento, Highlander or Sante Fe.

In terms of wagons....an Outback or Mazda 5.