Older wagon, small suv advice

Equinox/terrain, final years of previous gen.
https://www.jdpower.com/Cars/Ratings/dependability/2019
https://www.jdpower.com/Cars/Ratings/dependability/2018

We had a 2012 Mazda 5 that was our main family hauler for 8.5 years. That thing was an absolute superstar. Never let us down. 1 unscheduled repair in almost 200K kms, and even that was something we could have ignored if we wanted to (evap sensor). That thing took so much abuse and suffered unspeakable indignities at the hands of our children but just kept on coming back for more. I replaced brakes, tires, the battery, and the aforementioned evap sensor and that was it (scheduled maintenance too obviously). Can't ask any more from a vehicle than that over that much mileage.

I'd take the Mazda5 over your other suggestions in a heartbeat. But I would also consider a Golf Wagon. Especially if you can get the AWD version (or even if you can't).

I love my 09 Mazda 5 with 243k and am almost certainly going to get another.

All cars will eventually succumb to repairs and maintenance. Just buy something you can afford now and move forward. People here shill for toyota and honda if that fits your needs and budget.

I have a 2014 Mazda 5, with the manual transmission.

I do not use it that much (relative to others, like the people who posted in this thread). It has around 77,000 kms IIRC.

Problems: 2 engine sensors failed (total cost approx $500). Trying to troubleshoot the problem, I got a new battery (too early, it was not needed).
Changed front brake pads at approx. 74,000 kms (front rotors still in really good shape, no need to change). It will need rear brake pads soon, but the rear rotors are rusting, so I may change both.

I noticed that the finish on the OEM rims is peeling off, which is way to early. This is disappointing.

Car with the manual transmission accelerates better than the automatic transmission (just rev it up to the limiter before changing gears... LOL), but at the cost of excessive noise and fuel consumption. It is peppy if you really step on the gas.

Other than that, car is solid after almost 5,5 years. Paint is in great shape; rust is minimal.

2015 Golf TDI Sportwagon if you can find one.

I was scared off by the crash ratings of the Mazda5.

cdbh12 wrote: ↑I was scared off by the crash ratings of the Mazda5.

Buy a hummer if you plan on crashing things. Crash ratings means nothing.

cristianosham wrote: ↑ Buy a hummer if you plan on crashing things. Crash ratings means nothing.

Stop with this madness, lol.

cdbh12 wrote: ↑ I was scared off by the crash ratings of the Mazda5.

Then Golf Wagon.

Driven all of them, I actually think the Outback is the best of the bunch, if you don't like the CVT this was the last time it had a manual transmission. Venza is reliable, but its actually not built well, so many examples I've driven where there's a lot of badly fitted panels and the speaker grilles on the dash clearly want to escape. I also didn't enjoy the Venza's 4-cylinder, too slow for me.

Chevrolet Orlando, this car is bad. Very slow, very cramped and cheaply made inside. The Americans were right to reject it. Definitely don't buy it.

Kia Rondo, it was surprisingly practical but really dull to drive and not fast. Decent if you get a good price, its a Kia after all so its used values should be low.

Kia Sorento, to make any sense price-wise it'll have to be an older previous gen one, there are some flaws with it particularly folding the 2nd row seats...that mechanism is terrible and often breaks or gets stuck. V6 moves it decently, 4-cylinder is kind of slow.

Mazda5, this is actually the nicest to drive of the bunch. Essentially a mini-minivan but it actually can be enjoyable when these things usually are dreary. I actually have no complaints other than I wish it could go faster, its actually faster than the rest assuming all 4-cylinder funny enough.

If the Mazda's safety bothered you, I'm sorry to say but the Orlando and Rondo aren't any better, they never were tested but nearly no automaker was designing for small overlap other than Volvo and to a smaller degree Subaru and thus if you consider the Mazda a deathtrap the majority of the cars designed before 2014 were just as terrible. The bigger Kia Sorento also failed...so take that into consideration. Subaru Outback even if you get a older gen was one of the few old cars to pass.

Two comments about the Outback.

There's a generational divide between the 2014 and 2015 models. In 2014 and prior, you can get a 6-cylinder engine paired with a conventional auto. No CVT, no oil consumption without the 2.5L 4-cylinder engine. Con is gas mileage will suffer with the H6 and no CVT.

The Outback 2016 likely gets a newer CVT vs previous models where the complaints originated. The Subaru CVT extended warranty only applies up to 2015 models -likely the cutoff for the 1st generation of their CVTs. If you look at carcomplaints.com, the oil consumption entries also fall off noticeably from 2015 to 2016. Avoiding 2015 (1st year of redesign) looks like it will mitigate a lot of your concerns.