What about a Hyundai Elantra GT? At least they are guaranteed for 10 years, or 100,000 miles. That is the drive-train, but it’s bumper to bumper for 5 years.
I’ve been waiting for Citroen to get their C4 Cactus approved for the US market which they have been working on for a while. Rented one when I was in the UK last year and loved it. Price point in the UK now is around $20,000 to $24,000 in US dollars. Has a relatively low roof and the feel of a larger car in the interior and on the highway. Totally a blast to drive (even with the stickshift on the left!).
Kia Sorento.My son has had one several years and it is still going strong.
@willowleaf said:
I’ve been waiting for Citroen to get their C4 Cactus
Those are the most unique door panels I’ve ever seen. I think I’d prefer smooth though. I wonder if they fair better with shopping carts and other car doors?
What Magooch said… Hyundai Elantra. They quit making my wagon, the Elantra Touring, so maybe they offer the new GT with roof rails? Anyway, my ET was great with the 5 speed manual transmission. If I lived in the country where I could stash cars here and there I’d still have it.
Sparky: The 2018 and 2019 models of the C4 have shrunk the door protection panels to about a 1/4 of their size, probably due to people’s complaints about them (saw them referred to as “Lego bricks”). Honestly, I liked them – I live in a city where I always have to park in tightly spaced lots (including grocery lots) and the doors of my cars always get dinged up in that area. The design also hearkens back to the “woodies”, those real or faux wood panels that used to be on station wagon doors in the 50’s and 60’s and then hung on for a while with the first minivans.
I actually prefer the pre-2018 Cactus. I’ve actually started looking into what the option might be to take a month long European trip and buy a used one while I am there and then have it shipped back. With the chaos over international tariffs right now, I wonder if Citroen is even pursuing the US market any more.
The major drawback to owning a Citroen would be getting it serviced, though I have always had good luck with my cars not needing much in the way of service or repairs, with the exception of the absolute lemon of a 2002 Subaru Outback I owned for a miserable 2 years. Car cost me more in repairs over 28 months than I paid for it in the first place, even though it only had 70K on it when I bought it. And it was miserable to drive, excessive wind noise due to window design, brutally stiff shifting (even after a full transmission rebuild) and rough ride. I always felt exhausted any time I had to drive it 4 hours or more. I will never buy another Subaru.
You might not want to pursue Citroen given this article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cars/gallery/the-20-best-car-brands-listed/citroen-reliability/
Was sort of afraid of that. Oh well, guess I am stuck with the Mazda for a while. Fun car to drive and very economical but the short roof is a pain. Just ordered a T-bar rack (the kind people use with pickup trucks) that will mount into my Class 2 hitch to extend the rear support a bit.
I am pleased with my 2014 Subaru Impreza. Bought it because of it’s low roof, and all wheel drive. I mounted a yakima rack, and can get two 17’ sea kayaks on top with the 48" crossbars. I like the all wheel drive, and avg 30 mpg overall. Much of the time I have a kayak or canoe on top. We also have a 2013 Ford Edge all wheel drive which has been excellent and trouble free, but it is high enough that I like to have help loading boats.
My son had a VW and he had numerous problems over time with it.
Hey Andy, you might want to go to the library and look at a new car buyer’s guide because it shows the expected 5 year depreciation for all new vehicles which gives you some idea of reliability and problems. My sister in law has a VW Alltrack and loves it and I’ve been in it and it’s very nice and for sure it looks like a great vehicle for carrying boats. I warned about VW quality but I think it is improving over time and one consideration is that they now offer a 10 year warranty. I’ll also mention that if you considering something at a Volvo price point you might want to look at an Audi Allroad too since it is an exceptionally nice vehicle. Finally, I used to work in automotive engineering and I have 2 friends that now work at GM and both have worked at other manufacturers and both of these guys are impressed with GM’s focus on engineering so that Buick may well be worth looking at if it appeals to you.
I have had one for several years and it is still in good state.
I would not in good conscience recommend any Audi product to anyone. I have never known anyone who owned one who did not have massive mechanical and electrical problems with them.
I wish Volvo would go back to making rugged, low- and long-roofed squared off wagons. Those were by far the best vehicles I ever had for hauling touring kayaks and canoes.
In the '70s and '80s Audis were absolute crap. I heard of one couple having one ‘stolen’ and set on fire so they could collect the insurance on that lemon. Somehow they managed to stay in business. Maybe they’ve improved.
I test drove a Jetta wagon back in 2010 and really liked it. Couldn’t bring myself to risk the pain and misery of owning another VW product, though. Bought the Hyundai ET and loved it.
I had a Hyundai Santa Fe for a while and it really was a nice car, especially for the price. A friend of ours who has a car repair garage had actually been so impressed by his customers’ Hyundais that he sold off all his family vehicles and replaced them with the brand.
Like the Mazdas, the Hyundais have a more solid feel and (at least in my opinion) have nicer finishes and better creature comfort than the similar Subarus, Toyotas, Nissans, VW’s and Hondas. And the Hyundais tend to be much cheaper on the used market.
The only reason I got rid of mine was that I had bought it used and the prior owner had not maintained the body and understructure well (we are in road salt country and consistently flushing off the underside during the winter is a necessity.) It was starting to get major rust. But it was second only to my '95 Volvo 850 in comfort for long highway drives.
Volvo wagons are the best…with the roof rails. Add Yakima crossbars and you can carry anything. I have hauled 20 and 17 1/2 foot wooden canoes (together) at highway speeds. The reach to the top is just right so loading and unloading is very easy. The Vvos have great roof structure so there are not load bearing issues that you will encounter with Japanese makes.
Naked roofs give you the option to roll your own, but even the best systems do not mount well on a naked roof…they slip, slide, shift, need constant fussing and they ruin the roof…why bother with that? Since 04 the Audis have been great vehicles…this is the best fallback to a Volvo and if proper AWD is something you need, the Audi Quattro is fabulous. Subaru’s AWD is an equally good system, just tied to wretched noisy motors with awful shifters.
I think the appeal of a car with a naked roof is that, for a person who likes this option, they can choose their own mounts and bolt them on. That’s why slipping and sliding isn’t part of the equation. One of these days I’ll be doing that with my '87 Suburban. The only hitch is that I would have to design a rack for which the mounts sit very low and for which the cross bars attach and detach with extreme convenience (I can design and build both, but it’s a requirement that makes things more complicated), because the doorway to my ancient garage isn’t tall enough to let that car in and out with a roof rack installed.
At present the V60 seems to check my boxes of used wagon with low, fairly flat roof line and sturdy in-built fore and aft rails for installing cross bars at sufficient and variable distances apart. Advertised fuel economy seems OK, but I always experience better due to stodgy habits. Am chatting up the local Volvo owners for reliable repair shops close by. I had a 1988 240 wagon that consumed too much parts and labor at local dealer shop.
For what it is worth: My daughter has been looking for months for a new yak hauling car to replace her CRV and just about gave up, since every one she looked at had those stupid rear spoilers that prevented lifting the tail gate with a yak on the roof or those idiotic front to back factory racks.
She called yesterday to say she found a 2019 Subaru Forester “basic” model with no rack and no spoiler on the rear roof.
It has the knock outs on the roof for attaching her Yakima “landing pads”
My 2014 has the exact same set up and we have been very happy with it.
I have been able to move my racks from one car to another with the exact same set up.
I still think the best kayak hauler is a proper trailer. They last for ever if you take care of them and they are a snap to load and unload. The right kind can also do a lot more than just haul kayaks. You also don’t have to worry about having the boats blow off the trailer, or forget the boat, or racks are on top and drive under something low.