Gotta buy a new family utility car, got a couple of questions

[Rusty]

As well as my P5 we need a car for my wife to use daily for work, etc. We wrecked our 2007 Hyundai Sonata. It was a V6 with every trim option except leather.

We also use it for our vacation car, so there are some things we must have. The trunk was gargantuan, I think It actually defied physics to be so roomy. Leather is a must for a beach car. So are wide tires, the Sonata had 225/50-17s and I put Kelly Navigator Golds on it. Good meaty rain tires are a must for vacation safety.

But the first question I have is about the engine I get. With 300 lbs of beach gear, I need to pass with authority on country roads. The Sonata's 235hp V-6 was really fast from 50 on up(3500lb car). It would take the full load and still blow the doors of of anything I had to pass. At the time, gas was cheaper, so I'm wondering if a Turbo 4 with an automatic tranny would be up to the job. I know they get a lot of power out of 2 liters these days, but I don't know if they have enough torque to move a loaded car of a similar size as the Sonata.

Any thoughts on that would be appreciated, as well as car suggestions. My wife has crossover in the back of her mind. Not me, I prefer sedan or wagon. I wish the mid 2000 style Mazda 6 hatch was still here, but the new gen is probably out of range. I'm talking no more than $19,000 pre-owned, less than 35K miles.
Thanks,
Rusty

 

[EvilJen]

Why not just buy another Sonata?

 

[Lboogs]

same thing I was thinking, unless he cant find one for the price and mileage he is looking for.

 

[Rusty]

We stopped at the Hyundai lot, but didn't see anything that excited us. We looked at several other dealerships before our last stop of the day, and the Ford Fusion is a pretty nice car. It was surprisingly powerful with the variable valve timing 4 cyl, and it rode tight handled good too. I was pretty impressed. And they offer so many combinations it's no problem getting one in our price range.

We made our last stop at the Mazda pre-owned lot. They had a VW Passat that truly runs like a scalded dog with a 200 HP, 207 Ft-Lb 2.0L turbo. It had 42K miles with another 18k on the warranty. Plus it was certified with an additional 24k/2 year warranty by VW. It had everything on our list including Leather and sunroof. It has heated seats and all kinds of other amenities. Unless it falls through, that's the one. My wife would strangle me if I drug her away from it now. When that woman bonds with a car, ya gotta go with the flow. Some of those Passats have a direct shift gearbox, a dual clutch automatic manual. I would know if this one does if I had that info when I test drove it. It does have paddle shifters if that's a clue. It has also been to that dealer every 10K miles of its life for routine service. One owner. The little ****** is built for the Autobahn.

If it falls through, we will probably go with the Fusion. I liked it before the VW, but now... blah.

 

[11B-33T]

How about a Minivan? The Kia Sedonas are great family vehicles, V-6 w/265 HP, EX model is fully loaded w/leather seats/power-everything-package/DVD theater & wireless headseats for the family and ya can open the side doors and hang out like door gunners...

 

[Rusty]

How about a Minivan? The Kia Sedonas are great family vehicles, V-6 w/265 HP, EX model is fully loaded w/leather seats/power-everything-package/DVD theater & wireless headseats for the family and ya can open the side doors and hang out like door gunners...

Good tip, but our family has graduated from that stage in life. Now it's just my wife and me, but when we pack for for a week at the beach, we usually take the whole house. That eliminates forgetting something. We actually did stop at the Kia lot. We drove a Sorento, Sportage and a Forte. I think I hurt the guy's feelings after I drove the Forte and I told him it drove like a toy. The Optimas look pretty cool, but too expensive for me. They had no pre-owned with my requirements.
I'm pretty jacked about the Passat. Hope to sign the papers tomorrow night. Unfortunately, my wife will have a car that can blow the doors off of my P5.

 

[11B-33T]

Well how about a compromise to keep it in the Mazda family:

and you can turbo it later...