Re: Unicorn Hunting: Comfy wagon/SUV with great mileage
 

> Greetings! I'm shopping for a car that may not exist. My requirements
> list isn't long, but it's hard to find them on the same car.
>
> 1) Absurdly comfortable front seats. I'm 6'2" and get back pain
> 2) Good winter traction. We live in rural New England and have a 400-
> 3) Great gas mileage. As you can tell from the fact that one of our
> 3a) Manual transmission. I have never owned an automatic and I don't

I've got two suggestions, both not yet available:

1. Volkswagon Tiguan Diesel (May 2008 in USA ?)
http://www.tiguan.nl/
http://www.casanovacars.com/volkswag...uan_diesel.php
http://www.vwvortex.com/artman/publi...cle_2032.shtml
140 hp 2.0L diesel, 35/45 mpg ?

2. Honda CRV Diesel (August 2009 in USA ???)
already available in the UK since 2001 ?
http://www.channel4.com/4car/di/honda/cr-v/1022/1
150 hp 2.2L diesel, 35/45 mpg

Lynn

Re: Unicorn Hunting: Comfy wagon/SUV with great mileage
 

Clay wrote:
> Greetings! I'm shopping for a car that may not exist. My requirements
> list isn't long, but it's hard to find them on the same car.
>
> 1) Absurdly comfortable front seats. I'm 6'2" and get back pain
> whenever I drive any of my current cars for more than 30-60 minutes. I
> "only" weigh 190, but have long legs for someone by height.
>
> 2) Good winter traction. We live in rural New England and have a 400-
> foot sloped gravel driveway. 4WD isn't a requirement (our FWD Passat
> is adequate for example), but better ground clearance would be great
> (our current cars frequently scrape on the dirt roads around here --
> including one recent event that broke TWO catalytic converters).
>
> 3) Great gas mileage. As you can tell from the fact that one of our
> cars runs on waste vegetable oil (see below), we care a lot about
> reducing emissions. This is actually more important, to us, than fuel
> savings. That is, we don't mind paying $5,000 extra for a car that
> will save us only $3,000 in gas costs over the life of the vehicle.
>
> 3a) Manual transmission. I have never owned an automatic and I don't
> like them. They have worse mileage and I don't enjoy them as much (I
> also like how manuals force me to pay attention to my driving --
> neither my wife nor I have ever had an accident in over 30 combined
> years driving 5-speeds).
>

You can get the Volvo V70 wagon with a manual transmission. It is one
of the very few vehicles which hits your requirements.

Re: Unicorn Hunting: Comfy wagon/SUV with great mileage
 

Clay wrote:
> Greetings! I'm shopping for a car that may not exist. My requirements
> list isn't long, but it's hard to find them on the same car.
>
> 1) Absurdly comfortable front seats. I'm 6'2" and get back pain
> whenever I drive any of my current cars for more than 30-60 minutes. I
> "only" weigh 190, but have long legs for someone by height.
>
> 2) Good winter traction. We live in rural New England and have a 400-
> foot sloped gravel driveway. 4WD isn't a requirement (our FWD Passat
> is adequate for example), but better ground clearance would be great
> (our current cars frequently scrape on the dirt roads around here --
> including one recent event that broke TWO catalytic converters).
>
> 3) Great gas mileage. As you can tell from the fact that one of our
> cars runs on waste vegetable oil (see below), we care a lot about
> reducing emissions. This is actually more important, to us, than fuel
> savings. That is, we don't mind paying $5,000 extra for a car that
> will save us only $3,000 in gas costs over the life of the vehicle.
>
> 3a) Manual transmission. I have never owned an automatic and I don't
> like them. They have worse mileage and I don't enjoy them as much (I
> also like how manuals force me to pay attention to my driving --
> neither my wife nor I have ever had an accident in over 30 combined
> years driving 5-speeds).
>

You can get the Volvo V70 wagon with a manual transmission. It is one
of the very few vehicles which hits your requirements.