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How about a Toyota Prius?  It's good on gas, gets you a tax break from the government, it's a big hatchback and has lots of room for 2 kid seats.  I've been driving the same little blue Tercel for 8 years and 300,000 Kms with no repairs beyond regular maintenence and replacing things like sparkplugs and brakes (it still has the original clutch).
It makes my last car (a Volvo wagon) look like as reliable as a walmart bike.

Link to Toyota.com

The Toyota tax break is going down for those considering buying a Prius. You might want to look into that if that's a factor in buying.

I don't have any specific recommendations except stick with a good reliable maker like Honda, Toyota or Nissan. Get one of those and you can pass it on to your oldest when he gets his license.

NO NO NO!!

Get a SAFE by GreatWall Motors!

You can get a Volkswagen Rabbit (Golf).  The new one just came to Amerika.  Or if you want something more hardcore wait for the Golf GTI 5 door.  It's a really nice car, and it looks awesome.

just for grins.. check the 07 Fords.
they have pretty much redone most of the line.. and there are plenty with pretty good gas milage.

vw beetle TDI gets 38/51 mpg  (city/highway)

civic 30/41                         

corolla 40/53

As for the dealer, be prepared to get up and walk away, even if you spent a lot of time negotiating the price and shopping for the car. Make it clear that you dont need the car, but you are interested in it if the price is right.

Fried Chicken wrote:

justine wrote:

Fried Chicken wrote:

You can get a Volkswagen Rabbit (Golf).  The new one just came to Amerika.  Or if you want something more hardcore wait for the Golf GTI 5 door.  It's a really nice car, and it looks awesome.

Not exactly a family car. 2 car seats. 1 stroller. diaper bags and all the other kid crap.

Actually I beg to differ.  The Golf is designed for a German Family, and the things you describe are exactly what you would need.

And if you want to save money on gas, get a Jetta Diesel, that's probably the smallest diesel car you can buy in the states (it's not that small), and it gets 40+ MPG.

if the interior is anything like my daughters old 99 Jetta, then there isn't enough room. The trunk was. That was smurfing huge! However, the inside could hold 2 car seats, but not much else.

I think some 07s are already out like the Toyota camry, which by the way, is the best looking one in 10 years.

Unless you're getting a Prius, skip the Toyotas unless you want something boring. Sorry Nanny, I'm not a big fan of 'em. I was going to recommend the Honda Fit for notJames. It'll fit (pun not intended) everything/everyone he needs, and it gets great gas mileage too. One of the big car mags (Automobile I think) gave it first place over the Nissan Versa, Toyota Yaris (ugliest thing ever, next to the Aztek), and Kia Rio.

Donkey Butter wrote:

you could do a corolla or for a hatchback version the matrix.  both are great on gas.  honda civic or an accord would be nice too.  honda has a new one called "fit" it's a hatchback.

Matrix might be a little small for a family car. But if you go with it (and, tbh, if I could buy a car tomorrow, it'd be a Matrix) you might consider the Pontiac version. Sure, it's fugly, but you can't see it when you're inside, and they're mechanically pretty much the same - at least, they use the same engine, drive/powertrains, frame, and some other parts.

And because it's got a domestic nameplate, you can probably pick up a pre-depreciated one for lots less than the same-age Toyota version.

Great suggestions, everyone. Keep 'em coming.

As for "playing the game" with the dealership, we walked out on the Nissan dealership because they wanted to charge way too much for our XTerra lease. The Asst. Mgr. chased us down the parking lot to keep us from leaving. And it was the end of the month (end of the year, actually). So yes, I'll definitely be showing them that we don't need a car, even though we really do (d'oh).