Looking to get a new car. I am looking for a compact wagon, but the only one I see out there is the crappy Suzuki Forenza.
Any rumors about maybe a civic or corolla wagon in the offing sometime soon? Why the dearth of small wagons?
Depends on what you call a “wagon.” How about the Toyota Matrix?
I love, love, LOVE, my 2003 Pontiac Vibe GT (based on Matrix, but far cooler looking IMHO). Just this week, we have hauled a 1940’s era mahogany double dresser and a 1960’s era legal size 4-drawer steel file cabinet (not at the same time), and taken a road trip while averaging 34 MPG through mountains. It has a 180 hp engine with a six-speed manual. I can do 60 in third gear easy. I’m driving it until it dies.
Vibe/Matrix? Kinda smallish. This is not a wagon, but a wagon styled hatchback.
And any Forenza owners? I am discouraged by the gas mileage, but it seems about the right size.
I give you the Scion XA
Mrs P and I just got back from a Toyota/Scion dealership a few hours ago and saw this. (She’s trading in her Matrix for a RAV4). It looks like a Matrix with the back chopped off. IMHO something about the proportions didn’t look/feel right to me, like if you hit the brakes too hard it would go end over end. Is this what your aiming for?
Take a look at the Mazda3, Subaru Outback Sport, Dodge Caliber, Ford Focus, and Volvo V50. I think the Mazda 3 is a particularly nice new model.
Consider Ford Focus wagon and Chrysler PT Cruiser.
Ford has healthy cash rebates right now and the Focus has good all-around performance and decent road manners. It doesn’t inspire too much passion, but it’s a decent car and my friend got good gas mileage in his.
Mazda 3, Volvo, and Suby are more than I want to spend. XA is not a wagon. Neither is the 3 for that matter. I am thinking of a wagon like the last Escort wagon. Or the Forenza. A real wagon, but compact. Toyota has at times made a Corolla wagon variant and Honda has mad a Civic wagon in the past. Why not now?
My conspiracy detector notices the lack of wagons thoughout the lines of most makers, and it seems they want to push people into SUV’s. I was thinking of the RAV4, but I already have a big vehicle and what I want is a dead reliable mileage maker, like 30/40 EPA. It’s gotta be a wagon because it has to accomodate the GF, a couple of dogs and a decent amount of shopping all at the same time. It’s gotta be realatively cheap (<20k out the door) because I can’t see spending a huge amount on an economy car. Like I say, I like both the Civic and the Corolla, but for the body style.
Focus has spotty reliablility and PT cruiser doesn’t come close to the mileage criteria besides looking, well, I won’t attempt to characterize it because this is not GD. I want something very pedestrian.
Although I have test driven the Focus and like it’s road manners a lot. :eek: 
The sport model is da bomb. I heard they might be discontinuing it though? Seems insane, one of the few decent cars they build. Especially having had a 2000 GTI VR6, I kind of miss…
Maybe the Matrix then? I think my wife’s '04 was about 18k. It comfortably holds her, me, two dogs, a baby seat, a stroller and whatever other odds and ends happen to be in it. As far as size I would call it a step down from the RAV4 (a big step, but a step nonetheless). And BTW it is a Corolla.
Oh, and I am very white and approaching 50, and although I am down with Slim Shady, I would look ridiculous in a Matrix, YO. When you get rap music on the splashpage for a car, it is probably not the smartest thing to be driving around LA 'cause like you could get jacked and that would be whack.
Aside from above comment, it just isn’t big enough.
The Focus is, at this point, an aging model.
Ford’s standard platforms tend to get recycled or overhauled after… oh, I guess 6 years or so.
IIRC, it was introduced in Europe in 1998 and the US in 1999. It really is due for replacement or serious makeover about right now.
Rumor mill seems to say that the US Focus is getting a serious makeover on the same chassis soon, while overseas gets a fancier car branded as a Focus. [1]
Worth considering.
Subaru Impreza wagon. WRX wagon if you have the cash and want the performance. If you need something a little bigger, the Legacy wagon is also very nice.
The Mazda 3 is very nice.
Some would say “aging model” would better tranlslate as “they’ve gotten the bugs out”. The question is, is it going to be a typical Ford POS. I tend to look at cars as to how they hold up over a long interval. I notice that all the older (10 yrs) Fords I see are just junk. All the interior/exterior trim is shot, stuff doesn’t work, paint is worn off the roof hood and trunk (from what, the car wash?) and the car is running badly. The cars just seem to fall apart under normal wear and tear. GM products seem to age better for crying out loud. Anyway, who is to say when the new Focus will get here, and wether it will be offered as a wagon. 
Ratty interior is not to modern standards. Cheap and uncomfortable. In my instance I value the interior more than the exterior. It is noisy. They are reliable, and AWD is a bonus. A little pricey if I recall. A decent one breaks 20k easy, no?
It is a hatchback, not a wagon. And substantially more expensive than a Civic. With worse mileage. The goal is to stay cheap. I am buying the car for cash, so every thousand I can save is still in the bank. 
I guess what I am saying is does anyone know if Honda or Toyota are going to port their primary compacts to wagon form anytime soon (maybe within the next year).
Now THAT I could get into. Gimme that in a pedestrian looking wagon. The thing is expensive though. But it is less gangsta looking than the Matrix. And it is too small, again as I said. More of a hatchback. There are a lot of cars in the “wagon look” but really just a hatchback class.
Are you serious? They use rap to advertise absolutely everything nowadays. Don’t let that influence your decision.