I've been driving a '95 Bonneville since my sophomore year in high school, and it's time to get something new.

Right now I'm looking at a Mazda 6 five-door. The Pontiac has a fair amount of power and room, so I'm looking to bridge the gap between that and a small, zippy car and get something on the sporty side of midsize.

The catch is that I have to be able to transport my goalie gear, which fills out a bag that's around 44"x20"x22". The Bonneville's trunk opening isn't wide enough to get the bag in without jumping on it, so I've been putting it in the back seat for years. It fits into the hatch of the 6 just fine.

Is there anything with that much room that's a nice driver other than the 6? I'd like to avoid a wagon if at all possible, and I don't think any of the small hatches will do as I'd like to have the bag fit without having to lay seat(s) down.

Just looking for ideas I may not have considered before (meaning Accord/Camry/Legacy/Passat).

Realistically, I'm trying to stay under $23k, but any suggestion is a good one.

[Edited on October 26, 2006 at 4:08 AM. Reason : r]

10/26/2006 3:51:39 AM

new vw rabbit.

plenty of interior room (hatchback), decent engine (5-cylinder rated 170bhp), and very affordable (start at ~$15k)



[Edited on October 26, 2006 at 9:45 AM. Reason : bag may or may not fit with the seats up...]

10/26/2006 9:44:31 AM

Used WRX? I'm not sure of hte space on the boot though.

10/26/2006 10:16:00 AM

'07 GTI

10/26/2006 10:33:27 AM

gti? rabbit? did either of you read?

he doesn't want to fold the seats down when he shoves his stuff in teh back. unless i'm mistaken, that shit ain't going to fit.

[Edited on October 26, 2006 at 10:45 AM. Reason : *]

10/26/2006 10:34:44 AM

5 series wagon

10/26/2006 11:06:39 AM

I dont know if its big enough in the back, but the Toyota Matrix seems like it might do the job. Its built on the same platform as a pontiac vibe so you can check that out as well. The matrix has an AWD v6 model which I checked into when I was car shopping and I was impressed.

10/26/2006 11:24:03 AM

WRX was what I was interested in originally, and even the wagon doesn't have anything close to enough space.

10/26/2006 11:42:54 AM

Quote :

"gti? rabbit? did either of you read?"

Quote :

"bag may or may not fit with the seats up..."

obviously i did.. but off the top of my head, i dont know the dimensions of the mk5 "trunk"

10/26/2006 2:42:13 PM