Need more backseat leg room

My '03 TDI wagon and my wife's '05 TDI wagon both suffer from the same problem; lack of leg room in the backseat. Regardless of the durability, low-cost to repair and high MPGs, we need to replace of of our wagons with something similar that has more rear leg room and less cargo room.

For those of you in a similar situation, what did you replace your MKIV TDI with? Newer Jetta Sportwagens don't offer any more rear leg room either, so those are not a possibility.

Jetta, Golf, Beetle are compact cars. I'd go to a mid size.
You could modify a Golf or a wagon, but I can't imagine how hard (or easy) that might be.

BobnOH said:

Jetta, Golf, Beetle are compact cars. I'd go to a mid size.
You could modify a Golf or a wagon, but I can't imagine how hard (or easy) that might be.

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I don't want to modify a MKIV wagon as that would be a safety risk.

sruchris said:

I don't want to modify a MKIV wagon as that would be a safety risk.

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Not if done properly. Still, it would be silly.
I was shopping for a mid size for the spouse last year, replacement for a '97 Accord. Ended up with a CR-V. One vehicle that got real high ratings were the Cadillac wagons, very hard to find.
Can't go wrong with Honda/Toyota/Nissan/Subaru.

try the subaru out back,bigger than all the regular VW line. Reliable, boring and 4wd. I've owned them and they are bullet proof on balance. Resale is very good. It is a Subaru,no drag racer.

BobnOH said:

Not if done properly. Still, it would be silly.
I was shopping for a mid size for the spouse last year, replacement for a '97 Accord. Ended up with a CR-V. One vehicle that got real high ratings were the Cadillac wagons, very hard to find.
Can't go wrong with Honda/Toyota/Nissan/Subaru.

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Haha, wanna bet? Spend some time in our shop.

FWIW, the Passats (all of them) are larger (longer) and have better rear leg room. The NMS Passat is pretty roomy inside in the back, but you are limited to a sedan.

The new Tiguan rides on a longer wheelbase, if you are wanting something of that nature.

Really just need to go to an auto show and sit in some cars to see what appeals to you.

Right now, for new non-Volkswagen non-luxury brand sedans, the Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata/Kia Optima twins, and the Toyota Camry are probably my favorite driving cars, followed closely by the Chevrolet Malibu.

Customer of mine just picked up a really nice CPO Audi A6 sedan that is pretty roomy in the back seat.

And if you can deal with RWD, the leftover S-class based ChryCo sedans (the Charger and 300) are really nice driving cars but the Pentastar engine seems to have a never ending litany of teething troubles. The Hemi is well sorted, but drinks gas. If you can find an older one with the 3.5L engine, those are pretty good.

Some Accord models still let you row your own gears, that alone would make it worth a look to me.

Nissans do not age well, their CVTs are a liability (same for Subaru), and are still built pretty cheaply underneath. Toyota has injected some improvements into Subaru, but mostly with smaller subsystems and such, nothing sweeping yet.

When my wife and I decided we wanted something with more rear seat room over our 1998 Jetta, we got a 2004 Passat. Which we still have, and I still like it, and find it to be a very solid good driving car even after all these years.

oilhammer said:

Haha, wanna bet? Spend some time in our shop. .....................................

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Yea I'll betcha, use my own money too! Wait, I already did that.
Seriously though, thanks for chiming in. No ones sees as many cars in distress.
Couldn't find any solid numbers, but it looks like Honda sold about 3.5 times as many vehicles in the US in 2013.

I just like to point out the fact that ALL cars have issues, none of them are perfect. We do LOTS of bad automatic transmissions on Hondas here, lots of evap system problems, some EGR issues, VVT issues, lots of A/C compressors, engine mounts, loads of catalysts, some window regulators, door latches, and other items. They are not perfect.

My sister bought a Civic the same month as I bought my 2004 Passat. It spent several days getting work done under warranty the first year she had it. Its left rear shock was blown before it was due for an air filter.

She moved up to a minivan (Sienna) after two more kids, but still jokes about how awful that Honda was.

I have lots of Hondas in my extended family. I would consider them good cars, but again, not perfect. And sadly, the newer they get, the worse they get. As in, I'd be shocked if a 1995 Civic needed ANYTHING outside of scheduled PM for the first 150k miles of use. But a 2005? Nope. A 2010? No way. I have replaced more engines mounts, starters, and water pumps on the previous gen Civics in the last year than I think I did on all the old 1990s era Civics in 20 years.

My 2013 Passat had lots of leg room in the back. I would look for a 2015 new/used if you like the tdi's.

oilhammer said:

Haha, wanna bet? Spend some time in our shop.

The new Tiguan rides on a longer wheelbase, if you are wanting something of that nature.

When my wife and I decided we wanted something with more rear seat room over our 1998 Jetta, we got a 2004 Passat. Which we still have, and I still like it, and find it to be a very solid good driving car even after all these years.

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I should have added our criteria to the OP.

The new car needs to have:

1) Ample back seat leg room
2) Leather(ette) heated seats
3) Power sunroof
4) A hatch with some cargo room (less room than the mkiv Jetta wagon is fine)
5) Satellite navigation
6) Auto transmission
7) And around $13k or less

We've looked at a few 2011 and 2012 Tiguans. The 2.0L engine problems (timing chain tensioner, turbo, clogged intake, etc...) kinda scare me off. A Passat might work, thanks for the suggestion.

After years of driving the MKIV wagons, it's going a challenge to find a better replacement!

The previous gen Tiguan is based on the 5th gen Golf, so I do not think you would be happy with that if you felt that the wagon Golf was too small.

You have a criteria that is likely not to be found on all marks.

oilhammer said:

The previous gen Tiguan is based on the 5th gen Golf, so I do not think you would be happy with that if you felt that the wagon Golf was too small.
You have a criteria that is likely not to be found on all marks.

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The backseat of the first gen Tiguans are very spacious. I was able to sit in the back without my legs touching the front seats, which were positioned correctly for me. My legs barely touch in a 2015 Golf Sportwagen and they definitely touch in my mkiv wagon.

Seems a Passat would fit the bill. Nephew loves his, believe it's about an '09.
The Gen.5 Hondas seem bullet proof but way too old imho.
Family has a couple Subarus they like.

BobnOH said:

Seems a Passat would fit the bill. Nephew loves his, believe it's about an '09.
The Gen.5 Hondas seem bullet proof but way too old imho.
Family has a couple Subarus they like.

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We don't need or want AWD. A FWD CRV, albeit sacrificing some quality in ride and trim, fits the bill too.

You might want to look at the Mazda CX-5 or MPV. As oilhammer mentioned, you will have a tough time meeting all of your requirements.

FWIW, I picked up a relatively inexpensive Accord Sport 6MT. It does not meet most of your criteria, but it does have a huge back seat. I'd be jumping up and down about this car if only it came as a wagon. I knew this would be a limitation when buying it, but am always amazed/dismayed at how many times this car sits home because it cannot fit stuff that our wagon or (cough) SUV can.

Living in a state where Subarus are the defacto official vehicle, I would advise you to take a hard look before jumping in. From the number of rides we have given to friends and neighbors and the number of times we have trailered these cars for friends, I don't see the reliability that they are reputed to have. Their fuel economy is nothing to write home about either. It might be my small sample size though.

Subies have never impressed me much either. If they are not burning oil they are leaking it. They rust underneath bad. Most of them need head gaskets as routine PM it seems. And the transmissions they use (all of them, manual, Jatco slushbox, and the newer CVTs) are not without problems either.

They found a niche with only selling AWD cars here, but I have to tell you, my 2004 4mo Passat wagon has 220k miles and its driveline is all original, has zero rust, no rattles or squeaks, runs like a top, and its doors still close with a solid German "ker-CHUNK". And it goes through snow like a yak on meth.

squeegee_boy said:

Living in a state where Subarus are the defacto official vehicle, I would advise you to take a hard look before jumping in. From the number of rides we have given to friends and neighbors and the number of times we have trailered these cars for friends, I don't see the reliability that they are reputed to have. Their fuel economy is nothing to write home about either. It might be my small sample size though.

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Alaska "bling" = duct tape on a Subaru.

As far as the reliability though, it really depends on the situation, the driver, the environment, etc. If the car is always around saltwater, isn't properly undercoated, etc etc it's going to deteriorate. I grew up in AK and we had 2 mid 90's Legacy wagons. They lasted forever because my old man was meticulous with his maintenance. The average person has a hard time scheduling an oil change. Those Subaru's would still be alive today if they weren't involved in wrecks.

Newer vehicles are essentially built with a "shelf life". There's plenty of data out there that tells manufacturers how long the really need to make their vehicles trouble free.

FWIW, my sister had 2 Passat cars that were both plagued with electrical gremlins that were being chased around by the dealers until she got fed up. If you're still looking for a manual that lowers the choices even more, but the suggested Mazda isn't a bad vehicle at all. My gf drives a newer Escape and it's a pretty solid car. The 4 Runners can handle what you throw at them too.

Is a truck out of the question? There are some great fuel mileage trucks that can offer ample room, storage, creature features, that you could need.

squeegee_boy said:

You might want to look at the Mazda CX-5 or MPV. As oilhammer mentioned, you will have a tough time meeting all of your requirements.

Living in a state where Subarus are the defacto official vehicle, I would advise you to take a hard look before jumping in.

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Thanks for the advice. A CX-5 is on our list to check out, however we're not considering Subaru due to the cost, unreliability and terrible MPGs. So far, our list is:

1. Gen 1 FWD Tiguan
2. Passat NMS/B7 TDI or gasser
3. Late 3rd or 4th gen CRV
4. CX-5

We're basically looking for a replacement for our current '05 Jetta BEW auto wagon with a larger backseat, slightly less cargo room and sat nav. No mini vans. No trucks. No large SUVs.