Where Your Author Seeks a Green Wagon Replacement
TTAC’s a great place to share car search stories (particularly for used cars), and I’ve taken advantage of this soapbox on a couple of distinct occasions when looking to replace one of my close personal rides with something else. I’ve gathered you all here today because that time has come once again.
The Subaru Outback is going to glide off into the fall sunset, and soon.
This change of heart is not just boredom (partially), but rather because usage needs have changed. In June I started a new job and career, and the daily commute increased from 6.6 miles round-trip to 18.2 miles in its shortest iteration.
Smooth roads of suburbia were exchanged for the rougher ones of the urban landscape. It’s a place filled with two-lane roads and lots of stoplights. On the plus side, there’s no must be at the office always mandate any longer. In a more relaxed and modern fashion, working from home is allowed. That meant the necessity for something snow-capable and all-wheel drive went away. Now, my focus can go elsewhere — just like the Subaru’s fuel bill, which doubled in June.
Additionally, it was readily apparent that a Subaru CVT is less than ideal in stop-start traffic. The Outback loses more points with its somewhat agricultural suspension setup, which feels sloppy when the going gets rough. The sound insulation could be better as well — I’ve found an increasing reliance on the volume knob of the stereo.
Those things in mind, I set out on a basic search with a few priorities in mind:
- Hatchback/wagon format
- Real transmission
- Comfort/refinement
- Leather interior, not black
- Fuel economy
- Used
- MY 2014+
I’d had my eye on a hatchback that seemingly fills these requirements: the Kia Niro. It’s efficient, has great reviews, a dual-clutch auto, and is available with lots of standard equipment and leather seats. However, availability of said mythical Niro is an issue. Seems almost nobody’s bought the Niro in the only trim where leather is commonly found — Touring (rarely selected option on EX). Further, of the 10 or so used Tourings available nationwide, none of them have stone leather. Dealers around here ask about $30,000 for a new Niro Touring with a light interior (which is only available on a couple of paint colors).
The Niro’s not old enough to be available in the trim and color I want as a used proposition, so we’ll open up the floor to other suggestions. The priorities above can be thought of more like rules, by the way. Surely there are several options out there on the used market.
[Images: Corey Lewis, Chris Tonn/TTAC]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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Motor Trend's long-term verdict on the Kia Niro: "Its 9.6-second saunter to 60 indicates that, like many hybrids, this is not a quick vehicle... hampered by a transmission that performs clumsily at crawling speeds...But what bothers me more is how easily noise seeps into the cabin."
I haven't seen this mentioned yet, as I don't know if it hits all the marks (like everything else suggested), but what about a second gen Volt? I have a couple of friends with them, and they absolutely love the car. Enough tech to keep you happy, decently engaging drive, liftback. It is a plug in hybrid, but you can probably just run gas all the time and still be ahead of the game.