I have a few requirements, and it seems that I can't find any cars out there within the last 3 years that suit me.
1) Seats 5. I have three kids.
2) Can add a hitch receiver to it. I have a pair of hitch-mount bike racks.
3) Can toss a fully assembled bike in the trunk. In case of Thunderstorm.
4) Should fit in garage. New house, cramped garage. I have 3 kids.
5) Manual. I like to drive.
6) Close to, if not significantly more than, 200hp. I like to drive.
7) Sportscar Suspension. I like to drive. Fast. Around curves.
I currently have a Mazda6 wagon. Suits me perfectly, but is 10 years old. Since 1/1 this year, I've put about $2500 into it and now am facing a $500+ job to repair the shift linkage cables.
I've looked at the Mazda3 series cars, too small.
I've looked at Subaru's, but I live in flat suburbia and have no desire to be climbing mountains or offroading. I like the idea of AWD for winter and wet weather driving, but I don't want to sacrifice sports-car-like handling. And the Impreza-based models aren't big enough for the bike, or powerful enough for merging onto the highway. It's an uphill short ramp with a very tight 90 degree turn.
I tried a CX-5, but during the test drive, when I wanted to see what pickup it had, I realized that my slow, conservative driving already had the pedal to the metal and was barely moving. And it doesn't fit an assembled bike.
Suggestions? What do you like?
I'm just too picky, but that's what happens when your "perfect match" begins to age.