Budget Station Wagons

Kia Rondo: A seven-passenger favorite

Budget wagons come in two sizes: small and smaller. Reviews say the most compact budget wagons (discussed further below) are good for families with one or two kids.

But there is one budget wagon that can haul a lot of people: the Kia Rondo (*Est. $17,495 to $22,295). The Rondo seats seven -- two more than most wagons -- although testers say the seventh seat is a tight squeeze, even for a child. With three rows of seats, the Rondo competes directly with the small Mazda5 minivan (*Est. $17,995 to $22,675). Both have proven reliable, and both get similar gas mileage -- about 22 mpg in combined city/highway driving, putting the Rondo among the more fuel-efficient midsize station wagons, according to the EPA. Neither car has much cargo space with the third row in use (about enough for one suitcase). With the third seat folded, the Rondo provides 35 cubic feet of cargo space -- about half that of a full-size wagon (by comparison, the Mazda5 minivan offers 44 cubic feet).

Unlike the Mazda5 minivan, the Kia Rondo lacks minivan-style sliding doors. However, the Rondo gets better safety ratings than the Mazda5, thanks to its standard electronic stability control. Only one thing really bothers experts about the Rondo: Kia's "horrible first-year depreciation," as Frank Williams puts it at The Truth About Cars. "You can expect the Rondo's value to drop by about a third of its sticker price as soon as you drive it off the lot." Kelley Blue Book projects that a new 2009 Kia Rondo will lose 57 percent of its value in three years.

Two new budget wagons for 2009

Two new budget wagons have arrived for 2009: the Hyundai Elantra Touring (*est. $18,495 to $20,795) and Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen (*est. $19,075 to $23,870). Both are about the same size as the Kia Rondo, but they seat the usual five passengers with a normal wagon-sized cargo bay.

The Hyundai wagon was so new that at the time we checked, few sources had reviewed it. Some include it in their blanket recommendation of the Hyundai Elantra lineup. Car and Driver does devote space to the Elantra Touring wagon; experts there say it's a great value, with a 65-cubic-foot cargo capacity that is "exceptional for any wagon, let alone a budget one." However, they say the Elantra Touring is boring, both to look at and to drive.

Critics have eagerly awaited the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen for two years, but now that it's here, they're giving it mixed reviews. The SportWagen offers several different engines, including a TDI "clean diesel" version that gets better fuel economy than any other wagon (30 mpg city, 41 mpg highway and 34 mpg mixed with the six-speed manual transmission). Car and Driver testers say the SportWagen TDI isn't sluggish like diesels from the past, but they point out that it's also not cheap: the diesel version costs over $6,000 more than the gasoline version, although you can take a $1,300 income tax credit for having a clean-burning vehicle. You won't save a lot of money on fuel, either. Because diesel fuel now costs more than gasoline, the EPA estimates the diesel SportWagen will actually cost you $30 more per year for fuel, compared to the base gasoline model that gets 10 fewer miles per gallon. (Of course, that will fluctuate as gas prices seesaw in the future.)

Compact budget wagons: Restyled Pontiac Vibe wins

Even less expensive are the compact budget wagons. These usually offer enough room for five adults, but with a smaller cargo bay. Most get good safety scores. In this category, we've seen an about-face from critics: They used to prefer the Toyota Matrix (*Est. $16,290 to $21,950), but now they're more likely to recommend its less expensive twin, the Pontiac Vibe (*Est. $16,735 to $21,510).

The Matrix and Vibe are identical in every important way. They're built on the same platform, share the same engines, transmissions and safety features, have the same dimensions and deliver the same gas mileage (28 mpg combined). Both offer all-wheel drive. Both have been redesigned for 2009. But while MotorWeek notes that Pontiac put "its own boy-racer stamp on the Vibe," various critics describe the Matrix's new styling as "bumpy," "bloated" or "snail from outer space."

In the past, experts gave Matrix the edge because Toyota had a better reliability and resale record than Pontiac. But now, consumer surveys show that the less expensive Vibe has been just as reliable as the Matrix, and Kelley Blue Book predicts they'll both retain their value better than the average wagon.

Another Toyota-owned offering, the Scion xB (*Est. $15,750 to $16,700) uses the same 2.4-liter engine as the upper-level Vibe and Matrix. But that's where the similarities end. While the Vibe is low and glassy, the xB is tall and boxy, with short windows and thick pillars that testers say interfere with visibility and make for a gloomy cabin. Before its 2008 redesign, the cheap, edgy, fuel-sipping xB was the critics' favorite small wagon. But the redesign smoothed out the boxy edges, packed on 636 additional pounds and cut the fuel economy to 24 mpg combined. Although reviews say the xB is still inexpensive, reliable, safe and roomy, they say it's not the class leader it once was. "The xB has lost its quirkiness and high mpg cred," says William C. Montgomery at The Truth About Cars. "Send this one over to The Ministry of Silly Cars, stat."

Chevy has made some improvements to its Chevrolet HHR (*Est. $19,380 to $25,475), but critics say it needs more work. With a throwback look based on the 1949 Chevy Suburban, the HHR is usually compared favorably to the retro Chrysler PT Cruiser (*Est. $17,750 to $24,260) -- the HHR has better crash-test scores, more cargo space and better gas mileage (25 mpg vs. 21 mpg). But although Chevy has added standard electronic stability control and even more cargo room (nearly 58 cubic feet, or 63 cubic feet in a two-seater panel version), the HHR still trails the budget wagon category. Testers say its noisy engine still feels lethargic, and braking is not as prompt as competitors'. The HHR has also been one of the least reliable wagons, according to a leading consumer survey, and it lags behind other small wagons in one major crash test.

Two budget wagons are not recommended by any of our sources: the Chrysler PT Cruiser and the Kia Spectra5 (*Est. $16,695). Unlike the PT Cruiser, which is widely criticized (see Introduction), reviewers don't seem to dislike the Kia Spectra5 -- they've just been largely ignoring it since it was introduced in 2004. Experts that do review this compact economy wagon say it's sprightly and practical, delivering 27 mpg, although the usual worries about Kia's resale value crop up.