Next DD? CX5 vs Qashqai vs Crosstrek
 

April's 2007 Mazda5 is rusting away. At 188K, this manual shift mini minivan has been a decent vehicle apart from rust.

So, here are the requirements...
1. MUST be manual shift- as in 3 pedals- dealers keep trying to tell me that paddle shift is manual- its not.
2. April wants it to be a vehicle that is easy to get in to- For reference, she hates getting into my s2000 and lowered civic because of her back.
3. Room in the trunk area- her 5 has 700 L and that seems about right for us.
4. Absolutely nothing domestic.

So, after looking about (and her saying no to a new Civic Hatch), the Mazda CX5 (2018 is the last year for manual shift cx5's), Nissan Qashqai, and Subaru Crosstrek are the only ones I would consider.
Does anyone have any experience with any of these? Reliability? Every one of these are direct injected and that's a big unknown for me- I'd likely have to run a catch can.
My opinion is all of these types of vehicles are not my cup of octane, but its not my car

okay, have at it!
darcy

my wife really liked the crosstrek when we test drove one, the doors are a bit tinny to me though for some odd reason. Though I love the new khaki blue colour. But if the Mazda has been good to her for all these years then stick to a brand you have experienced and liked. As far as direct injection goes a catch can won't save you, it just delays the inevitable, one reason I chose the Honda HR-V.

Fords seem to be getting the worst of the DI engines side effects, I am not sure how much the Mazda engine shares with Ford engines but that may be something to think about. In terms of interior finishes the Mazda looks the best to me, the Crosstrek seems less upscale to me. I know nothing about the Nissan, I've never owned one in my life. One SUV I really like is the new Mitsubishi cross, I am not sure if it comes in a manual or not, but it has a great 10 year warranty and a great awd system. The Hyundai Kona looks pretty decent too, once again I don't know if it comes in a manual.

A friend of mine just bought a 2018 Qashqai aka Kumquat as per Jeremy Clarkson - and I honestly didn't like riding passenger in it. It felt very cramped, the front seat was positioned weird and wasn't adjustable aside from the standard recline/slide movement, but then again I'm 6'1 so most cars aside from my truck feel cramped for me. Then there was the ride, his is the Sport model and boy did they make it "feel sporty" - it rode just as hard as my S2000 on coilovers. All else fails just play some tunes from the quality stereo right? Wrong. The audio system is total crap and this is from a fully loaded model - I don't even want to know how the base model sounds. Plus there was a nasty wheel vibration on the highway which is just due to too poor balancing from the factory, which he made an appointment to have addressed, but overall I did not like the Qashqai.

I can't really speak for the other two.

I get a good laugh out of Nissan commercials about pro pilot assist, who on earth needs assistance staying in the centre of their lane that they need to activate such electronic nannies on the fly. weird but I guess some people fall for that stuff.

Have you considered a Honda Fit? They're very small, but the driving position is quite elevated, its something I dislike but my grandma loved as a result of her bad back.

Good suggestion- I have considered it, but she won't go for it :(
The Mazda dealer offers extra incentives for being previous owners.

Those Nissan commercials make it seem likes its nearly impossible to be a driver without help from electronics. "Don't panic- just press a button and the car will get you where you need to be."

Nothing from Hyundai comes in a manual except the cars- all of their CUV's have 2 pedals.

thanks for the suggestions and opinions so far!
darcy

if your wife has back issues, driver comfort is of the utmost importance, it is for my wife as well and even me in some vehicle conditions. Try out the cars on the list and see which one works best in terms of comfort. I know for me I have to have leather seats in all of my vehicles as they offer more support consistently over the life of the seat compared to cloth.

we have a Forester - and like it a lot lot.
but think of the Crosstrek as our next car possibly

i've driven it as a loaner and I like it a lot --

the problem for you might be the trim levels with a MT. i don't think you can get a mt with eyesight in subarus and unsure how the others on your list work with this.

Lurker coming out alert.

I picked up a 2018 Crosstrek limited with CVT in April. I really didn't test drive any other vehicle in it's class because I always liked my Subaru's.
This is my first automatic car and I don't mind the CVT at all but won't compare to a DSG.
During summer I've been able to push the tank to 910 kms which was averaging about 6.3L/100.
The interior is quite the upgrade compared previous models which was cheap plastic interior that everyone complained about.
I have the limited trim and the Harmon Kardon speakers aren't that bad either.
So far no issues and I've put 20k on it already.

Friend from the gym likes his a lot- his is an auto, but we're only manuals. We can get the up model with the manual but eyesight is only for the auto cars.
I was really hoping the Forester came with manual, but alas, no.
darcy