Hi Scotty
OK - I know you don't rate VW's but I currently drive an 03 Jetta TDI 5 sp manual diesel. Bought it 2nd hand at 10 yrs. It's done me very well commuting 4 hrs a day (yes, that sucked). Used to get 1100 km/tank and it's now down to about 950 and loses power even on slight hills. It's done over 500k kms on the original clutch but it's time to sell Old Bessie for parts and get something newer.
I have a max of about 15k Canadian to spend and wanted to get an SUV to drive a bit higher off the road and to throw a canoe on top, and maybe tow a trailer now and then.
I'd PREFER a manual transmission but they are hard to find. I'm only seeing Jeeps (which I won't buy bc my Liberty crapped out after 8 years), various Hyundai products, Mazda Cx5s, a few Nissan Qashquai's and VW Tiguans.
Are ANY of them worth considering?
Thanks
Su
Do not buy any of the vehicles you lasted mentioned-they will have problems. As far the Jeeps- they can be decent. The motors used- AMC 4.0 I6, 3.8 and Pentastar V6 are all decent motors. Try and find a Jeep Wrangler that hasn't been rusted or driven the heck out of. It can be a good vehicle.
You can also consider the Subaru Forester with a manual because they made those with a manual till 2017-2018. They were great cars with a manual and less troublesome than ones with an automatic. Finding a Toyota SUV with a manual is hard since you would have to go back to the early 2000s Rav4 and older and they are hard to find compared to the forester.
I've been where you are, twice in the past 4 years, each time was a month long all day search on autotrader/cargurus/autotempest/craigslist/FB marketplace.
My recommendations for crossover SUV's with MT are the Subaru Forester or Mazda CX-5 (2018 or earlier since no MT afterwards).
I settled for the Mazda CX-5 both times, previously a 2014 model, and currently a 2018 model, both with the same 2.0L NA GDI Skyactiv 156 HP engine.
The Mazda CX-5 is rated for 2000 lbs max towing capacity, just understand you'll sacrifice more of the little power you have since Mazda never gave them the 2.5L upgrade since they planned on discontinuing the MT option in North America.
Towing-wise, I've never needed to yet, though the previous first owner of the 2018 CX-5 towed a trailer all across Canada as he was relocating (East -> West), and left me his tow hitch, and there's no issues that I can see so far after a year of ownership.
The Forester has AWD as a standard option if you care for it, but I found the Forester asking prices were always more than the CX-5's by a couple grand in my area (Vancouver, BC).
From my experience, since MT crossover SUV's are so rare, the moment you find something decent, pick it up, since they will probably go fast.
Good luck!
