Help my Dad find a used car with AWD

My soon to be 64YO Dad is shopping for his next vehicle. He's been driving a 5 speed base model Pontiac Vibe for the past few years, which has been about as reliable as gravity. However, driving a stick in traffic everyday is getting taxing for him at his age. He's been consulting me on what to consider, but we have conflicting tastes, so I'm not really sure what to suggest.

Here are some factors he's either set in stone, or that I've picked up when he shows me cars he's shopping:

-He seems to be shopping from about a $3-7k price range, maybe a little more, on cars about 2004 or newer
-The car must be AWD, Automatic and have 4 doors
-Needs to be at least the same size as his Vibe or bigger
-He's extremely particular about gas mileage. He seems to scoff at anything that has an EPA city rating closer to 15 than 20, and/or anything with an EPA average of 20 or less. Despite his Vibe getting much better MPG's than its EPA suggestions, he's pretty set on using them as his measuring stick. That basically writes off any truck based SUV's or anything with more than 6 cylinders.
-Obviously, has to be able to run on 87 octane
-He doesn't care at all about performance/handling
-He likes the utility he gets from his Vibe, but doesn't need it as he has an F150 he uses to haul stuff, and my Mom is likely to drive Chrysler minivans until she can no longer do so
-It needs to be "reliable". I think he knows he isn't going to get 1ZZ Toyota reliability with the next vehicle but would like to get as close as possible. For the record, he's going to type "[Make] [Model] reliability/issues/problems/etc." into Google and will want to see the least possible stuff pop up. FWIW, I had him looking at Foresters and CR-V's and he decided that the Forester sounded more reliable. Although, I think the 3rd Gen CR-V had a lot of horror stories that helped sway that
-Despite my attempts to talk up some nice AWD E46's, he WILL NOT consider anything that is of European origin
-He's also leary of "luxury" Japanese brands, but will at least look into them
-He seems to be shopping more for at least some luxury. He started out looking at small SUV's (like the aforementioned CRV and Forester) but has shifted more toward stuff from Cadillac/Mercury/Lincoln. He's starting to talk up leather and heated seats.
-FWIW, he says a Dodge Magnum is too big, but has no problem with the latest Taurus...
-Prior experience with them has him writing off the Escape/Mariner and Caliber/Compass/Patriot, and he seems to have a less than favorable opinion of anything from FCA (especially Pacifica's/Journey's/etc.), although I think he could be talked into an AWD 300/Charger

In our latest session, he seemed to be most interested in the Cadillac CTS/STS and Ford/Lincoln/Mercury Fusion/Taurus/Milan/Zephyr/etc. and still lightly perused Foresters and CRV's

Anybody have some good suggestions? Or know of anything that fit the criteria or tempt him, but that he should stay far away from?
 

How about an awd Vibe or Matrix? They do exist and he is familiar with them just with two more traction wheels..

4 cyl Rav4 is the droid you are looking for.  

Every brand makes a Rav4 competitor (small-mid Cute Ute.)  Pick the one from the brand he trusts the most.  

Might want to look at an 09 or10 awd Acura TL.  If he can get over the beak on the front.  They look better 2012 and later.  I have a 6 speed 2013 TL and a 14 base TL.  They seem to run fine on regular thought they call for premium. 

Up until the "not european" part i was gonna suggest a jag X-Type, although i admit im not sure about the reliability yet either. But prices are....suprisingly reasonable

Suzuki Kizashi.  AWD, automatic only, very nice interior and feature set, decent gas mileage, not a hatchback but decent amount of room inside. Typical Japanese reliability. 

I like Kizashis a lot and glad to see them mentioned but I think the v6/awd Rav4 of the generation pictured above is pretty ideal here. It might be tough finding a truly nice one for 7k, though. Worth trying for!

Taurus based interceptor? Awd, turbo, he likes the Taurus platform, and at the state auctions I see them going between $3-5k most of the time.

Don't know much about reliability, but I really really want one.

Don't know much about reliability, but I really really want one.

Depending who you ask around here, if the water pump goes you might as well replace the engine. It does legitimately call for 10 hours labor.  

Dang, I had never heard of the Kizashi, learn something new every day here!

I was going to suggest the AWD Matrix too. 

What about the Sx4?

2009 Outback with low miles

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/cars-sale/2009-subaru-outback-with-79k-nmfa-5500/152408/page1/

fusion66 said:

2009 Outback with low miles

https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/cars-sale/2009-subaru-outback-with-79k-nmfa-5500/152408/page1/

 

Still sitting here! Make a hell of a good car for someone. Once the truck is fixed I'll have to get serious about selling it.

John Welsh said:

4 cyl Rav4 is the droid you are looking for.  

Every brand makes a Rav4 competitor (small-mid Cute Ute.)  Pick the one from the brand he trusts the most.  

This is the answer to the question. I have 2 in the stable, with teenagers driving them. Rock solid in 2 years of ownership. The lower mile ones will be tough to find in that budget but patience they are out there.  When looking I regularly saw them with 200k miles on them, they all drove well and seemed like they had plenty of life left in them.  I passed since I wanted to get a vehicle that would get them through High school and college with a yr or 2 of use for first job b4 needing either major money or replacement. 

No self-respecting gentleman would be caught dead in a cute-ute. 

Clearly, the answer in this case is the Lincoln MKZ with AWD.

1988RedT2 said:

No self-respecting gentleman would be caught dead in a cute-ute. 

 

Why not?

Here's a real outlier.  The Toyota Venza was offered with 4cyl (2.7L) with either fwd or awd.  This will get you a Cross-over SUV that is larger than the Rav4 and quite a  bit more prestigious than the Rav4.  It however is not a Lexus which your father might see as too pretentious yet it still could be had with leather.  Bonus points for not calling for Premium Fuel and still returning an epa rating of 20/23/28.  Should continue to return his Toyota reliability.  

Sample

There is a ton of love in my family and on these boards for the Mazda CX-5.

Lexus RX Hybrid. Or Highlander hybrid. May have to accept higher mileage and/or expand the price range.

I bought an 06 Highlander Hybrid in January (and sold to a relative in Feb). I've been watching them before and since and you can get a nice one all day for <7k in the 06-07 years. The next gen are not usually found much lower than 10. Early RX hybrid are roughly the same money as the highlander other than being less common below ~6k.  Definitely a cool car, but not noticeably better than a 3.5 Rav4 in anything but knee room and having a small 3rd row. MPG and speed are similar (assuming awd for the highlander which makes it substantially faster) with the Rav4 being faster in the long run. Both 6.x seconds to 60. I assume the 3.5 Rav is ultimately slightly more reliable.

I'm on my 3rd Outback.  Started with an '01 when I was looking for something with better gas mileage than my '93 Pathfinder.  I was looking at RAV4s & CRV's, but couldn't fathom the high price they were commanding.  Got the '01 at the suggestion of a friend.  Later upgraded to an '08 for heated seats and 100K less miles.  Sold the '01 to some friends who loved it.  Got totaled with ~220K miles and no engine/tranny issues.  Sold the '08 when I got a '17.  The only thing I don't like about Subarus is that they don't have CarPlay, and their voice recognition sucks when trying to use bluetooth.  I get 21 mpg in town, 28-30 hwy. from the 2.5 4 cyl.  Great back up camera, plenty of storage, comfortable for long drives.  

Legacy, Impreza, Suzuki SX4 or AWD Lancer

dxman92 said:

How about an awd Vibe or Matrix? They do exist and he is familiar with them just with two more traction wheels..

My exact thaught after reading the want list. Get one with an auto and move on with life. 

If he values reliability, forget Suzuki.  Google foo their customers complaints.  You will be reading for 100 years.

HoserRacing said:

I'm on my 3rd Outback.  Started with an '01 when I was looking for something with better gas mileage than my '93 Pathfinder.  I was looking at RAV4s & CRV's, but couldn't fathom the high price they were commanding.  Got the '01 at the suggestion of a friend.  Later upgraded to an '08 for heated seats and 100K less miles.  Sold the '01 to some friends who loved it.  Got totaled with ~220K miles and no engine/tranny issues.  Sold the '08 when I got a '17.  The only thing I don't like about Subarus is that they don't have CarPlay, and their voice recognition sucks when trying to use bluetooth.   

 

Being an old guy, I’m going out on a limb and say the last couple of points aren’t going to be a big deal for Dad...