Which Stickshift Wagon Would You Support? 2003 Subaru Outback vs 2003 Toyota Matrix

If you’re looking for a cheap, reliable car, choosing one with a manual transmission usually eliminates a lot of potential headaches. Automatics need care and feeding to keep them healthy, and you can never tell how well someone took care of one. With a manual, as long as it goes into all the gears and the clutch doesn’t slip, there’s not a whole lot that can go wrong. But convincing someone who isn’t a car person to choose a stickshift car is often an uphill battle. Nevertheless, we’re going to take a look at a couple of user-friendly manuals today that might fit the bill.

Yesterday was all about seating capacity, with two seven-passenger vehicles battling it out. I couldn’t tell from the comments how this one was going to go, but in the end, the Kia Sedona won by a pretty sizeable margin, despite having some confusion over its title status.

I think that’s the right answer. The first-generation Chrysler Pacifica is a neat car, but if someone needs capacity for cheap, it’s hard to recommend anything other than a good basic minivan. It’ll do everything you need it to, and shouldn’t cause you much trouble along the way.

Only once in all my years of friends coming to me for car advice have I convinced someone to buy a stickshift car instead of an automatic. The car was a Ford Escort wagon, and it served them well for a good long while. Many other friends have chosen cheap cars with automatics, because they either couldn’t or wouldn’t drive a manual, and without fail, the component that gave them problems was the transmission. Manuals are just more durable, and if you don’t have a lot to spend, you don’t have a lot to spend on repairs. So why not eliminate that particular failure point? Today we’re going to look at two wagons that are common, practical, known to be pretty reliable, and have three pedals on the floor. Let’s check them out.

2003 Subaru Outback – $2,495

Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter DOHC flat 4, five-speed manual, AWD

Location: Gladstone, OR

Odometer reading: 194,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives well

Here it is, the unofficial official car of Portland, Oregon. They’re as common as Labradors, craft beers, and fledgling bands. Walk down the side streets of southeast Portland and, among all the old Crafstmans, you’ll see an Outback in roughly every third driveway, often parked next to a Toyota Prius. What you won’t find, however, are a lot of manual transmissions; like most cars in the past thirty years or so, if you wanted an Outback with a stick, you had to specifically seek it out.

The Outback is, of course, powered by Subaru’s trademark flat-four, a generally stout engine with the unfortunate habit of springing leaks from its head gaskets. It powers all four wheels all the time through a five-speed manual transmission. This one is approaching 200,000 miles, which probably means the head gaskets have already been replaced once. It’s being sold by a dealer, so don’t expect any maintenance records. Check for leaks on the underside of the heads, and make sure there’s no water in the oil, before signing any papers.

It looks nice inside; someone obviously took care of this car, and didn’t trash it. Even the back cargo area, where the dogs ride, looks good. The ad lists a whole bunch of options on the inside, but of course, since it’s a dealership,it  doesn’t actually say how many of them still work. As always, push all the buttons on the test drive.

It’s remarkably clean outside, and it’s one of Subaru’s better color combinations. I personally prefer the dark green, but this pale green is nice too. It has the requisite Yakima bike rack already installed on the roof rails, so you’re good to go there. I have to think, as much of a demand for these cars as there is in the Pacific Northwest, that the only reason it’s so cheap is that it’s a manual.

2003 Toyota Matrix – $2,400

Engine/drivetrain: 1.8-liter DOHC inline 4, five-speed manual, FWD

Location: Portland, OR

Odometer reading: 228,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great

Some cars just inspire owners to keep them forever and ever. The Toyota Corolla, in its wagon form, seemed to be such a car. I remember more than one regular customer at the garage I worked at in Saint Paul bringing in a Corolla wagon they had bought new, and now had a ton of miles on it. When it finally did wear out, they replaced it with another Corolla wagon. I can only imagine the dismay those loyal owners felt during those couple of years after the Corolla wagon was discontinued, but before the introduction of the Matrix.

The Matrix is, in fact, a Corolla wagon; the official name is Toyota Corolla Matrix. It’s part of the “tall wagon” class of cars that became popular in the early 2000s, not quite a crossover, but significantly taller than a typical station wagon. It’s powered by Toyota’s 1.8-liter 1ZZ-FE four-cylinder, which is a reliable engine, but has a tendency to burn oil after a while. This one has reached well over 200,000 miles, which means someone was careful about keeping the oil level topped up; a new owner will have to do the same. It does run and drive well, though.

It looks good inside, with very little wear to show for its high mileage. The tree-shaped air freshener hanging from the mirror is a potential bad sign, though. Those things never actually remove funky odors from cars; they just add their own chemical weirdness to whatever melange is there already. Give it a good sniff and make sure it’s something you can live with.

It’s pretty clean outside, but there’s a little wrinkle in the left front fender, and some fake plastic vents (or something) stuck on both sides. I’ll never understand the appeal of those things. But at least they just stick on; a plastic scraper and some Goo-Gone will take care of them.

Stickshift cars are a hard sell among the general population; that’s why they’re disappearing. But if you’re willing to drive one, you’ll be rewarded with not only a better driving experience, but better reliability, and often a cheaper price of entry. If you had a friend looking for a good inexpensive car, which one of these would you try to talk them into?