Mid Sized Japs - What to look at?

[Paxton]

The Wife wants a new car, and I want to get rid of the Lexus, so we have decided to look at the Subaru Liberty, the Honda Accord Euro and the Mitsubishi 380 Verada as cars to drive. The 380 Verada (I have no idea about the name of the luxury model, so lets call it the Verada) is a late entry, after viewing the pictures of the 380 here on the forum.

My parents have owned two Liberties in their time, a First Gen GX, and a Third Gen Heritage, and both being My Mother's car were not the best looked after cars. My Mother knows nothing about cars, where my Father will change oil and do simple mechanical work, and we still could not kill it. God knows I tried. Especially the First Gen.

My Wife likes the Accord Euro, however them being a Front Wheel drive, I would rather look at a Fairmont Ghia, however I can't justify two large Fords. The Accord we looked at today was the Luxury Pack, and the dealer could have one on the road for $42,000 less trade in. The Liberty is $45,000 on the road, and that is the Premium Pack.

It is anyones guess how much the 380 Verada will cost, and also what it will have in it. I am not really a fan of the Magna Verada, but if they are cheap enough, I will have a look at them.

I personally think the one I will be happier to drive, and the one that will be the best investment is the Liberty. They are AWD, safe and comfortable. I would also like a manual, but SWMBO burns out clutches too fast, so we are becoming an Auto only family.

To conclude, what are your opinions of the Honda Accord Euro and the Subaru Liberty, and also, what would you buy if you had the same shortlist.

Apologies for such a long post. When I started to write this, I anticipated two or three lines. It is now MUCH longer than that.

-Andrew