family hauler options

[thebarber]

ok, so after a gruelling 12h drive back from timmins this past sunday, we've come to 3 conclusions.

1. we should take the monday on a holiday long weekend
2. we need a car w/ a/c
3. we need a car w/ cruise

so im looking, ideally, in the $10-12000 range (keep in mind i live in canada and prices are a bit different)

looking for something bigger than the aveo

ideally a wagon/hatch - - can also be small suv...its just my mother-in-law (who lives with us) will have trouble getting into/out of something higher...but if suv has readily available lowering kit, that'd be ok too

large sedan might do it too

something ideally reliable and/or cheap to fix

im not sure something the size of a matrix/vibe, focus hatch, optra, mazda 3, etc would work. right now we're essentially 3 adults with 1 child, but aiming for a 2nd child next year....so something wide would work if its a 5-seater

also not sure whether we'll go manual or auto....if we trade in the aveo (which we might not due to its low low resale) we'd need an auto as my mother-in-law need a car in the day as watches our daughter while we're at work

ideas thus far include:
chevy malibu maxx (mainly SS)
dodge magnum
nissan x-trail (canada only, heh heh)
mazda 6 wagon
mazda 5
some kind of minivan (likely domestic due to $ constraints)

any other ideas/comments, im open to them (please no domestic hate unless you have valid proof that one of the cars i listed has some kind of flaw other than the badge on the hood/trunk)