mid 2000's Subaru Legacy GT. I prefer the wagon flavor (mainly because I have one). They can be found for under 5K, and a good amount of STI parts can be used on them so the aftermarket is quite large. Tons of room, AWD, a turbo, heated leather seats, etc.

And if I am gonna blow $500 on a fishing rod holder, I'd rather get this. Powdercoated 18ga stainless steel, padded inside compartment, and lockable.

I use 2 clothes rack poles in my Subaru LGT Wagon and hang my shorter rods from those on the inside, kinda like this photo. Gonna make 1 or 2 PVC tube ones to mount to my roof rails this summer for my 9 & 10ft fly rods.

I'm sure a lot has to do with the roofline of the car. I'm 6'1 and had about 2 or 3 fingers worth of clearance between my head and the roof in my Fusion (with a sunroof). I've got a lot more headroom in my Legacy GT and it also has a moonroof. Both seats were all the way down, and has the same recline on them.

One of my friends is around 7 foot...he drives a Subaru Legacy and fits. Pretty impressive for a mid-size car. (His actual car in the photo).

My weapon of choice - Nikkor 50mm f/1.4.

Yeah, my average drops like a rock when I drive it how it should be driven...If I get 230 miles out of a tank of gas, I consider that good. haha

Or this. I test drove a few WRX 5dr's, but they were too small for my needs (no family here, but I go camping, fishing, biking, and carry a bunch of stuff often) so I got the 2nd best thing IMO. Added on downpipe, up-pipe, 3" catback, and a Cobb Stage 2 tune. It's perfect. The ultimate sleeper-wagon, minus the loud…

I get about 26-28 at highway speeds (usually between 70 & 85) on my 05' LGT Wagon. Cobb Stage 2 93octane tune, STi up-pipe, catless down-pipe, 3' catback. You can get fairly good gas mileage out of it if you just watch the boost gauge and the RPM's. But it's more fun to mash the gas, obviously.

I love my LGT! Same gen too. Might not be as fast as the Magnum RT, but it's a lot more refined. Plus - Turbo. lol. Mine's only lightly modded for now, but I hope to start putting more performance parts into her in the next few years.