Newbie looking for winter vehicle

[crashnscar]

Hey everyone,
New to the forum but definitely not cars. Usually I'm making cars faster though, not eco-modding. This time I need a car to cruise up to Tahoe in this winter as I have a season pass and would like to make the most of it but unfortunately don't have a very fuel efficient vehicle (work requires me to have a truck, so I've got a 2003 Dodge 2500 diesel).

Looking at buying a car that gets good gas mileage (at a decent speed) for Tahoe trips this winter. Drive is ~400 miles each way.
Requirements are that it can seat 4 guys, boards on top, our crap in trunk. A wagon would be preferred but definitely not required. AWD is definitely a plus as well because it would be nice to never have to chain up. Budget is hopefully around $5k or less. I'll take suggestions that are more than that, but they get dinged right away because of it.

Right now I'm looking at something like a Jetta TDI because from what I've read they get ~45mpg at 80mph. I've also considered an older Suby but don't believe they get the mileage I'm looking for.

Suggestions?

[blade]

welcome to the forum

[War_Wagon]

Early '90s Toyota Corolla 4x4 wagon with a 5 speed. Selectable 4x4, so 2wd until you need it, fair amount of room. Don't know about the 40 mpg, but it would be a better bet than something that is AWD.