So, it seems like I might have a buyer for my E39 M5. Instead of mourning its loss I’d rather focus on the future and figure out what I should get as a replacement. Please bear with me, I’m trying to make sure that the next car meets my needs a little better than my last two choices. Prior to the M5, I had a MK7 GTI w/DSG. It was a good little commuter, but it was cramped with only one little one. My wife is just over five feet tall and was pretty squished against the dash with a rear facing seat behind her, and it was a complete no go for me. I’ll admit that I also didn’t find the GTI to be all that compelling to drive. It was almost too composed and capable, if that makes sense, to the point of being pretty mundane unless you were doing things that were pretty silly for the public roads.
Then came the E39 M5. With the news of our second on the way, I figured I needed something a little bigger. I started looking at 530/540 variant E39’s, but rationality pushed me towards something like a Lexus GS350. Last minute I got cold feet, or had a quarter life crisis, and ended up with the M5. In my defense, it was one of my dream cars and it looked like they were about to be out of range for me to realistically own. I really liked the car. It met all of my needs, except for one. It was not really a suitable daily driver at this age and the amount of time I can commit to keeping up with maintenance. So, the M5 had to go.
I’ll admit that my initial plan had me looking at LX470’s, because I have ideas of going camping, overlanding and off the beaten path with my family and friends. But reality sets in fast and even though Land Cruisers are notoriously reliable the newest 470’s are thirteen to fourteen years old and all of them have a good number of miles piled on to them. They also get abysmal MPG’s and while gas might be uber cheap at the moment, I don’t think that will be the case long term. The biggest knock against them is the reality that I live in the Chicago burbs and anything well and truly off the beaten path is many hundreds of miles away. Realistically, I’m not doing any big trips for the next few years, so it would be silly to get a LC/LX right now.
A similar train of thought comes to trucks. There is a part of me that would like a truck. As any good homeowner will rationalize, I could use a truck for projects around the house, and having the ability to tow a trailer or toss dirty stuff in a bed would be really nice for car related projects. But we have a Kia Sedona that can handle the majority of the Home Depot runs, and I’d probably only use a truck for truck stuff a few times a year at most. I'd be better served with a beater truck than daily driving a nicer one and eating the extra costs.
What does that leave me with? Well, my mind immediately jumps to wagons. I’d like it to be around three to five years old, less than $25K, something that is still decent to drive, will be reliable for the next five years, fits the kids and some stuff, and a bonus if it can tow a decent amount. The sweet spot seems to be in the 2014-16 range. I’ve been looking at the usual suspects: Golf/Jetta Sportwagon (Alltrack), Subaru Outback, Audi A4/6 Avants, W212 E350 wagons, F31 328i/d, Volvo V60/XC70.
I think I would rule the VW’s right away since they have the same footprint as my GTI, and that was too small. From what I’ve seen, I don’t mind the Outback in it’s higher trimmed 3.6R guise. I doubt it will be dynamically interesting, but it’s likely to be the most reliable of the bunch and can be had for a few thousand cheaper than the other cars in my list. It’s a little light on towing capacity, 2700lbs, which isn’t a deal breaker but it is something to consider. The W212 is an interesting option. Almost certainly the most refined of the bunch. I’ve not heard many bad things about this generation in terms of reliability. Probably a step down dynamically to the BMW, and as the car gets older, there is less support for these cars on the DIY side. I like that these cars still have the rear facing third row, which gives me strong Buick Roadmaster wagon memories. Apparently in Europe, they also rate them to tow up to 4600lbs. I don’t think I would test that, but it’s nice to know that I could put a decent amount of weight behind it. The F31, especially with the diesel, has me interested as well. I like the increased reliability that the diesel brings, and the epic range is nothing to scoff at either. Steering feel is notoriously panned in this generation, but they still seem to get good marks on handling. I definitely prefer the exterior styling of the BMW over the Mercedes. Again, BMW doesn’t make a habit of tow rating their sedans for the US, but it seems like the 328d would be good for 4000lbs. Not that I’m going to be pulling horse trailers over mountains, but again it’s nice that I could feasibly tow my 2002 on an open trailer if necessary. Modern Volvos are a big question mark for me. I love the styling of their latest stuff, but I don’t think it’s old enough to be within my price range. An XC70 seems to be the choice that would compete with the others on my list. I’ve heard mixed things about their reliability, I would expect it to be more refined than the Outback, but pretty close when it comes to dynamics. Like I said, I don’t know much about them, is there a sweet spot choice for them?
So what have I missed? Any insights from the hive on any of the stuff I’ve mentioned?
