<p>“Oh - it has to have great visibility - and - I’d prefer something that won’t get blown away in tropical storms, and that can handle deep water.”</p>
<p>“Have a look at the BMW X3”</p>
<p>BMW’s are fabulous cars, but you should truly inquire about how the X3 or X5 handles high water, and specifically ask about the location of the air intake.</p>
<p>BMW sedan models do NOT handle high water, or even big puddles of water very well. The problem stems from a very low position of the air intake. Driving your car in anything higher than a foot of water will transform your car into a very well performing water vacuum, and ruin your engine because of the “ingested” water.</p>
<p>Toyotas are by far the most reliable and trouble-free cars. They are better than the other Japanese brands. </p>
<p>The German cars are fun to drive, but the dealers seem to think you owe them a large chunk of change each time you want them to “inspect” the car. [BMW has finally realized that this doesn’t fly with today’s consumers, and I believe includes all scheduled maintenance for some reasonable period of time].</p>
<p>The Toyota FJ cruiser, in short supply, has a 27" fording capability.</p>
<p>I am in the process of buying a new car. However, I have a weird constraint, i.e. that I need headroom to accomodate the way I like to sit. I have driven EVERYTHING. I was prepared to get a Mercedes or BMW small SUV. Guess what, too cramped of a front seat area. Guess what I am now targeting? The new Toyota RAV4. It comes in a luxury package to satisfy my “I deserve it” feelings, it gets good gas mileage to satisfy my “I don’t want to kill the planet” feelings, it is a Toyota which satisfies my “I hate servicing cars” feelings, and it is a Toyota so it satisfies my “I don’t want to show off feelings.” However, it is a Toyota which means it DOESN’T satisfy my “Want to be cool even as I approach 50” feelings. Oh well. Can’t have everything. I will just have to keep my feelings of coolness hidden, or express them with red toenail polish instead:).</p>
<p>Please keep this thread going. I have to make a purchase in the next few weeks! Know any other small SUVs/cars that have lots of front seat room and get great gas mileage and don’t break and also have that “cool” factor? Actually I kind of hope one doesn’t exist so I have to keep the hairshirt of a dorky car. Currently driving a Toyota Previa that is 14 years old. I tell myself its good for my soul, such as it is.</p>
<p>A few years back I drove cars through the Manheim Auto Auction, the country’s largest auto auction and learned what luxary cars drive well and which aren’t worth it!</p>
<p>My favorite by far was the Lexus RX series. It is a small SUV (it’s amazing I liked it, since I hate SUVs), which rides like a dream (and I think I drove probably 10 or 15 of them with consistent results). Lexuses are my favorite luxary car now and if I can ever afford one, I’d definately choose them over BMW (my old favorite), Mercedes (rank in second to Lexus imo), and even Corvettes (ugh…I hated the one I drove through the market…it was horrible!). </p>
<p>HAHA - JEEP WRANGLER - with all the fixins - fun sport not-to-small-easy to service/repair - has flair - funky - fun - uuummm could go on and on…and yes fairly safe - even safer than alot of sedans - what other vehicle besides a volvo has a built in roll-bar/airbags… been re-engineered for safety.</p>
<p>What can I say - My s/n says it all ROFL</p>
<p>I get to enjoy the fun and sun of life - with my soft top up or down - or - sun rider (open over the front seats) - or - hard top - no matter the season or where I am - with my music playing and the wind thru my hair - when I want that - it gives lots of choices to fit my mood LOL. I am one of the coolest ‘kids’ on the road - even with my job - on the road every day. The day my youngest got that drivers liscense - I got my fun car - have not regretted it for a single day - and I drive alot of miles every year.</p>
<p>We’ve had two Camrys (still have the second) and an Avalon. Very low maintenance, very intelligently designed (as the models evolve). The Avalon, in particular, is tremendously comfortable on long trips and has good rear seat room (which I sometimes need for clients). Neither is high on the “cool” factor. </p>
<p>When a few escrow checks come in, I’m thinking of getting the new mid-sized Lexus 350 to get spoiled. If I weren’t looking upscale, I’d get another Avalon. (I’m another anti-SUV type who would consider the Lexus R330 but we’ve passed the stage of life where we could make use of a vehicle that big.)</p>
<p>My suggestion based on your criteria is the BMW 5 series Touring (do they call it a sportswagon?). And to share my dream with you - Go with the European delivery option, save a few $$k on the car, pick it up in Europe and take a 2 week driving vacation. </p>
<p>We just leased an Acura MDX (base model) for my wife. Great deals are available because it is the end of the model run (will be totally redesigned next year) and SUV sales have gone down even tho it gets 22 mpg on the highway. Love it so far. </p>
<p>And finally, during our SUV search we visited a Toyota dealer where I fell in love with… the Scion Xa of all things!! Tiny on the outside but fairly spacious on the inside. very cool little car, for about $15k! :)</p>
<p>I really love my Lexus SUV, it is a 2000 but I can’t imagine replacing it, it took us through band and HS. It uses regular gas. The son is taking it on his road trip to the Midwest. Service is not inexpensive but I have always been treated nicely, no matter which dealer I used. My previous two cars were Mercedes-C class, I hated taking it in for service. The Mercedes dealers always seemed “stuck up”. I finally found a local European Mechanic. H loves driving his BMW but hears that the newer 500’s haven’t been as reliable. I was trying to convince him we need to do a European delivery on a new car. It took H awhile to find a dealer for service that was 1/2 as nice as the Lexus dealers are.
Son is happy with the Xa.</p>
<p>Alumother- I had a previa for 8 years till someone ran a red light and totalled it. Then went to the Sienna. The Sienna was an improvement on looks over the Previa but not nearly as reliable. After driving a Toyota minivan for that many years most cars will fill cramped in the front seat.
It took some time to get used to that closed in feeling in the X3. The nice thing is you don’t have to worry about the kids empty water bottles rolling to the front of the car and landing under the gas pedal when your driving. I do miss all the cup holders in the Sienna.</p>
<p>You’ve gotten great suggestions but I’m not sure that a vehicle exists that meets your very broad requirements. A Japanese or Euporean SUV or crossover, such as one of the Audis or the BMW X3 sound like they might meet your needs best, but they will be more expensive up front and to maintain. I’m on my second BMW M car (extra sporty) and you will love the way a BMW drives, unless you seek a softer, more luxurious ride. If you can transcend the high water and roof rack, and are looking for a good compromise in a car, a Lexus IS or Acura TL would both be sporty, handle nicely, and very reliable and cheap relative to BMWs and Audis. Lastly, our best friend just got an Infiniti FX, which is a 5 seater with roof rack capability (I think), higher ground clearance, and good power even in the lower level model. As a Nissan based car, it should be relatively reliable and relatively inexpensive to repair as compared to the BMW/Audi. </p>
<p>You might also want to look at the Honda Element or the Ford Escape. We have rented the Escape several times when visiting my daughter at school and have enjoyed the smaller size (I have driven a Lincoln Navigator for the last 6 1/2 years, so almost anything seems smaller!!)</p>
<p>The first paragraph was posted by my husband, the car nut in the family.</p>
<p>It was my time for a new car, too, and I did lots of research. H wanted me to look at Volvo 4 wheel drives, but they were so boring and CR was not so good. At first I really liked the Infiniti FX, but after driving down the road behind one it looked like a hippy woman, and then the saleman was a bit disingenuous about my previous car’s value. I looked at the Subaru Tribeca, but reviews about its pickup were not good. I had a flirtation with the Toyota FJ Cruiser, loved the yellow one, but could not rationalize buying an off-road vehicle (S may get one, though!) Finally I found the BMW X3, and the clincher for me was the heated steering wheel. I have had it for just over 2 months, and I love it. It is not much smaller than X5, but costs much less, and it looks much better. All maintenance is covered for four years, except for tires. The sun roof is huge, really brightens and enlarges the interior. Good luck.</p>
<p>If the Infiniti FX is to your liking, take a look at the Nissan Murano. Some magazines have called it “the cheaper Lexus RX”. It’s a bit larger, a little bit less luxurious, and a whole lot less expensive. Great value.</p>
<p>The OP should really give an idea of a price range… the OP states that she would never spend too much on a car, but what is her definition of too much?</p>
<p>There are WAY too many excellent suggestions here and I now have no idea where to start. The water issue is very important though - Xiggi, thanks for that. I live in an area where heavy rain storms happen every afternoon in the summer, and where hurricanes seem to be plentiful lately, and I have come upon too many instances of very deep water. I’ve managed to drive through everything so far and haven’t had an incident yet, but I’ve heard that if water gets into the engine there isn’t anything one can do, except replace the engine. But I keep hearing BMW over and over again, and I have to say they have a certain appeal. They’re actually very attractive too, whereas I just cannot make myself get very excited in many of the other makes.</p>
<p>Eltarego, what is too much? LOL! I’ve been fantasizing over Maseratis, Lamborghini (sp??), the upper line of Porsches, etc. Seriously, though, while I <em>can</em> spend up to $80K or so for a car, I don’t think it makes a lot of sense to spend more than $35K-ish. For one thing, there are many good cars that can be had for that and far less, and for another thing, it just doesn’t make sense to spend that much money. At the end of the day, it’s only a car, and I’d rather put more money into, say, education, or home remodeling, or more real estate or other investments. My Taurus was only $20-ish, but, it’s hopelessly boring to drive, and I don’t like it very much. My older Taurus that my daughter now drives is much better quality, far more substantial than my 2005.</p>
<p>Macnyc, that Camry looks very interesting - and everyone always has good things to say about them - but I’ve always heard it’s not a good idea to buy a car in its first model year - does anyone know if that’s solid advice, or is that just a - what do you call it - urban myth?</p>
<p>JeepMom, my D must have put you up to that post. She has been trying to get me to buy a Jeep for years. She believes Jeeps would be perfect - for both of us. But how do I go to social events in a Jeep? I love the idea of one but having some trouble seeing myself climbing in and out of one in a formal dress, heels, etc. Maybe it doesn’t matter if a valet is handy (???). Or maybe I could actually get a date who owns a Maserati or even just a nice Honda lol.</p>
<p>The Toyota Avalon is a real great car for the money. Roomier than the Camry but just as economical despite nearly 270HP. We got about 30 mpg driving up and down the mountains between Seattle and Yellowstone and we averaged around 80 mph with the AC on so we were not soft on the gas pedal. At around $30K there is nothing better. Great sound system too in the upgraded models. We have the Touring model which has a sportier suspension and crisper handling–like a BMW.</p>
<p>Quick note to say thank you to everyone who responded - now there are too many cars to consider! It does look though like $35K might be too low - although I see lot of BMWs that are used for that price - although it puzzles me why there should be so many luxury cars available that are not new - they’re 2004, 2005, and that seem to have less than 20,000 miles on them. I wonder if there are a lot of people who buy a new one every year or something?</p>