<p>I have to agree with barrons. The Avalon is just a great car. I love mine, and when it dies (hopefully not for a long time) I will get another one. It is a pleasure to drive. I can’t say enough good things about mine.</p>
<p>A few years back BMW had some very attractive lease deals because they had a rough year or two with the (then-new) iDrive. That will show up in very attractive prices for cars coming off lease now. Look for cars that are dealer certified or have their warranty extended if the repair cost is an issue for you. BMW repairs are NOT cheap.</p>
<p>get a Porsche Chayenne!</p>
<p>I just completed a long car trip in a 2006 Hybrid Toyota Highlander. Crazy as it sounds, the Hybrid engines are our new midlife crisis indulgences although we will get back 2000 on our Federal taxes next year which almost offsets the price of the duel engine.<br>
The Highlander drives like a dream. But the Hybrid drive is even better than the regular Highlander engine…zero gears, such a smooth pleasure to drive…you do have to watch your speed because you have likely been “feeling the gears shift” instinctively for years and the car gains speed as if on a breeze. LOVE our hybrid and the Highlander handles particularly beautifully. Will buy a second Hybrid in a few weeks. Have a buyer for the 98 minivan with all its happy old memories…that looks right silly with me driving it around town solo or with a son who is nearly six feet tall.
OK…it is true that gas milage in our smaller city in a hybrid is no better than without the hybrid…we don’t live in a city with stop and go traffic or with any beltway or surburban sprawl traffic issues. Gas milage is fantabulous in a hybrid for those of you in daily traffic jams or stop and go traffic in city burbs. In a bigger city with traffic issues, the Hybrid gas milage is fantastic.
The 07 Camry has a Hybrid engine, too. We are so sold on ours.</p>
<p>When Barrons and I agree on something, check that…on anything, I would look for snow flurries in Exceedingly Warm Climes. </p>
<p>I’d like to get a hybrid but there’s nothing that’s quite what I want available <em>now</em>.</p>
<p>I have to second MomofWildChild’s suggestion about the Toyota FJ Cruiser, which is their WAY updated former Landcruiser. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.toyota.com/fjcruiser/color.html[/url]”>http://www.toyota.com/fjcruiser/color.html</a></p>
<p>It looks like a cross between a Hummer and a Mini-Cooper, if you can even wrap your mind around that idea. I have not driven it, only oggled over the two in our town that I’ve noticed so far. They are very cool looking and would handle your storm situations easily. Maybe too sporty for a long evening dress situation, but the only way to get the sport with the luxury is to go for a crossover SUV type of vehicle like others have suggested, the Porsche or BMW. </p>
<p>Speaking of cross-overs, Dan Neil in the LA Times today is absolutely RAVING about the new Acura RDX crossover.
<a href=“http://www.acura.com/TLP/TLP_s001.html[/url]”>http://www.acura.com/TLP/TLP_s001.html</a></p>
<p>The Times headline reads “Could this be love?” and he writes that it is "perfectly constructed, elegantly engineered and shamelessly underpriced (low- to mid-$30,0000) and perfect for an urban achiever who wants to work hard, play hard and impress the clients and boss. He says he is “smitten.”</p>
<p>Ooooh. Acura came out with a littler SUV? I loved my Honda Accord of yore to distraction.</p>
<p>I understand that once on the highway, hybrids become underpowered gasoline motorcars. That can be a real drawback if you live in the west with mountains and long distances to travel.</p>
<p>I’ve been eyeing that new Acura mini-SUV too. I agree that the Toyota FJ Cruiser looks like a whole lot of fun to drive but the gas mileage is pretty low, so if you don’t need that much power to go off road a lot, it’s not as economical as the small SUVs like the BMW 3 and the Lexus RX and the new Mazda CX-7. The '06 Toyota Rav4 Limited has a lot of zip (270 hp) and very good gas mileage, but IMO if feels claustrophobic inside, particularly for passengers. My dream car right now is the Lexus RX 400h for sleek looks, low gas mileage and the halo effect of low emissions for Mother Earth. H. needs more convincing to pay the extra money for going green.</p>
<p>I hadn’t seen the new Acura mini-SUV but it looks nice! I had an MDX three cars ago and it was a great car. Had it for two years then got my second Lexus RX (my kids drive my old one) and had that for three years until two weeks ago. It was a great car and so reliable. I never had one thing wrong with it in 3+ years, not one. We did the scheduled maintenance, as my H insists with all of our cars, and I suppose it paid off. Lexus service is probably the best we’ve seen, too, right up there with their top quality control.</p>
<p>I liked the RAV, but H could not fit into it, so it would not do. The seats are short (not deep with thigh room) on the Lexus cars, uncomfortable for us taller folks.</p>
<p>There’s almost too many terrific suggestions here to get through. I wish I could acknowledge every post individually, but am finding it takes an average of 30 minutes to check out each car recommended, even if I think I’ve already checked it out sometime before. </p>
<p>Barrons, I hadn’t heard that about hybrids. I did drive one as a rental during a one-day business trip - I found the dead silence at stops very disquieting. The car was nice enough but - weird. It was a prius (sp?) I think. I kept having this overwhelming urge to floor the gas pedal.</p>
<p>this suggestion may be a little “down market” from what you’re looking for, but we bought a Hyundai Tucson (small SUV) last summer and love it (after driving Jeep Grand Cherokee for 10 years). Handles well, lots of headroom (Alumother) stylish, fun, got good ratings when I was researching it a year ago. I think it’s only its second model year and we’ve been seeing more of them on the road lately…</p>
<p>Green car of the year award goes to the 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid.<br>
<a href=“http://www.greencar.com/index.cfm?content=topstory[/url]”>http://www.greencar.com/index.cfm?content=topstory</a></p>
<p>I faced this situation last year, D had been in boarding school, and i was hauling less and less friends and equippment the love affair with the long wangons was dying …but I could not face the thought of dishing out >$40K for a car when many people were homeless.
Thank chrysler, i discovered the Pacifica, resonably priced, and full of everthing, a crossover that is as wide as only the Acura/Lexus, drives like a dream and looks so pretty sitting on the street…keep your eyes out for them…they are now just getting popular (at least in the NE).
and you can still haul plenty of stuff if you need to.</p>
<p>You know, I totally agree with you on how the Pacifica looks. It is a good looking car. We won’t test drive or consider it though because of a bad previous Chrysler experience.</p>
<p>latetoschool, I hear you about being cautious when it comes to buying a new model. But we were coming off a lease of an 03 Camry, and I really liked the 07. I trust Toyota not to goof up a new model completely, but yes there are a few minor issues that need to be worked out.</p>
<p>Yes, we’ve gotten burned on first year model cars. Latest one was the new BMW idrive model when it came out. My H. is always attracted to the newest thing out and now he is stuck with it–resale value on it is really poor. Has certainly turned me against wanting to ever look at BMW again.</p>
<p>Caution about used Audis–the ignition coil failures on the 2000 and 2001 models (and possibly later) were not properly addressed for months and speak very poorly for Audi (I had an Audi A6 Avant and of the six ignition coils I experienced four failures before the issue was finally resolved)–there were never enough coils to do a total recall when they should have. Maybe Audi has reformed, but I personally will not buy another one.</p>
<p>Reading this thread with interest. I have different issues than OP, but we return to the states in just 4 weeks, and will be needing to buy a car fairly quickly. We are “cheap, reliable” kinda people. We look for good values, and drive them into the ground. We have our Chevy Prizm waiting for us there, but will need a second car. I would like a “mid-life-crisis” car, but H is ultra practical (ie cheap and reliable 
). Considering both new and used. We are also somewhat “green” - no desire to harm the environment; would prefer bikes if it weren’t so dangerous in Atlanta! </p>
<p>Sons are backing me in my desire for a convertible. S1 likes Solara - says it satifies . S2 has installed a photo of a Mini convertible as wallpaper on my computer - but I don’t know if that’s available in the US. They are enjoying helping me. I know nothing about cars. I am the type of person who thinks car lots should sell by color - Red Cars here, Blue Cars there. I don’t know why cars are made in so many shades of brown and gray!</p>
<p>H was looking hard at hybrids, but is waffling. We drive an Opel Vectra here, which apparently Saturn is going to be selling as the Aura. I will pass on the info about the Avalon and/or hybrid Camry - maybe those would be a compromise. </p>
<p>H will use the Prizm, probably, as his commuter car in Atlanta. (Lots of stop and go, hard driving.) The other will be a runabout for me. Only one kid left at home. She will be learning to drive this year - on the Prizm! All the kids have so far chosen colleges far from home, so hauling stuff isn’t a huge need. </p>
<p>Open to suggestions!</p>