Serious car help
 

Audi A4 avant? Where's AdL when you need him?

Serious car help
 

In my experience, VWs cost 200% of ordinary repair costs. That has been true of everything from catalytic converters to wiper blades. I shudder to think of what the Audi premium would be on top of that. Word to the wise.

Serious car help
 

Here are a few thoughts on cars to look at, in the year or two old range, which might fit your price range:

Wagons:

BMW 3 series
Saab 9-3
Audi A4
Dodge Magnum
Subaru Legacy
Lexus IS300
Volvo V70

SUVs:

Toyota Highlander hybrid
Ford Escape hybrid

Sedans:
(Seeing that there is only one kid, and she probably no longer needs a stroller, do you still need a wagon or SUV?)

Saab 9-3 or 9-5 (large enough to make up for the fact that you're not getting a wagon)
VW Phaeton (huge, and absurd depreciation might allow you to pick one up for a bargain bin price)
Nissan Maxima
Nissan Altima
Volvo S60
Acura TL or RL
Infiniti M30
Cadillac CTS

Serious car help
 

Two big dogs. (sigh)

But thank you.

A lot.

Serious car help
 

You're welcome.

In light of the big dogs requirement, you might also consider:

Ford Edge
Chrysler Pacifica
Ford Taurus X
Mazda CX7
Toyota RAV4
Honda CR-V
Mercury Mariner Hybrid
Nissan Murano
Acura RDX

Serious car help
 

We leased one of these for a month and wound up returning it (long story).* I do not recommend. Cute as a button but bigtime turbo lag and the thing DRANK gas like no other 4 cyl I've ever seen. And the interior felt cheap.

YMMV. Haw haw!

*Parts of hell will be ski destinations before I ever buy a Mazda again.

Serious car help
 

We snagged a three year old Hyundai Santa Fe with 4WD and a V6 for about half of your stated ceiling and we like it a lot. It handles as well and performs comparably with a Honda or Toyota.

Serious car help
 

Good choice.

Also Honda CRV is a safe bet.

Also coming soon: the Toyota Venza crossover


http://www.auto123.com/ArtImages/935...Venza-i007.jpg

At Ford, quality is job uno.
 

Can someone explain to me why Ford only sells beautiful cars in Europe, and gives us crap?

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.au..._450-op_04.jpg
2008 Ford Kuga

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.au...o_p_450-op.jpg
2009 Ford Mondeo

http://www.fordeurope.net/plugins/p1...mages/6158.jpg
2008 Ford Focus Coupe-Cabriolet

http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.au...1280_1_opt.jpg
2009 Ford Fiesta

At Ford, quality is job uno.
 

You could be an auto writer. The magazines have been bitching about that for years. The current CEO says that he's going to bring non-US products here, and soon. Of course, "soon" is open to debate.

Awesome race
 

Awesome race
 

Thanks for reminding me -- saw this and meant to post it. Sad.

Step 1: Take Honda Insight. Remove hybrid engine. Replace with Civic Type-R K20A.

Step 2: ???

Step 3: 200 whp* @ 48 mpg.

Step 4: Profit!

*That's wheel horse power, not like that faggoty brake horse power used by Clarkson et al.

Awesome race
 

I love Top Gear.

WTF is this?
 

OK, so I may get the new car as early as this weekend, depending on (a) my sister's tolerance for accompanying me (b) my laziness level and (c) the speed at which my HR business associate gets the form back to me for our nice subsidy for buying "green."

WTF is a "Digital Audio - Card Reader"? It apparently comes standard if I get the navigation thing on the Civic Hybrid. How does it work?

Yes, I tried googling the phrase, and am still not really understanding.