russde said:Looking for decent gas mileage, reliability, sporty-ish and longevity.
I was going to suggest my DD: 05-09 Outback XT with a 5-speed or the rarer Legacy GT with a stick, but then I went back and re-read the requirements.... maybe 1/4 
russde said:Looking for decent gas mileage, reliability, sporty-ish and longevity.
I was going to suggest my DD: 05-09 Outback XT with a 5-speed or the rarer Legacy GT with a stick, but then I went back and re-read the requirements.... maybe 1/4
In reply to rallyxPOS13 :
I get it...lots of cool choices...if only I had an unlimited budget and no outside influences...oh, and an even more understanding wife, and unlimited parking ;)
Leaning towards the Volvos, still researching reliability across the models.
Would a Mazdaspeed 3 Sport be too old? They are a nice sleeper. The 2021 Mazda 3 Turbo is probably too new/expensive.
Pete I33 (or whatever his username is) is always talking about his S60 R. He might know quite a bit about Volvos.
Not really a wagon per say but how about a Mazda 5?
In reply to wspohn :
They are cool, quick, 'economical'?, but too buzzy and too harsh. The roads in Corpus Christi suck, so much so that I dislike driving my M3 sometimes.
In reply to CyberEric :
I'll send him a message...thanks
In reply to dxman92 :
Umm...just can't do it. They never apealed to me in any sense, other than 'I bet they hold a lot of stuff'. Thanks for jumping in though ;)
I take frequent runs up to Victoria (1.25 hours), San Antonio (2.25 hours), some to Austin (3.25 hours) and occasionally out to West TX (7 hours)...on road comfort is important
russde said:Not overly familiar with the Volvo wagons but I certainly like the way they look, unsure also on reliability.
We have a 2017 Volvo S60. It's nice to drive, soaks up highway miles, and has had no mechanical issues in 5 years of ownership (although low-ish miles).
You should be able to find a V60 of the 2015-2017 era in your price range, especially if you don't want/need AWD.
Clean, well-optioned 2018 FWD in Memphis - $22k
Sharp, well-optioned 2018 FWD in OK City - $23k. If you can stretch this far, this would be the one to have. It includes the Sport suspension package and the Advanced package, which includes some really nice features like radar cruise control. That works very nicely for long-distance driving.
A little older, a little useder, a little closer, a lot cheaper - $16k
Those V60 wagons look NICE. And the highway MPGs are pretty good too.
Diving into BMW and Volvo research now, strongly considering the 328/330 wagons and the T5 version of the Volvo.
Power, mileage and performance seem on par. I guess the difference might be in the driving dynamics. It's difficult as they are all scarce. I'd really like a back to back test drive .
In reply to russde :
I have a '16 328 wagon and am pretty happy with it. Probably not as good dynamically as previous generations, but it will hustle around when asked.
Only repair beyond the usual brakes & tires in 100K has been a body control module with a bad circuit. Otherwise a really good car that I'll keep around for while.
V60 Polestar!
no idea of those are in budget but man are they cool
A friend has a Buick wagon (only made a few years though) two liter, turbo I think; pretty snappy.
In reply to russde :
Do lots of reading on Volvo reliability. I own a P80 V70 which is so great and very trust worthy, but it's also from the pre-Ford ownership era and beyond that time reliability seems to have suffered in a big way. I happen to think the newest generation S60/V60 is tremendously handsome but the ownership experiences of fellow members of my Volvo groups leads me to stay far, far away from them.
You'll need to log in to post.
