Let's find me a new daily driver

Monday morning I totaled my Prius when a deer somehow managed to jump onto an overpass and land on my hood.  Fortunately the antlers cleared the windshield and beat up the door instead of stabbing me in the face.  I never really liked the car other than the economics of driving something that got 43mpg, the seats sucked, the steering wheel was like 8" too far away, it was slow, handled poorly, and looked like a weird blue kidney bean.  I also got more for it from the insurance company than I paid for it so today I'm trading State Farm my title for a check and letting them keep it.  I'm also moving my office in the next few weeks so I am willing to sacrifice some fuel economy for a more fun/comfortable car.

I'm not in a pinch to replace it, I have another car that kinda sucks as a street car now because I do dumb things like straight pipe Subarus and lift and cage Jeep Cherokees, but I would like to find something reasonably comfortable that I can be happy with STOCK and just drive as a daily.  Something that if another deer decides to teleport into the front end I can walk away without feeling like thousands of hours of time went into it.  Hoping to stay under $16,000.  Currently I think the top contenders are:

Cadillac CTS Wagon (not CTS-V): comfortable, potentially 300+ hp if I find the right one, and it's a wagon.  I can still haul parts around when needed, just throw a tarp in the back to keep it clean.

Mercedes GLK 350 4Matic:  again 300 hp, comfortable, able to haul some things.  I like the way these look but I don't know if I want an SUV, I love the utility of a wagon but I hate the way SUV's feel so disconnected from the road.  I think I need to drive one to see how I feel about it, and also consider the MB cost of repair when things go wrong.  

Subaru Outback Limited: it's a wagon, it's a Subaru, both things I like, with heated leather seats this time.  It's underpowered and CVT, which I don't like.  Lots of room inside for activities and it has a roof rack and could easily have a hitch for bike and ski racks. This would be Subaru #4 and Subaru wagon #3 so if I found the right one I wouldn't be in uncharted territory picking it up.  

Other suggestions have been thrown around, EcoBoost Mustang, Miata, Jeep Cherokee, retired Police Tahoe.....  I'm open to ideas.  Kinda partial to trying to get back into a wagon but this isn't dream car shopping, this is finding a reliable daily that I won't be sad to get into every morning.  AWD, while nice, isn't a deal breaker, I still have the WRX when I want to go play in the snow, and I can work from home if it gets really bad.

Sorry to hear of the demise of your Prius.  Glad to hear you are okay.  

I buy salvage Prius like I have detailed here.

I can be reached directly at    jwelsh02...yahoo...

Back on topic..

Here is a lead to a 2006 Subaru wagon which is owned by a GRMer here in Ohio.  Though the car is currently in Ohio, it spent all its earlier life out west so it is not typical of Ohio or PA and will pass PA inspections quite easy.  

In reply to John Welsh :

Email sent

Tsx wagon 

Sorry to hear about the demise of your Prius but glad to hear you were unharmed.  Agree they are an odd car and had to laugh at the kidney bean reference.

I do not have an opinion on the cars you referenced, only having very limited experience with the Subaru and have the same hangups you mentioned regarding the CVT and lack of power.  However, I can tell you NOT to get a Toyota 4Runner TRD Off Road.  I let my wife convince me to buy one last year for general utility purposes (hauling dogs, kayaks and general household stuff).  After a year of ownership I can say, (much like your Prius) that I really do not like the vehicle and would go so far as to say I detest it.  The driving dynamics are horrible, the brakes are soft with no linear feel and the nose dives terribly under even light to moderate braking. 

Good luck with your search.

I stopped by a friendly dealer on the way home tonight from cleaning out the Prius and they happened to have a GLK that ends up in my price range with the 'friends and family' discount.  I really like it and it's at 57k on the odometer but I'm not sure when I do the math that I want to stack the maintenance costs of something like that on top of having a car payment.... I'm starting to feel like the right decision is to pay cash for something and if I want the Merc to start saving a car payment a month and buy it outright later.

Im going to say a lowered caravan r/t. Power, utility, subtlety, and cheapish. 

Honestly, a 1.5 inch drop, decent struts/ alignment and tires that dont double as rocks. Done. Fun, practical, cheap.

Elantra GT hatch? GTI? Golf Wagen or All Trak with AWD?

In reply to mustang_fanatic :

A offroad oriented SUV behaves like an offroad oriented SUV? The brake pedal feel is the only thing I wouldn't expect from that one.

3.8L Genesis.

You can get a nice low mileage 2013 to 2016 sedan variant for that kind of money. Maybe an AWD variant if you are patient.

I like the Cadillac wagon option. Wagons are cool.

For wagon like options, Elantra and Mazda3 are awesome.  Fun to drive and very fuel efficient 

What is the consensus on SAAB right now?  I have been offered this (still don't know what model) with 175k on the odometer, no codes, new state inspection, new tires, and it looks really clean.  I'd be left with a car and cash left over to put back in savings to start saving for something newer in a couple of years without having to finance.

Bought an 06 for my daughter  1.5 years and 20K miles ago.  Its been a good car for real short money, like under $2K money.  Wouldn't mind finding a convertible to take its place.  Went thru brakes, fluid changes, tune up, and front struts when I picked it up.  Nothing since.  It has somewhere north of 180,000 miles and runs strong.