All three hold 6 people, sport AWD, have fully independent suspension, and happen to have a V8. All three are also available for about $8000 in my market with around 100k miles. Thoughts?
All three hold 6 people, sport AWD, have fully independent suspension, and happen to have a V8. All three are also available for about $8000 in my market with around 100k miles. Thoughts?
Those are SUVs, not wagons.
In reply to EvanB (Forum Supporter) :
No. SUV's have frames, transfer cases, and at least a solid rear axle.
Softroaders have ridiculously high suspensions, plastic cladding wheel arches, and car drivetrains.
These are long, low, and don't pretend to go off-road at all. Ergo, they are wagons.
But are they hatchbacks? 
I would go Volvo.
EvanB (Forum Supporter) said:But are they hatchbacks?
I would go Volvo.
No! The Volvo has a proper tailgate! 
Out of these horrible choices, I would also vote Volvo. At least the V8 is reliable.
My neighbors wanted to set their old Q7 on fire. It caused them nothing but trouble and spent more time at the dealer than with them. And their experience seems to be usual.
And the Merc is ugly in non-AMG trim in my opinion. No idea on reliability
The Jeep XJ Cherokee is now not an SUV, apparently.
I'm with fanfoy; these options are awful. Volvo seems like the only one of the three worth consideration.
I can't speak to any of those except the Q7. My friend owns a foreign car repair shop (no domestic or Japanese) and it seems Q-7s need to have the engine rebuilt early in life due to oil flow. YMMV.
Ecoboost Ford is unreliable and a maintenance nightmare, better buy a decade old European SUV to fix that problem. 
Toyota, Nissan and most importantly GM all have the answer to your woes. Take the hit on gas mileage and enjoy a V8 powered 3 row SUV.
In reply to RacetruckRon :
I don't need an SUV though. I don't need space behind the 3rd row, any sort of off-roading capability, or the terrible ride.
I need to haul 2 adults and 2 small kids (8 and 5) 90% of the time, and double the kids 10% of the time. I don't need to tow, I don't have a dog, and when we travel we don't need to bring the house with us.
What I need is a Mazda5 with about 3" more length and width and double the HP so I don't get flattened by the Suburbans of thw world doing 85 on the interstate while I merge loaded down.
The 4.2 in the Q7 is evidently the worst engine in that chassis but I think it does have an actual transfercase/transmission setup instead of the normal audi quattro all in one units. Although the trans has absolutely no parts available for it. We had one at the dealer I was at that had a slight front seal leak and the warranty company had to replace the whole transmission. If you consider and audi, go with the q5/sq5. The 3.0 supercharged packs a whollup. They all seem like terrible options though.
Frame or no frame, all of those sit up too high to be considered wagons in my book.
Wagon:
SUV:
Honey badger don't care about frame vs unibody.
In reply to Duke :
???
In reply to iansane :
Thank you, that is useful. After looking into it, the Q7 is definitely out. Way too many issues.
Q7 TDI is an alternative
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:In reply to RacetruckRon :
I don't need an SUV though. I don't need space behind the 3rd row, any sort of off-roading capability, or the terrible ride.
I need to haul 2 adults and 2 small kids (8 and 5) 90% of the time, and double the kids 10% of the time. I don't need to tow, I don't have a dog, and when we travel we don't need to bring the house with us.
What I need is a Mazda5 with about 3" more length and width and double the HP so I don't get flattened by the Suburbans of thw world doing 85 on the interstate while I merge loaded down.
Sounds like you know that a Tahoe or a Grand Caravan is the easy button but don't want to go with either of those options for whatever reason. I think you should at least test drive a recession era GM SUV. It might be a little bit bigger than you think you really need but they are much better vehicles than I think you are giving them credit for. The interior might not be on the same level of the Audi or Volvo but you will spend less on gas in a Tahoe than you will maintaining any of the European Not SUVS you laid out in the title of this thread.
Those all seem way too reliable for you. You need a Volkswagen Passat W8 6 Speed Manual AWD 4 Motion
A suburban/tahoe will be waiting for you when all of these break your heart...
In reply to RacetruckRon :
This!
You might need an intervention Javelin!
Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:What I need is a Mazda5 with about 3" more length and width and double the HP so I don't get flattened by the Suburbans of thw world doing 85 on the interstate while I merge loaded down.
A CX7 seems to be as close as you can get to this.
https://portland.craigslist.org/clc/cto/d/portland-bmw-528it-sport-wagon-hard-to/7188912792.html
https://portland.craigslist.org/clc/ctd/d/damascus-2006-mercedes-benz-r350-class/7184967356.html
https://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/d/lynnwood-2001-volvo-xc70-awd-excellent/7176392504.html
yess... let see how un reliable we can get..
https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/ctd/d/carrolls-2007-mazda-cx-9-awd-v6-grand/7182204165.html
https://portland.craigslist.org/clk/ctd/d/portland-2007-chrysler-pacifica-4dr-wgn/7189648436.html
https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/ctd/d/portland-2007-toyota-sienna-5dr-7-pass/7176020972.html <--- how did that sneak in here.
https://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/ctd/d/vancouver-2013-dodge-journey-suv-3rd-row/7185938407.html
ProDarwin said:Those all seem way too reliable for you. You need a Volkswagen Passat W8 6 Speed Manual AWD 4 Motion
OMG, it's beautiful!
ProDarwin said:Javelin (Forum Supporter) said:What I need is a Mazda5 with about 3" more length and width and double the HP so I don't get flattened by the Suburbans of thw world doing 85 on the interstate while I merge loaded down.
A CX7 seems to be as close as you can get to this.
CX7 doesn't seat 6. CX9 is a Ford.
In reply to Fueled by Caffeine :
That Sienna is actually nice.
The CX9 is Neighbor Nick's old car!
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