When we were looking for a family-mobile in 2005 we looked at dozens and dozens of cars - CarMax is great for this because they have such a variety on their lots (but everything’s overpriced). My wife quickly ruled out minivans saying she won’t be caught dead in one, so we looked at SUV’s large and small. The early Rav4 & CRV’s were tiny inside and the larger SUV’s were mostly too big and truck-like or too crappy (I’m referring to you, Jeeps!). The Ford Escape felt like the best of the bunch, but I wasn’t sold on needing an SUV and my wife wanted something nicer… So we then spent a lot of time looking at wagons and sedans, small and large. Many otherwise terrific prospects (Jetta Wagon, Subaru Outback, Saab 9-5) were quickly ruled out when we tried to put a carseat in the back - there was just no room! Larger sedans were much better space wise. We hated the GM/Ford models we sat in. The Jag XJ was cheap and gorgeous inside and fast too, but didn’t corner well and I couldn’t picture letting it get dirty. The Volvo S80 was comfy and fast, but more expensive and handled even worse. The Mercedes we looked at were nice, but expensive. Finally, after driving an E39 5-series BMW, I was hooked. It had the space, the handling and the power that my wife and I wanted. We weren’t able to find a nice E39 wagon in our price range at the time and ended up with a 530i sedan. It gets mediocre mileage on premium fuel, but is the most fun large sedan either of us had ever driven. The car is great looking, comfortable, and just gobbles up the miles on the interstate. It’s also a good compliment to the E36 M3: http://grassrootsmotorsports.com/reader-rides/195/
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