So - a little about me - I'm a 30-something Mustachian with a great job that I love, savings, zero-commute, and a bit of a lead foot.
After my last car died, I ended up with the balance of a three-year lease on a hybrid Subaru XV (35K on it w/ one year to go-the previous owner did not drive much). In a year the Subaru will cost me about $16k to buy-out - its a great car for now, but I'm tempted by something sportier & I am worried about long-term maintenance on the battery ect.
Most days I can walk to the office so during the week the XV gets used for grocery runs, ect (despite living downtown, my city on a whole is quite suburban & the good grocery stores are a bit too far to bike after work).
On weekends I climb, ski and bike, and it's not unusual for me to put 800+km on in a weekend, I also need a vehicle that's easy to load, carries two bikes & stores them securely inside (weeknights I sometimes go for a quick 20km MTB ride), and drives well onroad, is sporty yet easy to drive on the highways, drives well on rough gravel roads, and handles well in the winter.
The XV does all of this well, but I wonder if a slightly bigger car might not be a bit more convenient.
Thus far I'm realising that I'm most likely looking for a sporty waggon of some kind - Audi A4 Allroad (just a really nice car), 3.6L Subaru Outback (nice to drive, huge cargo room - not that sporty), Volvo V60 (the Polestar was a fun test drive lol), VW All track (awesome to drive), are all what I'm seeing on dealers lots.
That said - I'm wondering what Mustachians would suggest (new, coming off-lease and used)??
My priorities for a Waggon are:
- Safety - IHS Top pic, ect
- Usability - lots of spaces for kyacks, bikes, camping equipment, and tools
- Reliability - I'm going to buy a car that I love and keep it for a long time, maintenance is a concern
- Driveability - Long road-trips after work on a Friday night, and coming back Sunday after a long day of biking; also dealing with poor weather and we are in the snowbelt
- Sportieness - I like driving a sporty car, SUV's always seem uninspired to me
- It's nice to drive a nice car, I used to rent a lot for work and I found that people always seemed to give me more room on the roads and were less aggressive when I was driving a nicer car than when I was driving more of a mid-low end vehicle YMMV
For me the driving can be part of the fun, and I'm looking for something good and
reliable for the next 10+ yrs, and that might eventually take a few kids in the back too.