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"a flat torque curve (258 lb-ft at 2,100 rpm) makes surging onto the expressway stress-free, and its eight-speed automatic shifts seamlessly. The ride is firm, the steering communicative. Thanks mostly to their lower centers of gravity, wagons generally handle better than crossovers and SUVs, but the V60 goes beyond: It almost feels like a sports car—one in which you'd be comfortable" driving across the country.
That description is exactly what the Outback is NOT
Hrmmm. It's not as sporty as the Forester 2.0XT, but is better on gas. And it doesn't come in AWD. I'd say it's definitely behind the Scooby in my list, if I were to not be in the CX-5 I'm in now and had to choose a different vehicle.
"a flat torque curve (258 lb-ft at 2,100 rpm) makes surging onto the expressway stress-free, and its eight-speed automatic shifts seamlessly. The ride is firm, the steering communicative. Thanks mostly to their lower centers of gravity, wagons generally handle better than crossovers and SUVs, but the V60 goes beyond: It almost feels like a sports car—one in which you'd be comfortable" driving across the country.
That description is exactly what the Outback is NOT
That's pretty accurate. I had the V60 for about a week and it being a loaner car and all, I beat the pants off of it and had fun doing so. In addition to being somewhat sporty, it had all the luxury features I would need; bluetooth, blind spot detection not to mention the most comfy seats on the planet. It also had built-in booster seats which I thought was pretty sweet having twins and all.
The only thing that turned me off was the e-drive or whatever they call the feature that shuts the engine off when stopped. You can disable it, but you have to hit the button every time you start the car. My wife hated it.
If you do trade for the V60 and hate it though, don't blame me!
"a flat torque curve (258 lb-ft at 2,100 rpm) makes surging onto the expressway stress-free, and its eight-speed automatic shifts seamlessly. The ride is firm, the steering communicative. Thanks mostly to their lower centers of gravity, wagons generally handle better than crossovers and SUVs, but the V60 goes beyond: It almost feels like a sports car—one in which you'd be comfortable" driving across the country.
That description is exactly what the Outback is NOT
It's in a different size class aimed at a different buyer segment. 23 less cubic feet interior volume vs Outback, only 33 inches of rear leg room - meaning, it's not geared towards a family with small kids in rear facing car seats. They won't fit in the V60, they will fit in an Outback.
The smaller wagons are primarily geared towards people who do not have kids in car seats.
The other side of this coin is if you don't need a vehicle capable of hauling kids in rear facing seats - why the heck are you buying a station wagon in the first place? Get yourself a truck if you want hauling capacity or a sports car if you want athletic road manners.
OK, we recently went through the process a few months ago.
My wife had been driving a Cadillac SRX V8 wagon. Nice car. Good power (320hp...) Decent handling. very nice interior, seats, etc. Great long distance cruiser as well as perfect around town grocery getter. She even used it quite a bit to tow her Formula V race car. Unfortunately, they redesigned the SRX to the point where we didn't care for it anymore.
Her first choice was a new Cadillac CTS-V wagon. We searched up and down the west coast, and just couldn't find a single dealer who had one.
So, we began looking at other choices. In the past we had a Mercedes E-class wagon, and a C-class wagon. Both with the 3.2L V6. Both very good cars. I drive a Mercedes E550 coupe, which is really a blast. Unfortunately, MB decided not to sell it in a wagon version. They sell the E350, with the six cylinder, and the E63 wagon. The E350 wagon felt pretty sluggish, so we were pretty close to getting the E63 wagon. Then the local Mercedes dealer hosed me around on some warranty work on the E550 and we said, screw them, we're not buying another car from those clowns, at least not right now...
I wanted to at least try the more common wagons; Subaru, VW Jetta, Audi. So we test drove each extensively:
Subaru Outback. Inadequate power & mushy CVT trans. Cheap interior materials. Tinny feel to body. Mediocre ride. Imprecise steering, too-soft spring rates, all lead to inferior handling. Whole thing felt like it was struggling all the time, and overall felt really cheapo. Frankly, we're used to driving higher level vehicles and the Subaru felt like it was built as cheaply as possible while trying for an illusion of "luxury"... We felt it was a "costume" car, (like a Prius...) with all the tacked on plastic trim, etc. Trying to look like a psuedo-offroad vehicle. The average person will be fine with it.
Jetta "Sport"Wagon. Felt even cheaper than the Subaru. The vaunted TDI was really slow, in spite of the supposed "torquey" reputation. We've got two turbodiesels already in the garage, and this little motor was a cheap imitation of either our Chevy Duramax diesel, or the nice big CAT in our motorhome. I realize totally different execution and target, but the VW really did not have the fat torque I'm used to. Combined with a noisy, harsh ride & cheapo interior trim: not acceptable for us. Plus, it was front wheel drive... No thanks, no sale...
Audi Allroad. Really wanted to like this car. Almost the exact same mechanical specs as what we did buy... nice interior. Well finished. Good solid body feel. Ungainly plastic fender flares attempting to mimic the Outback, I'm guessing? The Allroad drove fairly well, but felt less precise than we like. Good interior sound level. Good solid ride. Overall; it's a pretty good car, but not a great car...
THE WINNER:
2015 BMW 328i. X-Drive (all wheel drive)
Very similar powertrain to the Audi: Turbo 2.0 liter four, with a fantastic eight speed trans. Typical "3 Series", meaning almost perfect balance. All wheel drive making it incredibly stable, and really good in snow, wet grass, etc... Very well engineered, superb handling & ride. Gorgeous interior, high level of finish. Good cargo space, very usable. We also briefly looked at the BMW SUV's, but they simply did not drive as well as the 328 wagon.
OK, we recently went through the process a few months ago.
My wife had been driving a Cadillac SRX V8 wagon. Nice car. Good power (320hp...) Decent handling. very nice interior, seats, etc. Great long distance cruiser as well as perfect around town grocery getter. She even used it quite a bit to tow her Formula V race car. Unfortunately, they redesigned the SRX to the point where we didn't care for it anymore.
Her first choice was a new Cadillac CTS-V wagon. We searched up and down the west coast, and just couldn't find a single dealer who had one.
So, we began looking at other choices. In the past we had a Mercedes E-class wagon, and a C-class wagon. Both with the 3.2L V6. Both very good cars. I drive a Mercedes E550 coupe, which is really a blast. Unfortunately, MB decided not to sell it in a wagon version. They sell the E350, with the six cylinder, and the E63 wagon. The E350 wagon felt pretty sluggish, so we were pretty close to getting the E63 wagon. Then the local Mercedes dealer hosed me around on some warranty work on the E550 and we said, screw them, we're not buying another car from those clowns, at least not right now...
I wanted to at least try the more common wagons; Subaru, VW Jetta, Audi. So we test drove each extensively:
Subaru Outback. Inadequate power & mushy CVT trans. Cheap interior materials. Tinny feel to body. Mediocre ride. Imprecise steering, too-soft spring rates, all lead to inferior handling. Whole thing felt like it was struggling all the time, and overall felt really cheapo. Frankly, we're used to driving higher level vehicles and the Subaru felt like it was built as cheaply as possible while trying for an illusion of "luxury"... We felt it was a "costume" car, (like a Prius...) with all the tacked on plastic trim, etc. Trying to look like a psuedo-offroad vehicle. The average person will be fine with it.
Jetta "Sport"Wagon. Felt even cheaper than the Subaru. The vaunted TDI was really slow, in spite of the supposed "torquey" reputation. We've got two turbodiesels already in the garage, and this little motor was a cheap imitation of either our Chevy Duramax diesel, or the nice big CAT in our motorhome. I realize totally different execution and target, but the VW really did not have the fat torque I'm used to. Combined with a noisy, harsh ride & cheapo interior trim: not acceptable for us. Plus, it was front wheel drive... No thanks, no sale...
Audi Allroad. Really wanted to like this car. Almost the exact same mechanical specs as what we did buy... nice interior. Well finished. Good solid body feel. Ungainly plastic fender flares attempting to mimic the Outback, I'm guessing? The Allroad drove fairly well, but felt less precise than we like. Good interior sound level. Good solid ride. Overall; it's a pretty good car, but not a great car...
THE WINNER:
2015 BMW 328i. X-Drive (all wheel drive)
Very similar powertrain to the Audi: Turbo 2.0 liter four, with a fantastic eight speed trans. Typical "3 Series", meaning almost perfect balance. All wheel drive making it incredibly stable, and really good in snow, wet grass, etc... Very well engineered, superb handling & ride. Gorgeous interior, high level of finish. Good cargo space, very usable. We also briefly looked at the BMW SUV's, but they simply did not drive as well as the 328 wagon.
Not cheap, but very, very good.
What on earth did GM do to castrate a LSX based V8 from a modern era down to 320hp?
Remember there are SUVs that are true wagons. Example: Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Expedition. Ford Explorer is similar in size to a mid size sedan, and has a lot of cargo area if the 2 sets of passenger seats are laid down. I know as I have one.
Remember, if you do not need a 4X4, you can order one without the 4 wheel drive, and have a large 2 wheel drive wagon.
Remember there are SUVs that are true wagons. Example: Chevrolet Suburban, Ford Expedition. Ford Explorer is similar in size to a mid size sedan, and has a lot of cargo area if the 2 sets of passenger seats are laid down. I know as I have one.
Remember, if you do not need a 4X4, you can order one without the 4 wheel drive, and have a large 2 wheel drive wagon.
Excellent suggestions for someone training to be a tugboat captain; not so much for someone who wants cargo room in a vehicle that drives like a standard car.
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