Which car does this describe?

[taylor3297]

I don't think the vovlo's come with 4WD. Though Volvo is a great car too.

 

[hercamore]

Regarding the comfort issue of the pathfinder.

My DD owns a 2006 pathfinder and lives in rapid city SD.
I have spent at least 20 hours in that vehicle traveling I 90 and I find the front seats to be very comfortable with ample leg room for my long legs.

The middle seat is also comfy with good leg room.

I have also driven it across SD from rapid city to Sioux falls during an emergency. It is a very solid vehicle that well.

Herc

 

[monkeybug]

We love our GMC Yukon, though it certainly doesn't fit into the good gas mileage criteria. I do believe they make a hybrid now though.
It is plush and comfortable, extremely reliable (ours is a 2002, and has over 100,000 miles and has never had an issue), and just feels sturdy and well built.
The third row seats are comfy and big enough for adults, but there isn't much cargo room when they are up, getting the XL would solve that, but then your getting a giant vehicle.
Ours didn't come with blue tooth, but my husband just had a stereo installed that did.

 

[bicker]

My wife is warming to the idea of including the Ford Fusion in her consideration. AWD is okay.

However, it's second-rate (Consumer Reports) with regard to comfort, though, so that might eliminate it.

 

[taylor3297]

We love our GMC Yukon, though it certainly doesn't fit into the good gas mileage criteria. I do believe they make a hybrid now though.
It is plush and comfortable, extremely reliable (ours is a 2002, and has over 100,000 miles and has never had an issue), and just feels sturdy and well built.
The third row seats are comfy and big enough for adults, but there isn't much cargo room when they are up, getting the XL would solve that, but then your getting a giant vehicle.
Ours didn't come with blue tooth, but my husband just had a stereo installed that did.

My sister has the Yukon Xl and loves it! Hers came with the naviagation but not the bluetooth. It is a comfortable ride for sure.

 

[taylor3297]

My wife is warming to the idea of including the Ford Fusion in her consideration. AWD is okay.

However, it's second-rate (Consumer Reports) with regard to comfort, though, so that might eliminate it.

Well my dad had a fusion, sister in law has one, DH has 3 friends at work who have one and all have driven long trips and said it was comfortable. I think it is one of those things you have to try yourself.

The only reason my dad traded his fusion is because he has to trade cars once a year. I am not sure why he does this.

 

[bicker]

A Toyota Highlander Hybrid Limited may fit the bill.

I believe the Highlander is in the same position as the Pathfinder...second-rate on one of her absolute requirements, comfort.

Regarding the comfort issue of the pathfinder. My DD owns a 2006 pathfinder and lives in rapid city SD.

Yeah, but just look at this thread. Just a matter of minutes and a half dozen cars mentioned. By tonight it'll be a few dozen. Then add on all the cars folks in the thread she's posted in her company's discussion forum like. She's only going to only look at the ones that the trade reviewers rate in the top category, for comfort and reliability (and only those that actually have 4WD/AWD and Bluetooth). That'll presumably still leave her a bunch of options to consider (one would hope, at least).

Maybe that tool someone posted earlier can bring up just those car models. I'm working on a Dell mini (I'm in a waiting room) so a lot of web surfing isn't working for me right now.

EDITED: Argh, nope it doesn't. Is there any way to find the list of car models that got the Excellent rating from CR for both comfort and reliability, and have 4WD/AWD and Bluetooth?

 

[abdmom]

I believe the Highlander is in the same position as the Pathfinder...second-rate on one of her absolute requirements, comfort.

The only way she'll know about comfort is to try one. My dh traded in his 5 series BMW for a Highlander. They were equally comfortable, IMO.

 

[bicker]

The only way she'll know about comfort is to try one.

She's made it clear that she's not going to try-out a few dozen cars. The plan is to find a half dozen that are all reasonably likely to fit the bill, and test drive those.

You don't really get a good feel for touring comfort from a test drive anyway; my current car is a perfect example of that. It felt great - incredible really - during the test drive. However, after driving for a few hours straight, the things that made it so comfortable for the first 15 minutes now make it really bad after the third hour. It was especially frustrating, because we both asked a lot of people for their impressions, both in person and online, and my car was extremely strongly recommended by several people. Folks like what they like, I suppose.

Hopefully, this is factored into the expert ratings, and we can get a bit more of an overall impression of comfort from the ratings.

 

[joviroxx]

I love my Murano . Ok on Gas Mileage, not great. We did a 15 hour each way drive and it was awesome. Comes is AWD

 

[DrCavin]

What is your budget?

 

[bicker]

The Murano is also in that second category for both comfort and reliability. Why the heck don't they let us search by ratings? This is so annoying.

We'll worry about the budget later, really. I'm pretty sure that anything over $40K will be struck out summarily - we just can't afford that - but we're hoping for something in the $20K-$30K range. In the end, the first step is to prove that it is even worth considering buying a new car - that there are cars out there that are highly-rated enough to justify the bother of car shopping and the inevitable marital stress that might bring. It is beginning to seem like it is going to be hard enough to find car models that meet her absolute requirements, with enough authoritative back-up to get the go-ahead to even consider a new car. Sigh.

 

[DrCavin]

Look at previously owned vehicles that are a couple years old or so. Many come with warranties & you dont eat the depreciation that occurs the first few years.

 

[taylor3297]

According to Kelly Blue Book the 10 most comfortable cars under 30K are:

1. Buick LaCrosse
2. Buick Lucerne
3. Chrysler 300
4. Chevy Impala (this is what my dad just bought)
5. Chevy Malibu
6. Ford Taurus
7. Hyundai Azera
8. Subaru Legacy
9. Toyota Avalon
10. Toyota Camry

[/LIST]

 

[bicker]

Look at previously owned vehicles that are a couple years old or so.

Yeah, we already have a couple of those. If it is a choice between keeping what we have and buying used, we'll just keep what we have.

According to Kelly Blue Book the 10 most comfortable cars under 30K are:

Super! Thanks!

 

[jodifla]

According to Kelly Blue Book the 10 most comfortable cars under 30K are:

1. Buick LaCrosse
2. Buick Lucerne
3. Chrysler 300
4. Chevy Impala (this is what my dad just bought)
5. Chevy Malibu
6. Ford Taurus
7. Hyundai Azera
8. Subaru Legacy
9. Toyota Avalon
10. Toyota Camry

[/LIST]

OMG! The Buick Lucerne is the most comfortable car I've ever been in! I imagine the LaCrosse is similar.

 

[golfgal]

I don't subscribe anymore. I was hoping to get specific pointers to the specific resources, and then borrow the issues I need. However, it may make sense to resubscribe to Consumer Reports, at least... but aren't there better resources, like Car & Driver, for cars?

CHeck Edmunds.com too. They have a pretty active user forum for all the makes/models which is nice because they are actual user info not test info. We have also rented cars for a weekend that we were considering buying to see if we really like them. You can only tell so much from a test drive.

 

[CowboyCO]

Honda Accord EX hybrid

 

[CowboyCO]

Missed the AWD

Accord Crosstour EX with Navi
Acura TL SH-AWD w/ tech package
Used Acura RL with SH-AWD (This is an amazing car that can be a bargain on the secondary market)

 

[golfgal]

Keep in mind that AWD will effect the ride performance and how comfortable the overall ride is.