If you were shopping for a family CAR, not truck or SUV, which would you be most inspired to purchase? Forget for a moment that this is FTE and lets all be honest.

I've recently test driven a few cars as my daughter is nearing the driving age. I intend to give her my Taurus wagon as it's big and safe and I'm getting a new F-150 / 250.

I didn't drive any of the Fords as I'm a Ford enthusiast and assume they are nice.

I was very impressed with the Nissan's offerings. I too liked the Hyundai. Thier quality is superior and the price and warranty are fantastic.

I refuse to even look at a Honda as they won't budge off of thier price. GM has nothing that I want. The Toyotas are also quite good and very peppy, but pricey.

Tim

 

no comment.

 

The only GM sedan that interests me is the Pontiac G8. Chrysler is going out of business soon so that rules out the Charger or 300C. Ford is killing the Panther platform soon and the Crown Vic has already been discontinued as a retail (non-fleet) offering. As you can tell, I dont like FWD cars. Luxury brands, like BMW, Cadillac, Lincoln, Lexus and Mercedes all have RWD sedans, but those arent really "family" cars at that price level. The German ones are too unreliable to keep beyond the warranty anyway.

BTW, I have driven modern FWD cars and they all put me to sleep. I have driven the Camry, Fusion and Sonata, but not the Malibu. The best value is the 4-cylinder Hyundai Sonata, US designed and assembled with a US engine. Somehow, Ford managed to tune out the Mazda "Zoom" from the Fusion.

Jim

 

This might stray too far from the topic at hand, but it is a sedan: The Lexus LS 400 or 430. "Hear me out", as the bro-in-law says: These things are getting a bit long in the tooth, and the first wave of "Luxo Beaters" is now on the roads. They were well built, and I can tell you the LS430 motor has, as the old man used to say, "Plenty of snap." So, depending on your appetite for tinkering, and what the market really asks for one, perhaps something to consider.

 

I'd look at a G8 also.

The new Hyundai Genesis is supposed to be rwd. And I read somewhere that they've got a v8 in the works.

 

It depends on if you are buying new or used. If you are buying new, I would consider a Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Honda Accord or Toyota Camry. If buying used, you need to think differently. You need to buy a good car that also depreciates a lot. My best buy was a used Lincoln Town Car-you get a lot of car for a little money. I also bought a used Buick Park Avenue that was a good car for not much money. My current car is a 2008 Impala that I bought used in November for $11,800 and it still had 4 years on the powertrain warranty. Nice car that gets in the mid 30s on the interstate. Hyundai Sonata is a good buy used also as is the Kia Amanti.

You just need to keep in mind that if you buy new, buy something that doesn't depreciate quickly but buy quick depreciating cars if buying used.

 

i guess it depends a lot who is driving it: if you just want a new domestic family sedan i would go with either the Ford Fusion or Saturn Aura (or perhaps the G8 by pontiac). You could put in that group a VW Jetta or a Passat (this might be a little more $$$)

As for other foreign cars (i like mostly europeans one) you might want to check out Saab 9-3...Saab is hurting and i'm sure you can find good deals. BMW, Merc, Audi will be considerably more expensive...but more fun (as a BMW owner i can attest to that...)

 

For the past few years I have been quite fond of the mid-90s BMW 5series wagon.
Another option is the Subaru Legacy wagon, in the early to mid 90s range. These actually are a very nice comfortable and quite reliable car, and they take a hit better than you'd expect. There are pics on the Ultimate Subaru site of a 93 that got hit in the driver's front tire at about 40. The driver walked away, and posted about how his car got totaled.

 

2 words...............Ford Fusion.

 

The G8 is nice...I like the GXP. The Genesis has a V8 in the 4dr and is supposed to be getting the same in the coupe eventually.

My mother had a '97 Outback. She put 268,000 on it before she sold it to my knothead brother who drove it for about three weeks before totaling it. She is really easy on cars and had 167,000 on the original Michelins before she had to replace them. She drove all interstate miles then and had a 130 mile roundtrip to work and home each day. They are excellent cars and will go about anywhere you point them in the snow.

If I end up getting a car, I'm either going with the new Taurus in SHO guise or the G8 GXP.

 

I'll agree with John. Either the GXP, or take a look at the new Forester. Damn nice!

 

I am not a fan of FWD at all coming from a service point of view, but we have had excellent luck with our taurus. When the wheels fall off of that it will most likely be replaced with another Taurus or a P71 Intercepter (wife actually likes em!) or a Grand Marquis or any other large car, she dosent like compacts or mid sized cars. My dad drives a 2007 Impala and so far it has been a pretty good car, 0 problems and 40,000 miles. I would say thats the only GM car besides Oldsmobile that I would own. The only thing that i dislike about our taurus besides the FWD is the oil filter is right above the exhaust pipe and no matter how careful I am, oil spills all over it. The wife still gets freaked out about the smoke comming from under the hood after an oil change!

 

I like the AWD taraus X and the volvo C-90 myself. There more station wagon than suv.
I think sation wagons are making a come back after this last round of high gas prices.

 

I'm sorry, you said family sedan, for some reason I had station wagon on the brain. I still say the taraus and fusion as I'm a diehard ford guy.

 

I'd perfer a large car like an interceptor CV, absolutely hate the Corolla we have now, the Grand Am I can drive but still on the small side. Really up here a mid size SUV would be best, I'm sick and tired of tugging the cars out of the driveway every big snowfall.