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Wagon Overviews
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Posted by Zinhead (more from Zinhead) on Thu, 19 Jun 2003 21:41:56 Share Post by Email
In Reply to: 9-5 vs A6 avant, 5 series, C-class, W8, V70, ckpaden, Wed, 18 Jun 2003 22:31:44
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Before buying an Aero wagon, I drove the A6 Avant, Volvo V70 T5, MB C320, and BMW 525Ti. I wasn't planning on testing the Saab, but there was a dealer right next to the BMW so I figured I might as well drive one.

The MB was the most dissapointing. The exterior build quality was supurb and the interior looked nice but felt cheap. It was the smallest of the bunch by far, and the ride, handling and drivetrain performance was lackluster. The salesmen said they only sell one or two of these a month, and after driving it there was little wonder why.

The Volvo has a reasonably nice interior, with decent build quality. The built-in booster seats were a nice addition and it looked sharp too. The T5 had alot of power, but with noticeable turbo lag. The worst part was the handling. The chassis was probably with least sorted out of the five cars. It was totally unable to handle the power produced by the T5, and the suspension was as soft as an old Buick in the turns.

I was very impressed with the Audi. Gorgeous interior, slick exterior. This was the car I thought Mercedes should be building. However, it is tuned totally toward the luxury equation and with a very low fun to drive quotient. I could see myself driving this when I am 60, but not yet. Plus, it really is a Volkswagen under the skin with all the reliability problems associated with VAG.

The BMW with a sports package really impressed me. Built solid as a vault, it was very tasteful inside and out. The vehicle was the by far the best handling of this group. However, the 2.5 litre engine is just too small to motivate such a substantial car. I remember whipping around an on-ramp, flooring it, and waiting for am eternity for the wonderfully smooth six to accelerate up to 70. A 530Ti wagon would be ideal, but they don't make one and the V-8 is more than $50K.

The Saab isn't perfect. The interior is dated with the worst dashboard of the bunch. The I4 vibrates alot at idle. However, the suspension tuning is spot on, delivering the best handling other than the BMW with the sports pachage. The engine/transmission combo is the best of the bunch, delivering great power with minimal turbo lag or downshift reaction. It's simply the most fun to drive wagon on the market short of a 540Ti or S6. The fact that it was $4,000 cheaper (I paid $36,600 for a loaded 02) that all but the Volvo clinched the deal

I drove a S60R at one of Volvo's driving events a few months ago. It was a very nice car, a vast improvement over the T5. The AWD lessened the ability to overcome traction in the front wheels, and the adjustable suspension does a really nice job on the short autocross track that was set up. For most types of enthusiastic drving, the R would beat an Aero hands down although I believe the Aero is still a better highway cruiser. However, the R is also considerably more expensive than an Aero (at least $6K) and you are still not getting what I would think is an ultra performance car (like an M3).

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