As noted before, our current station wagon needs rear shock absorbers. The shocks are $1000 in parts, and aren't the only repair needed. And it will still be a 20-year-old wagon when we're done. That means it's probably time to upgrade. So last weekend, we did online research about wagons. What we want is comfortable, safe, and reliable, with reasonable fuel economy. We want to be able to put the kayak on top, the dog in the back, and of course the kid in the car seat in the second row. Once I pointed out that we could put the kayak on top of a mini-van if we had step stools, that unfortunately opened up the field even more. Ugh! So many choices!
It took all day Saturday, but we were able to narrow the field. We took a Toyota Sienna XLE for a test drive, and it was awful! It had the poor handling and serious lack of comfort of an old pickup truck! (Zero for comfort.) This was a high-end model just shipped the dealership, and it had exposed flashing (sharp! dangerous for pipsqueaks!) and one of the second-row seats wasn't even latched to the floor. (Zero for safety.) All of the nicer accents stopped behind the driver, and everything else was cheap-looking plastic. We were very comfortable saying that we would never buy it. Ever. Even for free. My old wagon's much better than that!
We talked to several people, and it sounds like Toyota quality took a nose dive some time in the last four years. Toyotas at least four years old are pretty good cars! Newer ... not so much. In fact, Toyota has more outstanding recalls right now than any other car manufacturer. I think in their rush to be the #1 car manufacturer, they forgot the good features that made them such a good #2.
Since the Suzuki dealership was next door, we also took a Suzuki XL7 for a test drive. The seats were very comfortable, the ride was decent (still a little truck-like), and the fit-and-finish were acceptable. Much better than the Toyota, but not what we're looking for.
Discouraging start to car replacement. But hey, I can always get this old wagon back in good shape!
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