Car Quest, Part 3

I think we've finished the test drive phase of this wagon car quest! The short list was Audi A6 or allroad from last time, Volkswagon Passat GLX, or Mercedes E-class. Today we drove the 2007 "Package 2" (no longer called GLX) Passat wagon, and a 1999 Mercedes E320 wagon. It's hard to fit in two test drives before Karston's naptime, but we did it in large part because we don't have as many questions about Mercedes since we've had so many over the years. I have two, my mother had one, Daddy has had two (one current), and his parents have had two (one current). We've seen a number of Mercedes, we know what to expect, so we had a short test drive just before Karston passed out for his nap.

What's funny about my short list (Audi, Passat, Mercedes) is that it's the same short list a friend of mine had shopping for a small sporty luxury car. (Well, and the list is all German.) The Mercedes won that toss, too. So we're leaning towards Mercedes for familiarity as well as its ability to be the finalist for everyone else too. I know Mercedes no longer has their legendary reliability going for them so those cars won't hold their value as well, but if I know that when I buy it, I won't be disappointed either.

The Passat had a harder ride than I expected; I wanted the air shocks right away. However, I didn't get car sick in the second row, so it's not that bad either. Reliability, safety, comfort, all check. Fuel economy 26/31 is quite nice on the 4-cylinder, although I would also want to try a 6-cylinder (without AWD). The price of a new Passat isn't bad when you remember it's on a list with Audi and Mercedes (that I would buy used).

The Mercedes was just what I expected. This particular car was missing the second-row head rests and appeared to have some electrical issues (I couldn't get the seat back to recline at first although I'm very familiar with the controls, and Daddy couldn't get the sunroof to open even though he's very familiar with that button as well). I was surprised that the ride on a 4Matic was so similar to a RWD Mercedes, but that was the only (pleasant!) surprise. The only detail that was not exactly as I expected is that the gear shifter felt flimsier than I expect, the shifting didn't feel solid. However, it was so familiar ... mmm ... and a nice upgrade from the same model but 20 years old that I already have! So any wagon on the short list will do, but I'm leaning towards replacing a Mercedes wagon with, no surprise, a Mercedes wagon.