I’ve got some work travel coming up in a couple months. Since we’re in the middle of a global pandemic (in case you hadn’t heard) I’m opting to drive vs fly and the company is mostly allowing this.
I’ll end up driving the Volvo, Land Rover, or Jaaaag... but also thought it would be fun to muse about buying a car to make the trip in. Then I thought it would be more fun to make you guys speculate about what car I should buy!
Trip Details
- 1,500+ miles (2 x 750 mile days + weekend adventure driving)
- August in southern New Mexico (Hot and rainy, apparently)
- >98% Highway, <2% overland (light, optional)
Constraints and Considerations
- Budget: $5,000 all-in (including repairs, tires, etc)
- Repair Tolerance: No more than 1 weekends worth, repairs come out of total budget (Subjective I know, but keep it reasonable. No head gaskets or engine rebuilds, but alternators and air leaks are OK.)
- Must have: AC (-$1000 for non-working), Cruse control, no major body damage, Good gas mileage
- Major needs: Quiet, comfortable, presentable paint
- Other considerations: Offroad ability would be nice
So basically I’m looking for something quiet, and comfortable that is good on the highway and light on gas. If I didn’t care about that last part I’d just send the Jag because it is killer on the highway and I don’t REALLY care about being able to offroad.
I guess something like a Subaru might make sense?
What does Oppo think?