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Posted: 5/4/2024 8:36:01 AM EDT
My business takes me on road trips a few times a month, typically 2-4 hours one way. I currently have a V8 AWD SUV that serves as my daily driver/family hauler. I also have Challenger Hellcat with straight pipes and a vintage manual Supra, both of which are a blast to drive but not very “business like.”
I’m looking for a used full size sedan. Something big and fast but also quiet and comfortable. RWD or AWD only. I’ve looked at Lexus LS and GS, Cadillac CT6 V and BMW 650 gran coupe. They are all great cars but I’m hesitant to buy a used BMW as my previous experiences with German cars is that are high maintenance attention whores. The Lexuses (Lexi?) should be pretty much bulletproof and there’s a Cadillac dealer near my office. Any personal experience with any of these or anything else I should seriously consider? |
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You'd be better served buying a new Kia vs a used BMW.
Why does a commuter car need to be RWD? Fun factor? Sounds like you have some conflicting priorities to work through. A Camry is pretty much the ultimate commuter car, but I don't think awd is offered there. The Prius has AWD. But then again their lane following assist is garbage compared to others'. So maybe a list of priorities in order would be helpful? |
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I'm sure a Lexus will fulfill the need, but the Caddy looks way better. I had a regular CTS years ago and it was pretty sweet.
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Full size for the win.
I owed with compact cars for a time but it was a stupid waste, our full size impala is very comfortable and gets approx 30 mpg where the tiny rough riding compacts we’re not comfortable and basically got the same mileage. |
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I’ve owned many a vehicle…..and a gen 3 for raptor is about as cush a highway vehicle you will find.
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Quoted: Full size for the win. I owed with compact cars for a time but it was a stupid waste, our full size impala is very comfortable and gets approx 30 mpg where the tiny rough riding compacts we’re not comfortable and basically got the same mileage. View Quote What compacts are you looking at? The Carolla, Jetta, Civic, Elantra, etc all get near 50, not 30. My Ioniq gets 55 on a bad day. |
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There’s only one choice … Dodge Charger Hellcat.
Coolest supercharged V8 sedan on the planet. |
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Quoted: Audi RS6 View Quote Mmm. Yes. Nothing eats highway miles like a German. I DD an A4 Avant with a 6MT, AWD and the V6 on sports suspension, adjustable shocks and about 4 inches of ground clearance. It's been a great car. Not really any more maintenance intensive than my Nissan Hardbody, it's just way more sensitive. |
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I love my Lexus ES350 Ultra Luxury. Take it on 10+ hour road trips all the time. It's been the best road trip car i've had to date. I replaced my '17 SS with it. You can get them for a decent price used too.
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1976 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible or 1970s Plymouth Fury III and have it customized by Icon (4x4 optional). Cruise away.
or BMW M5 |
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Quoted: My business takes me on road trips a few times a month, typically 2-4 hours one way. I currently have a V8 AWD SUV that serves as my daily driver/family hauler. I also have Challenger Hellcat with straight pipes and a vintage manual Supra, both of which are a blast to drive but not very “business like"....anything else I should seriously consider? View Quote 1967-68 Imperial with the mobile-director option (speedtrap.net). |
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As a CTS-V owner, I can tell you that the Cadillac gets horrible gas mileage, and the seats are... strangely uncomfortable after a few hours.
The BMW (F10 in my case) is much more comfortable and gets way better gas mileage, but is kinda low to the ground, and surprisingly big. My go-to long distance car is the S60R. Seats are perfect, 500 miles between stops, 400HP is achievable with mods. Newer Volvos like the polestar have similar seats and HP, but no manual. Down side is the rarer Volvos command a pretty hefty premium on the used car market compared to the BMWs. |
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You basically described a Crown Vic...
Might look at a Lincoln MKZ... Or a Cadillac CTS. If you want to stay in the Dodge ecosystem.. they made/make a Durango with a Hemi that looks nicer for road trips than the Dodge cars do. |
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You want comfort? S550. It also packs quite a punch. When I retire and a car like that is more relevant, Ill be at the dealer looking for a lightly used one.
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Quoted: You'd be better served buying a new Kia vs a used BMW. Why does a commuter car need to be RWD? Fun factor? Sounds like you have some conflicting priorities to work through. A Camry is pretty much the ultimate commuter car, but I don't think awd is offered there. The Prius has AWD. But then again their lane following assist is garbage compared to others'. So maybe a list of priorities in order would be helpful? View Quote No conflicting priorities at all. I thought it was pretty clear that I’m interested in large, premium, RWD or AWD sedans. It’s not a commuter car, it’s an occasional road trip car and I have no interest in driving a car I don’t enjoy. |
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Quoted: You basically described a Crown Vic... Might look at a Lincoln MKZ... Or a Cadillac CTS. If you want to stay in the Dodge ecosystem.. they made/make a Durango with a Hemi that looks nicer for road trips than the Dodge cars do. View Quote My daily driver is a Durango R/T premium AWD with a few mods. |
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Quoted: You'd be better served buying a new Kia vs a used BMW. Why does a commuter car need to be RWD? Fun factor? Sounds like you have some conflicting priorities to work through. A Camry is pretty much the ultimate commuter car, but I don't think awd is offered there. The Prius has AWD. But then again their lane following assist is garbage compared to others'. So maybe a list of priorities in order would be helpful? View Quote FWD is ALWAYS inferior. You don't realize it if you're an A to B person. |
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Quoted: You'd be better served buying a new Kia vs a used BMW. Why does a commuter car need to be RWD? Fun factor? Sounds like you have some conflicting priorities to work through. A Camry is pretty much the ultimate commuter car, but I don't think awd is offered there. The Prius has AWD. But then again their lane following assist is garbage compared to others'. So maybe a list of priorities in order would be helpful? View Quote Camry is offered in a AWD version. I think OP is interested in a slight upgrade from a Camry. I can understand that. But I do like my Camry. |
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Lexus GS all day. The LS is a looker but has a very complex front suspension that is problematic as the vehicle ages
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Forget sedans - useless. Get a KIA Sorrento medium SUV with the 280 HP turbo 2.5L, AWD and dual-clutch 'automatic manual' trans - both standard on some trims.
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You don't need cup holders
300ZX Twin Turbo: If I had A Z Commercial |
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Used BMW all the way. Get one that's newish with low miles and still under factory warranty. Bonus if it's a CPO as that'll extend the warranty. I have a 2018 M4 that's been flawless for 60k miles and the most fun car I've ever driven. My wife's 2021 430i had likewise been trouble free for 40k.
Just yesterday I had to drive a rental 2024 Camry and it felt like a giant POS compared to the bimmers I'm used to. |
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I have a Cadillac CT6 with the twin turbo V6 and SuperCruise. I can attest it is a fantastic trip car.
-it is the quietest Cadillac ever built -long wheelbase makes for a smooth ride, while the 4 wheel steering makes it nimble -SuperCruise works great -Seats are incredibly comfortable for long days -33 mpg at 75 mph on flat roads -400 hp for passing power -large trunk -reliable, I bought it new and have had no major issues If you want more info PM me Just got back from a 2000 mile road trip to Shiloh and Vicksburg Attached File |
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Quoted: I have a Cadillac CT6 with the twin turbo V6 and SuperCruise. I can attest it is a fantastic trip car. -it is the quietest Cadillac ever built -long wheelbase makes for a smooth ride, while the 4 wheel steering makes it nimble -SuperCruise works great -Seats are incredibly comfortable for long days -33 mpg at 75 mph on flat roads -400 hp for passing power -large trunk -reliable, I bought it new and have had no major issues If you want more info PM me Just got back from a 2000 mile road trip to Shiloh and Vicksburg https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/48999/IMG_5387_jpeg-3205106.JPG View Quote Very nice! Thanks for your input. |
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Quoted: Lexus GS all day. The LS is a looker but has a very complex front suspension that is problematic as the vehicle ages View Quote |
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Lexus.
Or a Honda Odyssey. Our Odyssey was the ultimate multi passenger road trip platform. There are cars I love to drive, but don't trust or care for, on long trips. Lexus can be boring, but bulletproof. |
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Audi A6 is nice. The previous nice road trip car I had before my ES350UL was a '16 A6 3.0t Prestige with the B&O sound system (tweeters came out of the dash), FLIR, massaging seats, auto driving aids, and 18" tires and it was a dream on long trips. I regret selling it during covid now but it probably would have been a basket case long term compared to the ES.
The Caddy's mentioned in here with supercruise would also be worth looking at. I really don't know how good long term reliability is on them so it depends on how long you plan on actually keeping the vehicles. |
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Quoted: Your second line told me all I needed to know. FWD is ALWAYS inferior. You don't realize it if you're an A to B person. View Quote From a practicality standpoint there is literally nothing a RWD car does better than FWD. Snow performance? Nope. Rain performance? Nope. Loose gravel? Nope. Every time I see a car in the ditch in a snow or rain storm it's RWD without fail. Everyone here acts like they hit up every drag strip they pass driving their road trip car to and from where work takes them. Lol. And I've owned RWD, FWD, 4WD, and AWD. |
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How about a 1987 Cadillac Brougham d'Elegance with a AM/FM/Casette/CB head unit and a powder blue paint job.
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Quoted: From a practicality standpoint there is literally nothing a RWD car does better than FWD. Snow performance? Nope. Rain performance? Nope. Loose gravel? Nope. Every time I see a car in the ditch in a snow or rain storm it's RWD without fail. Everyone here acts like they hit up every drag strip they pass driving their road trip car to and from where work takes them. Lol. And I've owned RWD, FWD, 4WD, and AWD. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Your second line told me all I needed to know. FWD is ALWAYS inferior. You don't realize it if you're an A to B person. From a practicality standpoint there is literally nothing a RWD car does better than FWD. Snow performance? Nope. Rain performance? Nope. Loose gravel? Nope. Every time I see a car in the ditch in a snow or rain storm it's RWD without fail. Everyone here acts like they hit up every drag strip they pass driving their road trip car to and from where work takes them. Lol. And I've owned RWD, FWD, 4WD, and AWD. If you want to have fun get a corvette or miata. If you just need to "drive" there's plenty of solid cars like Lexus/Acura/etc or even the premium american or german brands depending on if you want it long term or are ok just owning while under warranty. I want low NVH, quiet cabin, comfy seats, and a great sound system now so I can enjoy my journey. But i've never had an issue hustling any of my non-sports cars either though. Hell even the upper trim regular japanese cars are great. Before I got this Lexus last year I was eyeballing the Honda Accord Touring and the Toyota Crown Platinum pretty heavily. They have all the same features I want too that the premium brands have. |
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Quoted: From a practicality standpoint there is literally nothing a RWD car does better than FWD. Snow performance? Nope. Rain performance? Nope. Loose gravel? Nope. Every time I see a car in the ditch in a snow or rain storm it's RWD without fail. Everyone here acts like they hit up every drag strip they pass driving their road trip car to and from where work takes them. Lol. And I've owned RWD, FWD, 4WD, and AWD. View Quote FWD in snow are front heavy and understeer. Makes the low clearance sedans plow through snow easily if they have low ground clearance. |
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Quoted: You want comfort? S550. It also packs quite a punch. When I retire and a car like that is more relevant, Ill be at the dealer looking for a lightly used one. View Quote I came here to say a retired friend who doesn't drive much and doesn't care about fuel costs just bought a 2006 S550 in mint condition, odometer in the low 100k range, and didn't pay much for it. M113 engine is pretty damn durable, but you might need to replace some ignition coil packs every 15 years or so. |
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Since you mentioned luxury cars, I will note that the Porsche Panamera is without question the most comfortable and amazing car for cruising along on long trips. My wife drove one for nine years, and the car literally had ZERO issues. They are extremely reliable.
The base model is pretty awesome, and once you get into the more powerful models, they are insanely fast. |
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Quoted: From a practicality standpoint there is literally nothing a RWD car does better than FWD. Snow performance? Nope. Rain performance? Nope. Loose gravel? Nope. Every time I see a car in the ditch in a snow or rain storm it's RWD without fail. Everyone here acts like they hit up every drag strip they pass driving their road trip car to and from where work takes them. Lol. And I've owned RWD, FWD, 4WD, and AWD. View Quote OP started a thread about buying a 4th vehicle for occasional highway use. I don't think 'practicality' is the consideration here. There are a lot of scenarios where RWD is better, which is why virtually all real GT cars are RWD. For quite a few reasons, a McPherson strut FWD isn't going to be as comfortable as most RWD luxury cars. I wouldn't expect OH to be that much different from MO, and here most of what's in the ditch is FWD shitboxes on bald tires and dry vans with foreign drivers. |
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