Now I have a 330i wagon. But I also now have a 6 month old daughter and I take her to daycare every morning and pick her up each evening.
I’m now wishfully thinking about Macan’s and Stelvio Quads because of how easy it is to get a car seat in there without having to move my seat, or put her in the middle to fit, and I am as much of a sportscar geek as it gets. I have my racecar in the garage, daily drove a supercharged Elise for 2 years, boxster before that. But man does a Macan S or Turbo sound awesome for my daily situation.
My wife doesn’t want to go back to a sedan for that reason, and because can just step right into a CUV/SUV without falling down, or climbing out. She’s perfectly capable, but just prefers it now
Not by much, but the raised seating is nicer. When I put in the car seat right now she sits in the middle since it fits in there easier, and I basically have to drop her in without looking just feeling my way waiting for the click as I look at the Top of the roof.
It’s mostly about the higher seating position. Compact crossovers that are physically no bigger than a Ford focus are extremely popular for this reason.
+1 to this. We’d be all over a TourX for my wife’s next car if it came in a bit under the 1% rule. But unless something changes drastically in the next few months, that’s looking more than a bit unlikely.
I can’t see that happening. The fact that GM ditched Opel, sales on Wagons are soft in the US and GMF probably attempting to be conservative so as not to lose money when they get these back…it doesn’t smell rosy for leases on this. I could see purchase cash increasing though.
Residuals really weren’t that great to begin with coming out of the gate as a redesign, they’re in the tank now. I can’t see them propping up the numbers that much in order to make this an attractive lease.
About the only mechanism I could see is if they start piling up on dealer lots, maybe GM would be motivated to move some of them via leases in December. Especially since there’s quite a few $40k+ Essence trims sitting there, and I just don’t get the many impression many Americans are looking for an expensive Euro wagon without all the luxury features of MB/Audi/BMW.
It’s kinda apples to durians…A Stelvio quad is one of the more expensive compact SUVs in the market. At the price you’re paying, a comparable crossover/SUV is something like an Equinox or Terrain. The pitch, roll and throttle response would make you miss your F31 in a hurry. NTM the material quality.
Maybe for a few people. Minivans have elevated seating positions too, but lost the battle against much more compromised (in terms of packaging) three-row SUVs a long time ago. Those Scion boxes did well among seniors for their seating positions too, but again lack of marketing $ = death.
BOF vehicles continue to be very profitable segments, despite their less-than-ideal ingress and egress. An average person of, say, 5’6" kinda has to climb up to get in and then fall down to get out.
I’d never thought of seating as “commanding” until the marketing people told me so. Now I feel like Admiral Chester Nimitz looking out over the bridge of the USS Enterprise as the Imperial Japanese fleet lays smouldering in the Pacific Ocean.
I’m 6’2" and I still climb up and fall out of my Expedition. Ease of ingress/egress was one of the ways I convinced my wife to move from her Expedition to a QX60. Her knees no longer hurt getting in and out. What I don’t understand is how people drive jacked up trucks with no running boards or ladders.
Ugh! Europe is getting a ‘Corolla Touring Sport’ with two hybrid choices. I would be chucking so money at them if they brought it over to the US! (not that it would sell at all) BUT SO MUCH WANTZ!
