Summary: I LOVE THIS CAR!

Options: See bottom.

Epic tale:

So our long night is finally over. It all started in December ’99. My girlfriend and I have been leasing a ’97 4Runner which was to be given back in May ’00. We genuinely loved the 4Runner and wanted to get another one. I decided to really trick this one out, so I learned all about TRD and the supercharger they make which is covered under the factory warrantee. Brings it to 265hp! After figuring out all the fun things I wanted to do to it, I suddenly found out that Toyo had made some changes that I didn’t like. Mainly goofy options that were always included in packages, or non-existent standard tranny/locking diff that, although listed, was not being produced. Gooney fender flares and body cladding which gave a really cool basic design a nice Battlestar Galactica feel, UGH!

So we investigated the LandCruiser. Big, comfy, slow as a cow, expensive, and the interior Fit&Finish was sub-par. Sure, it actually can go anywhere a Hummer can in stock form, but I have a nice ’94 Cherokee for that.

Next up: the Merc ML430. My friend had just gotten one and seemed to really like it. Drove like a bat out of hell! Gobs of power, super handling, the traction system was amazing (tried to make it spin in an empty parking lot to no avail, glad they didn’t send a salesperson with us!). What was the problem? HORRIBLE FIT&FINISH, external and internal. Hunk of trash, plain and simple. My friend and his Merc play into all this later on as well.

Next up: BMW X-5. Went into the Berkshires to try one of these. Seemed to be everything the Merc was supposed to be. The day we went it was sleeting pretty badly. This thing was the Ferrari to the Merc’s Corvette. Solid as a rock. Loved every bit of it except…..NO CARGO SPACE!!!! This thing is not an SUV, wagon, or even a typical sedan when it comes to space. For $50G+, I want at least enough space for my dogs!

The same day, we drove back to Northampton and tried a Jeep Grand Cherokee with the super-duper traction system. This is a funny one… the saleskid came with us and there was about 4 inches of the worst slush you could imagine on the road. Right away the thing showed its strengths when I had to make a U-turn. It was on rails even though there should have been next to no traction. We headed north, and the kid, in the back, started talking to me about my current Jeep and 4x4 trails in the area. I mentioned a very easy one just a few miles away. He said to go for it!! So we went up what was now just a snowmobile trail. Huge ice slabs and chunks due to freeze/thaw, big washouts, steep icy climbs, the trail was a bit worse than I had remembered (grin). But this thing sucked up the worst of it, stock tires and all. It was like magic, since my experience with trail running told me this should not be working. So after coming out onto a back road which had not been plowed, my girlfriend took the helm. We were going along just fine, and I did a stupid thing and told her to trust the system and go a bit faster (STOOOOPID). She did so reluctantly. A bit later, I was about to mention that she should maybe slow down a bit when the truck went sideways. The poor system tried all it could to straighten things out, but I was still looking out the passenger window down the road. Thing went nice and smooth from there. We were sliding toward the left side of the road and toward a telephone pole. The system seemed to slow us just enough that we nosed it into the ditch/embankment just before the pole, THUNK! The right front wheel and bumper took the brunt of it. Right away I told her to just back out onto the road, which she did, and the truck felt fine. The kid shakily asked if we could look over the vehicle before going on. There was absolutely no evidence of the crash other than some mud on the rim. This was a pretty major hit, so I assumed that the alignment would be shot, possible bearing damage. But I took the wheel, drove on, and it felt perfect! The kid laughed it off, and said that’s what they had insurance for, but asked if his manager didn’t have to hear about this. We agreed without problem. I then did an exit on I-91, which was plowed, at 75mph+ and it didn’t shake a bit. Also had gobs of power. So, what was wrong with it? Well…it was still a Jeep. Being a Jeep owner, I can safely gripe about the basic Fit&Finish, but for the price I do believe it is a great deal. Coming from the 4Runner, though, made us want for more refinement. But, at this point it ranked #1 in all our tests.

Next up: Land Rover Discovery II with the stability system. This truck was the most uncanny experience we had. The pneumatic stability system made the tall vehicle handle like a sports car. The salesguy asked me to pitch it into corners, both slow and fast, with almost reckless abandon. Just imagine an SUV that doesn’t lean a bit in even the hardest corners! It was so cool. Fit&Finish was actually quite impressive. Controls and features were well thought out. The problems: a bit too cramped in width (and I’m pretty scrawny) and noticeably under-powered. For the price, we still ranked the Grand Cherokee above it, but not by much.

So at this point it was April 2000 and we still had yet to find something we loved as much as our 4R. My girlfriend hated the idea of a stationwagon (what is it with chicks and trucks? ;) but I convinced her to go try an Audi A6 Avant. The local Audi dealer was also a Volvo dealer, and while we were waiting in the showroom I was blown away by the new T-5 in front of me. WOW, it was beautiful! I always liked the idea of the V70R with AWD and lots of power, but I didn’t go for the good old box look. I had no idea they had been redesigned. We sat in it and were totally wowed by the solid feel, comfy seats, and loads of cargo/people space. I was already sold but I had to keep it to myself for the moment. Time for some social engineering.

So we got to take out an Avant. I must say that I love the way it looks too. The Fit&Finish was equal to the Volvo. We both drove, doing highway, bumps, and the parking lot spin test. I did like the car very much. She seemed to as well. The problems were the power curve (smooth but not peppy) and the cargo area was pretty small. It was very annoying to find out how chipable the Audi turbos are and that the Avant does not come with a turbo. The salesman was very up on all the Audi aftermarket stuff and had an A4 with a ridiculous amount of power.

So, perfect segway to the T-5. We had to come back a few days later to try one. VROOOM…lordy lordy unscrew the 40, time to celebrate! I was sold, she was getting there. We then learned about the upcoming XC and the Audi All-Road. I am a hardcore proponent of AWD, so even though the T-5 had a pretty good traction system available, my instincts were towards the XC or All-Road. Why couldn’t Volvo make the XC with the same power as the T-5????(nothing a PES chip can’t fix!) The AR has twin tubos, 250hp, and that cool ride height adjustment. But, the AR is around $50G, and the interior space is the same as the Avant. The XC picture showed the cool unpainted plastic bumpers and cladding, the kind that you can bump, scratch, and abuse without worry, but so does the AR. Now what? Extend the 4R lease another 6 months and test-drive them in September when the dealer said they’d be out.

Now remember my friend with the Merc? He lives in Stowe, VT and it seems that the ML430 has an inherent flaw in the fuel management system which, on very cold mornings, caused it to run a few cylinders shy of 8 for an hour or so. A bit annoying when he had to drive an hour to work in Burlington every day. Merc claimed to have fixed it several times, but finally admitted that it was a flaw and new software would not be available for a while. He then invoked the VT lemon law and started that whole process. Skip forward to August. He wins in court, no lawyer needed. Merc writes him a check. He tests a T-5 due to my rave reviews. Sees all the info on the XC, orders it right there. Leaves for Europe for a couple of weeks and is to return to his new car waiting for him. He orders the pale blue.

2 weeks later my girlfriend and I get to test-drive an XC. We love it. Sure it has less power than the T-5, but it has just enough high SUV feel to it for her to accept. This car just happens to be the pale blue and looks horrible!!! On the lot was an Ash Gold, we both look at each other and agree without words. I call my friend in Europe and tell him to just trust me and change the color. He does so immediately and goes with the Ash Gold sight unseen. We want some very specific options, so we have to order it. His is the intro package so it’s there in mid-September when he gets back. The day he gets it he calls to rave about it. Loves the color, loves the car, etc… Told me about all the cool Easter Eggs that the manual doesn’t mention. Figured out how to hardwire his Valentine radar detector to the front fuse box and run the wire up under the pillar. Figures out lots of other stuff too, and since I knew I wanted to tweak mine, his was a good test bed. Both he and I hate stock stereo systems. No matter how “upscale” they are, they suck compared to a decent after-market system. BUT, he loves his! He’s Ebaying all the trick stuff he yanked from the Merc because it is unnecessary! So I ordered the full on in-dash 4-CD stereo with amp and subwoofer.

We took delivery of ours on Friday, October 27. Such joy and elation! I took a few days of not driving it to do some prep-work that no dealer could ever do. I will follow up this post with all that.

Our XC:

Sun Roof

Cloth/vinyl seats (that’s why we had to order since we both hate leather…seats that is)

In-dash 4-CD stereo with amp and powered sub-woofer.

Touring package

Cold weather package

Versatility package

Security package

Total agreed price: $38,600.00 (I can back that up with a copy of our sales agreement if you want)

Oh yea, I had forgotton what it was like to get mileage above 17, let alone the 22+ I've been getting over the past week!