What do you drive and why?

.....For me, the best car stereo has been Meridian in Jaguar XJ. Burmester in S-class coupe comes second (which was a surprise to me)......


I cant agree more. My next car is going to be an XJR, and of course it will have the  Meridian sound. My wife is getting a 2019 Subaru Outback limited this summer. Having built these cars on the assembly line in Lafayette, I can say they never leave the line with an assembly defect. If there is a recal or failure, it comes from parts vendors, but never from the guys on the line. I wish I could say t(e same form my Dodge Demon I waited an entire year for, only to find out the manufacturer crashed the car before they even shipped it to the dealer, but that would be another long discussion.

2006 F150 with 119K. Love my trusty hard working truck. Gets me to camp. Hauls all my gear. It's the one indispensable vehicle I have. 2002 Jeep Liberty with 62K. Great little vehicle with a four cylinder that gets good mileage, sits higher up and maneuvers easily. Great to run around town in and not afraid of getting some dings in it. 2007 Jaguar XK convertible with 41K. A work of art & a dream to drive. Mental floss when you put the top down and just want to clear your head. Mostly sits in garage on a trickle charger. Repairs are never fun, but it's a weekend car on nice days. Wife's car. 2018 Jaguar XK 35i Portfolio edition. 3 weeks old with less than 400 miles on it. A nightmare. One problem after another. Has been back to dealer twice already. Last night it had to be flat-bedded to dealer... again. Total battery failure. How does a brand new vehicle (left over 2018) end up with a completely dead battery? Numerous computer glitches. I am sitting here now with buyers remorse knowing this isn't the last time. Wished we had kept her trusty 2011 BMW 328i. Now Herbie's gone and I want him back. Atleast the Germans knew how to build a modern sport sedan that worked. The new Jag built by Tata Motors is proving to be a over-designed technological nightmare. Sorry people. I saw this discussion forum on here and you posted it at the perfect time for me to vent.     

Correction. 2018 Jaguar XE 35i Portfolio, not XK. To the gentleman who posted prior to mine thinking about a new Jaguar XJR. Take a peek at the positive battery post before buying it, even if it's brand new. If it looks like someone jumped it with a pair of gator clips (you will know if the white paint is scratched off the positive post where the clips dug in), think long and hard about your decision. Ours was brand new with 1.3 miles on it when we bought it. Last night before it was flat-bedded, I looked at the manual and popped the red protective cover off the positive terminal. It was scratched up pretty good. So, this vehicle was probably DOA when it was brought into port and offloaded onto the semi and had to be jumped. Something in these Jags is eating batteries or they are designed with inept alternator incapable of charging them. Just a warning. The car is beautiful. The Meridian sound system is nice. But the computer systems are typical Jaguar and ours has been nothing but trouble.

4 vehicles in our household

2008 Cadliac Escalade 114k miles
2010 VW Touraeg V6 80k miles
2008 Jeep Liberty 110k miles
2008 Jeep Commander 140k miles

We tend to keep our vehicles for a long time.    I prefer large a SUV because of comfort during long road trips.  It is like driving a large club chair that can also carry just about anything you need to carry.   I purchased it as my 3rd choice so to speak.  1st choice was a Mercedes GL550.  I test drove 2, at 2 separate times.  Each time I had a lower back ache after 20 min.  At least for me, it seemed that the pedals were offset to the right of the foot-well, requiring me to sit in a certain way that was uncomfortable.  2nd choice was a GMC Denali (previous SUV was a 2000 Denali purchased with 30k miles and sold with 275k miles...), but I could not find one in my price range; everyone wanted a premium and they sell very quickly as used.  I noticed that Escalades consistently sold for several K less than Denalis even when adjusted for condition and use.  So I purchased an Esclade.   I initially received some strange looks when people saw me driving it or getting out of it....I guess I don't fit the "profile" of the average Escalade driver....  But it is fast and very comfortable.

My wife drove a succession of MB E wagons for a long time and wanted something a little bigger.  She initially test drove a MB ML SUV, but felt it was too similar to her wagon and she realized she also wanted something different.  Then she test drove a Volvo XC90 and a VW.  She thought the interior of the Volvo felt cheap vs the cost.  She liked the VW so a Touraeg it was.   I joke that the VW is a Porsche Cayenne without the spice, and an Audi Q7 without the zeros on the end of the check !   I have friends that drive Cayenne, Maccan, Q5 and Q7, and non believe me when I tell them that our lowly VW came from the same assembly line, and has the same basic engine and transmission.    So far it is good vehicle- reliable, but a few small issues that are more nuisance than debilitating.  My wife likes it, but admitted she will probably go back to an MB when it is time to purchase another vehicle.

Our children drive the Jeeps.   We love Jeeps (long time Cherokee owners previously).  The Liberty is really an updated version of the Cherokee.  The Commander is a Liberty stretched to its limit.  I think the Liberty is the better of the two trucks.  The market seems to agree as I see many more Libertys on the road now than I do Commanders, as both or now at least 5-8yr old for the last model  years.

thamilton1,

When does it qualify as a Lemon? Probably not yet, but the story is quite impressive for 400 miles.