Need a new (to me) car

[JuiceTheGator]

I had the MKT for awhile when the babies were born. It's awesome. It's really a serious grown-up's car. It drives as nicely as ANY other car and the utility of the big hatchback is tits. Mine just had the 3.7L. At 110mph on the highway, it felt like my big Mercedes used to.

One day, when I finally have a chauffeur, I'll be driven in the back of one of those...that's the place to be. Friends who rode back there would say "day-um! this is nice." I had the option where there's a little refrigerator between the back seats. Sadly, it only carried breastmilk.

Put my butt in the seat of 1/2 the cars for sale in Michigann it feels like. I think I've got it as figured out as I ever will, which isn't all that much. I'm still going back and forth on what I really want. I'll probably just go with whatever the best deal i can find out of my short list, because every 30 seconds I change my mind.

1. Infiniti QX70 - I almost gave up on this car, tried getting in and it almost didn't let me in. I absolutely couldn't climb sideways into the car like I always have. Had to sit down backwards and like bend and scoot and I'm sure I looked ridiculous, I know it felt awward and ridiculous. Almost turned around and left right then. But once inside it was l like a silk glove, I don't know if it was technically the most comfortable but it fit me the best. And it was by far the best driving car of everything I tested out. Not super important but its IMO the best looking too. Still cringe about getting in every day though. Pretty pricey too.
2. Acura MDX - 2nd hardest to get into. Not nearly as bad as the Infiniti, but awkward. Looks almost as nice, probably more comfortable to 99% of people, almost as comfortable to me. Almost as nice to drive. Almost as fast. Almost as good looking. Almost the same price too. When I get nervous about getting in the Infiniti this jumps into the lead.
3. Audi Q7 - not even really counting it most of the time. It's about $5k more than I wanted to spend. But I keep trying to talk myself into it. It's not just better than everything else I drove, it's SIGNIFICANTLY better. But I'm sure so is the Bentayga, it would be easier to ignore if it was further out of my price range.
4. Lincoln MKT - nervous about this one. I cant find one local to even sit in much less drive. And its ugly as sin. But all my truck friends rave about the 3.5 ecoboost engine, same one they put in F-150's I guess. They love to point out that a revised version of that same engine is in the Ford GT and the Raptor. And the MKX that I drove was nice. Not for me, but nice. The MKX had like bench seats almost, barely any bolstering and the 3.7 engine in that felt really gentlemanly. Old gentlemanly, just too reserved for me. The MKT would be the fastest car of everything I drove, so I doubt its quite as reserved.
5. Mazda CX9 - honestly this is probably what I'll end up in. It's by far the slowest thing that i drove, but didn't feel like it. Definitely felt faster than a Traverse, MKX, Pilot, or an Edge. Drove both a 2015 v6 and a 2016 turbo 4. Both felt nearly the same, if anythingbbthev4 felt more usable. '16 is beautiful. Probably second best looking IMO. Drives right there with the Acura. Creature comforts it's closer to the entry luxury brands than it was to the Ford, Chevy, Honda, Nissan, etc stuff. Closer to but not quite there. The leather and electronics and stuff aren't enough to make up for being so much cheaper. I would get this car in half a second if it just had a bit more horsepower. But it's probably still what I'll end up with.

I still have a friend who works at a large dealership group looking into some things for me. And if i don't find a good enough deal I can wait until 2019 models start coming out in the summer. 3-4 months won' change much for me, but it will make everything else look that much older.

Check what I said...there's been a change.

Don't buy the MKT - it looks like that model is being replaced by a more common styling. It seems whenever a model is replaced, the resale goes way down and some parts get stupid expensive.

2019 Lincoln Nautilus : Lincoln Motor Company™ - Luxury SUVs and Full-Size Crossovers - Lincoln.com

Good looking deal there though.

 

[Edonidd]

Went off the reservation and bought an 09 Infiniti FX50S. About halfway home with it now after driving 12 hours to pick it up blind. Love it now that I've figured out how to turn off lane departure warning. It's gonna get me in trouble though. Driving through the hills/mountains of Pennsylvania during a torrential downpour and I was intentionally driving very slow. Then I looked down at the Speedo and I was going 90+.