CAR WARS! One Of 00R's Loved Ones Is Getting Wheels — What Should She Get? 3-Series? A4? CLA? Fusion Hybrid? IS? Q5? Q50?

Hmm, the only good choices I see there are Infiniti Q50 and Lexus IS. The rest is garbage.

Looking at that list, it appears she should choose between a car and an SUV first or you will have way too many choices.

Automatic or manual? Any need for AWD?

Personally, I would not live in that area without an AWD SUV. So, I'd say the Q5.

http://jalopnik.com/lets-settle-the-winter-tires-vs-all-wheel-drive-debat-1462180324

Riiiight. Thus the reason why the Q5 is the recommendation which comes standard with all-season tires and not the SQ5 which comes standard with summer performance tires.

I'd suggest an A5 - awd, sportier and more special looking than the A4.

Get her the Audi q5, or A4, they are definitely the chick cars of this group.

Not sure if she is planning on leasing or buying, but Audi had had some great lease deals on both the A4 and Q5. Specifically the Mendham, NJ dealership. AWD is great on both. I have nothing buy praise for my 2012 A4 and 2007 Q7. My only issue with the A4 at this point is the new one is right around the corner and I do not like getting yesterday's design, but for some, this does not matter. Probably why prices are getting aggressive. A4 is also great on gas, especially on the highway.

On the flip side, my father has had 3 G's. He only goes back because lease prices are always aggressive. Gas mileage is horrible and there is no true luxury inside. It's more of the check the box on options luxury than fit and finish luxury, and engineering excellence luxury. Not sure if the Q50 has improved, but somehow I doubt it.

I would also look at the Fusion if she is looking to go that route, definitely my pick in the non-luxury mid size segment.

Fusion Hybrid. It's stylish, efficient and an excellent driving car. Rven when loaded up to MKZ level options, you're still going to be $10-15K less than a comparably equipped Audi. The build quality is excellent and the reliability stellar.

I've lived in the Northeast for 20 years and AWD/4WD is totally overrated and most times unnecessary. Winter mobility and safety is ALL about the tires:

http://jalopnik.com/lets-settle-the-winter-tires-vs-all-wheel-drive-debat-1462180324

Save thousands in purchase price as well as better MPG and performance.

That said, if the cost of ownership is of interest, then it's hard to beat BMW's free maintenance for the first 3(?) years. The Fusion is also an attractive alternative to the premium bands you've listed. One other non-premium outsider that you probably never think about but looks amazing, drives amazing and is equipped amazing, is... the Kia Optima SXL...

My wife has an Optima SXL loaded to the gills and it is truly a fine car and much more captivating to look at than the German offerings.

X1. She will love it.

001

Audi Q5 for several reasons:

1) It's got legendary Quattro AWD and ground clearance. Nothing like having confidence during a snow storm. Yes, most times Quattro AWD will not be necessary but it certainly can't hurt.

2) It's popular - it didn't become Audi's best-selling model for no reason. People like it's design and ability

3) Excellent interior - The quality is second to none.

4) It's got a clear SUV shape and isn't going to be replaced with a new model soon. The X1 looks like a hopped up station wagon and the A4 will be outdated in a year once the new model debuts. The new model is expected to look a lot different than the current version.

Audi A4 – Ancient, due to be replaced whenever Audi can decide what it looks like.

Audi Q5 - Sound like she likes SUV, a good logical choice.

BMW 3-Series – Most award winning, paid maintenance, my choice.

Ford Fusion Hybrid-interesting choice questionable resale value, lowly nameplate.

Infiniti Q50-dismal reviews, dismal resale value, questionable company future.

Lexus IS – If the 350 great, if 250 pass in big way, slower than the 328 diesel.

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class –bad review, mediocre quality at best, but has the logo.

Echoing 001 comment the X1 3.5 is one of the truest BMW you will drive.

Fusion Hybrid, its reasonably priced, great looking, reliable, and the one of the lowest to insure, and probably gets the best mileage of anything listed. When she's buying her "own" car... she can pick something else....

The vehicle she "should" have isn't on the list...a 1-3 year old Corolla.

argh, can't remove my post. Ok I actually read the story this time. Lexus IS250 AWD

I'd say A3, the new one that 001 just covered this week.

-00J

PS: I think it'd be worth the wait if they aren't on dealer lots yet.

The article fails in two things - first the Budget allowed for the vehicle - and then the intended use for the vehicle. Based on the car selections given there is a generous amount allowed for a vehicle though.
So - what does a young urban professional do on weekends away from home and work? Either go on trips- visit people or places - or go shopping.

New York does have a winter so an SUV would not be a bad choice for more than just the four wheel drive. Being largely station wagons - they allow for larger purchases and longer ones to be transported. If a "sedan" was chosen - I would suggest that it have back seats that fold down for pass through for long items as well.

So - an SUV in the price range of the cars mentioned would be a better choice to me than a sedan - and why not a Range Rover if she can afford it?

If there was a budget, I'd provide one.

Obviously we won't throw money away though...

Just because you can afford it doesn't mean you go out and buy it.

Prudent 101.

Why is a budget even necessary when an ACTUAL LIST of the chosen "finalists" was provided? This exercise isn't "name some cars". It's "choose from these cars". Pretty amazingly simple, really.

OK, sorry, 00R did as for "any more recommendations", so I stand corrected. HOWEVER, the list provided should give a pretty clear indication of the money/class we're dealing with.

bmw 328i xdrive. good looking, fuel efficient, free maintenance and fun to drive :)

I know its not on the list, get a Jeep Wrangler,

2014 tiguan r-line is worth a look. Women love them, and its less cash too. Q5 might be the one to pick after the redesign.

If you need the cargo capacity of a truck, obviously the Q5. It has the best AWD system I've ever experienced, great ground clearance for city driving, fairly large cargo capacity, good fuel economy, and very good insurance rates.

If you dont need a truck, the A4 is fantastic. To all those about swapping to winter tires instead of depending on AWD, do you think ppl actually want to bother with swapping tires/storing tires if they don't have to? All the positives in the Q5 pretty much exist in the A4 aside from cargo and ground clearance.

I recently went from a B8 A4 to a F30 3 Series xDrive and the AWD appears less effective than the A4. I don't see a point in paying more for a 3 Series in both car payments and in insurance payments for a vehicle that offers very little advantage (gas mileage is supposed to be better but my experience has been identical to the A4). The only reason why I got the 3 Series is because they were running a great promo which undercut the price of the A4 at the time and because I wanted to experience BMW ownership first hand.

I also had an Infiniti G sedan with AWD. The AWD on that was definitely much worse than the A4 and 3 Series. It was very slow to react and power shuffle was very "jerky". The Q50 is probably a lot of fun if she's looking for a powerful car but it feels cheap (low rent) when compared to the Audi and BMW. It also gets terrible mileage and is relatively expensive to insure in my experience. I would suggest getting an Infiniti G before the Q50 at the price of current lease deals as the G usually costs less and comes with real leather.

I can't comment on the CLA aside from the fact that it's too small for me and a premium FWD vehicle isn't interesting to me living in NYC. I would consider the Fusion before the CLA for its size and fuel economy.

i find the lexus IS hideous and the 250 is so underpowered, its just a joke in this class.