Already pending

Since I’ve had a full size truck now for the past year, we don’t need a full size suv for a second vehicle, truck serves the purpose as family hauler. Soooo, the wife has given me the go-ahead to find something “smaller”, aka more fun as a secondary vehicle for her to occasionally commute with or do a kid sport pickup here and there.

I’m debating between a few but would love thoughts. Ideally something I can steal and enjoy here and there, even if it is just for looks. Must be auto she won’t drive stick, prefer hatch becuz doggo. Leading contenders are; bmw wagon of some sort, golf R, GTI, even alltrack if they’re okay.

I feel like golf R is objectively going to be the best car if the dog fits well enough in the back.
F31 is for sure the coolest but is probably going to come with some annoyances at its age now.

Would these fit the bill? Both are 2018, is that too old? You kind neglected to mention max you want to spend on this, that would help with suggestions.

Audi A4 Allroad?
https://www.facebook.com/share/17sGBnXYcz/

https://scontent.fcxh3-1.fna.fbcdn.n...4Q&oe=6944EFCC

BMW 328d wagon
https://www.facebook.com/share/14HEvBiQLqB/

https://scontent.fcxh3-1.fna.fbcdn.n...Qw&oe=6944F17B

Golf R trunk imo is useless for dogs. There's no wagons on the market right now that's worth a damn so you are left with SUVs

Biased

Golf R 7 or 7.5. Fun to drive, easy to park. Unlimited modding potential or just leave it alone. Great stereo. Drive modes let you setup a pretty decent wife mode for comfort.

The DSG is actually great in these cars.

Mini cooper 5door or countryman? If you badhobz level Mercedes reintroduced the E450 wagon which is quite nice.

How are the BMW diesels? They seem to be the only ones that still offer diesel. A bitch to find someone to work on? And you have to do all the dpf deletes?

How does the golf r ride? Is it bumpy as shit due to race car model?

I've been doing more research into panameras lately and kinda want a late model Gen 1. The 17+ do look nicer and you can get a sport cross but not sure about reliability as they are all turbo then.

Volvo V60 would like to say hello ..

Maybe Mercedes C class wagon, of course Mercedes AMG wagon would like a coffee with you (if you're in that $$ range) and the Audi RS6. Audi Allroad is not bad either for the 'common' person.

There is also this ... German LHD import, BMW 535, know nothing about the engine or maintenance but looks good and nice long roof lines - https://www.facebook.com/share/1793S8mHnM/

https://scontent.fcxh3-1.fna.fbcdn.n...4Q&oe=69452C10

For my personal use:

F31 is a no - adaptive cruise and lane keep assist were unavailable.
Golf R is not that fun nor comfy, had with Ohlins and PS4S.
Volvo T6 engines have supercharger meltdowns.

Allroad, A5 Sportback, F10 is ok.

None of those are new though, and if you want a F11 then you'll have to import it and deal with localizing it. As much as I am a fan of BMWs, I personally don't think F10/11 are going to be a reliable choice especially since they are all coming to 10 years old now

The later B6 models in Canada no longer have the supercharger and should be more reliable. I believe there's a sweetspot 2022MY with the new engine but the older Sensus infotainment that is more stable than the current Android-based OS.

You can get an A4/A6 Allroad, V60, A5, C300/C43 and E53 as relatively new - still in the CPO period.

I've managed to convince a few others to get A4 Allroads. Join the club. :fullofwin:

f54 clubman... i love those barn doors!

https://i0.wp.com/www.motoringfile.c...0%2C1333&ssl=1

It's such a poor driving car though. The chassis is a noodle, it feels heavy and soft and cannot put the power down(in FWD). I really wanted to like it, Clubman S or JCW in AWD, it'd be a small wagon with a stick, but it's less than the sum of it's parts.

https://www.thedrive.com/news/audi-f...is-just-better

Get a Golf wagon and swap the RS3 drivetrain into it.

That sounds super $$$

Once deleted, these are fantastically reliable with the N57. That said, long drives are necessary to keep these maintained. But you can easily outrun a F8X M3/M4, while getting 1200km/tank. These are awesome!

BMW diesels are fantastic. Most E46 M3 owners I know have a X5 35d as a daily. Tunezilla does all the deleting and tuning locally, and probably maintenance as well or they can recommend. If not, S technic (js.imola for those in the know) will do it. https://www.instagram.com/s.technicperformance/

The F3X diesels are lackluster with the B57, compared to previous gen N57 and M57 which were powerhorses.

Everyone I've talked to in regards to the 35d though said once it gets up in age, it leaks everywhere. I test drove a X5 35d and I LOVED the powerplant, but I don't love the idea of keeping it running, especially with our use case which is basically a billion short trips.

If a german car isn't leaking, its empty.

Buy a 2019 MK7 Alltrack, tune it, and call it a day. No real issues, aside from the usual coil pack BS and leaky water pumps, which you can replace yourself in a few hours if you can turn your own wrenches.

They're small and easy to park, but have about 65 cubic feet of space in the hatch when the seats are folded down, which is more than a lot of other small CUVs and wagons.

One last suggestion ... in similar size and a mini SUV, Audi Q3 Quattro. Do doggies like lower trunk to jump onto (if yes, then Golf wagon or A4 Avant is the way to go) or OK with a higher SUV? I heard some dog owners saying doggie can't jump onto SUV cargo area ... what kind of lazy ass dog is that?

https://www.facebook.com/share/1BcqPxZiUg/

https://scontent.fyka1-1.fna.fbcdn.n...oQ&oe=694640A1

I'm confused. Are we looking for what cars to suggest to EvoFire? Or has this been a general conversation of what's best on the market right now?

Alltrack has leaky pano roof so I'm hesitant to recommend them.

I wish we had the proper Golf R Wagon here.
I dislike the Q3 so much. Feels so cost cut compared to a similar age Golf, so much so that it's ridiculous. Interior is tighter than Golf, engine feels worse(???)... least favourite Audi.

Some one was asking about wagons. This isn't about me anymore and I'm not buying a car until I find a new job.