I've been a Volvo wagon nut for years, and now that it's time for a new car, I find that I don't like the looks (and other details of) the newer Volvo models, so I'm thinking about changing teams and buying a used 5-series wagon instead.

My house in the Northeast is at the top of the very steep, DRIVEWAY FROM HELL, so think I definitely need an AWD car. Definitely not a RWD only vehicle.

So...I'm starting to look into the attributes of a BMW wagon. Electronic bells and whistles are not important to me, therefore the latest and greatest models with the newest wizardry doesn't matter.

I want reliability first and performance second. My current ride, a hotted-up Volvo 850 turbo wagon, has performance in spades and reliability sometimes, sort of, usually.

I'm going to noodle around the forums and learn a little, but I'm also very interested in what you fine folks might offer up for advice about what years, models and options I should look for, as well as what you think I might want to avoid. Wagon advice, anyone?

 

Welcome to the forum, Lenny! I moved your post to the F11 Touring (i.e. wagon) section figuring you may get more responses here.

You haven't said what year(s) vehicle you're looking for. The BMW wagons went from being E61 to F11 in 2010. If AWD is what you want, you're looking for an "xi" model, just so you know.