[quote=treehugger]”Most people seeking car advice though have already made up their minds and want confirmation from others that it is a good buy.”
This is very true 😉
I am going for it, we are getting the AWD version, although coming from a Prius nearly any car would be a “sportier” drive.[/quote]
Hey treehugger, IIRC, you sold a (non-4WD) 4-Runner (1-2 yrs ago?) to purchase the Prius (can’t look for the thread right now). I remember this because I had been considering buying a decent (used) 4WD 4-Runner for several years and they are very scarce (for good reason). You then posted here that yours was not a 4WD model when I asked but that you liked it a lot because your two big dogs fit in the back nicely.
I wondered how you were going to get those guys in and out of the back of a Prius, especially if you also had a bike rack installed on it, but didn’t say anything :=0
IMHO, the current year 4-Runner (ESP the 4WD model), which is an actual 4WD is highly preferable to an AWD CUV or any car-like SUV, imho. Does this Mercedes model happen to have a CVT transmission? If so, do you think you would be okay with having $2000+ transmission jobs done every 2-3 years, depending on how and where you will drive it? This may very well be what you will be signing up for by buying this Mercedes (not to mention the huge amount of $$ you’re going to lose if you attempt to trade your Prius in at a dealer which is not a Toy/Lexus dealer).
The new real 4WD Toyota 4-Runners are only about $3-$8K more than this Mercedes and are luxurious and very safe because of their weight and you and your humans and dogs will be sitting high up off the road. It also comes even more lifted with a TRD pkg, which runs it up to ~$50K.
Also, have you thought about a (hybrid or non-hybrid) Lexus F-Sport model with paddle shifters for mtn driving (auto/manual 6-8 spd transmission)? The small ones start at about $10K less than this Mercedes (they’re about the same size as a Prius). These models come with AWD. Some have FWD and some have RWD (although the RWD models likely cost more than the Mercedes, as do the larger RX’s).
I’m with spd and Boomer on this one. Do NOT get a FWD vehicle. A RWD/4WD has much better handling and performance for the “adventurous type” such as yourself.
