Volvo quality went downhill right about when Ford got its paws on. Same with SAAB, once GM touched it, the quality was garbage.

My parents had an '89 740 Turbo. One of the last years of the boxy Volvos. Awesome car. It kind of became my car in high school and I took it with me to college. Then my sister took it to college and she kept it as her car after college for a few years as well. At 218K miles it was donated to charity, but I'm sure it could have gone another 50K miles easy.

This would have been a good car when I was traveling between NJ and St Louis regularly (long distance relationship) many years ago. I traveled in almost every mode, driving, flying, Greyhound, Amtrak. Or sometimes we would meet in Ohio. There were a few times I would just drive 15 hours all at once by myself with just a few stops for food and gas (I'd fill up and drive nonstop till the low fuel light came on). I love long road trips. Heck, I still remember all the radio stations I listened to on the way.

I absolutely love my Outback wagon, and so does it seem a lot of people here in New England. I've got an uncommon '02 with both a 5-speed and dual sunroofs (limited model), and love being able to pack the crap out of it (ex: dogs in the back, canoe on the roof, tailgating at the game, or for a roadtrip) and yet it's not an SUV or crossover.

Now that they've made it a crossover, I wouldn't buy a newer one, so I'll be looking for a 2010 or prior model for my next one. Although, the way they run, I'm hoping that's not for years. I wish the fuel economy was a little better as my old car got better on the highway for trips up north skiing and hiking. BUT, percentage wise, more of my driving is in town where the Outback still gets great mileage since it's a stick, so I'm saving money overall compared to my old boat.

flying rules for me
 

I personally like flying especially on the large widebodies. I. Would rather walk around the airport and enjoy a meal as opposed to stopping at a pit stop with smelly restrooms and eating prepared Sandwiches that have been sitting around.

Traffic on major roads to curvy roads makes flying better. I like the IFE on planes and can get to NYC in hours ad opposed to days.

This is Flyertalk not Car Talk lol.

We love flying. I would rather have a glass of wine at the airline not so by car
Just my 2 cents

I don't think the point is that one could drive 800 miles without stopping, but that one could drive 800 miles without needing to refill his/her diesel tank. In parts of the country, diesel stations are few and far between. I for one would need to drive way out to the suburbs to refill, making it impractical to own one regardless of the mileage and other benefits of a diesel engine. As for road trips, if your driving is kept to interstates full of truckers you'd be fine, but anyone who likes to drive is keeping well away from the interstates, and getting range anxiety on the scenic route sucks.

A previous poster mentions the college factor. My older sister and I went to college over 700 miles from home, but drove home during breaks. We'd basically stop to pee/eat/refuel. Unfortunately, this also meant that sometimes we'd make multiple stops. With an 800 mile, that could potentially eliminate at least 1 stop. IIRC, the tdi is supposed to get something like 42 mpg freeway, so you'd be looking at around a 19 gallon tank.

Now, OT-ish, I currently drive a 2003 Passat GLX wagon (who knew there were so many wagon folks here?). I looked at the Legacy GT wagon and Outback XT when I was in the market, but couldn't find a decent deal in the Atlanta area. The Legacy wagon was dropped in 2008 model year, I believe, and the bloated Outback appeared in the 2010MY. I've heard it was so the Outback could be reclassed as a truck from passenger car to help with Subaru's fuel economy averages, although I'm not sure of the veracity of that statement.

I, too, bemoan VW's departure from the Passat wagon. I would have seriously considered a Passat tdi wagon. I like the space over that of the Jetta Sportwagen. If there were Optima or Sonata wagons, I'd seriously consider those, too. I don't care for the likes of the new Outback or Toyota Venza. Give me a proper wagon any day.

Like airports aren't well-stocked with those.

Just to temporarily yank the thread back to the OP's intent, though... I say again that flying on sub-750-mile trips has become so onerous, stressful, expensive and time-consuming, that driving looks better all the time, and a comfortable long-range car that gets great fuel economy would surely alter some consumer behavior further.

Just as Volvo dropped its unadorned V70 in the US this year (though you can still buy one in Canada) and offers only the silly Cross Country. I wish I could say this is a case of a tone-deaf corporation ignoring consumer demand, but apparently in its last year on the market the straight-up V70 sold only about 1,600 copies in the US. It was overpriced and flimsy, though, and came with horrible ownership costs. I would like to think that there are enough wagon fans out there for someone else to take a shot.

I agree... I don't think I'd consider Kia but any other supplier would get a long look from me. Hyundai seems to have about six different SUV / crossovers within inches of one another, but not one wagon. A $22,000 Sonata wagon would be bigger than the Jetta and probably sell. C'mon, somebody step up.

Why wouldn't you consider a Kia but you would a Hyundai? They're the same company, and in many cases, probably the same car with a different body.

Resale value. Kia values plummet fast.

I tend to be a long-term car owner, so that wouldn't be too big of an issue for me.

+1..

In Canadian terms.. Its 1,280 kms on the tank.. That means cutting down refueling 50% compared to a regular gasoline engine roughly..

I have owned 2 VW's over the years, never again. Complete garbage.."Audi's ugly Stepmother". It may go 800 miles on a single tank, but I doubt the headlights or weather stripping will!

Now that rather sort of depends on where you live.....

My last 2 cars have been VWs and I am very impressed with the quality. Had far more problems with with other makes of car.

The Mexican-built VWs we get in the States have been of appallingly poor quality and help position Volkswagen at the bottom of the list on initial-quality surveys in the US, right down there with Mini and Range Rover. These include the New Beetles. Two of my wife's friends were driven to tears by the junkiness and breakdown rates of their Mexi-Beetles, with the result that my wife technically forbids me to consider Volkswagens. But the Passat is built in the US so hopefully things will improve.