Here's my thoughts on your situation. If you don't need the size advantage of the MDX, by all means downsize and get in a more sporty vehicle. I've done a lot of road trips in both vehicles and the wagon is certainly more fun to drive, along with a much better range between fill-ups. It doesn't help that when I travel I put 200 pounds of dogs in the back of either vehicle before we ever start with luggage. The wagon has been from California to Virginia, VA to FL, and FL to DC multiple times. We got the MDX simply for the increased size since we have a child now and wanted more interior and luggage room. We have made road trips with the baby, dogs, and a car top box, but the size advantage is nice for the MDX. Of course I also miss my 99 9-5 SE that we sold to buy the MDX. It's the first non-Saab new vehicle I've purchased.

I'm sorry hear about your MDX issues, mine has been very good for me so far, with 15,000 miles in about 14 months. I have a strong feeling the Saab nav system isn't going to be anywhere near as nice as the Acura, they are really leading the way. My parents have two Lexus vehicles, both with nav systems, and the Acura nav system blows them away with ease of use.

I'm also a regular over at a popular MDX board, where quite a few people have Saabs as their second car. A lot of Saab people go with the MDX for the size advantage since Saab doesn't have anything that big yet, and the Volvo XC90 wasn't worth the money compared to a MDX.

So back to your concerns:
turbo- nothing to worry about, just change the oil regularly
highway and town driving- both my 9-5's were sticks and I had no problems in heavy traffic or highway driving. It's a fun to drive car.
Nav- don't know enough about the Saab system.
Future 9-5s/discounts- Incentives are always changing, but I don't see them going away anytime soon. If you can afford to wait a while to see what happens in 06, go ahead. I waited for the 04 MDX and got some significant improvements over the 03.

Ken

• Sitting on the 2005-2006 fence..., mkmojay, Thu, 20 Jan 2005 22:52:08
  • Re: Sitting on the 2005-2006 fence..., geechie, Fri, 21 Jan 2005 10:56:41
  • Re: Sitting on the 2005-2006 fence..., NDS, Fri, 21 Jan 2005 08:55:13
  • Re: Sitting on the 2005-2006 fence..., washaero, Fri, 21 Jan 2005 07:03:31
    • Snow shoes..., AeroLady, Fri, 21 Jan 2005 08:09:08
      • Re: Snow shoes..., sokwdc@excite.com, Mon, 24 Jan 2005 13:46:37
  • Keep the MDX unless it dies on you that often and ...., TKC, Fri, 21 Jan 2005 05:52:15
  • Re: Sitting on the 2005-2006 fence..., AeroLady, Fri, 21 Jan 2005 05:15:51
  • Re: Sitting on the 2005-2006 fence..., 2 9-5's, Fri, 21 Jan 2005 04:04:24
    • We're talking new, Woody, Fri, 21 Jan 2005 05:41:06
  • I've got a 2004 MDX and a 2001 9-5 wagon, Ken F, Fri, 21 Jan 2005 01:57:33 <-- Viewing This Message

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