I had a friend whose middle-aged aunt used to hang a Virginia Slim out of the window of her 1996 Mercury Cougar. If that wasn’t a cigarette car, I don’t know what was. But she thought she was better than his other aunt, who only had the contemporary Ford Thunderbird.

Correct. Being in the 194" class, the Highlander is a 5+2, and I think people would do well to remember that. Which is why the Grand Highlander was necessary, because not everyone wanted to drive a Sienna or step up to the far pricier and thirstier Sequoia.

Even the early N55 on the xDrive35i (2011-2013) wasn’t bad. It was mainly the water pump and the charge pipe, pretty minor stuff. It’s a reliable engine, and I wouldn’t be worried about even the oldest N55 cars if they were properly maintained.

I have one of the newer X5s (a 2022 X5 xDrive45e), and have not had any real issues with it. I just passed the 2-year mark.

Sure enough, it does say that. That’s what I get for skimming.

On one hand, this seems like cutting off your nose to spite your face. If he financed the car, his dropping it off at a dealership doesn’t absolve him of his responsibility to make the payments. If he paid cash for it, he’s leaving several grand just sitting there.

Weirdly, I don’t recall Jaguar/Land Rover having a ton of issues from the early ZF 9AT in its transverse-engine products. Other issues, absolutely, but not the 9AT.

I have a car in my fleet with a V12 and a 4-speed automatic. It’s...not ideal.

Now you Jalops better effing buy the manuals!

Correct. The third-gen Explorer was sold alongside the second-gen-based Sport Trac through 2006, with the Sport Trac finally rejoining the Explorer for the fourth-generation...which got yet another frame redesign, but utilized the same basic body as the prior one.

I though the previous-gen Frontier was suitably roomy, but that was about the only one.

Almost. Starting with the upsized third-generation (2002) Explorer, there was no more commonality with the Ranger. That Explorer was on a dedicated platform and frame. So the Explorer Sport Trac and the Ranger weren’t related, structurally.

In all reality, the Explorer Sport was more of a cross between an SUV and a truck. Not unlike Chevrolet’s Avalanche and Escalade EXT twins (albeit without the midgate).

Yes.

It’s a nice price for what it is. I just could never in a million years possibly justify it.

That’s true. The Bentley Continental GT and Flying Spur are also on this MSB platform, and pretty excellently blend performance and comfort.

Same. I drive a 2022 BMW X5 xDrive45e, which is the PHEV, and I love it. It reliably gets 30 miles of electric range and is averaging 42 MPG in aggregate. Suits me far better than an EV.

And the 2024+ xDrive50e, is even better. It’s up 100 HP, gets 40 miles of EV range and can charge in half the time (thanks to a…

The original Forester was definitely a tall wagon, as were subsequent ones. But the Forester has been as proper of an SUV as everything else in its segment since at least 2014.

Oh, wow; you’re right! Nice observation!

I was very interested in the 2002 CL 500 until I saw that it was in non-running condition with ABC errors and that the car may have suffered metal oxidation due to being in the garage when a golf cart battery fire took place.