And all the way down to SoCal too :/

Easy to load stuff? I prefer lower liftover height all day long, especially for heavy objects. And I’ve driven a (base) Macan several times, aka the King of Crossovers, and it still has significantly more body roll than a regular Golf GTI, which incidentally also has more cargo space.

Every. Single. Crossover. Not as good as a proper SUV for off-roading, with worse handling/acceleration/fuel economy/weight/comfort (higher=more nauseating body roll) than an equivalently spacious hatchback/wagon. A compromised class of vehicle that’s supposed to be good at everything but in reality sucks at everything…

Ever seen the Tour de France team cars? They’re all wagons. Lower roofline makes loading bikes on top easier. Go for a Buick Tour X, it’s well within your budget and has 73 sq. ft. of cargo capacity, enough to carry those large canvases.

Geely The Kid

Looks all right to me...

Actually, seems that what everyone needed was a Saab. The 9-5 went on sale in 1998 and included ventilated memory seats, auto-dimming exterior mirrors (with passenger tilt-down in reverse), side reversing lights (similar to the Pontiac), brake bulb warning lights, and of course the option of a hatch (wagon). Plus a…

The original Saab 9-5 dash, so clean, simple, and wraparound-y. Looked even better at night with all the green and orange.

Glovebox chiller, have this on my 9-5 and a friend has it on his VW CC. Amazingly useful for keeping bottled water/tea/juice cold on trips or chocolate bars from melting. Also use it for store-bought perishables around town. Every car should have one, I mean it’s not that difficult to add a small duct from the A/C into…

V60 Polestar, a new one is right at the top of your budget, or settle for a lightly used low-mileage example for about $50K. Not the biggest wagon, but still larger than a Mini Cooper.

The Sultans of Swing solo at Wembley in ‘85 was simply amazing.

The OP was comparing apples to oranges and I was about to defend pickup trucks until ‘effingnewguy’ reinforced the stereotype. 

It was OEM on the 2006 CX Plus (and possibly others)

The Buick Rendezvous had the worst fake-wood trim in recent memory.

My mom has a base 2.0 Macan, drove it a few times and was very unimpressed. Typical fashionable ‘cute ute’ with no substance. My Saab 9-5 Aero wagon is faster, has more cargo room and better seats. She thinks I’m officially crazy after I told her I would never trade my car for hers.

V60 Polestar.

Now just gotta convince the wife that it’s just as practical as any CUV. 

Bad drivers (including those who love to focus on other things while driving) tend to choose SUVs because they feel safer and have better visibility from up high. They don’t even notice the impaired handling and inferior driving dynamics, they just want something ‘big’ to make them feel safe.

True story where I live in Palm Springs, with the average July high temperature being 109...