is your significant other eyeballin' the Q7? We picked up the MDX last year for the 3rd row seating capability, but the performance in our previously owned A6 3.0 Avant was superior and will be far supperior in the Q7. I'm not a big fan of getting the 1st year model after a horrible experience with the Volvo XC in its first year.

Perhaps in a few months you can get a discount, especially if they are not selling well.

By the first check-up at 10k, they indicated that everything was "ok." Two weeks later, while three hours from home, we experienced significant noises from the brakes. We had to replace tires (too small for heavy car), brakes, and rotors - all on our dime. They blamed it on hills in the Bay Area. It didn't get much better from there and I won't bother you with the rest of this pathetic experience. When we turned that piece of shxt in, my wife and I pulled up in a brand new A6 Avant. You should have seen the expression on those blood suckin' Volvo salesmen. We were laughin' our asses off (yes, immature, but sure felt good). As for Volvo, fcku them! I'm on my 4th Audi and I'm only 38. They blew it with us.

We are on our second XC90. First one had no problems - also first model year - but we got a good deal on a 2004. 3 of my partners also got one. We are considering trading it in on a new one with the V8. We are salivating over the Q7. Perhaps next go around. For what we want, it will be quite a bit more expensive. For now, there are few SUV's I feel better about putting my family in than the Volvo - but it ain't no Audi.

personally, ithink thats a trend right now. the few moms i've talked to really dont ever use it

Right now we have an Element and an 02 S6. My wife needs a third row (and I trust her on that wish...does a lot of carpooling). Since we don't want two large cars, our options are:

1. Practical/cheap/accountant friednly: Me: Passat-Her: Honda Pilot
2. Practical/not-as-cheap: Me: Buy out S6 lease-Her: Honda Pilot
3. More Performance/Lux: Me: keep S6-Her: Land Rover LR3
4. Moderate Performance/Lux: Me: A4/S4 Wagon-Her:LR3
5. High Performance/Lux: Me: S4wagon-Her: Q7 (my wish more than hers)
6. Total Bling/accountant kills us: Me: RS4-Her: Q7

Right now, I'm still holding out for #6, but the practical side of me worries about both having such a small car for myself (most the time I'll drive it solo, but I will have the kids with me from time-to-time), and even if we can afford it, there's something not-so-good about dropping that sort of cash on transportation.

Any comments, advice? [My S6 lease is up in July (coinciding nicely with the RS4...I'm #2 on the list).]

getting her to drive our F150 once in a blue moon is like pulling teeth.

Unfortunately, that's probably 5-7 years away for me. . .

They are not all the same. We love the LR3 third row because:

It splits 50:50 and flat to haul more cargo if you only need one seat.

It has side-curtain airbags in the C-pillar and more.

Great legroom, a 6 foot adult can actually sit back there comfortably.

You can enter the thir-row from either side (important depending on where you want your second row car seats)

Look at how car seats might attach back there, but remember that seats behind the rear axle will have risk in a rear collision (no crash test safety data is required for third row seats). I believe Volvo actually comments that the third row should not be used for car seats in the XC90.

We thought the MDX and XC90 third rows were much smaller and lacked airbags.

As for the 3rd row, in a pinch, it could be used to haul additional people, but not for a long period. What set the Volve XC90 apart for us was the abilty to handle 2 young children and their gear for an additional 3 years. The intergration of a boster seat in the 2nd row while still being able to have a 2nd child seat and an adult in that row also was a hugh selling point.

The 3rd row is really just a luxury that will be used infrequently with us, but supplied the necessary cargo room that our current RX300 did not.

Oh yea, 2 headrest DVD screens look pimp too!

Handling is another matter. But the Q7 won't handle like an Avant either.

I'd save my money if it were me.

I drove an X5 yesterday. Sure it drives better than my Toyota Sienna but they're both basically school buses so who cares.

And the cheaper you can stuff your wife into, the more budget left over for you.

and it was pretty damn good. the second generation...the one that's still out...is total crap. don't know if this is related to Ford taking over or what, but there was a definite change in the feel of these cars.

for me it was good, though. it's the reason i went to an audi S6!

you only live once.

Seems like there are a lot of the same boats sailing around.

We have an '05 allroad on which my wife is crushing the (3yr) lease milage and an '06 A4 on 2yr lease to take me 20 miles to and from work while I wait for the RS4. The wife is asking for something bigger and hates SUVs so I'm hoping the Q7 will fly under the radar as a "crossover."

Was going to turn in the A4 for the RS4 ASAP as the dealer said he'd take it back in swap as long as I'm under miles (which I am), but now I'm thinking:

-Swap A4 for a V6 Q7 (praying for the diesel in the US) to save a couple of bucks.
-Commute in the allroad for a bit to get the miles back on track.
-Then roll that over into the ('07?) RS4 when I can spec it like I want it, w/o the BOSE PoS, badges deleted, and hopefully with Audi iPod hookup (c'mon AoA, you know we all want it!)

And that staggers the wallet pain.

As a curiosity, one guy says his minimum wallet threshold for option #6 is $300k, what do others think? I wouldn't feel comfortable anywhere near that number.

it depends on many things: retirment plans, age, alimony, marital status, mortgage, kids, private schools, education, just to name a few. We had a similar post a couple of months ago. One user indicated that he wouldn't being comfortable spending $70k+ on the RS4 unless he was pullin' in $600 - $700k. . . It's a judgment call.

The way I see it, is that I'm not going to die and have a car payment outstanding. If I "really" want the car, I'll figure it out without jeopardizing my financial plans (e.g. reduce wine intake).

I think the LR3's third row is bigger than the Volvo XC90s but all the other things you said about the LR3 apply to the XC90 as well (yes the XC90 has air curtains for all three rows.)

We recently picked up a XC90 V8 for the Mrs. which we all enjoy - even I don't mind opening up this V8 when I have to drive it on the weekends :)

Yeah, I know it's all personal. I just want to see what the personal numbers are.

The $600k-$700k post might actually have been me (can't remember) which likely means no RS4 for El Cid this year!

Saw some internal marketing lit somewhere on this forum that indicated an AoA target of $150k or $250 which seems ridiculous to me. But maybe I'm just REALLY cheap. That's kind of what I'm trying to figure out.