Please help me choose a car

chwtom

I would appreciate some help choosing a car.

Here are the things I must have:

Max budget $50k
Ability to tow 3500 bs with factory tow package
Enough room for some cargo (at least a midsize SUV).
No "status" brands (ie BMW, Mercedes, etc)

Would really like:
brown leather seats (not black or ivory)
heated steering wheel
heads up display on the windshield
no center console buttons between the front seats (my dog rides with me a lot, and would always bump the 4 wheel drive button on my last car.
iphone integration

I think thats it, would appreciate the help!

stever

Jeep Grand Cherokee?

A lot of your wish list is going to be hard to figure out without actually testing some cars (or intensive net or forum searching).

We have a Car Finder tool that may help - I tried to populate it with a hitch but you may have to go though the laundry list to narrow the choices down.

Mr_Shiftright

Looks like a Lexus RX350 would meet just about all of those criteria, unless you consider it a "status" brand. I don't, but.....Anyway, it will land right on $50K, though. It has heads-up, brown leather, and can tow 3500.

chwtom

I live in an area without a lot of expensive cars. I am currently driving a bmw, and was surprised by the amount of negative reaction I've gotten from friends and strangers. I probably wouldn't buy a bmws/mercedes/lexus/audi.

Mr_Shiftright

Well I see your point there, but it has been my experience that Lexus doesn't seem to incur the wrath (envy?) of as many people. It's a pretty low profile vehicle.

Nonetheless, you have to go with what you're comfortable with.

I THINK the GMC Acadia has a heads-up display option...not sure, though. I see you can get a brown/black interior combo and a tow package.

kyfdx

If you are really going to tow 3500 lbs, I like the Grand Cherokee idea. They have some awesome leather interiors.

zandor

I wouldn't take the Lexus off the table. They have a totally different image from BMW. Expensive yes, but that's about it for "image." Lexus is as sensible as a really nice car can be. If a Lexus driver annoys me it's usually by driving 5 under and accelerating slowly. BMWs are often purchased by people who want to go fast. Way too many young upper middle class guys misbehaving in BMWs around here (Chicago). I don't encounter nearly as many annoying Audi, Cadillac, Mercedes, and Infiniti drivers.

It sounds like you want something nice, so you might look at some of the in-between brands. Someone's going to give me a hard time for this, but IMHO those are Lincoln, Acura, and Buick.

Ford Flex maybe? Tows 4500, big (7 seater), no buttons on the center console from what I can tell from the pictures (gear shift lever is there though), and can be had with a heated wheel and Sync 3 for phone integration. 2-tone leather seats are an option. Ford calls it "Light Earth w/ Dark Earth Gray Bolsters." I don't think it has a heads up display. All that plus AWD and an EcoBoost 3.5L engine should come in at less than $50k.

stever

The Buick Enclave did cross my mind @zandor. The Flex is a nice ride too.