I have to take exception she comments about Saab reliability. Over the years we've had a suburban, a pathfinder, a 4Runner, a Toyota supra (my father had 3 cressidas and 1 avalon), a couple mazdas and recently a 2002 Honda Odyssey and currently a 2005 Honda Pilot. And my brother had a volvo for 17-18 years!!! I've also had two Saab 9000s - the current one is an 11 year old Aero. Of all those vehicles the Toyotas were the most reliable - followed by one of the mazdas. However the Saabs rank right up there and well above our experience with Honda so far.
My brother's old volvo was incredible but had a couple small engine problems. Great seats / great comfort on par with the Saab - and built like a tank (and same gas mileage). On the seating issue - nothing else we've had comes close to the comfort of the saabs and volvo for long trips. (So I'm glad to hear that the QX56 and Armada seats are "very comfortable".) Unfortunately new saabs seem to have lost their "extremely comfortable" ranking in reviews.
While my Saabs have had minor repair issues like light bulbs, headlight wiper, etc., the drivetrains have been absolutely incredible - pretty much bulletproof. When I sold it, the 86 Saab had 350,000 km on its original engine, tranny and even turbo - pretty much everything but the clutch. Same for my 95 with nearly 190,000 km - one clutch - that's pretty much it. (And this while driving these in Canada from -35% degrees F to 90 degrees F.) The cars aren't great looking (I personally hate the looks) but they have been incredibly fun to drive as well as are very utilitarian cars to own (Mine have had hatchbacks, I consider them to be among the first S U V s).
Honda? At 70,000 km of really soft driving by my wife our Odyssey went through three transmissions - plus some very expensive dash lightbulbs, door squeaks, etc. Great, great vehicle otherwise.
My 4Runner needed new springs after an easy trip to Alaska and some $1,000 computer board - all under warranty thank God.
My suburban needed BOTH a total engine AND transmission rebuild in its life!!!
Moreover, on the safety issue - these SUVs are unstable - just look up the death stats by vehicle from rollovers - amazing numbers!!! So, this Detroit News article on the volvo is very enlightening. It's best to click on link and read the whole story - here's excerpts:
http://www.detnews.com/2004/specialreport/0404/13/a09-119932.htm
European vehicles exceed standard for U.S. car roofs
excerpts:
"the SUV was loaded on a cart, which was accelerated to a speed of 30 mph. When the cart was brought to a sudden halt, the XC-90 went rolling, spinning more than three times before coming to a stop. At the end of the violent demonstration, the XC-90’s roof sustained only slight creasing and its windows were cracked. "
"The Volvo roof is reinforced with boron steel, a high-strength alloy so hard that special factory tools are required to work with it. The alloy is 25 percent to 50 percent more expensive than conventional steel. "
"...European automakers like Mercedes-Benz and GM-owned Saab follow similar regimens of testing to produce rollover-worthy cars and SUVs. Volkswagen, Toyota and BMW also conduct dolly rollover tests, according to company brochures.
But Volvo’s parent, Ford, [URL="javascript:companybox('GPM')"]
General Motors Corp.[/URL] and
DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler unit, follow a different path in developing its vehicles. Detroit’s automakers do not routinely conduct either dolly tests or tests where vehicles are suspended from cables and dropped on their roofs, according to court records and safety experts. ..."