what is best awd sedan

I would look at the Audi A8. If you want more power go with the W12.

 

Maybe not what you are looking for but:

Audi A4 and A6
Volvo S40, S60, S80
BMW Xi sedans
Lexus IS and GS
And the Alaskan favorite - Subaru.

 

Don't know what you want to spend, but the Acura RL is a ton of car for the money. I love mine.

Wife Drives an E500 AWD wagon, which is also an awesome car. I do enjoy driving that a lot.

DM

 

My wife has had 3 Mercedes E series 4matics and loves them. She just got a new 2008 a few weeks ago and said it was a noticable improvement over the 2006. We had snow tires on her old one during the winter and the thing is a tank which will go thru just about anything old man winter can throw at you. BTW, I have a set of Yokohama IceGuards for sale if anyone is interested (see FerrariAds). They won't fit on the new car.

I like the Audi's too but the depreciation the first year or two is unbelievable (not that the Benz is great) which scared me off. If you can find a decent used one that is only a year or two old, you'd probably do OK but I've heard they're great cars.

We looked at the BMW 5 series for her just before we got the most recent Benz but she just doesn't like the iDrive and the Bangle butt. Please no BMW flames. I love 'em and have a 6 series as a daily driver.

Hope this helps.

 

I have a Lexus GS 300 AWD as a daily driver. Cannot really recommend it as a snow car. Maybe it is the low profile tires and low ground clearance. I use it just to get me the 30 minute drive home when it starts to snow. The only good thing about it is the 6-cyl engine and the better gas mileage it gets these days.

I drive my Chevy Silverado 4WD pick-up when there is already snow on the ground.
Wife has a Lexus LX470 SUV which is also a good "snow tank".

 

+1 for the 4matic. my wifes wagon is unstoppable in the snow. feels like you are driving on pavement.

 

How about the Flying Spur
http://www.cars.com/go/search/search_results.jsp?tracktype=usedcc&searchType=21&sort=true&pageNumber=0&numResultsPerPage=50&largeNumResultsPerPage=0&sortorder=ascending&sortfield=PRICE%2cPRICE+descending&certifiedOnly=false&criteria=K-%7cE-%7cM-_6_%7cD-_7811_%7cN-N%7cR-10000%7cI-1%7cP-PRICE+descending%7cQ-descending%7cZ-20011&sortId=&aff=national

 

I have a VW Passat W8 4Motion for sale. Very Rare. PM me for more info.

 

I have to say forget everything else and just go with the Subaru. Can't beat it, haven't heard anyone that has one say anything bad.

 

I have an S550 and its amazingly smooth all the time. There's alot out so you can get a 1 year old one at a huge discount and if it snows try the 4matic version I hear its great

 

That is a nice car. Just saw a W8 Station wagon yesterday. Are parts a problem?

 

I know you asked sedan, but have you driven an X5? 2 Years ago when I bought mine I test drove everything that had AWD snow capability (ML, tuoareg, cayenne, Audi A6, A4, E Series 4 matic) and by far the most fun to drive that felt like a car but still had the interior space and headroom of an SUV was the X5. Plus, it is reasonably compact length wise so easy to park in DC. This was the old series, I've heard the new one drives just as well, but it is a little larger. You could look for the old 4.8is, that thing is a beast and pretty rare.

 

That could have been me. Parts aren't the problem. Finding someone who can repair it is. The only made 1227 wagons for the world.

 

if you need to buy a four wheel drive luxury sedan in my opinion is the 99-01 Audi S4. They have all of the goodies, Nav, Bose stereo, ABS, Cruise, Power everything, leather, heated power seats & mirrors, sunroof, traction/sability control, etc., etc. Everything the Subaru is lacking, especially build quality and decent interior materials. The engine is a 2.7 liter twin turbo, twin intercooled, five vales per cylinder gem that produces more horses stock than my 328 (and with an exhaust sounds better too) and gobs of torque with virtually no turbo lag. I have one as a daily driver and it is by far one of the best cars I have ever owned. It makes no-ferrari weather days not so bad. On summer tires it drives in the snow and ice better than most SUVs. It gets great gas mileage with that small engine too.

The best part is if you need to drive it sometimes there are plenty of aftermarket tuners that with a few extra grand for chips, fueling and bigger snails you can get over four hundred horses (that's sub five second 0-60 and 1/4 miles in the 11s). You can smoke most stock Vettes, Porsches and forgive me, ferraris out there in this little four door sedan (well not the new Ferraris, Turbo Porsches and Z06 Vettes).

The only problem is convincing your wife to be seen driving a 10 year old car. But if you can, the best part is you can pick one up for under $15K if you look around and that leaves a lot more money to spend on your Ferrari!

 

I had a 2003 Audi RS6...that was a HELL of a car!!!! Great in the winter, pretty fast, and sounded MEAN...

 

nah, DC plates, it was dented in the back, doubt that was you....

 

I agree with the 99-01 Audi S4. I had one tuned by AWE in PA and the car was bullitt proof and super fast. Big trunk, four doors and super torque. Sold it to a friends son. He know has 110k miles on it with nothing more than oil changes, brakes and tires. Best bang for your buck. Second choice Subaru WRX, Our family currently has two of them for the kids and they are bullitt proof as well. Not as nice as the Audi but a close second. Jon in Delaware

 

Not quite as plush/sporty as the Audi's but Volvo makes some nice AWD vehicles.

-dsd

 

but then you would own a volvo.

 

I currently own a 2006 Audi A8 and have put on 46,000 miles on it. Great car. Honestly its priced cheaper than the S550 4matic. A S550 optioned the same way would have cost maybe 10-15G more so than the Audi. The MMI is very intuitive and Honestly I am sold on Audi products. My next SUV to replace my GMC Yukon Denali XL will be a Q7 TDI

 

And sleep well at night knowing its occupants will be safe.

 

Volvo S60-R and V70-R are pretty nice, my brother had a V70-R a bit awkward to get used to at first but cool. Other recommendation, 335xi or 535xi wagon. I am a fan of just about anything Audi, picking up a last gen. S8 would be cool. But out of all of these if you want a car that will not disappoint, will require very little service, and is a pleasure to drive a lot, the Lexus GS 350 AWD, or even the IS 250 AWD, I had a IS 350 great car, and last but not least if you feel like spending $100k the LS 600h L which is hybrid and AWD. I know Wilkie has a LS 600h on the ground and available which is rare. If you are interested in that let me know I will put you in contact with the right guy. just my 2 cents.

Kyle