but Im waiting to pay off my wife's car before I buy a new car
I'd go Honda or Suburu. Toyota is excellent too. My CRV has 220,000 on it but AC went out. Hondas are super reliable and low cost to fix.
Bought a used Chevy Equinox with 75,000 miles for $3000 and it has overheated twice in a month. Father in law changed head gasket, so we will see.
Wife owns a new Forester and she loves it. AWD and drives really nice. I want to get the new Outback- AWD, like a tank, low cost and has a 11 inch touch screen dash.
Love the BMW X5, but as you mention fortune to upkeep. I had a 328 and I got rid of it due to astronomical maintenance costs.
RIP Bucky - 7/25/1943 - 1/19/2013