New Car Blues

For some reason or another I've got it into my head that we need to buy a new car.

My justifications:

• Kathleen will be 16 in September and will need a vehicle
  
• The minivan has over 112,000 miles on it and I currently put around 300 miles per week on it - if we want to keep it for family vacations/road trips, we need to keep the mileage down - or plan on replacing it soon (and I'd rather not have another minivan as my daily driver).
  
• Some other really good and decisive reasons that I can't think of right now.

We've had both of our current vehicles paid off for a couple of years and it's nice to not have a car payment. We've discussed a number of options. But the new cars beckon.

My requirements: Flexible and comfortable - big enough with a hatchback so we can transport the string bass with driver and 2 passengers. Quieter on the road and more car-like (as opposed to truck-like) ride and handling.

Which brings me to the "crossover" class of vehicles - which include the Nissan Murano, the Lexus RX330, and the Infiniti FX35. All of which are terrific vehicles and much too expensive. I should never have driven the FX35. It's just too much fun (think sport car, not SUV). It just purrs. At least I didn't drive the FX45 - even I know that's too much car.

I'm going to take a step back and drive some things on the other end of the spectrum like the KIA Sorrento and the and the Hyundai Sante Fe. And to balance things out, the VW Touareg.

Sigh. It's just a hell of a lot of money. I think leasing is a scam and we do tend to keep our vehicles six years or longer, on average (the Windstar is a 98 model year, purchased in 97, my wife's Taurus is a 99 model year).

If I had to decide right now and money wasn't an issue, I'd pick the Lexus. Although I get the impression that I wouldn't be buying a car as much as joining a club. It appears to be a terrific vehicle, but I'm not really the country club type. Can I get the vehicle without the attitude?