[s-cars] Replacement car for urs4

[Wayne Dohnal]

I must not be the only one thinking it's getting less and less practical to 
keep the S4 going.  It has 216,000 miles on the clock, and needs a new 
steering rack, new wheels, and with 100k miles the clutch probably won't 
last a whole lot longer.  The original fuel pump must be close to the end. 
I won't do the rack or clutch myself, so I'm looking at probably $4k to $5k 
over the next year or two that could be spent on a replacement car instead. 
I'm noticing that a lot of things like water hoses and vacuum hoses have 
turned hard and brittle.   I'm afraid that the age-related failures are 
going to be coming more and more often.

I "love" the S4 for its comfort, convenience, and solid feeling.  And I 
can't figure out what would make for a good replacement.  I do a lot of 
winter and mountain driving.  A good AWD system is mandatory, I don't want 
one of the brain-dead automatics that's always doing the wrong thing, and 
I'm afraid of the maintenance exposure with a German automatic anyway.  I'd 
maybe take a CVT or DSG if I had to.  The A4 is too small.  An A6 or A8 
would be great, but I don't want the maintenance exposure of the twin turbo, 
and all the others have the slush boxes.   I think I just eliminated all of 
the USA Audis.  The 2012 Passat looks good, but it doesn't offer AWD. 
There are some BMWs with AWD.  I don't know if the AWD system is any good, 
and I don't have an unlimited budget either.  After weeding out everything I 
don't like, I think all that's left is Subaru.  Is there another good 
alternative that I'm not seeing?

Wayne
1994 S4