I posted in E46 Fanatics. Thought I would try here as well.

Tomorrow, I'm taking the kids to visit their grandparents in Bismarck, ND. I can take them in my '03 E46 wagon which received a clean bill of health last week during its inspection II or my wife's Acura MDX which was recently serviced.

My concern is if I have a mechanical issue, there aren't much in the way of BMW dealers or mechanics in North Dakota (at least west of Fargo). There are a few Honda/Acura dealers off of the freeway.

If I take the BMW I have:

All wheel drive for any snow storms
About 30 mpg on the highway
A great driving experience
An opportunity to get this car on an extended road trip of 400+ miles one way as it is mostly used for intown commuting
A somewhat smaller backseat and a portable DVD system that I wll have to hook up.

If I take the Acura:

All wheel drive for any snow storms
About 23 mpg on the highway
An ok driving experience of a SUV
A large back seat and a third row if I need to separate the urchins and a built in DVD with cordless headphones.
Piling more miles on it as it is the primary family vehicle for intown and on vacations.

Just curious to know what my fellow fanactics think and opinions on traveling with a BMW to the more sparsely populated areas of the country.

i say the bimmer, i would never turn down taking my car on a road trip

but then again the acura is bigger and has the built in dvd player....

take the bimmer

MDX

Comfort over performance on a roadtrip with kids

I posted in E46 Fanatics. Thought I would try here as well.

Tomorrow, I'm taking the kids to visit their grandparents in Bismarck, ND. I can take them in my '03 E46 wagon which received a clean bill of health last week during its inspection II or my wife's Acura MDX which was recently serviced.

My concern is if I have a mechanical issue, there aren't much in the way of BMW dealers or mechanics in North Dakota (at least west of Fargo). There are a few Honda/Acura dealers off of the freeway.

If I take the BMW I have:

All wheel drive for any snow storms
About 30 mpg on the highway
A great driving experience
An opportunity to get this car on an extended road trip of 400+ miles one way as it is mostly used for intown commuting
A somewhat smaller backseat and a portable DVD system that I wll have to hook up.

If I take the Acura:

All wheel drive for any snow storms
About 23 mpg on the highway
An ok driving experience of a SUV
A large back seat and a third row if I need to separate the urchins and a built in DVD with cordless headphones.
Piling more miles on it as it is the primary family vehicle for intown and on vacations.

Just curious to know what my fellow fanactics think and opinions on traveling with a BMW to the more sparsely populated areas of the country.
MMMmmm gas milage FTW, wallowing SUV no, sure theres more space i the MDX but, wait how large are yor kids?

MDX

Comfort over performance on a roadtrip with kids

I have to agree... having a few kids myself...

Take the MDX no question. We took my girls Mazda 3 hatchback on a road trip from Seattle, WA to Scottsdale Arizona, and let me tell you...you'll appreciate having the extra room. Plus, you won't have to worry about ground clearance for those random little boulders, sticks/logs lying in the middle of those rural area roads.

MDX

Comfort over performance on a roadtrip with kids

+100

If it was just you, it would be a different story. But its not, so take the MDX. :)

MMMmmm gas milage FTW, wallowing SUV no, sure theres more space i the MDX but, wait how large are yor kids?

Eight and Six. Plus I can separate them since I have three rows of seats. The extra cost to gas the MDX might be worth my sanity.

Gas mileage shouldn't be an issue; Minnesota to North Dakota ain't no long haul.

I'd take the E46 because it does need a good "run" and it would be more fun for you. BUT the MDX would be better because of the room, and ground clearence.

If there is good weather: E46
Bad/not really good: MDX