[qwikz28]

Just as an aside, and coming from f-body ownership, sometimes an enjoyable ride is worth some MPG. One of the things I have become a stickler about is highway noise. If a car has excessive road noise and/or wind noise, I won't buy it as a daily. It's always the first thing I look for now. The CTS has some soft material lining the fender wells and triple-something seals which makes the car very quiet on long journeys. Granted, if I were to do it over again, I'd skip the AWD to save a few MPG and liven up the handling, but I don't think I can live with a car that is loud on the highway, like my buddy's WRX. That thing sounds and feels like it's built from wet Amazon boxes.

Perhaps it's because most of my driving is done during the work day, and I spend most of my time driving on the telephone, but serenity is important to me. I would consider comfort as an equally important factor in your search, especially given the long distances.