Lots of good thoughts folks. I'm still curious about a Highlander, and we'll probably drive one, but she's wanting something a little smaller. We're thinking Q5 or Macan, but the Macan has less space because it's so tapered. The Cayenne seems like a good option to me as well, but she would prefer smaller and it's about the same size as the highlander. Our daughter has a CX-7. We're wondering about the Volvos, and What about Merc GLC?

I just don't think I can bring myself to get a Kia or Hyundai. Also the wife refuses to consider a mini-van.

We have thought about the Subaru Outback or Forester too. We aren't likely to run into much snow here, but we could run into wet, muddy, slick grass situations.

What about the Jeep Grand Cherokees? It seems like I remember those being highly recommended on the board years ago, but that's back when they were running V-8s. A lot can change over 10-15 years.

I love the Macan and the way it drives. The back seat and cargo room are small though. Only acceptable for kids size wise and cargo room isn't great. I tried to get my wife to look at the Cayenne but she really fell in love with the Macan.

I'd go with Subie over Jeep GC all day every day and twice on Sunday. Reliability is better IMO.

"Location: Houston Texas"... me "snow"... then "doh! what was I thinking!?"

I'd avoid Hyundai and Kia like they were the plague.

According to the Internet, when all of the seats are up, the Macan has 17.7 cu ft of cargo space and the Audi Q5 has 26.8 which is close to a 60% increase, I think. With the seats folded down, they go to 53 cu ft and 60 cu ft. Neither is what you'd call spacious, but the Q5 seems to have quite a bit more room than the Macan. I assume because the Macan slopes inward more from the sides and the rear. I'll have to get her out to a couple few dealerships and see what she likes to actually drive.

I think a station wagon might be a good idea, but I can't get on board with a Subaru. My Forrester has been a nightmare for repairs. Differential, cam carrier plate oil leaks, clutch slave cylinder, wheel bearings. And when you search they are all really common issues. Makes me shake my head when people claim they are great cars.

Can't say I've had many issues with the ones I've owned. My parents have a 2012 Legacy Outback with over 170K of trouble free miles on it. Only reason I went Toyota rather than Subaru is due to the Ascent being a bit too new and there will likely be issues associated with new models. Well, that and I like the looks of the Highlander better than the Ascent.

If your wife seeks performance and utility, the Cayenne is it. You will be driving it on occasion too? You will really appreciate a Cayenne. We have owned 3 SUVs so far. The first was a Honda CRV. The CRV was nice. It pulled a trailer. But, it lacked driving enjoyment and grunt. After driving her CRV for 10 years, my wife wanted something with more performance. We traded the CRV for a 955 CS, which she absolutely loved as did I. We just upgraded to a 958 CTT. Way better! She wouldn't be happy with anything else. We did test drive an Audi Q7. It was really nice, but the Porsche has a better driver position and visibility. The Q7's supercharged V6 was good, but the twin turbo charged V8 in the Cayenne is performance bliss.

Texas must be full of used Chevy Suburban's that might do ya for awhile... I heard the 'oil industry' gets rid of pretty good ones on the regular, for cheap... gas is cheap too ( for now). Good for hauling raw materials you will surely be needing.
At the other end of the spectrum & since she wants to drive something smaller and more reasonable:
my wife just bought a 2021 Crosstrek Sport and loves it, (I got to drive it twice!) and was really a nice driver.
Yesterday I towed a small trailer approx. 500 lbs total , was really like nothing at all was there.
It's peppy enough, great on gas.

Cool that the Boxster is your only vehicle, (!) respect to that! Must not be easy sometimes... MX5 has been hard size-wise
the 914 had way more space surprisingly...M3 is my biggest vehicle, so : challenging.. hope the wife lets me borrow her Suby.
These thoughts make me miss my '71 F100 sometimes ...sigh.

I prefer the driving dynamics of the Macan to the Cayenne but it’s too small for me. With the drivers seat all the way back someone can actually sit behind a 2011 and later Cayenne driver but not a Macan.

I just had my 2011 Cayenne's high pressure fuel pump replaced. Seems to be a common problem after a few years or 80K miles.

The pump is like $1200 plus core charge or something like that, and then labor. So there's that "Porsche tax" that people talk about. (A Touareg HPFP seems to be half the price.) I know most people here excluding myself work on their cars so labor is just time spent.

The missus is also curious about the Subie Crosstrack. A guy that we chat with in the complex has one and was raving about it.

At one time, we had 1997 and 1999 Miatas for our only transport, then the same 1999 and an 04 mazdaspeed. For the past 6 years, it's been just the boxster. It's usually fine, but sometimes it's interesting.

You’ll be very disappointed when you cross shop a Subaru with an Audi, Porsche, or even a Mazda. They are very cheap inside in comparison. Personally I’ve never understood the Subaru love, they always strike me as being overpriced for what you get.

I guess in TX you won't really need fwd like you would in the N. East, but if a new Porsche SUV is in your budget, by all means why not ? I almost went that route ( a used Cayenne ) but then the wife just really wanted a NEW Subaru Crosstrek, so at that point I insisted on the "Sport " model-version and am glad she went with it.

Chevy Tahoe

You are barking the wrong classic car tree
This is pretty much the same vehicle. No rust I bet.
https://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/cto/d/burbank-1988-chevrolet-suburban/7229943244.html

5-8000 Suburans can be had all day long out here without rust. People are always dumping em' due to our gas cost is normally a buck more then the rest of the country. They may have 130-200,000 miles on them but are pretty cheap to fix or install new engine.

I have a highlander, very happy with it.
Probably the last new car I'll ever purchase.

Too bad she doesn't like minivans. There is no better space packaging and you can haul 3500# on a trailer for what doesn't fit inside.

If you were thinking of a GC and need a third row, the Durango comes in many guises, up to 710hp.

They are only making the Hellcat Durango for one year, so use that its a limited edition to raise the budget! One of my coworkers just got the 392 RT Durango and his wives love it.

I am in the market for an SUV, but my budget is a little different and I will be picking up a new last year of production of the current Land Cruiser.

2015 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec.

Pulls a 7000# 32' camper like a champ. Also small enough its the wife's drive to work car.

Gets 29 mpg on the highway at 70 mph.

Maintenance is a bit pricey, but they have a 'free' ice cream bin!