CarThrottle Asks: What's The Best Road-Trip Car?

One of the greatest freedoms afforded to Americans is the road-trip. I've covered my own road adventures here on CarThrottle in great detail before (here, here, and here) and it's absolutely one of my favorite things to do (at least that I can write about here on this family-friendly site!).  So this obviously brings us to our latest edition of CarThrottle Asks as we head into the spring/summer travel seasons.  If money were no object, what would be your ideal road-trip vehicle?

On the lower, more practical end of things, I'd have to spring for a brand-spankin'-new Jetta TDI SportWagon.  Having put about 75,000 miles on a MKV-chassis VW Jetta over the course of 4 years, I can attest that they're simply fantastic road-trip vehicles.  They have impeccable highway-speed stability, killer A/C and heating systems, generally awesome stereos, and minimal obnoxious road noise.  However those miles were all done in a 2.5L gas-powered 5-cylinder Jetta, which is less than ideal.  It's only got 5 gears - at least in clutch-equipped form - which means it turns about 3000 rpm at 80mph, which is a little busy for my taste.  Also, the 5-banger has decent grunt but it still requires a downshift for passing power.  Total fuel mileage is usually around 28mpg on the highway with the cruise and A/C on, which isn't bad.  If you wanted more power (which really just means more speeding tickets) you could spring for the turbo-tastic 2.0T motor, with 200 bubbly horsepower.  But for serious road-trip duty, it's gotta be the new 2.0L 16v turbodiesel.  It's not got a ton of power - 140bhp is 10 less than the gas 5-cylinder - but it's got more torque than either of the gas powerplants, at 236lb-ft.  Furthermore, with an EPA number of 41mpg on the highway, each fillup is probably going to be longer than your bladder can hold out.  Plus, the low-end torque of the turbodiesel makes it great for highway duty.  The wagon doesn't enact a mileage penalty, so why not spring for the extra cargo space?

If I was being less practical and more ostentatious, I'd definitely spring for a loaded-up Saab 9³ Aero Convertible.  With a 255bhp turbocharged V6, a six-speed manual, and hip-hugging sports seats, it's a mean ride.  The gas mileage isn't atrocious either, with 26mpg highway mileage (more with Maptun software, plus a huge extra chunk of power).  But the main appeal would be that when the weather's nice, the wind's blowing in your hair and the sun's shining on your head and you can smell the world around you.  When it's nasty out, you've got a triple-layered cloth top to keep you nice and warm.  And there are three-stage heated seats for anywhere in-between.  Plus, Saabs just make amazing highway cars.

How about you?  Would you rock a first-gen Insight and go hypermiling to California?  Would you pimp it out in a Bentley Continental GT?  Pick your poison, and drop us a note below.