Since I have owned a 1971 250/8 (low line 2.8 mit 2 carbs) and 1974 280C, plus the 1996 Buick Wagon, I have some perspective.

The big wagon DOES NOT get bad fuel economy- is aerodynamic and rated at 27mpg on Highway, and at 73-79mph I get about 23-24mpg. So no current suv or MB wagon will match the mpg of these Buick wagons...I did much comparo before choosing the Buick.

They handle quite well...not like a 124 wagon, which is tiny by comparison, but fairly well due to their wide stance and wheel base which is identical to the new Cadillac CTS.

Fast- they don't just have any Chevy 350 (5.7L) V8, but in fact had the Corvette LT1 block, detuned to 260HP, but with much torque. Drop the hammer and you will be flying and the torque at freeway speeds makes cruising and passing effortless.

Safety- the Buick 1996 wagon has the best crash, injury, and fatality statistics of any vehicle on the Federal gov website. Also, on the tilt table test for stability, against all SUV's the Buick wagon was so much better, it wasn't even close. Also the brake are designed for a very heavy trailered load, the they are very heavy duty.

Seats- look for the seats with memory, as they are good as any current MB seats- power lumber, two position heating, power recliner, and other std power seat stuff- also this is on both driver and pass, except for memory.

One Caveat- WATCH OUT for the dreaded Dexcool coolant in those Buicks- it will turn to mud and clog the heater core (no heat!) if not changed at 5 years. Flush it and change to green coolant ASAP!!!

These wagons run and run---I had an identical model (1993) that I ran to 230K miles, and used 1/2 oil in 5K miles, running Mobil 1 oil and filter. That had lower 185hp engine. I sold that wagon to my niece and it ran like the proverbial sewing machine.

So don't diss the Buick too much...but the 1996 is the best and last year. The 1994-96 all had the LT1 engine.