Now that our son is almost one year old, I'm thinking of getting rid of my wife's 2000 Beetle and getting her a family car. We wan't some real cargo capacity, but safety and handling (accident avoidance) are a major concern. I want to keep this to ~$20k, so a 4-5 year old E320 wagon seems like it might be a good idea. She will drive about 12-14,000 miles a year and it will be garaged at night. I hope to keep it for about five years. We live in Orange County, CA, the AWD is not absolutely necessary (but it would be nice). I have a few questions that I hope all of you can help with:

1. What sort of reliability can I expect?

2. Can I get an extended warranty from the factory?

3. Is AWD problematic? Prone to breakage?

4. What should I look for in the used cars? What kind of problems are common?

5. What options should I look for? Sport package? Xenon? DVD?

6. Are the rear/side impact airbags standard?

Thanks for your help!