1993 Nissan Altima GLE
In late 2001, I visited to the United States. For my vacation, I drove from Mountain View to New York City and back. To accomplish this task I needed a car, so I looked around for a used one. Finally, I found a 1993 Nissan Altima GLE. It was beige metallic in color - not much to look at but when I got it it drove like new.
Well, I sort of overpaid for the car. It was a good car but not worth what I spent on it. This was one of the cars that people speculate almost bankrupted Nissan - way too much detail, equipment and quality for its price point. The interior was sumptuously decked out in beige leather, with classy plastic wood on the two-tone tan dashboard. It was the GLE model, so it had everything - power windows, sunroof, cruise control, climate air conditioning, a CD player, a cool head up display that showed your speed on the windscreen, "cornering lights" that illuminated where you were turning with your turn signal. The quality of build was top notch too.
The car was powered by a 2.4 litre KA24DE engine driving the front wheels through a 4-speed automatic transmission. The car was never excessively powerful but the power was always more than adequate. Being lightweight and relatively small, the get up and go for round town driving was excellent. Handling was also decent if a little tippy through fast turns. The tires must have been solid rubber, since they squealed at even the slightest change of direction.
When I went back to NZ at the end of my vacation the car sat for some time. In fact, until my return in 2003 when it became my daily driver again until I got the G35 it sat. This was not good for the car. Regular use made it run better when I came back to the States, but the arrival of the G35 left it standing again, until just before I traded it in on the M45.
BMW should import the 330i station wagon. It may be the closest thing to what you are looking for...