![\"finalists_payne-3-4\"](\"http:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/7233a252a498eac76566fbcc2f66c28578a4c09a\/c=0-0-3648-2736&r=x404&c=534x401\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/03\/02\/DetroitNews\/B99502722Z.1_20170302064055_000_GFK1CDDHV.1-0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>I\u2019ve upgraded a vintage Porsche with a state-of-the-art, fuel-injected Porsche GT3 motor. My uncle converted his \u201960s sports car to a Tesla-like, all-electric drivetrain. But why should vintage cars have all the fun?<\/p>\n
My 1962-vintage frame is wearing out, so in January I replaced my left knee to keep playing racquet sports into old age. I am now fully bionic, having replaced my other knee two years ago with the same made-in-Michigan Stryker suspension piece.<\/p>\n
Unlike modern, smart automobiles, my new knee is decidedly old school. There\u2019s no chip inside. No remote app so I can warm it up in the morning. It\u2019s just chromium and polyurethane.<\/p>\n
Also, unlike an auto repair, I can\u2019t just drive it off the lot after surgery. Knee recoveries are a laborious process. Not only will it be six months before I pick up a racquet, but I couldn\u2019t drive a car for three weeks due to knee stiffness (and the cocktail of pain-killing narcotics I was on).<\/p>\n
Transporting a knee patient in the dead of Michigan winter isn\u2019t an easy challenge. Stiff as a two-by-four, my knee needs to be comfortable, as does my driver. Surgery is a team sport. So my tireless chauffeur, the saintly Mrs. Payne, and I set about finding the best post-surgery getaway vehicle.<\/p>\n
Seating access and comfort is key for any patient \u2014 especially leg invalids \u2014 so award candidates are inevitably an advertisement for seat innovation. And versatile seating is not just a solution for stiff knees \u2014 it\u2019s good for other challenges as well (carrying wide-screen TVs, giving birth while stuck in LA traffic, etc.).<\/p>\n
In addition to class-leading seats, all-wheel drive was preferred \u2014 getting stranded in a snowstorm was not an option.<\/p>\n
The envelopes, please.<\/p>\n
1st runner-up: Acura MDX<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Acura\u2019s three-seat, midsize crossover shares a platform \u2014 and ingenious seating \u2014 with a 2015 best post-surgery finalist, the Honda Pilot.<\/a> Nothing in the luxe market rivals MDX\u2019s third-row access. Push a button and the middle seat collapses forward like Rhonda Rousey after an Amanda Nunes\u2019 punch. Better yet for stiff-legged third-row passengers, the middle seats fold flat. I simply dragged myself over the second row and spread out like I was on a fold-out couch.<\/p>\n Well, not simply. The SUV\u2019s \u201cstadium seating\u201d meant that I had little headroom either for entry or for when I was settled in back. The Acura is also, oddly, a generation behind Honda products in console features. While my wife liked the Acura\u2019s signature, push-button gear selector, the twin infotainment screens made for a blizzard of buttons \u2014 none of which features Apple CarPlay or Android Auto smartphone connectivity like the Honda CR-V that I recently drove.<\/p>\n That said, the $59,340 MDX was a beauty inside and outside. Its face has ditched the much-maligned \u201cbottle-opener grille\u201d for a more pleasing design adopted from the Acura Precision Concept.<\/a><\/p>\n Runner-up: Chrysler Pacifica<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Speaking of pretty faces, the stunning $49,450 Pacifica Limited is once again on a best-of list. I voted it North American Utility of the Year<\/a> this year as well as 2016 Detroit News Vehicle of the Year<\/a>.<\/p>\n For old peg-leg here, the minivan\u2019s seating access is unmatched. A sliding side door means no entry barrier. Stow \u2019n\u2019 Go second-row seats mean no obstacle to crawling into the third row. Once there, the middle seats can be reconfigured as ottomans \u2014 or I could just keep them in the basement and stretch my legs.<\/p>\n Up front, Pacifica\u2019s console is state-of-the-art with plenty of storage space for my wife\u2019s purse and accessories. What the big Chrysler does not have, alas, is smartphone apps or all-wheel drive.<\/p>\n Winner: Buick Encore<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The Encore is not only our No. 1 pick but is also the cheapest of our three finalists. At $35,757 fully loaded, Buick\u2019s wee ute matched its larger competitors in amenities with heated seats, moon roof, leather appointments \u2014 plus crucial Apple CarPlay connectivity and all-wheel drive. Add Buick\u2019s updated \u201cwing\u201d grille (giving the upright Encore a more horizontal appearance), and it\u2019s no wonder Encore has led a brand renaissance.<\/p>\n Most important to my aching leg, however, is a feature the Encore shares with Chevy sibling Trax: a passenger seat that folds forward flat. The Trax advertises this feature to millennials as a way (with middle seats also leveled) to carry a surfboard. For older, empty-nest Encore buyers, perhaps it\u2019s an advert for a grandfather clock?<\/p>\n It\u2019s not quite as nifty as 2015 winner Honda Fit\u2019s unique, back-folding front seat, but it had the same effect \u2014 a continuous, forward-facing bench on which to extend my aching knee.<\/p>\n Encore\u2019s looks, maneuverability and sippy fuel mileage won over my practical wife. And I had my ottoman with an unobstructed view out the windshield. The trophy, please.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve upgraded a vintage Porsche with a state-of-the-art, fuel-injected Porsche GT3 motor. My uncle converted his \u201960s sports car to a Tesla-like, all-electric drivetrain. But why should vintage cars have all the fun? My 1962-vintage frame is wearing out, so in January I replaced my left knee to keep playing racquet sports into old age. 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