Makes sense. The other issue that is mentioned would be the safety features. Air bags and side impact systems are massive jumps forward in safety. Most people aren’t concerned enough with privacy to trade those for it.
Safety is definitely a tricky tradeoff for me. If I couldn't work on the vehicle myself either way I'd have something newer, the combo of privacy and maintenance tip the scales for me (definitely an outlier though).
FWIW I'm the same, definitely sketched out by the thin pillars and lack of side airbags though. But I absolutely hate the GPS and presumably-always-on front- and rear-facing cameras.
I'm always keeping an eye out for an old Volvo, they've been ahead of the game on safety for decades.
I don't know when they first introduced side airbags, but in general I'd be very happy with a late 80s or 90s Volvo sedan or wagon, especially a diesel (mainly for reliability and ease of working on).
