Seeking Advice on SUV Options

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Originally Posted by NewEnglander
No kidding? How about that. I did some light reading on this online and never heard this was the reason. Very cool, thanks for the tip.

Horsepucky. Never heard of Subarus "wandering" I have driven tons of them and have been on the subaruforester.com board for 12 years. Never once seen it as a problem. Most vehicles "wander" bc they come through with tires 15psi over inflated. Having said that I think the Huyndai sport would work for you.

No ones awd beats Subarus but the better the awd/4wd it allows you to get stuck worse. You can get stuck in any vehicle. I have owned 3 subarus and 2 4wd pickups. Been stuck in every one of them...and no I guess I am just not as talented as some who claim they go anywhere in fwd and tow subarus out of the snow.
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Subaru Impreza/Crosstrek: Tinny/noisy. CVT makes quite a racket, too. Good ride and mild/safe handling in slippery condition. The Imp doesn't have much ground clearance. I had to commute 40 miles one way on the 2nd worst country roads in my state, and the Imp WITH great snow/ice tires (Micheline X-ice 2's) worked wonderful. The Crosstrek would be blown around by wind more than the Imp, which was blown around by the wind way too much for how low it was.

Mileage when driven VERY carefully was 27-28 winter, 32-34 summer, with 3 perfect maximums of just over 38 hand-calculated MPG. The CVT sucks gas bad when cold, and it takes a long time to warm that huge hunk up.

Wife's Outback is quieter, fat, wobbly, underdamped shocks, dead steering. Wind doesn't move it around much. VERY good MPG for size: 27.5 summer. I hate this tub of lard. My all-time favorite car to drive was the 2000 Outback. My wife loves the car. She doesn't have a clue what an apex is, although she dislikes Vettel, too! With Bridgestone Blizzaks on it, it doesn't have as much tire bite as I'd think it should. Very high 'first gear' makes it slow on takeoff, and you need to keep the four floored when merging on hwy.

Please take a CX-5 out for a spin. I have one, it's way better designed and assembled than the Subies, worth every cent. Excellent mileage, rivaling the Impreza! AWD is smarter, kicks in well before you think you need it. There's lots to google for specifics.

CX-5 can be had with LED headlights. Both Subaru's headlights suck. I replaced the Imps with a higher wattage bulb that required a base plug mod to work. Still sucked, even with fogs on.
 
My Imp with a much smaller frontal area could just hit 30 MPG at 75 MPH. I suspect your dash MPG gauge overestimated even higher than mine did.
 
"No ones awd beats Subarus ". Al, it's great that you love your subie, but please don't lose sight of reality. It's still just a lower-cost-to-produce economy AWD. Only the expensive high-end models have a more sophisticated AWD, and it is STILL just a reactive system.

Just because they had great commercials with cute dogs doesn't make them superior.
 
Originally Posted by NewEnglander


Good questions and points. Don't have much of a price range but a deal hunter to the core. Offhand most likely 15-25K as most of what I am seeing tends to end up somewhere inside that ballpark. Looked at the HRV in the showroom but did not try it as of yet. Will reconsider.

Was thinking about the Prius V but the wife seems to think we need something higher with the AWD. Have to pick my battles I suppose.

Whatever I end up with will be wearing the WRG4s most likely as Nokian tyres are my jam.


Cool!

25k can definitely buy you something brand new. And since Hondas don't really depreciate in 2-3 years, a brand new HRV might be the best choice, if you test drive it and like it. And the fall clearance deals you can get on an outgoing 2018 might get you a good deal.

Since you already use Nokian and will install WRG4s, this seems like the best way to go.

Too bad you can't convince your wife on a Prius V or C-Max. Yeah I can see why she'd want AWD, but really, anything will be safer than an old Accent. You will probably also have traction control and/or stability control and ABS. Does your Accent even have ABS?
lol.gif


Since you already have Hyundai and Kia in your fleet, you might like the Kona. If it's too small, the Tucson like someone else said.
 
Originally Posted by ernied
I like my Hyundai santafe sport but not going to get anther if I cannot
shut off the start stop feature they say comes on the new ones.


That's why I bought a 2018...
 
I would drive a 3rd Gen Rav4 hard before considering it. My mom had an awd 2009 or 2010 model as her last company car before retirement. In 30 years with the company and 10 company cars, everyone agreed it was by far the worst. The seating was awkward and the transmission was terrible - a programming issue, not a reliability issue. The AWD aspect was fine, as was overall reliability. But the ergonomics and transmission were not acceptable. As a comment on how bad it was, she bought her prior car when it was off the initial 3 year company lease -- a 2007 Chevy Equinox AWD. It vastly outperformed the Rav4 for the same basic awd cross-over type vehicle. She still drives it, and it has been a very reliable vehicle (now at ~120k). I don't love it very much, but if you are in this market, take a look at one. It has a very reliable Aisin 5 speed transmission (same basic unit as in our Lexus). It was driven regularly for the first three years (for work) through Western WA, Idaho, and Montana winter conditions with nary a problem. Her's was a V6, but those are chain drive in a very tractable, long-lived unit, so don't rule those out. The V6 delivered good power and just at or shy of the mileage you spec'd, so you could consider them. The chain drive V6 and the Aisin transmission make it a very, very reliable and potentially long-lived powertrain.

The Tiguan and many VW and Audi timing chain issues are NOT over-rated. Look hard into whatever model you consider.

If the Rav4 is on your list, also consider then the Lexus RX330 or subsequent years RX350. They are capable in awd, reliable, and of the same basic crossover configuration. The Lexus models are the ones to look at vs. the Highlander for better initial build and styling.
 
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Originally Posted by MCompact
The CX-5 is my favorite bargain CUV.



My daughter has a '15 CX-5, the twin to our RAV, and there's not enough practical difference between the two to talk about. NVH the same, driving manners under normal driving the same, her '15 has more nanny stuff than our '14 and push to start (wow). Pick which you like better with confidence but "Zoom Zoom" is pure marketing in this category.
 
Originally Posted by Oro_O
I would drive a 3rd Gen Rav4 hard before considering it.
.



Why even look at Gen 3 RAVs? 2013 was first year of Gen 4.

Oh yeah, Gen 4 has liftgate not side swing and no spare out back, and no V6. Diehards hate Gen 4s.
 
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Originally Posted by NewEnglander


Good questions and points. Don't have much of a price range but a deal hunter to the core. Offhand most likely 15-25K as most of what I am seeing tends to end up somewhere inside that ballpark. Looked at the HRV in the showroom but did not try it as of yet. Will reconsider.

Was thinking about the Prius V but the wife seems to think we need something higher with the AWD. Have to pick my battles I suppose.

Whatever I end up with will be wearing the WRG4s most likely as Nokian tyres are my jam.


Cool!

25k can definitely buy you something brand new. And since Hondas don't really depreciate in 2-3 years, a brand new HRV might be the best choice, if you test drive it and like it. And the fall clearance deals you can get on an outgoing 2018 might get you a good deal.

Since you already use Nokian and will install WRG4s, this seems like the best way to go.

Too bad you can't convince your wife on a Prius V or C-Max. Yeah I can see why she'd want AWD, but really, anything will be safer than an old Accent. You will probably also have traction control and/or stability control and ABS. Does your Accent even have ABS?
lol.gif


Since you already have Hyundai and Kia in your fleet, you might like the Kona. If it's too small, the Tucson like someone else said.


No the Accent does not! But God I love that little car. The greatest beater that ever was. Picked it up off of a tow company with 40K on the odometer and it has been the little car that could do anything and everything we've asked it to do and then some. I've done most everything on it myself and learned so much in the process.

One of the reasons we are having a hard time saying goodbye but what can you do? Life goes on

I may work on her about the Prius V a bit more. I too thought with the Nokians it could be a hella stealth bomber around the streets of Cambridge. I also need to take a harder look at the Tucson.
 
AWD vehicles usually have zero toe. They are more sensitive. One driver's sensitivity is another driver's responsiveness.
Should I be surprised if CAFE is being blamed for hemorrhoids too?
Vehicles with struts in front will wander if heavy load in rear(did that get censored?)
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Originally Posted by Chris142
IMO I would not consider a Mitsubishi for any reason.


Why not? I hear good things, but there are always two sides to a story.
 
Neighbor has a Nissan Rogue. Gets very high 30s for MPG. I can't believe it. Sooths the pain of the CVT trans.

How about a Ford Escape? I am not/ was not keen on Fords but they got this one right, IMO.
 
no way I'd get anything other than the rav4 on the list. I have a 2013 rav4 XLE, 4 cyl, 70k, no issues. brakes, tires, oil changes. It gets decent mpg at 25, is AWD, has enough room, and was cheap enough. I rarely drive it, when I do it is fine. She doesn't complain driving it, so its a win. There is a reason a lot of them are sold. Its cheap AWD transportation (I paid 24k otd after taxes, 28800msrp), toyota reliability, and decent resale.
 
Originally Posted by NewEnglander
Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
Originally Posted by NewEnglander


Good questions and points. Don't have much of a price range but a deal hunter to the core. Offhand most likely 15-25K as most of what I am seeing tends to end up somewhere inside that ballpark. Looked at the HRV in the showroom but did not try it as of yet. Will reconsider.

Was thinking about the Prius V but the wife seems to think we need something higher with the AWD. Have to pick my battles I suppose.

Whatever I end up with will be wearing the WRG4s most likely as Nokian tyres are my jam.


Cool!

25k can definitely buy you something brand new. And since Hondas don't really depreciate in 2-3 years, a brand new HRV might be the best choice, if you test drive it and like it. And the fall clearance deals you can get on an outgoing 2018 might get you a good deal.

Since you already use Nokian and will install WRG4s, this seems like the best way to go.

Too bad you can't convince your wife on a Prius V or C-Max. Yeah I can see why she'd want AWD, but really, anything will be safer than an old Accent. You will probably also have traction control and/or stability control and ABS. Does your Accent even have ABS?
lol.gif


Since you already have Hyundai and Kia in your fleet, you might like the Kona. If it's too small, the Tucson like someone else said.


No the Accent does not! But God I love that little car. The greatest beater that ever was. Picked it up off of a tow company with 40K on the odometer and it has been the little car that could do anything and everything we've asked it to do and then some. I've done most everything on it myself and learned so much in the process.

One of the reasons we are having a hard time saying goodbye but what can you do? Life goes on

I may work on her about the Prius V a bit more. I too thought with the Nokians it could be a hella stealth bomber around the streets of Cambridge. I also need to take a harder look at the Tucson.


If I was buying new the Kona would be on my shortlist but I had to be a quick purchase of a used '17 Kia Soul from Hertz in April and so far it's been the best $14K I've spent. And used car prices are always higher when tax refunds hit, so the same car would be less today. I had a '13 Rio and HyunKias seem straight forward, no nonsense cars. Had four Kias and a Hyundai and my latest rental Accent was the same kind vehicle. I'm mentioning the Soul, since it's been an official SUV since about '16 when the last of the remaining "box cars" were driven from the market.
 
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Originally Posted by bobdoo
The CVT sucks gas bad when cold, and it takes a long time to warm that huge hunk up.


It's not the CVT per se. For some reason, Subaru have programmed the car so that if it's cold out and you have the heater on, the CVT stays in a stupidly low ratio and wastes a lot of fuel. I'm guessing they're trying to warm the engine up faster by running it at higher rpms when the heater is on.

On a cold winter day with the heater on the engine will run at 2000 rpm driving through town. I turn the heater off and it drops to 1200.

I can literally get 10mpg more in the winter by turning the heater off on a trip across town.
 
The new Hyundai Kona should be on your list...sounds like it meets the requirements.

As I've said here a thousand times, I love my Soul, would not trade it for anything basically.
 
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