New small SUV?

[jkust]

Re: New small SUV?

Hard to say. We've had 3 kias and I've never paid for any thing but general maint (oil/trans/diff) and timing belt changes. The timing belt service can be expensive, but no more than any other vehicl.

I've been an in the closet Kia/Hyundai fan for a few years now. I think just because I like to see a company stick it to Honda and Toyota with actual nice designs and do it by coming from way behind. I priced out the Kia Sorento and the similar Hyundai last year when I bought my most recent suv but I like my vehicle to have ever single piece of equipment offered and those were expensive even a couple years old. I practically stole my GM SUV (that I ended up with) with every option including the 5.3 v8, AWD, DVD, NAV, Limited Slip diff, heated leather, rear air, Factory HID's, curtain air bags, roll over protection and on and on by comparison. It's always been hard to argue with getting more for less where my wallet is concerned.

 

[HopinImFloatin]

Re: New small SUV?

i hate to say it being a gm tech, but avoid traverse/acadia/enclave. lots of transmission issues and the 3.6l engine isnt much better

 

[jkust]

Re: New small SUV?

i hate to say it being a gm tech, but avoid traverse/acadia/enclave. lots of transmission issues and the 3.6l engine isnt much better

And it's a big suv compared by comparison. The 3.6 baffles me since even in the smaller cars that GM makes, it still gets unacceptbly low mpg's. I get that mpg's suffer in the lambda series you mentioned since the 3.6 is so underpowered there.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: New small SUV?

I wouldn't buy any hybrid because the gas savings are just not enough to justify the price of the hybrid. At best, you may get 10% more mileage with a hybrid. If you drive 15,000 miles/year get 30MPG you will be buying 500 gallons of gas. That would be a total of $2200 or so with gas at $4.50/gallon. With a hybrid you may save $220/year. Considering the price of the hybrid is around $3K more, you will probably never recover the gas savings over the life of the car. Won't even discuss that as the batterries age, the amount the the gas engine runs goes up.

 

[bigdee]

Re: New small SUV?

I wouldn't buy any hybrid because the gas savings are just not enough to justify the price of the hybrid. At best, you may get 10% more mileage with a hybrid. If you drive 15,000 miles/year get 30MPG you will be buying 500 gallons of gas. That would be a total of $2200 or so with gas at $4.50/gallon. With a hybrid you may save $220/year. Considering the price of the hybrid is around $3K more, you will probably never recover the gas savings over the life of the car. Won't even discuss that as the batterries age, the amount the the gas engine runs goes up.

Bruce brings up a good point....for all practical purposes he is correct. If it was not for government incentives I think hybrids would be a short lived fad.

 

[JB]

Re: New small SUV?

I wonder if Bruce and bigdee have actually driven a hybrid. It is a different experience.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: New small SUV?

I wonder if Bruce and bigdee have actually driven a hybrid. It is a different experience.

Plenty of times. Just don't buy one if you think its saving you money.

The 0-60 times of the Highlander hybrid is 7.6 seconds. The V6 time is 8.0 so there isn't a considerable difference there either.

I like the Highlander a lot. If I buy used, it woud be top of my list...just not hybrid unless it was a great price.

 

[bigdee]

Re: New small SUV?

I wonder if Bruce and bigdee have actually driven a hybrid. It is a different experience.

No I have never driven one but perhaps that could be a selling point to someone. However, if lower cost per mile over the lifetime of the vehicle is the buyers objective a hybrid may not be the better choice.

 

[triumphrick]

Re: New small SUV?

The Honda CRV is one of my favorites..

We owned an original (97) that we put well over 200k on and it gave great mileage as well as was troublefree.

CR likes the newer Ford Escape.

However either the Subaru Forrester or the Rav4 would also be good using past frequency of repairs...

 

[bruceb58]

Re: New small SUV?

The Honda CRV is one of my favorites.....

One nice thing about the CRV....no timing belt to change.

 

[keith2k455]

Re: New small SUV?

IMO Hyundai and KIA are the way to go ... If you want power and mpg get the turbo. I had a 2011 turbo sonata that got totalled...loved it so much went and got an identical 2012. I see 36 mpg on the interstate regularly, have 274 ponies, nav all for well under 30k. I know its not the SUV but the brand seems to be doing it right. Only thing imported is the trans cause its proprietary tech.

 

[jkust]

Re: New small SUV?

IMO Hyundai and KIA are the way to go ... If you want power and mpg get the turbo. I had a 2011 turbo sonata that got totalled...loved it so much went and got an identical 2012. I see 36 mpg on the interstate regularly, have 274 ponies, nav all for well under 30k. I know its not the SUV but the brand seems to be doing it right. Only thing imported is the trans cause its proprietary tech.

I like ponies but love torque. What are the torque numbers on that turbo 4? Had one supercharge car over the years and never could figure out why all cars don't have forced induction since it bumps the torque numbers way up for the same mpg's. It's amazing what a little forced air does to performance. The car I mentioned was literally scary since the acceleration never let up no matter how fast you went. The other thing though is you through that 30K number around like 30k is nothing.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: New small SUV?

One nice thing about the CRV....no timing belt to change.

Around here driving a CRV would require a lifestyle change NOt to mention the non existant tow rating since it is basically a civic with an even uglier body on it.

 

[NYBo]

Re: New small SUV?

Are you planning on towing anything with the vehicle? The tow ratings in this class range from 0 to 3500 pounds.

 

[ajgraz]

Re: New small SUV?

Are you planning on towing anything with the vehicle? The tow ratings in this class range from 0 to 3500 pounds.

One of the things I like about the Ford Flex, good towing capacity.

 

[NYBo]

Re: New small SUV?

One of the things I like about the Ford Flex, good towing capacity.

Yes, but it's big and SO ugly (IMO)!:redface:
The Ford Edge, however, might be more suitable.

 

[Tempelton]

Re: New small SUV?

I have experience with a few of the newer SUVs/Crossovers.

My parents own the Edge which is a really nice vehicle with some decent towing in the larger motors. My wife owns a new Escape which the new one is kinda like a scaled down Edge. Ford has done some nice things in the new SUVs. Both the Fords have a backup camera which is great when backing into a parking space. They both have the new CVT transmissions, which are really smooth, just not as good as the Nissan transmissions. I have an altima and when i step on the gas the car instantly responds, in the Escape there is a little hesitation not really a deal breaker but when you need the power its nice to have instantly.

A good friend of mine just bought a KIA sorrento and that was also a really nice riding vehicle. Haven't had much experience with it other than that. But I have asked him about it and he has nothing but praise for it.

I personally love the Nissan Murano. I test drove one back in 2008 when i bought my altima and absolutely loved it. Unfortunately could not afford to purchase one. The rogue is also nice but has no towing capacity and if you are a taller individual, I'm 6'4", you need to get the the six way driver's seat. That was the only way i could drive the Rogue comfortably.

 

[roscoe]

Re: New small SUV?

Back in 2008 when we were looking for a small SUV we tested the Rav4 (made in Cambridge Ontario). It had a really nice ride but what I didn't like was the fact that the rear gate was a swing open, hinged on the passenger side. You would have to load it from the road side of the vehicle rather than the sidewalk side. Wasn't too fond of the spare tire back there either. And the fuel fill was on the road side. For safety I prefer the fuel fill on the passenger side.

We ended up buying a Nissan Rogue. Pleanty of room and pretty decient gas mileage. I'm averaging 26 combined city/highway. It took a bit to get used to the CVT transmission also.

Can you explain this to me please?

 

[bruceb58]

Re: New small SUV?

Around here driving a CRV would require a lifestyle change NOt to mention the non existant tow rating since it is basically a civic with an even uglier body on it.

Since the OP is looking for something the size of an Escape, I don't think tow ratings are part of his criteria and the CR-V happens to be in the same size class as the Escape.

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: New small SUV?

I heard they dropped the hybrid version because the ecoboost engine version got nearly the same mileage as the hybrid.

I would imagine another reason for dropping the Escape Hybrid is the licensing fee's Ford was paying to Toyota for borrowing the synergy drive design. Seems like Ford is going across the board with the Eco-boost over Hybrid. Less complicated design, with the similar returns in fuel mileage. Also keep in mind if you are commuting on the highway often, hybrids mean squat, as you are mostly on gas power. Makes more sense for around town commuting. But then again, there is the big bill for the battery replacement looming in the distance if you plan on keeping a hybrid for any length of time.

All the above mentioned players are capable small SUV's. Best thing to do is get the wife behind the wheel of them, and see which one she likes the best. As Bruce mentioned, all years of Land Rovers stink for reliability, especially when it comes to electrical issues.