SUV Suggestions please.

[Sweetums]

Wanting input on smaller size SUV. Equinox-4-runner size. Good milage, safety, price. Input or experience welcome. For my girlfriend, and drives 100 miles daily to work. Wants something in line with these, and good in all weather coditions. Thanks in advance.

Check out the Mazda CX-5. It's won alot of praise from the automotive press. It starts out at 21 grand, and is capable of 35 MPG on the highway. I think opting for the automatic transmission drops it to 32 MPG, and the automatic with AWD is sitting at 31 MPG.

 

[Tydeeh22]

The only thing that 4wd helps with during snow is getting started. You can't slow down any faster with it.

Get some good snow tires instead.

may not be able to slow down, but locked hubs = tire moving at same speed which in turn means your ass end isnt "coming around to meet the front"..

ice however.. we all lose if we go too fast.

 

[jazzy1993]

why would 4 wheel drive kill mileage? in the snow it adds quite a bit of peace of mind. front wheel drive vehicles do fine in snow, but add in other people commuting to work + "smart snow drivers", + highway speeds, and ill eat a 3 MPG loss to know if i need to go through a ditch, im not getting stuck.

9 months of the year it doesn't snow, I can get 31 mpgs and save 2K off the vehicle price. It only snows 3 months of the year, I do not drive if the snow is real bad or I just drive for the conditions. Front wheel drive does fairly well. I do not plan to go off-road so my preference was to stay away from AWD.

I have heard good things about the Mazda's as well. They came out right after we purchased our equinox so I have not actually driven one.

 

[04DarkShadowGT]

The new 2013 Ford Escape is pretty damn cool. My wife just bought a new car but we looked at SUVs as well. The Rav 4 imo sucked, it was boring and I coudlnt imagine having to get into that thing every day for 100 mile trip.

I enjoy driving though so I dont like boring cars, if I were getting an SUV I would look at the brand new escape, the new Mazda CX5, Subaru Forester. The Nissan Rogue was kinda cool in the higher trim levels, we drove one that had black leather with red stiching and it was pretty fun for an SUV. Didnt ride smooth enough for hte wife though, too sporty.

For whatever its worth she ended up with a new Buick Verano, we never saw a nicer car for the $21K she paid for it. Not an SUV though.

 

[RGriff69]

Just don't buy a Kia, VW, or anything from GM and you'll be fine.

What's wrong with Kia? My wife is looking for a small suv and the Sportage is on her short list. She is headed up to Muncie tomorrow to look at one. Her drive is 60 miles a day.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

A very recent edition of Motor Trend just tested the VW Tiguan, the smallest Kia, Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5, and the Ford Escape.

#1 was the Ford and #2 was the Mazda.

They didn't test a Toyota RAV-4 - didn't see in the article why it wasn't included.

If she doesn't "need" a larger vehicle - why not just a decent car? Save money on purchase - and get better fuel mileage. Even when some of those CUVs are getting 30-31mpg (in FWD trim)

A co-worker of mine as a 2012 Equinox and loves it. He drives around 140 miles / day and gets ~ 30mpg. A) he strictly adheres to the speed limits and B) his truck is the 4wd version.

Me? I'd rather have a 4cyl Accord / Camry / Altima / Fusion for overall lower vehicle costs.

-J-

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

What's wrong with Kia? My wife is looking for a small suv and the Sportage is on her short list. She is headed up to Muncie tomorrow to look at one. Her drive is 60 miles a day.

Suspension is quite harsh - seats are terrible.

According to Motor Trend, anyhow.

 

[Tydeeh22]

subaru legacy? look good. good mileage. supporting an indiana based workforce. awd. car-like mileage.

 

[No2rdame]

Good point - Pilot would be closer to the Highlander, wouldn't it?

Yeah, pretty much same size, same target demographic, etc.

As far as the people that say go 2wd as opposed to 4wd... My wife has a 2wd and I have 4wd. 99% of the time there is no need for anything but the 2wd.

 

[Colinb913]

A litte bit bigger, but my fiancee just bought a 2009 Ford Escape.. She loves it for around town, and it isn't horrible on gas. (about 28 miles a gallon). She got the four cylinder. Four wheel drive. I haven't gotten it stuck or sliding in mud, grass, or rain, and I have tried my best.

 

[03mustgt]

Honda CR-V is what we went with and we are very pleased with it thus far.

 

[Bubbajms]

OP never came back and answered any of our questions

I do appreciate (sometimes envy!) those of you who live in urban and/or suburban areas.. out here in the country I got stuck several times in my FWD cars. The county(s) don't plow enough to keep the snow down, and there are enough hills and other areas to get a guy stuck. There's a booger of a hill just South of me (ie., if I'm going to Lafayette) that I got stuck on last year in my Ford Focus - it was just too steep and too slick. Started sliding back down and ended up stopping on the berm on the other side of the road. Ugh..

Several of my work vehicles are AWD or 4WD and they do so much better out here in the country..

 

[Denny347]

Just bought a 2009 VW Touareg suv...LOVE IT!!!! Bout the same size as an Explorer. Mileage is just ok...nothing to write home about.

 

[Bounty Hunter]

OP never came back and answered any of our questions

I do appreciate (sometimes envy!) those of you who live in urban and/or suburban areas.. out here in the country I got stuck several times in my FWD cars. The county(s) don't plow enough to keep the snow down, and there are enough hills and other areas to get a guy stuck. There's a booger of a hill just South of me (ie., if I'm going to Lafayette) that I got stuck on last year in my Ford Focus - it was just too steep and too slick. Started sliding back down and ended up stopping on the berm on the other side of the road. Ugh..

Several of my work vehicles are AWD or 4WD and they do so much better out here in the country..

Thanks for all the info!! She has been considering the Equinox. Basically will be interstate driving all but a few miles. I feel all wheel drive will be the best, I-65 can have some nasty black ice in the winter. I have a four wheel drive and would gladly pay the extra gas for the times when it is needed. Like I said the ice would probably be the biggest issue, but being higher in the air helps her see what is going on up ahead. A car may be a little more gas efficient, but she wants something kind of in between.

 

[Bubbajms]

We looked at the Equinox too, plus the RAV-4, CRv and a handful of other models. If Rohrman is still having their tent sale, it'd be worth a little time to just go sit in anything you think you might like - without the pressure of being at an actual dealership. There were a few we were considering that were an absolute "NO" right off the bat once we sat in them. Subaru, at least buying in Lafayette, turned out to be the best deal with what we got, and so far it's been a really great vehicle for us..

 

[Caleb]

I just picked up a 2001 Volvo xc70...love it for the most part

 

[JettaKnight]

Good point - Pilot would be closer to the Highlander, wouldn't it?

It is. And the Pilot is quite the drinker.

We drove a 2010 from here to Seattle and back. Expensive, but it was comfortable.

Personally, I wanted the Escape, but I was overruled.

 

[Caleb]

The only thing that 4wd helps with during snow is getting started. You can't slow down any faster with it.

Get some good snow tires instead.

Unless you have studded tires

 

[Movealongmovealong]

With that kind of milage needed, get a Prius and a set of snow cables and chains.

I have NEVER been in a RWD or 4WD truck with regular or snow tires that can beat a light front wheel drive car with snow cables or chains.

I used to drive an old beater 1990 Ford Taurus wagon in the deep snow with a decent set of snow cables on it, and I could BLAZE, easily better than all of the trucks on the roads at the same time. My 4x4 Chevy Blazer with a good set of tires (but without using my chains or cables) absolutely sucks in comparison. Plus nowadays you can get the auto adjusting cables and chains... very easy to use.

If it's deep enough for a car not to be able to get through it with snow chains, you shouldn't be out in it.