just curious what you bought and why? Mrs. moonpie is looking to drop her big ol suv and get something with "room" that drives like a car...
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just curious what you bought and why? Mrs. moonpie is looking to drop her big ol suv and get something with "room" that drives like a car...
Audi Q5. Super popular for a reason. It has the manners of a sports sedan, best-in-class interior, and a great looking exterior. All the standard gadgets, including a pano-moon roof.
The 2.0T is the motor to get. A little cheaper, excellent mileage mated to an 8 speed transmission, and tons of usable low-end torque. After 8 months, we're very happy with our purchase.
there's quite a wide range, size-wise, below "big ol SUV" and something that drives like a car. Is there a class of vehicle she's targeting? Mid-size sedans? Crossovers?
I have a 2008 Honda Fit and I love it, but it's quite small. But with the rear seat down flat, there's 42 cu ft of cargo room in there, all in one contiguous area, not split up like a car with a trunk separated from the backseat. The 2012 has 57 (!) cu ft of cargo space, and I'm going to buy a new one soon. It's very fun to drive, economical, etc.
she's looking at some hatchbacks...she wants it to drive more like a fun car, but it has to be able to carry the 4 of us, the wheelchair (flat in the back) and maybe a suitcase or two...and some stuffed animals...
right now she's looking at the honda CRV, Insight (bad ratings?) Subaru Outback, Nissan Altima, Acura TSX wagon, Prius V
If she wants to keep an SUV but wants one that drives like a car, I highly recommend the GMC Terrain. My parents have one, and it's fun to drive, lots of room, but still on the small end on the SUV scale. Also, a fully loaded Terrain costs less than 30K, so it means affordable pricing.
I like the Honda Crosstour. It is an Accord with a slightly bigger body and is a hatchback. Lots of room. Nice ride and nice drive.
Might want to consider a Mazda5. Definitely drives like a car, but it has flexible rear space or can seat 6.
If she's looking for a "smallish SUV" type... My wife has a Subaru Forrester. It has a exterior look of a small SUV, but certainly rides like a regular car. They are supposed to retain value very well too. Ours has required very little maintenance.
I'm a big Hyundai fan. I better be - the last three vehicles I've acquired have been Hyundai's. I loved my 2007 Sonata V6 and had no problems with it. Last May, we dumped my wife's 2006 Chrysler Town & Country for a 2011 Hyundai Elantra. We didn't need the carrying space anymore (my daughter now owns the minivan for carrying her daughter and stuff around) and wanted (much) better gas mileage. It's been a great choice. She gets 32 to 34 driving back and forth to Raleigh 5 days a week and we've gotten the 40 mpg rating on trips to the mountains and back. And it is a fun car to drive! Handles and rides very nicely. there is also a "Touring Edition" which is a hatchback, but it's only rated 33 mpg. In August I traded my 2007 Sonata (just over 100K miles and newly out of warranty) for a 2112 Sonata Turbo. Lots of fun to drive, a stiffer suspension that the older model, and I have gotten OVER the 34 mgp rating on trips. Less around town, of course. Seats 5, nice trunk. It's a keeper! I love it!
Look at the Santa Fe if you want the midsized SUV. Talk to Joe Smith at Southern States Hyundai and tell him I sent you.
As a related tangent, has anyone here used new car buying services, perhaps for pre-arranged discount pricing? I know that Costco has one; I think AAA had one in the past, and there may be others (Consumer Reports? or maybe that's just informational).
Thanks
went to look at the honda CRV...it looked nice, had the proper room and seemed like what you'd expect from honda....looked at the acura TSX sprt wagon, but the dealership was closed so we couldn't put the kids in it...
we'll check the subaru and the elantra touring tomorrow...
what was really nice was the austin martin DB9 sitting in the porsche dealership :)
Don't forget the Toyota Highlander. A mechanic friend of mine has raved about this one for low maintenance costs and long life. He recommended the 4 cylinder with FWD for best economy.
If you want to look at Hyundai, the Santa Fe has gotten some good evaluations from Consumer Reports.
I've learned that the estimated volume of cargo space doesn't tell all I need to know. The shape of that space determines whether I can transport all the tailgate gear as much or more than the actual volume.
I just got a used Hyundai 4 months ago and love it as well. Mine is an Accent hatchback (so not the size you were looking for as a 2-door) but I can vouch for Hyundai having some pretty quality vehicles and a great warranty; although I hope my current car lasts many years as it only has 40k on it I expect that I will end up with another Hyundai when it comes time to make another purchase.
Someone on here recommended Truecar.com when I was buying a car a while back. It was very helpful for determining if the deal I got was a good one.
I ended up with a hybrid Camry. It had all the features I wanted except for being a 5 speed. I couldn't find a manual transmission with the other options I wanted so I went hybrid. It has the added benefit of being a beautiful Duke blue.
Like my current ride!
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My son bought two new cars in the last 9 months....unfortunately, the reason he had to buy a second one was that the first was totaled when a truck hit him from the rear and pushed him into an almost "immovable object."
The good news was that the Altima hybrid he had purchased provided amazing protection. The front end crumpled up like an accordion, as apparently it is designed to do, and the back wasn't in much better shape. But he managed to get out of the car and, thank goodness. he was fine. He had also been very happy with the car during the six months he owned it.
He then purchased a new 2012 Ford Escape. This was against my advice as I had read the next Escape, due this summer as I recall, would be a completely new vehicle and incorporate many technological advances as well as a completely different body design. But he's happy with it.
Good luck with whatever you decide and good luck in the purchasing process. If you have confidence in your negotiating skills and have done your homework, I think that's the way to get the best price. But for many people the buying services are the best alternative. I have no idea how the buying services compare but I would tend to trust Consumer Reports in most matters and tend to have little confidence in AAA since many of their consumer deals on travel and such are no deals at all compared to what can be found elsewhere.
i've used the AAA service (thru the NC state employees credit union). you have to know specifics on color/options/etc,
before getting a quote. i ended up using the quote to shop around with the local dealers. if you can't find
a better price, you can make a deposit ($500 from what i remember) and then pay the rest once the car is delivered. for me,
we met at a local credit union to complete the paperwork (a AAA driver drove it from the dealership to the credit union)
and i was in my car in less than an hour...