New vehicle advice needed

[-jk]

I've had two Subaru Outbacks. Fabulous cars. (I totaled the first on 85 near Henderson on very rainy night heading to a game. Only injury was a scratch on a back seat passenger's bare foot.) Then I inherited a Pilot, found the third row really useful with kids, and sold my second Outback.

I'd be quite happy to have another once the kids have moved on. And the heated seats are wonderful for a sore back on long drives!

-jk

[JBDuke]

A couple of other notes from my car search -

I should have looked more closely at the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. It's a slightly smaller, two-row version of the Santa Fe. I really like the value of the current Hyundai and Kia lineups. The Santa Fe Sport fit into the size/features/price range of the Venza/Murano/RDX trio we looked closely at.

If I was going slightly larger, I would have looked very very hard at the new Toyota Highlander. I sat in it, and was impressed with the comfort and design.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

I've had two Subaru Outbacks. Fabulous cars. (I totaled the first on 85 near Henderson on very rainy night heading to a game. Only injury was a scratch on a back seat passenger's bare foot.) Then I inherited a Pilot, found the third row really useful with kids, and sold my second Outback.

I'd be quite happy to have another once the kids have moved on. And the heated seats are wonderful for a sore back on long drives!

-jk

I concur in your high opinion of the Subaru Outback.... it was a really good choice for years, but the most recent iterations are truly outstanding. Great designs reflecting thorough understanding of all sorts of aspects of driving and riding in a car.

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Have a friend who bought new Hyundai Santa Fe which she raves about. Really nice looking (and riding) SUV. Hyundai has a smaller SUV as well (Tucson).

I too was going to recommend the two Hyundai's recommended above. And the Santa Fe is offered with the 2.0T (turbo) that I have in my Sonata. Better performance and very good fuel mileage. And the best warranties in the business - 60,000 miles bumper
to bumper (5 years) and 10 years 100,000 miles power train. And I've had almost no problems with four Hyundai's zinc 2007.

[nmduke2001]

You're unlikely to get anything exciting in an SUV on a budget.

My wife has a Rogue. We test drove the CX-5 and picked the Rogue over it. Rogue has the constant variance transmission (CVT) which never shifts. Pretty cool, but takes getting used to.

Her parents are in their late 70s/early 80s and can get in and out ok.

Her dad had a Kia Sorrento and that was actually a pretty nice SUV. And one of my friend has a Subaru which he likes.

I'd recommend getting a Consumer Reports subscription online and do a little reading up on it. And avoid getting a new car - always buy one that's a couple years old and under 30-50k miles if possible. Way more cost effective.

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure CVT stands for continuously variable transmission.

[devildeac]

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure CVT stands for continuously variable transmission.

That's what I always thought.

[moonpie23]

mrs pie bought a 2012 Honda CRV after much research. she loved it so much, that when it was flooded last year over at university mall and totaled, she went through all the research and test drives AGAIN....then bought the exact (2014) same CRV (color too) //

[aimo]

After many rave reviews from co-workers and friends, I got my mom a CRV in 2012. EX-L, the only model with power seats. Drove it a lot myself, so got my own this summer (2014). Identical to hers except for the exterior color. May not be exciting, but I love it. Current models (starting 2012) have a lot more room, especially in the back.

[dairedevil]

I appreciate all of your suggestions and input. I have a difficult time evaluation used vehicles - I understand all the "let somebody else pay for the depreciation", but since my car has such low mileage (74,000 in 14 years), it's hard for me to want to buy a 3 year old car with 50,000 miles. So, I've been looking at new. So far, I've driven the CR-V, Forester, Rogue and CX-5. All of them are fine - there's not really enough difference that I have just fallen in love with any of them. I'm kind of leaning toward the CX-5, it was probably the most fun and responsive of them, the Rogue had the nicest interior and felt familiar since I'm driving the Maxima now. The Honda and Subaru were both pretty bland.

I'd probably get the best deal on the 2014 CR-V, though since Honda's 2015 just came out, supposedly upgraded interior, etc. I might try out the Toyota and Hyundai before making the final decision...

[moonpie23]

try to find a "previously owned" ...2yr old with around 28k miles on it...that's a sweet deal...

[cato]

I appreciate all of your suggestions and input. I have a difficult time evaluation used vehicles - I understand all the "let somebody else pay for the depreciation", but since my car has such low mileage (74,000 in 14 years), it's hard for me to want to buy a 3 year old car with 50,000 miles. So, I've been looking at new. So far, I've driven the CR-V, Forester, Rogue and CX-5. All of them are fine - there's not really enough difference that I have just fallen in love with any of them. I'm kind of leaning toward the CX-5, it was probably the most fun and responsive of them, the Rogue had the nicest interior and felt familiar since I'm driving the Maxima now. The Honda and Subaru were both pretty bland.

I'd probably get the best deal on the 2014 CR-V, though since Honda's 2015 just came out, supposedly upgraded interior, etc. I might try out the Toyota and Hyundai before making the final decision...

If you drive the car long enough, I don't think there is much benefit to buying used. I like to keep cars 10 plus years (knock on wood), so I buy new, take out the risk factor of having had someone drive the thing for a while, and hope that I will enjoy those last few years of ownership free of major maintenance.

[burnspbesq]

If ease of getting in and out, and ease of getting stuff into and out of the back, are major considerations, forget a small SUV and get a Jetta diesel wagon.

Full disclosure: I traded a Jetta diesel wagon for my current BMW X1, and wish I hadn't. What i really wish is that I still had the Audi A3 Sportback that I had before the Jetta wagon.

[gotoguy]

Check out the Tucson. I bought my son a new 2013 GL (base version) for him to drive up in the Virginia Blue Ridge. Now with 15,000 miles. Good gas mileage 31-34 HWY. Relatively spartan interior but good functional designed instrument panel. Adequate rear seat headroom (I'm 6'3") Adequate acceleration and good warranty as mentioned previously. Thought about another when the 1995 E320 gives up the ghost but then I just test drove an Acura RDX, sweet...

[Turk]

If you drive the car long enough, I don't think there is much benefit to buying used. I like to keep cars 10 plus years (knock on wood), so I buy new, take out the risk factor of having had someone drive the thing for a while, and hope that I will enjoy those last few years of ownership free of major maintenance.

True, you spread the extra cost over a long period of time, so the difference in total cost of ownership spread over those years probably narrows. However, I think the risk of getting a used car is so much less now, especially with so many more people leasing.

I'm on the same page; my goal is to get 200K out of a vehicle before I consider getting rid of it. But I prefer buying used; I enjoy life better without car payments.