Looking for Compact SUV Advice

Dr Tinear

Dr Tinear

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
I'm shopping for a used compact SUV for my youngest son, who just finished his bachelor's degree and is headed to vet school at Ohio State in the fall. My budget puts me into the used market. I've narrowed the selection down to the 2013-2015 Ford Escape, 2014-2015 Jeep Cherokee, and 2013-2015 Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain. If you've had experience with any of these vehicles that you'd like to share in this thread, I invite you to post your impressions and recommendations. The only Asian vehicle in this class that I'd consider would be the Mazda CX-5, and they tend to sell above my budget on the rare occasions that they turn up used, so I'm not actively considering anything from a Japanese or Korean automaker.
 
With all of the trouble my family and friends have had with Chrysler products, I would never even consider buying one.:no: That's just my two cents, though.
 
Jeeps have tranny problems. The Chevy Traverse pops up quite often as a good alt to Honda's Pilot, and Toyota's Highlander. But it is a large SUV. I test drove a new Escape, liked it, but determined it was too small for our current and future needs.
 
beat_truck said:
With all of the trouble my family and friends have had with Chrysler products, I would never even consider buying one.:no: That's just my two cents, though.
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same with me, nothing but issues with Fiat / Chrysler. Nissan Rogue, older Rav4 with the V6 would be my first look
 
savatage1973 said:
Honda CRV--a buddy of mine is a mechanic for a Honda dealership and he always keeps one around (he gets them cheap from work with 300K+ miles on them).
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I'm not interested in seeing my son drive around with a Takata shrapnel generator aimed at his carotid artery and jugular vein, so I think I'll pass on the CR-V (or any other Honda, for that matter).
 
I have a 2017 Ford Escape SE 4WD with eco-boost and it is a great car. I'd been driving Audi's (not real reliable btw), and I'm very happy with the Escape. It drives and handles smoothly with a good tight (but comfortable ride), and the Ford dealers have all been very good to deal with for regularly scheduled service at very reasonable prices.
 
Thanks to everyone for your feedback. Keep those recommendations (pro or con) coming!

My family has owned or leased both Ford and Fiat Chrysler vehicles built in the past 20 years. The Dodge and Chrysler minivans never left us stranded, but they did require more repairs than the Ford or Mercury cars. The only transmission repair we bought on any of the three minivans was a replacement of two transmission speed sensors on the 2003 Caravan. The 2005 T&C, which we bought used with 51k on the clock and sold with 176k, never needed a transmission repair, probably because I kept up with the recommended fluid and filter changes and always made sure that the shop used fluid that met the Mopar ATF+4 spec.

I've heard that the CVT (continuously variable transmission) in Nissan vehicles has been troublesome, so I'm reluctant to consider the Rogue. Has anyone had experience with this autobox?

The Chevy Traverse is a bigger vehicle than I'm looking for. I've heard good things about the smaller Chevy Equinox and GMC Terrain from a family I know that owns one of each.
 
Almost all the vehicles listed came with Takata airbags but they are being replaced under recalls issued by each manufacturer. All three of my current vehicles have had their driver and passenger side airbags replaced under the recall.

The wife has a CX-5 and it features a fully hydraulic transmission vs. a CVT, which neither the wife or I really liked. We demo'd and inspected 10 different vehicles in the small crossover SUV class before purchasing it. The Mazda has proven to be very reliable, comfortable and has decent power - meaning it can get out of its own way when asked unlike some other small SUV's - and the fit and finish is very good.

My prior experience with the Cherokee was terrible, as was my nephew's. I don't know if the problems were consistent across the model but I would never buy another one.

Good luck with your choice.
 
Why go for a small SUV?

Currently drive a 2014 Honda Fit 5 speed - amazingly HUGE interior for a small car -
I got 15 bags of mulch in it at HomeDepot last week, have carried some larger speakers in it,
and I tend to get around 32-35 mpg (I do put my foot in it a bit ...) Its peppy and handles quite well.
Had good luck with a Honda CRV in the past, & my wife is still driving the 2000 Civic SI we bought new - tho its not an SUV
 
Never any issues in my Murano with CVT or any other vehicle I have had with one. History of Maintenance is key with any vehicle
 
I like the Chevy Equinox. I'm on my third. Relax. I lease them. Well, I totaled one. But I've had a 2015 LT, a 2017 LS, and am now driving a 2018 LT (with extra goodies). The 2018 is a nice upgrade over the previous generation. The four-cylinder is surprisingly small in it, but, because it's turbocharged, it has respectable get-up-and-go. The 2015 and 2017 Equinoxes didn't have nearly the acceleration that my new one has.

I didn't like the seats in my 2015 and 2017. Would end up getting a pain in my right cheek. That's' gone with the 2018.

The 2018 shuts itself off when you stop at a traffic light and starts itself back up when you take your foot off the brake. Kinda nifty, but takes a little getting used to.

The info-tainment system in the 2015 was better than in the 2017 as they dropped the Pandora app from the 2017 (which annoyed the heck outta me).

I dunno. I like the Equinox. Don't have any experience with its competition.

Like most vehicles that have airbags in the A columns, I find them to be a little thick. But, having totaled an Equinox (that's why I'm not driving my 2017 anymore - long story, but I'm not going to get into it), I can say that Chevy has done an awesome job of making bad crashes much more survivable than they used to be. I emerged from my accident completely unharmed.

Before leasing my first Equinox, I leased a Traverse. Not a bad vehicle, but I found that its rearward visibility was terrible. I hated backing out of parking spots in busy parking lots. The 2018 has all the oncoming side traffic alerts (as well as the ultrasonic sensors to let you know that vehicles are in your blind spots) as well as a significantly higher resolution rear camera. It's like going from 640i to 1080P!!

Can easily carry four adults (I'm 6'3, 240 lbs, and I have a ton of legroom and headroom in the driver seat - that's been true of all my Equinoxes). You can carry five, but I don't think I'd want to sit in the middle in the backseat.

Cargo space is decent. I understand the competition has a bit more, but I imagine that it's not a lot of more usable space.

Gas mileage is good. My first two Equinoxes got me about 30 mpg combined city and highway driving with a best mpg rating at 35.5 mpg, and my 2018 gets about 32 combined and has bested out at about 37 mpg. The thing is, if you want to really get your best mpg rating up there, you need to be driving at about 50 mph on level ground with cruise control on. I use cruise control every chance I get. And then some.
 
Hajidub said:
Takata was/is in 85% of all cars, it's just that Honda admitted to it before everyone else. The airbag has to be replaced prior to a dealer selling the car. CRV or Element would be my recommendation. 140K on my Honda and all I've replaced is a parking bulb and a window regulator, good luck with an American car.
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Takata's share of the total air bag market is nowhere close to 85%. Autoliv and TRW account for most of the air bags in Detroit Three vehicles and a considerable percentage in import vehicles. For the Ford brand, the only affected vehicles were Ranger, GT, some model years of Mustang, Fusion prior to 2013, four model years of the Edge, and the 2017 F-150. That comes to 3.1 million vehicles vs. the 11.4 million Hondas and Acuras covered by the recall. Toyota sourced Takata on fewer vehicle lines than Honda did, though they still ended up recalling more than 6.6 million vehicles for air bag replacement.
 
I saw a current model Hyundai Tuscon on the way to work today and it's a nice looking vehicle. Not sure when they went to that body style.

GM interiors annoy me.
 
Toyota RAV4 is a good one. I will be selling my 2007 Limited in a few months with only 75K miles. No issues at all besides normal maintenance.
 
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