Shopping for a New SUV

Hyfi

Addicted Member
It's time to sell my 2007 Rav4 with only 78,000 miles on it.

We narrowed down a list of possible vehicles at the Car Show a few months ago and started test driving over the last week. Below is my list of possible selections and what we drove so far. Any input Pro or Con on any of them will be appreciated.

Features we want are
Full Power Passenger seats
Key less entry and start / remote start
Music play from USB Stick
Leather
Under $50K
0% Financing or close

Acura MDX - First one we looked at thinking we would not like it, but we did. Very comfortable and I like how it goes to 4cyl in cruise control.

Volvo XC90 - Really nice all around but mu wife did not like the seats and going over bumps felt like a truck. We also cannot get a new one for under $50K which is one of our needed features.

VW Atlas - Really nice and the biggest for cargo. Pricing was reasonable but real heavy doors and first year run.

Ford Explorer - Never been a Ford guy and still not. Price and Financing is good, Warranty sucks. Cumbersome to fold and adjust the seats, heavy doors that suffer from the same design flaw as the Taurus. The door pull is too close to the hinge and gives you no leverage to close the doors. They should be about 2 to 4 inches further back.

Still to look at

Jeep Grand Cherokee

Dodge Durango

Both the Dodge and Jeep have terrible interior options all black or black and gray.

Chevy Traverse

GMC Acadia

Buick Enclave

I currently have a Buick Lacrosse (2014) that I love and all the GMs have similar interiors and features
 
No Mazda? The CX5 and CX9 look great and are reasonably fun to drive considering their sizes.
Just took a look, not really as big as i would like. I want as much or more room than my 07 Rav4. The more they keep rolling off the back of the vehicles, the less cargo you can fit or get into the opening.
 
Honda CR-V--my uncle bought a 2018 about 6 months ago. He was a Chevy Blazer/Trailblazer guy for years (but those no longer exist) and that is what he landed on. I have driven it, and it is quite nice and meets your specs. He had bought a Pilot about 6 months prior to that and downgraded to the CR-V--the Pilot was really nice, but a bit bigger than he initially thought (and he is getting older), so when the new CR-V came out, he dumped the Pilot for basically what he paid for it (and it is pushing your budget). A close friend of mine is a mechanic for a Honda dealership and he buys trade-in's with 300K on them, just to keep as a spare vehicle, and they have always proved reliable.
 
Honda CR-V--my uncle bought a 2018 about 6 months ago. He was a Chevy Blazer/Trailblazer guy for years (but those no longer exist) and that is what he landed on. I have driven it, and it is quite nice and meets your specs. He had bought a Pilot about 6 months prior to that and downgraded to the CR-V--the Pilot was really nice, but a bit bigger than he initially thought (and he is getting older), so when the new CR-V came out, he dumped the Pilot for basically what he paid for it (and it is pushing your budget). A close friend of mine is a mechanic for a Honda dealership and he buys trade-in's with 300K on them, just to keep as a spare vehicle, and they have always proved reliable.
Thanks, I looked at the CRV when I bought the Rav4 in 07. I hated it. The seats were so short that my legs fell asleep during the test drive. I will take another look but if I go Honda, it will be Acura most likely.
 
Thanks, I looked at the CRV when I bought the Rav4 in 07.

My uncle felt the same way about the CR-V when he bought the Pilot, but when the 2018 CR-V came out, it gained a lot of "weight"--much more room (my uncle is 6'2"), so he made the change. The new one is a whole different animal, so to speak.
 
@mkane is absolutely correct. Although sales continue to climb and keep FCA alive (at outrageous prices), the Jeep brand has consistently held the bottom rankings for build quality and reliability for several years now--don't go there.
 
Anecdotally...

When I bought my Fiat from the dealer that you’d probably buy a Jeep from HyFy, I’d have to wait a day or two for a service appointment.

I now wait two weeks for service appointments. They’re frantically advertising for new techs.

When I self diagnosed a bad wheel bearing and realized I’d been driving on it for over 5k miles as it got steadily worse, I decided to take my car in without an appointment. I have a GPS tracker in my car that also records disturbances. That’s how I know the car sat there for a week before they even touched it.

Luckily I went on vacation and we took my wife’s car.

People are buying Jeeps and Rams like crazy and then their broken junks are clogging up the service departments for the rest of us FCA owners who’s junk don’t break as often.

I just tracked down an evap leak, fixed it myself, and cleared the code, because the service appointment I scheduled for that isn’t until the 17th. That was the earliest I could get when I called last week.
 
Anecdotally...

When I bought my Fiat from the dealer that you’d probably buy a Jeep from HyFy, I’d have to wait a day or two for a service appointment.

I now wait two weeks for service appointments. They’re frantically advertising for new techs.

When I self diagnosed a bad wheel bearing and realized I’d been driving on it for over 5k miles as it got steadily worse, I decided to take my car in without an appointment. I have a GPS tracker in my car that also records disturbances. That’s how I know the car sat there for a week before they even touched it.

Luckily I went on vacation and we took my wife’s car.

People are buying Jeeps and Rams like crazy and then their broken junks are clogging up the service departments for the rest of us FCA owners who’s junk don’t break as often.

I just tracked down an evap leak, fixed it myself, and cleared the code, because the service appointment I scheduled for that isn’t until the 17th. That was the earliest I could get when I called last week.
That is poor. I get whatever appointment I want from Thompson Toyota and Oniel Buick.
 
That is poor. I get whatever appointment I want from Thompson Toyota and Oniel Buick.

Wife and her parents bought their cars from Fred Beans and Faulkner. They haven’t had any note worthy service experiences.
 
Wife and her parents bought their cars from Fred Beans and Faulkner. They haven’t had any note worthy service experiences.
We went to Faulkner last week to drive a Volvo. Female Sales Person has us test drive a used one due to price. She told us it was a 2016, but it was a 17. Then I asked her if Volvo was German. She says it used to be in Japan but they moved to Germany. Then they said they would email us best price in the morning and never followed thru. Faulkner lost my business that fast.
 
We went to Faulkner last week to drive a Volvo. Female Sales Person has us test drive a used one due to price. She told us it was a 2016, but it was a 17. Then I asked her if Volvo was German. She says it used to be in Japan but they moved to Germany. Then they said they would email us best price in the morning and never followed thru. Faulkner lost my business that fast.
Well, there’s also a Volvo dealer in Montoco off of Philmont. I can’t remember it’s name.

Working in sales, just not car sales, product knowledge is an optional part of the job shared by some reps and not others. After an experience like that I’d simply ask to work with another sales rep.

Also have you tried Trucar? Takes the price haggling out of the equation.
 
Well, there’s also a Volvo dealer in Montoco off of Philmont. I can’t remember it’s name.

Working in sales, just not car sales, product knowledge is an optional part of the job shared by some reps and not others. After an experience like that I’d simply ask to work with another sales rep.

Also have you tried Trucar? Takes the price haggling out of the equation.
I think the Volvo is a tad above my range since I do want new. You can't find one at base price, they are all at about $55K.

As far as I am concerned, if you sell a product for a living, you should know everything there is about what you are trying to sell. If you have been selling Volvos for a year, as this woman claimed, one would think she would know that they are a Swedish company, not Japanese or German. She also should have been able to look at the tag on the key fob to know it was a 2017, not a 2016.

Now, we did have a similar issue with the sales guy at Acura and if I go back I will not talk to him. I work in customer support, Pharma Submission Software. I never lie to a customer or tell them bullshit if I don't know the answer for sure. One of my requirements is the ability to play music directly from my USB Sticks, like my Buick does. The sales guy shoots from the hip and says No, you have to use an app or bluetooth from a smartphone. When I got home, the brochure said it was possible and a simple google search told me the same. If I go back to same dealership, I will ask for someone else or I will go to a different dealer.
 
I have the buick enclave v6 awd on my short list of used suv,s to check out.Looked at a kia sorrento with v6 and awd.Nice tight ride for a mid miler (126000km)Quick and powerful with eco mode on the 6 speed tranny.Actually a fairly well rated suv .Last but not least is a 2013 ford edge v6 awd.Haven't test drove it yet but its a low miler (48000km) and mint.Again well rated by owners as is the enclave which is touted as one of the quietest suv,s on the road.The buick is the same platform as the other gm,s you mentioned just that much better made and appointed.The vast majority of my rides have been ford/mercury for 44 years so I do like fords I guess,lol.A lot of suv,s are out of the picture for me as they cant tow diddly squat .Will never look at any dodge products with maybe the exception of the challenger for my twilight years.Something slow like a 392 .
 
Stay away from Volvo also. Not even close to the car they used to be. My VW Golf Wagon so far has been awesome. Hate to say it but, Acura is probably the best of the bunch.
 
Stay away from Volvo also. Not even close to the car they used to be. My VW Golf Wagon so far has been awesome. Hate to say it but, Acura is probably the best of the bunch.
I can't (don't want to) afford a new Volvo and unless the GMs don't wow the hell out of me, the Acura is the choice at this moment.

I have the buick enclave v6 awd on my short list of used suv,s to check out.Looked at a kia sorrento with v6 and awd.Nice tight ride for a mid miler (126000km)Quick and powerful with eco mode on the 6 speed tranny.Actually a fairly well rated suv .Last but not least is a 2013 ford edge v6 awd.Haven't test drove it yet but its a low miler (48000km) and mint.Again well rated by owners as is the enclave which is touted as one of the quietest suv,s on the road.The buick is the same platform as the other gm,s you mentioned just that much better made and appointed.The vast majority of my rides have been ford/mercury for 44 years so I do like fords I guess,lol.A lot of suv,s are out of the picture for me as they cant tow diddly squat .Will never look at any dodge products with maybe the exception of the challenger for my twilight years.Something slow like a 392 .

The Buicks use a triple door molding and more and is the quietest car I have ever had. When it was in the showroom, we sat in it to play with the stereo and had all the windows up and had the music pretty loud. The people in the showroom never heard it until I opened the door.
 
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