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More car shopping - Economical SUV?


Ralphie

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My wife is pretty sold on a CRV - should we look at anything else?  She knows someone in an Acura dealership, but I doubt the price can be anywhere close - hope to keep it in the high 20s.  And I heard the Acura gas mileage sucks.  We liked the Nissan Rogue when rented, and I don't mind Toyota but she is bothered by the recall, but anyhoo I think the Highlander might be on the 'spensive side.  I was bothered a tad to hear that some people implicated spaghetti code in the ECM for the unintended acceleration problems.  Plus some local Toyota dealers have always come across as insulting to me, take it or leave it, but that is very subjective.  Nissan is the only close dealer but I don't especially like that dealer.

There seems to be an abundance of the AWDs in stock, but she doesn't really want that nor do I because of the lower gas mileage and higher purchase cost and higher repair cost potential.  No doubt the traction is awesome though. 

https://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/2018-honda-cr-v-vs--2018-acura-rdx-comparison/2100005507/

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8 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

My wife is pretty sold on a CRV - should we look at anything else?  She knows someone in an Acura dealership, but I doubt the price can be anywhere close - hope to keep it in the high 20s.  And I heard the Acura gas mileage sucks.  We liked the Nissan Rogue when rented, and I don't mind Toyota but she is bothered by the recall, but anyhoo I think the Highlander might be on the 'spensive side.  I was bothered a tad to hear that some people implicated spaghetti code in the ECM for the unintended acceleration problems.  Plus some local Toyota dealers have always come across as insulting to me, take it or leave it, but that is very subjective.  Nissan is the only close dealer but I don't especially like that dealer.

There seems to be an abundance of the AWDs, but she doesn't really want that nor do I because of the lower gas mileage and higher purchase cost and higher repair cost potential.  No doubt the traction is awesome though. 

Read this.  https://www.caranddriver.com/features/its-all-your-fault-the-dot-renders-its-verdict-on-toyotas-unintended-acceleration-scare-feature

Despite various "known problems" reported by every form of social media, the DOT, who would have been the government arm of enforcement and punishment, in the end found Toyota more or less blameless.  Toyota even went so far as to issue a recall to replace gas pedals with shorter one's that wouldn't foul improperly installed incorrect floor mats.  Social media however always knows better and has still not forgiven Toyota.

The case is similar to the older Audi runaway problems that often punched out garage back walls right after "brake" application.

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Around here there have been a spate of business buildings hit by cars lately.  I always wonder if the driver didn't simply do the "more common than admitted" wrong pedal problem.  I feel fortunate that because of my former racing years I became a two foot driver, left for the brake, right for the gas except at stops in a manual transmission vehicle when the clutch had to be depressed.  In my older more forgetful years I find it difficult to hit the gas pedal by mistake with my left foot.

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2 minutes ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

I have a 2008 Highlander. I like it, but I wouldn’t put it in the “economical” description. But it’s big, much bigger than my wife’s Mazda 5 is.

2008?  They were a lot smaller back then, weren't they?  In 2018 they are huuuge!

You are correct!  STARTS at $31k. 

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17 minutes ago, RalphWaldoMooseworth said:

2008?  They were a lot smaller back then, weren't they?  In 2018 they are huuuge!

You are correct!  STARTS at $31k. 

THe second generation started in 2007, my 2008 is much bigger than the previous model. I haven’t seen the interior of the third generation models that are current, they may be slightly bigger than mine?

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We just went through all of this last year and ended up buying a new Hyundai Santa Fe Sport. We've been very happy with it. We didn't want the AWD either and the Sport was available in FWD only. It was also the best bang for the buck in it's class, has high ratings and gets good gas mileage. When I was test driving, I felt like it had better viability than most of the other things in it's class as well.

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1 hour ago, Prophet Zacharia said:

THe second generation started in 2007, my 2008 is much bigger than the previous model. I haven’t seen the interior of the third generation models that are current, they may be slightly bigger than mine?

Thanks. I didn't realize there were three generations. The first was aboot right to me. Second I am not familiar with. Third is WAY too big!

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I drove a Highlander for 11 years then sold it to my daughter.  They newer ones are up sized and too big for what I want now, so we went with a RAV4.  It is small enough for driving around town but is big enough to take dive gear for 3, or a 17' canoe, camping gear and three bicycles for a 3 week road trip.  I have had it for 5 years now and if I smashed it up, I would replace it with the same vehicle.  Other than gas and oil, I have had to do nothing to it.  

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+1 on the Mazda CX 5. It should be on the short list and most direct competitor to the CRV, plus still has the gated step type auto transmission rather than constant velocity CVT.. When I was shopping, tried the Hyundai and it was a dog. Really lethargic with poor shift points. I ultimately settled for the Mini Countryman, "S" version a/k/a the largest Mini ever. It is built on the BMW X1 chassis, and the S version has the same 2.0L engine/transmission, slightly detuned to 189 hp so the JCW (John Cooper Works) version could crank it back up to BMW's  225hp.  

A surprising 2nd choice was the very difficult to find - but in your mid/low 20's negotiated price range is the Ford C-Max. To find it, have to search dealers on ford.com as some Ford dealers don't carry it, and those that do will have around 3 in stock. Driving is, I was VERY impressed as was the salesman who obviously wasn't trained on it. This is a hybrid and provides excellent 40+ mpg. The only reason I didn't go with it was the weird design of the rear seat (same seat as the Escape). This was 2017 model year and current pictures look like may have addressed. While I typically don't use the rear seat, it met my 48" or greater requirement to accommodated a child seat in middle and parents (not obese) on either side. The weird part that knocked it out, the lower seat base had a metal lever for reclining the seat. Rather than simply reaching down past the cushioning to operate the lever like do on manual front seats, some genius designer decided to cut back the side a couple inches where could physically see the lever (not apparent on 2018 photos). The net effect was removing most of the bolstering and the passengers would roll towards the door, plus the top corner remained uncut and well bolstered, and you would straddle it getting out. Otherwise, I really liked the car.

The other HUGE advantage of the C-Max is that it is one of the few cars that is 4 down towable behind an RV, while the Mini, CX-5 and CRV (after 2014) are not and 2wd versions would have to be dolly towed. 

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Oh, the other one I looked at but was too expensive was the Buick Envision (the middle size of their three "E" models - Encore, Envision and Enclave. It is the model that Buick makes and imports from China. Nice, but It was more than even my Mini, priced more like the BMW X1.

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