I started earlier this week looking for a small sedan for the Mrs. By noon on the first day, she realized a small SUV was a much better choice. Better cargo, easier ingress/egress... We have garage size constraints so our choices are limited by garage size so this is related to small (not sub-compact or crossover) SUV's.
Some of my initial thoughts are buried in this thread (due to thread drift).
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So, after days of shopping, here's what I've looked at, a brief review and where we stand.
The little (compact/cross-over) SUV's were glanced at but quickly discounted (for our needs). Of the ones we looked at, the VW stood out with the Honda HR-V in second, Toyota Corolla Cross, third. We didn't drive any of them so it's just based on parking lot review and sitting in them.
All of the models mentioned are ICE only, no HYBRID.
Although the reviews of the Hyundai and Kia are high right now, we don't trust them for the long-haul (like 10-20 years down the road) so we didn't even give them consideration.
The SUV's we looked at (noted as new or used).
New Toyota RAV4, mid-line trim
New Honda CR-V, mid-line trim
New Mazda CX-5, mid-line trim
New Subaru Outback - mid-line trim
New VW Tiguan, mid-line trim
Used Lexus NX300-Luxury
Used Mercedes GLC-Luxury
Punch line - The Mazda CX-5 is the winner.
My thoughts are pretty much confirmed by all the major car review sites.
Major turn offs on most models:
- Infotainment - they use mouse pads, knobs on most. Difficult to deal with. The touch screens are better.
- Engine shut off when you stop moving. It can be turned off but on most, you have to deactivate every time you start the vehicle.
- Too much gadgetry on high-end models. We stuck with mid-level models just so we can get power seats and power lift tailgate.
- Seatbelt alarms. They're loud, obnoxious and don't turn off EVER on most models. I wear my seatbelt but that's just rude. If you put something heavy in the back seat, make sure to buckle it in or the vehicle will give you nasty beeps.
I picked the Mazda as the preferred choice. My choices after that are:
#2) Honda CR-V. It's not the model from yesteryear. Much more refined. CVT is just OK. Price is too high (most expensive of what I looked at).
#3) Subaru Outback. More car-like ride compared to the others. Lackluster driving experience.
#4) USED (2019) Mercedes GLC300. Great driving, very comfortable. Having owned Mercedes in the past, high maintenance cost of ownership.
#5) USED (2020) Lexus NX300. Damn nice. If it wasn't for their mouse pad control of the vehicles controls, it would rate significantly higher.
#6, #7) Tied between Toyota RAV-4 and VW Tiguan. RAV-4 has too many gadgets, ride was just OK, it was very noisy. I may be giving the VW a bad rap as we didn't drive it but it didn't impress us on the lot. Being a German car, like a BMW or Mercedes, I'm guessing cost of ownership may be higher than the others.
We pooped out before looking at the offerings from BMW and Audi in detail. Looked in the windows but that's it. Like the Mercedes (and owning several MB, Audi and BMW in the past), we're now more interested in reliability and lower cost of ownership. Love all 3 but we don't need that much refinement and performance at this stage in our lives.
Some of my initial thoughts are buried in this thread (due to thread drift).
Toyota changing most of their vehicles to hybrid only starting in 2025?
Was at the Toyota dealer today looking for a new vehicle. Told him I didn't want a hybrid. He said starting with next years models (2025), they're all going to be hybrids. I saw articles about the Camry being hybrid only but can't find definitive info on their other models. Anyone know anything...
So, after days of shopping, here's what I've looked at, a brief review and where we stand.
The little (compact/cross-over) SUV's were glanced at but quickly discounted (for our needs). Of the ones we looked at, the VW stood out with the Honda HR-V in second, Toyota Corolla Cross, third. We didn't drive any of them so it's just based on parking lot review and sitting in them.
All of the models mentioned are ICE only, no HYBRID.
Although the reviews of the Hyundai and Kia are high right now, we don't trust them for the long-haul (like 10-20 years down the road) so we didn't even give them consideration.
The SUV's we looked at (noted as new or used).
New Toyota RAV4, mid-line trim
New Honda CR-V, mid-line trim
New Mazda CX-5, mid-line trim
New Subaru Outback - mid-line trim
New VW Tiguan, mid-line trim
Used Lexus NX300-Luxury
Used Mercedes GLC-Luxury
Punch line - The Mazda CX-5 is the winner.
My thoughts are pretty much confirmed by all the major car review sites.
Major turn offs on most models:
- Infotainment - they use mouse pads, knobs on most. Difficult to deal with. The touch screens are better.
- Engine shut off when you stop moving. It can be turned off but on most, you have to deactivate every time you start the vehicle.
- Too much gadgetry on high-end models. We stuck with mid-level models just so we can get power seats and power lift tailgate.
- Seatbelt alarms. They're loud, obnoxious and don't turn off EVER on most models. I wear my seatbelt but that's just rude. If you put something heavy in the back seat, make sure to buckle it in or the vehicle will give you nasty beeps.
I picked the Mazda as the preferred choice. My choices after that are:
#2) Honda CR-V. It's not the model from yesteryear. Much more refined. CVT is just OK. Price is too high (most expensive of what I looked at).
#3) Subaru Outback. More car-like ride compared to the others. Lackluster driving experience.
#4) USED (2019) Mercedes GLC300. Great driving, very comfortable. Having owned Mercedes in the past, high maintenance cost of ownership.
#5) USED (2020) Lexus NX300. Damn nice. If it wasn't for their mouse pad control of the vehicles controls, it would rate significantly higher.
#6, #7) Tied between Toyota RAV-4 and VW Tiguan. RAV-4 has too many gadgets, ride was just OK, it was very noisy. I may be giving the VW a bad rap as we didn't drive it but it didn't impress us on the lot. Being a German car, like a BMW or Mercedes, I'm guessing cost of ownership may be higher than the others.
We pooped out before looking at the offerings from BMW and Audi in detail. Looked in the windows but that's it. Like the Mercedes (and owning several MB, Audi and BMW in the past), we're now more interested in reliability and lower cost of ownership. Love all 3 but we don't need that much refinement and performance at this stage in our lives.
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