Buying a second car (suv) any experience with these

[Flubberoo]

Long time lurker, first time poster. We are buying a second car and having hard time deciding between several models - wondering if users here have any experience with these, or can throw a few recommendations.

First, what we are looking for:

* AWD - since we live in cold climate
* something with a big enough trunk to easily fit baby stroller and few other things
* decent looks (at least by our standards). Nothing too square or boxy.
* decent resell value
* safety is important (baby on board)
* not atrocious gas mileage
* reasonable reliability and maintenance costs

We are currently leaning towards a used (2008-2010) SUV. We narrowed it down to a few "smaller" SUVs with reasonable gas mileage:

* Honda cr-v
* Toyota rav4
* vw Tiguan
* BMW x3
* Lexus sc350

Any thoughts on these? Anything else we should be considering (both in terms of choices or criteria)?

 

[tfinch2]

We have an 07 RDX. It is okay on cargo space, but pretty fun to drive. It is like a kick in the balls when that turbo spools up. Mileage is not that great though. We are lucky to get 20 mpg.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

CRV is always a safe pick.

Tiguan is my least favorite, cramped interior and short on cargo space and interior materials suck. The 2.0T engine is fabulous though.

Lexus RX330/350 - great choice but not cheap. Fantastic in everything but excitement.

Rav4 - interior quality is crap but great drivetrain with its excellent V6.

Other choices:
Nissan Murano
Ford Edge
Subaru Forester
Accord Crosstour
Toyota Venza

 

[vi edit]

To me it sounds like you want a Subaru Outback wagon.

 

[jagec]

To me it sounds like you want a Subaru Outback wagon.

It does, although they can be a bit of a pain to park.

 

[SandEagle]

i know a guy who just bought a new '12 rogue awd for 19k

edit: saw a tiguan on road fir the 1st time. nice looking compact suv

 

[mmntech]

Long time lurker, first time poster. We are buying a second car and having hard time deciding between several models - wondering if users here have any experience with these, or can throw a few recommendations.

First, what we are looking for:

* AWD - since we live in cold climate
* something with a big enough trunk to easily fit baby stroller and few other things
* decent looks (at least by our standards). Nothing too square or boxy.
* decent resell value
* safety is important (baby on board)
* not atrocious gas mileage
* reasonable reliability and maintenance costs

The answer to all of those is a Subaru Impreza WRX STI :awe:

I've driven most of the ones listed here in the model year range the OP listed. Just not the Tiguan and the Lexus.

RAV-4, not a bad SUV, very reliable, but very bland. Typical Toyota. Always found the ride a bit stuff. Interior is comfy if dull. It's just not that pleasant on rough roads. They rattle like no tomorrow.

CRV, can't go wrong with these, drive nice, handle nice, reliable, good interior space. Also a tad bland on the looks department but if you want something that looks nice, an SUV isn't for you.

BMW X3, eh, they're okay. A little stiff and I'm not a huge fan of the interior. Classic yuppie mobile. They also take premium IIRC, so it will have higher fuel costs.

Ford Edge, I really like these, especially the Lincoln version. If you can get a used MKX or Edge Sport, it's a good deal. Reliable, comfy, roomy, very powerful with the 3.7L V6. Handles really well for an SUV. They're not great on gas but we're talking mid-size SUV range here. This was before Ford came out with the Ecoboost for them. The only maintenance issue I've encountered with with MyFordTouch. Touch screens don't belong in cars IMO. I'd recommend this but it sounds to me that you'd be better off with a compact SUV.

Hyundai Tucson and SantaFe, these are not that bad. Hyundai has made some big improvements. You get a lot of bang for your buck with these cars. The Tucson is very similar to the RAV4 and CRV. Mind you I think they have a nicer interior. You can get the top end model for less than the RAV4 while still getting good reliability. I never had issues with these. They have a fairly comfortable ride as well and plenty of room.

Ones I don't like? Suzuki Grand Vitara and and Kia Sportage. The grand vitz has no balls whatsoever. Slow, uncomfy, cheap interior, less than stellar ride. The Sportage has a few known issues (had one die on a customer once for no explicable reason), doesn't ride well, and isn't very ergonomic IMO. Definitely not anywhere as good as it's cousin the Tucson.

 

[deadken]

If your considering spending enough money to get a BMW or Lexus, I'd suggest at least looking at a Volvo (XC 70 / XC 90). I can't say much about them (I stick to RWD Volvos) but certainly they aren't as boxy as the older Volvos and they meet / exceed your other criteria. Please remember, you were the one who stated "safety is important", so I'm suggesting you at least look at one. If it looks acceptable, then test drive one.

Parts for a Volvo aren't cheap, but then again parts for a Toyota, BMW, + Lexus aren't cheap either. I'm not familiar with the parts prices for Honda's or newer VW's.

 

[rsutoratosu]

I talked to a few mechanics about x3, they're pretty expensive to fix if something majorly goes wrong.. i own a z4 so i know what expensive looks like in one of those.

I would opt for rav4/crv, they're low cost, the newer one has much more cargo room

 

[acrosome]

I have a 2007 CR-V (same body style as the years you're looking for). It's decently roomy, but a tight squeeze to put rear-facing child seats in the back row. Pretty good mileage for me, getting 29MPG overall with mostly highway driving. 196K miles and only had to replace the serpentine belt so far (not counting routine maintenance consumables). The ride on mine feels a little stiff, but is solid and handling is good. Overall a solid car. If you do look at them, the newer models (I think 2009+) have more HP.

 

[Mermaidman]

what we are looking for . . . decent resell value
<snip>
We are currently leaning towards a used (2008-2010) SUV.

If you're buying used, then perhaps you should consider a vehicle with poor resale value, especially if you're thinking of keeping it for many years.