Looking at SUVs soon, thoughts on....

[lupi]

Highlander, Pilot, Sorento, Arcadia, Explorer, and Sante Fe are on our initial to look at list. What does the group think about these?

 

[NutBucket]

Arcadia is a city in SoCal. Acadia is an SUV.

I was not impressed with the Pilot. Wife and I found it to be rather loud and not terribly comfortable. Been hearing lots of good things about the new Highlander. Explorer was quite nice but the interior feels small. But maybe we feel that way because the interior of our Acadia is rather cavernous.

 

[vi edit]

Flex an option? It's more functional and offers more people and "stuff" space than the Explorer. Explorer and Acadia are a good bit bigger than the Highlander. Do you really need a functional third row?

 

[vi edit]

Also, check out a Mazda CX-9. Good combination of space and driving dynamics.

 

[lupi]

Flex is out for being ugly.

Yes for the third row.

2014 highlander got a space increase, how it compares won't know till I look inside of them.

 

[NutBucket]

Acadia has the biggest 3rd row of anything we looked at. I'm 6' and can sit back there without being horribly uncomfortable. I couldn't fit in the 3rd row of a Pilot. But whether that matters depends on who is expected to sit back there.

 

[KentState]

We just went with an Acadia. It was the largest on the inside, came with a lot of nice features and the pricing/financing is great.

Here's the link to my post: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2370388

 

[lupi]

Just got done looking at them all today. Santefe was fairly ugly inside. Sorento looked a lot better than I would have expected, but cost was same as the larger vehicles. Explorer had an odd looking control arrangement on the dash and you could only enter the third row from the driver side. Position of the shifter for the Pilot may be a concern for a long legged driver. Liked the Acadia exterior better than the Traverse, but local stock had a lot of Traverse few Acadia and she liked the Traverse interior color/design scheme a bit better. Highlander not quite as much cargo area room as the gm stuff, but no real other downgrades and did like the lifting tail gate glass.

 

[NutBucket]

I just read a review that said the new Highlander's 3rd row is tight. Did you notice that?

 

[lupi]

We looked at one with the cabin seats in the second row, that combined with the '14 having a little extra space for the third row made it seem to us to be ok.

 

[KentState]

Just got done looking at them all today. Santefe was fairly ugly inside. Sorento looked a lot better than I would have expected, but cost was same as the larger vehicles. Explorer had an odd looking control arrangement on the dash and you could only enter the third row from the driver side. Position of the shifter for the Pilot may be a concern for a long legged driver. Liked the Acadia exterior better than the Traverse, but local stock had a lot of Traverse few Acadia and she liked the Traverse interior color/design scheme a bit better. Highlander not quite as much cargo area room as the gm stuff, but no real other downgrades and did like the lifting tail gate glass.

If you like the Acadia and Traverse, look at the Buick Enclave also. Might be able to find a combination there that works as well. Same vehicle pretty much.

 

[NutBucket]

Ordering a GM doesn't take too long. Something to think about.

 

[TheAdvocate]

I just read a review that said the new Highlander's 3rd row is tight. Did you notice that?

It is for kids, not adults. Plenty roomy for them, and it has childseat anchors, which IIRC is rare for 3rd row.

My wife test drove the 2014 (XLE trim) this weekend, and fell in love. Looks like I am on the hook for one. Car sites make fun of how boringly practical it is, but Toyota knows what the hell they are doing. I watched helplessly as the highlander checked off every item on her list save 30+ mpg hwy, and that fell by the wayside when she saw the sheetmetal and interior trim & features. The only thing it didnt have was the 360 camera system like the new rogue (a car that was on her list til she found out you cannot get both leather and 3rd row, it's either/or).

I just wish it had been out for a couple years so I could get her a lightly used one. I hate paying the premium for a brand new car, especially 1st model year.

 

[vi edit]

A rogue with a 3rd row is laughable. If you need a functional 3rd row you are looking at the GM triplets. Try fitting your carseats & your kids in that back row and see how it works. The problem is that the carseats sit so high up that it throws your kids legs into the back of the seat in front of them. You have to slide the 2nd row way up to make room which kills the leg room for the people in that row. I found it usually works better to just keep the kids in the 2nd row and slide those seats up, then have the adults in the back. You get a bit more flexability that way.

 

[NutBucket]

Yeah, gotta go for a Pathfinder for a workable 3rd row.

 

[vi edit]

Yeah, gotta go for a Pathfinder for a workable 3rd row.

Love the looks of the Pathfinder and the utility of the seats. But that transmission looks to be a bit of a glass jaw and major problem for owners.

 

[vi edit]

If used is an option, there's also an off lease Acura MDX as well. The MDX is about the only vehicle that Acura hasn't completely destroyed the looks of.

 

[Kaido]

I'm really impressed with the new Ford Explorers. They seem more compact (in a good way) than the old ones. My neighbor has a Pilot, I'm not too impressed with it.

 

[NutBucket]

If used is an option, there's also an off lease Acura MDX as well. The MDX is about the only vehicle that Acura hasn't completely destroyed the looks of.

We almost bought an MDX instead of the Acadia. Only real downside is interior space is noticeably smaller. The 3rd row is definitely kid-size.

 

[TheAdvocate]

Love the looks of the Pathfinder and the utility of the seats. But that transmission looks to be a bit of a glass jaw and major problem for owners.

The Rogue was only on the list initially because of price. Older kids that dont need car seats can fit okay in the back, but it doesnt matter - you cannot get leather and that 3rd row and i suspect the reason is that it pushes the price point too close to the Pathfinder, so why bother?

FWIW - We test drove both Pathfinder and Highlander. Close enough in price that the Highlander wins all day long. Found myself thinking "you cannot escape Toyota (nom nom nom... )".

 

[lupi]

I'm not too worried about 3rd seat being best for kids, mainly looking for something that can do 7 around town (with at least 2 being kids) or 5 on cross state trips with cargo.

Probably go this weekend to drive the chevy and toyota to have on road experience with all three left on the list.

One thing I don't like about the toyota right now is I can go through usaa and others to look at their discount price as well as the gm employee buy program, but the toyota employee buy program is simply a request quote thing.

 

[lupi]

Also not worried about buying the vehicle as new. That let's me know exactly what its mechanical status/history is ad if you keep it long enough you recoup the depreciation cost (have a 13yo truck and the wrecked vehicle this is replacing was 10 ad due for a changeout soon due to space constraints)

 

[lupi]

Went out this weekend to drive the ones we were interested in but hadn't driven yet. The acadia we had was horrendous. It did have about 140 miles on it so not sure if it could be considered abused, but not a good feeling ride. Was almost thinking of skipping the traverse after that, but it ended up being a night and day drive situation. Highlander felt pretty smooth like a more refined ride of my tundra.

So now we're down to the highlander or traverse. Main problem now is with the new model style and release it late in the model year, toyota lots pretty barren and it doesn't look like getting a discount will be easy.

 

[jaha2000]

Getting a discount on a new toyota is hard period..
I drove a new highlander as well. Big upgrade IMO..
I ended up with a crewmax tundra as i wanted a big cabin, the truck will be nice for camping, boat, and stuff at home.

 

[lupi]

Yeah that seems to be what it's going to come down to. Possible better reliability with the highlander, or slightly larger interior and much easier price discount with the traverse.