Looking for small SUV with AWD...

[Nobuo]

I got a Lurker!

 

[rsutoratosu]

http://www.subaru.com/engineering/transmission.html


There is CVT, 4, 5 and manual 5-6.

I just check the website, all 2013 forester are using 4 auto and 5 manual

Only outback has cvt and 6 spd manual for 2.5 and 5 speed for the 3.6

Basically if you're looking for the forester, I would wait till 2014 for the new one

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/09/25/fresh-faced-2014-subaru-forester-revealed-in-jdm-brochure-scans/

In Japan, the Forester will apparently be available with the buyer's choice of a 146-horsepower, 2.0-liter four (yoked to either a six-speed manual gearbox or a Continuously Variable Transmission) or a 276-horsepower, 2.0-liter twin-scroll turbocharged four, the latter only available with a CVT. For those keeping score, the outgoing Forester is available in the U.S. with a pair of 2.5-liter engines, one with 170 hp and the turbocharged model with 224 hp.

 

[Meghan54]

Now you got me thinking... grrr.

http://www.siddillon.com/2004-Lexus-RX-330-Base-Blair-NE/vd/10526962

2004 RX330 - 14k - 130k miles.

Seems a bit high, but I am nearly positive she'd love something like this. I'd think it'd hold value a bit better than an Equinox, and still be stylish enough that we can hang on to it for while.

Biggest problem is the cost for the miles. Definitely better deals at the lower end of the spectrum. I'd assume Toyota engine reliability with a nicer interior. May have to toss this one up to the wife and see what she thinks. The beauty of it is that the local dealer has it on their lot.

Sorry about that. :whiste:

And I'd take that Lexus over the Subaru any day....more comfortable, quieter, better built, and will hold its value much better than darned near anything else in its class---outside maybe an MB. And for that price, I'd take that RX330 in a moment. I live on Cape Cod and around here, that price would've been a bargain.

Add to that the fact that the Lexus is more likely to be adult owned and maintained vs. the Subarus that are very trendy with the 20-30 y.o. crowd---a group not known for meticulous maintenance or upkeep and honestly, that group is also known for being harder on vehicles than older groups. Don't blast me--I remember how I was at that age and most cars favored by that age group seem to be beaten harder than vehicles favored by "older" age groups. I know, everyone here treats their cars like precious jewels, but y'all are most certainly the exceptions, not the rule.

We looked at the RX line when we bought our Murano last year. If we hadn't gotten the deal we got on the Murano, we'd have a used RX300 out in the driveway right now. In a peculiar twist, we were on our way to look at a 2001 RX300 when my wife spied the Murano we ended up buying.

It was a private seller, the vehicle was parked at a curb. I hadn't even considered the Murano as a viable option---CVT for one reason. But got a helluva deal on it: 2003 Murano with 72K on the clock, all maintenance records, very well kept (back seats and storage area didn't even look like they'd been used), had HID lights, had recently replaced tires, a set of not-so-cheap Goodyear Eagle LS's--horrible tires which got taken off and replaced with the Continental CrossContact LX's on the Murano right now, but the Goodyear's were almost the same price as the Conti's. Guess the Nissan dealer she got the tires from convinced her to put the original spec'd tires back on. But she laid out some coin for those crappy Goodyears.

I always look at the tires when buying a vehicle. If the tires are cheap, like Coopers or Pep Boy specials, I'll move along---if you cannot afford good tires, you probably couldn't afford proper preventative maintenance on the vehicle, either.

And we'd already gone through darned near every small-to-mid-sized SUV on the market....of course, we did/do have specific requirements, such as a minimum towing capacity of 3500# (we boat), large enough to ferry the two of us and our four dogs (Chow, Lab, Golden, and Aussie shepherd) without too much fuss, and the seats had to be comfortable for me. I have a partially herniated disc, L10-11, and most car seats have too aggressive a lumbar section which press right against the disc, so cannot tolerate most for any length of time greater than a half hour.

What we found:
RAV4, CR-V---both nice, but too darned small and both disqualified due to poor towing capacities

Highlander--very nice vehicle but the seats were uncomfortable for me and it had to have a tow package factory installed to get a 3500# tow capacity---darned hard to find



Pilot--worse seats than the Highlander and again, needed a factory tow package to get a higher towing capacity than the standard 1500# rating

Mazda CX-5--it's a Mazda and to me, completely unimpressive...rust issues, sorta goofy looking, uncomfortable, etc.

Hyundai Tucson and Santa Fe--both nice, but sorta funky interiors and exteriors, seats were so-so, and towing issues again

Tried to find a Mitusbishi to look at, but most were trashed in our price range

Subarus--fairly ubiquitous around these parts, but cruder sounding/feeling engines (sorry, Subaru fanbois, but flat 4 engines just never have impressed me over the decades....guess that's why very few car companies produce them, outside VW Bugs and Porsche 911), funky interiors and exteriors (really hate most of Subaru's styling---I don't love Japanese semi-sci-fi inspired designs, which Subaru seems to adhere to), the entry/exit was lower than on the other SUVs we looked at (important for us as we have become caretakers of my wife's 83 y.o father, who, after suffering a severe heart attack a year ago has become somewhat incapacitated and is almost unable to now get out of his Camry, so any low sitting vehicle became a no-go...had to have seats about standing height).

So, just my rambling incoherent thoughts about the mid-sized SUV market.

 

[phucheneh]

Is there a reason people are anti-4 speed?

In a fairly economical car, an extra gear isn't going to magically add better acceleration or mileage (by much). If you're going to look at something like that as a deciding factor, pull up the manufacturer's specs and look at the gear ratios/final drive. If the final ratio for first gear and the final gear are about the same, you're not going to notice much difference.

But paper is hard to judge by. Go test drive, and hit the interstate- see what you think of the cruising RPM (and available power).

 

[mvbighead]

Well, this happened a lot quicker than I expected.

We settled for the 2005 Equinox. The mpg won't be as good as we were hoping to find, but the vehicle was simply in too good of shape for the price to pass up. True car estimates had it around 8000, and they wanted 5999 for it.

Only problems noted were the tires appear to be old (small cracks where the sidewall meets the tread) and the muffler needs to be repaired. Interior space was actually better than our Jeep GC, ride was good, body was in good shape, etc.

All in all, this buys us 5mpg better for an upgrade cost of $3k when we get the Jeep sold. Maybe less if we can get closer to 4 out of it, but I am guessing closer to 3. Has a tow hitch (not likely to use it, but convenient none the less) as well.

As it was, we were expecting to take a look and find a lump of coal, but it simply wasn't. Not to mention, it was sold at a Honda dealer lot (recent trade in) with the CarFax report on hand and a recent inspection with all blemishes listed.

The way I figure it, is we should be able to throw some miles on this over the next 3 years, and maybe around that time look for a MPG upgrade again, or perhaps look for a nicer something or other.

 

[LTC8K6]

That Chinese V6 tends to pop it's head gaskets, I believe.

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Equinox/2005/

 

[SkullWalker]

How about the Suzuki SX4 hatchback with AWD?

A friend of mine has it with a petrol engine under the hood and I can honestly say it's a little beast with great fuel consumption.

The only drawbacks for me are the materials used for the doorboards (look kinda cheap) and the childishly small steering wheel.

 

[mvbighead]

That Chinese V6 tends to pop it's head gaskets, I believe.

http://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/Equinox/2005/

Well that certainly sucks, hopefully it doesn't become a problem on this one.

Thanks for the info though, much appreciated.

EDIT: To be honest, I hadn't really considered the engine would/could be a problem as I had a 2003 Impala with the 3.4 that never had an issue. But, I didn't keep it past what we'll likely keep this for, so perhaps it could be an issue in the future.

 

[desy]

Why I suggested the Vue, Honda engine

 

[Rustican]

Well that certainly sucks, hopefully it doesn't become a problem on this one.

Thanks for the info though, much appreciated.

EDIT: To be honest, I hadn't really considered the engine would/could be a problem as I had a 2003 Impala with the 3.4 that never had an issue. But, I didn't keep it past what we'll likely keep this for, so perhaps it could be an issue in the future.

http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/equinox/2005/consumer-reviews.html

 

[LTC8K6]

Well that certainly sucks, hopefully it doesn't become a problem on this one.

Thanks for the info though, much appreciated.

EDIT: To be honest, I hadn't really considered the engine would/could be a problem as I had a 2003 Impala with the 3.4 that never had an issue. But, I didn't keep it past what we'll likely keep this for, so perhaps it could be an issue in the future.

2003 Impala had the LA1 3.4L, not the Chinese LNJ 3.4L

 

[mvbighead]

2003 Impala had the LA1 3.4L, not the Chinese LNJ 3.4L

Grrrr. Guess I'll have to hope for the best.

Next time, I should hold out longer. Oh well, so far the wife likes it, and it drives well.

 

[vi edit]

Yeah I had a 2006 Equinox. Head gasket started failing at around 70,000 miles.

 

[mvbighead]

http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/equinox/2005/consumer-reviews.html

The only problem I have with a site like this is that most user reviews are from those that have problems, not the far and wide user base.

So, if this model sold 100,000 units, and 500 people had serious issues, they'd be more apt to complain about them. And with that being only half a percent, that means that by and large, most people were fairly happy with them. That's not to say that this is the case with this vehicle, so I'll still be wary. Just simply that a lot of reviews tend to steer towards the negative at a site like that.

Going from something like this: http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/equinox/2005/reliability.html?style=100370220

It would seem that on the majority, these are decent vehicles.

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather not have a Chinese engine and all that, but all the same, parts for this will be plentiful. And at the price, it was hard to pass up. I really looked hard for something to find fault with, but I figured it would be not much different than my old Impala that I was quite happy with (drove from about 70k to 130k on the odometer).

 

[LTC8K6]

Grrrr. Guess I'll have to hope for the best.

Next time, I should hold out longer. Oh well, so far the wife likes it, and it drives well.

Just keep up with maintenance and pay particular attention to any coolant loss.

 

[phucheneh]

http://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/equinox/2005/consumer-reviews.html

Those 'reviews' are goddamned hilarious.

'I had to push really hard for the brakes to work and it shook!'
Your rotors were warped and pads were glazed. Or they were 14.99 Autozone specials (hey, let's just make the friction material as hard as the backing plate! Lifetime warranty!)

'The serpentine belt broke!'
Yeah, they'll go that when they're never replaced.

New car reviews are bad enough. It's no different from trying to buy a TV or computer based on Best Buy website reviews.

But you really might as well wipe your ass with reviews for six or seven year old cars that people bought used.

I'm sure documented head gasket issues aren't lies...there's just a lot of other random stuff on that site that is pretty damn laughable.

edit: so what's the source of the head gasket issues? I mean, where do they blow and is there a general known cause? I'm also curious about this 'Chinese V6'...is it a GM design built in China, or some lovely Daewoo piece of crap or something?

edit edit: some of the stuff I'm reading sounds more like it has cooling system problems, which probably sparks the failure of otherwise okay head gaskets.

 

[Pocatello]

Subaru Outback. Has decent fuel economy, reliable, great awd system. The latest Outback I test drove was very roomy and comfortable. It had an annoying squeak in the dash, though.