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SUV vs Wagon

T

tornadog

Golden Member
I am trying to find a replacement for my gas guzzling 2010 Pilot. My first choice was to go for one of the top end SUVs, MDX, Q5 or EX35. But after looking at the cost of ownership and the gas mileage, it doesnt seem like I am doing any better than the pilot. So I next went to look at some wagons, and the Acura TSX Sport Wagon caught my eye. It looks pretty sleek and yet is bigger than a car. The mileage seems to be around 23-25 average and the price is just around the lower 30s.

Anybody own a wagon, and want to pitch in. Even though I have owned SUVs all my life, I have never driven offroad.
 
Why are looking at fuel economy when depreciation is the biggest cost of owning a vehicle and luxury brands are the worst depreciators?
 
Wagons are just plain functional. Find one with flat folding seats long enough to sleep in. Wagons generally have tighter turning radii than SUVs and are easier to manuveur in city driving.
 
I have a Forester, essentially a Wagon, but with a bit better road clearance than most wagons. Very pleased with it. I used to only drive Sedans and went from a decently nice one (Chrysler 300M, leather interior, bunwarmers, power seats, etc ...) to a pretty basic and stripped down Forester... My gas milage is good (I average about 25-26mpg), and it works great in the snow. With the seats down flat, I only get about 5 feet from the seat to the back of the car, ideally, It would be a foot or two longer so that I could carry taller things, but, it is great for what it is.
 
You can look at smaller SUVs like CRV or Escape or even hybrids like Hylander or Escape. All of these will have better cargo than TSX.

Another genre is Elantra touring or matrix or Prius. again, very similar to TSX in size. upcoming Prius V is much bigger.

Forester is of course unbeatable and a class of its own.

Then you have Venza and Crosstour - milage wont be that impressive.
 
The problem with many of the Crossovers is that they are a sedans with a higher roof. I love the aspect of a wagon, and also was looking into the TSX wagon. I am battling between Jetta Sportwagen and TSX wagon. I guess with a test drive, I will know for sure.
 
Wagon ftw. That's why they are so popular in Europe, because in Europe, people are generally more intelligent.
 
tornadog said:
I am trying to find a replacement for my gas guzzling 2010 Pilot. My first choice was to go for one of the top end SUVs, MDX, Q5 or EX35. But after looking at the cost of ownership and the gas mileage, it doesnt seem like I am doing any better than the pilot. So I next went to look at some wagons, and the Acura TSX Sport Wagon caught my eye. It looks pretty sleek and yet is bigger than a car. The mileage seems to be around 23-25 average and the price is just around the lower 30s.

Anybody own a wagon, and want to pitch in. Even though I have owned SUVs all my life, I have never driven offroad.
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You must be a car salesman's wet dream. Replacing a 2010 vehicle is exorbitantly expensive anyway, with a new one (you just took the greatest hit in depreciation it will ever suffer).

Your surprise at the MDX not being better than a Pilot is unfortunate considering they share the same platform and power train so of course their mileage is going to be about the same.

If mileage actually is important to you and you have perhaps more money than sense maybe you should look at a highlander hybrid. It's a 3-row SUV that gets 28/28 MPG.
 
Doppel said:
Your surprise at the MDX not being better than a Pilot is unfortunate considering they share the same platform and power train so of course their mileage is going to be about the same.
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Not only does it get almost the same mileage, the MDX requires premium, where the Pilot doesn't.
 
Zap said:
This. Fun to troll SUV owners by calling their pride/joy a wagon. :twisted:
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As an SUV owner, I've got no problem with others trying to troll by calling SUVs wagons. And I'd buy a wagon in a second, provided you can show me a wagon with a load rating of over 1200# and a minimum tow capacity of 5000#.

I'll wait................
 
id totally drive a wagon

images
 
We looked at SUVs before ending on a wagon. Simply decided we liked the ride better. After driving cars we preferred the sitting closer to the ground and the more stable handling. For us we also liked that it's easier for the dog to climb in and out of.
 
As much as I love wagons, I never understood how people freak at the price at the pump but will turn a blind eye to a larger sum being taken out of their bank account.

The solution to your gas troubles lies in a new vehicle. What? The added cost of a new vehicle almost always outstrips the difference being saved at the pump, especially if buying new and only keeping the vehicle for a relatively short duration.

If you want a new car, and can afford it, just get it. But if you need a reason to justify it to a SO, then by all means do the hand wave and point at the increase in mpg without doing the math to see if it is actually saving you anything.
 
Nightrainsrt4 said:
As much as I love wagons, I never understood how people freak at the price at the pump but will turn a blind eye to a larger sum being taken out of their bank account.

The solution to your gas troubles lies in a new vehicle. What? The added cost of a new vehicle almost always outstrips the difference being saved at the pump, especially if buying new and only keeping the vehicle for a relatively short duration.

If you want a new car, and can afford it, just get it. But if you need a reason to justify it to a SO, then by all means do the hand wave and point at the increase in mpg without doing the math to see if it is actually saving you anything.
Click to expand...

This is EXACTLY why I laughed at all the goons back in 2008 who sold their vehicles at a loss and bought Priuses at a premium. How much were they really saving by doing that? I would suspect not much, if anything at all.

That, and it was fun to tell them I got nearly 30mpg out of my "gas guzzling sports car" (at the time) when they attempted to make themselves feel better about their recent hybrid purchase by trying to put down others at the gas pump 😀
 
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