Looking for a used mid sized SUV

muncybob

So the old 98 Jimmy is about to bite the dust. Frame is shot. The Mrs is looking at one of the following: Chevy Equinox, Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4 and a Honda CRV. My only requirement is that mpg is 28- 30 or better highway, has either 4WD or AWD and is no older than 4 years. Anybody have actual experience with any of these?...if so, would you buy it again?

Willow

We have as a second vehicle a 2007 rav4 limited. It just recently started to slowly act up. It's been very reliable and inexpensive to maintain. Just now the rear differential is acting up. It's a known issue with that generation of ravs. We have 202k kms on it. My dad has a 2008 with 330k kms on his and no major issues either. We also have an rdx which is similar to the crv no issues with that one at all. It's a 2012. I will say the rav has somewhat of a sloppy handling compared to rdx. Would I buy another rav, yes as a second car for us as a main, no. Don't get me wrong we've been very happy and pleased with the rav.

kharp1

The Ford Escape is a compact SUV. In real world driving you'll be hard pressed to get 30mpg out of it, or, most any SUV that has any kind of towing capacity.

rooftop59

My Honda pilots and Toyota Sequoia have all been great. Haven’t had those models however...

Nesmith98

My mom just bought a 2019 Buick Enclave and that's sure a nice vehicle. I'ts a little on the big size though but not too bad. She traded in a 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan that she hated for the Buick.

verb

Well, I launched the Equinox, and it's sister, the Terrain, globally a few years ago! Great vehicle, and value, IMO. PM me if you'd like to chat a bit more!

PSOVLSK

We have an '07 CRV and have never had any issues. It's got about 130,000 and well over half of those have been driven by my 21 year old daughter as this was her first car.


In the past several years we've had a few small SUV's as my wife's company vehicle. Can't speak to the reliability of any of these because we didn't have them long enough.

1) Mercury Mariner: the only thing worse than the way it drove was it's color (avocado green is probably the most accurate description).

2) Nissan Rogue: Nice vehicle that I could easily recommend.

3) Ford Edge: We were surprising very impressed with this one. Drove nice with good power. Unfortunately we got a lemon that they were unable to repair and it was replaced by a Nissan Maxima.

dalylaleahthor

Wife just got a 19 Rav4. Granted its no 4wd or Awd but it does get 35mpg on the freeway and the vehicle was bought strictly to be a commuter. The new technology is so far advanced. Safety was a main selling point. Would I recommend? I don't know everybody has a different need for the vehicle they want. All I can say it fits the wife's need perfectly. Would I buy again? Yes as a commuter.

heiney9

muncybob wrote: »

So the old 98 Jimmy is about to bite the dust. Frame is shot. The Mrs is looking at one of the following: Chevy Equinox, Ford Escape, Toyota RAV4 and a Honda CRV. My only requirement is that mpg is 28- 30 or better highway, has either 4WD or AWD and is no older than 4 years. Anybody have actual experience with any of these?...if so, would you buy it again?

Those aren't mid sized really. The small SUV (as I would call the ones you mention) are much more like cars than your old Jimmy. Which is a good thing. The girlfriend just bought a 2017 Ford Escape SE and it rides nice, has really good road manners gets decent mileage, has enough tech to make due, reasonably priced on the used market as they are everywhere. And you can haul things.

Couple downsides, the standard 2.5L 4cyl is a dog....stay away. The 1.5L turbo is just ok. The tranny keeps it in the power band but it's a bit anemic, but does suffice. The 2.0L turbo is an option, but hard to find used on an SE. The addressed some of the issues of the old 1.6L engine in previous models.

The infotainment screen w/o the tech package is a bit small and far away but is OK. Opt for the tech pkg with the bigger screen. We wanted heated seats and a bigger screen but we found a killer deal on one with smaller screen and heated seats.

The front seats are not that great. Sort of flat and lifeless. Good enough, but they need more cushioning and support.

She had a 2005 Escape and wanted another one. We looked at Mazda CX5 and Toyota RAV4 and fit and finish were a bit better on both as well as a more upscale interior, but they were too much for her budget.

We ended up buying the 2017 Ford Escape SE (with cold weather pkg) for $15,200, one owner, super clean Carfax with 28K miles from a dealer. Looks and drives like new. Got a killer deal we just couldn't pass up.

Hope this helps

H9

ken brydson

Wife has a Mazda CX-5 and loves it...

heiney9

CX-5 is a nice ride. That was my choice for her, but she only wanted a 2-3 year old SUV and the used CX-5's around here aren't plentiful and the one's that were just stretched her budget too much.

She was sort of fixated on the Escape since she loved her old one so much. We looked at a used CX-3, but it was too small and cramped inside. She had been driving my '09 GTi for a year and 1/2 and hated how low to the ground the car was or how low she sat in it.

So it was time for something different. She's super happy, that's all that matters.....right....lol.

If it were me and I chose to drive an smaller SUV (not compact) I'd choose the CX-5. Fit and finish is better and the interior is more upscale.

I will say the 2017 Escape is better than the 2016. I think it rides a bit better and it's quieter on the highway. They tweaked it a bit and made it a bit better than the 2016. Thicker glass, better insolation and the 1.6L turbo in the previous cars were prone to overheating. The 1.5L turbo in the '17 addressed the engine issues in previous year cars.

H9

P.s. I know I sound like a fan boy, but it turned out to be an extremely good value since there are soooooo many Ford Escape's around. High inventory = great used price. While it doesn't lead the class in any category, it's still very good and a solid choice.

Jimbo18

My best friend, who is 6'5" btw, loves his Subaru Forester. I think the current one is a 2018, but he's owned a couple others over the past 20 years. Great gas mileage, all wheel drive and reliable.

In this area, one that's 3 - 4 years old goes in the $17 - 18,000 range.

kharp1

Jimbo18 wrote: »

My best friend, who is 6'5" btw, loves his Subaru Forester. I think the current one is a 2018, but he's owned a couple others over the past 20 years. Great gas mileage, all wheel drive and reliable.

In this area, one that's 3 - 4 years old goes in the $17 - 18,000 range.

I've known a couple of people that have these and LOVE them.

charley95

Pretty hard to go wrong with a Toyota product. Toyota is your best bet for long term reliability. Most every brand has it's pitfalls and research is critical.

shawn474

My wife has a 2016 rav4 hybrid AWD and likes it a lot. If given the choice she probably would have gone with a Subaru but a close friend is general sales manager at a Toyota dealership and nobody could come close to the deal we got on it. It’s comfortable, nice interior, great mpg, safe and reliable.

Dabutcher

Like he said above. If you are in it for the long term ownership. Toyota’s are the best. And most models are built in the USA. Which is a big deal to me. I have owned a 1976 Celica, 1990 Previa, three Sienna’s, and now a ten year old Tundra.
All have been very reliable. Normal maintenance stuff . Biggest bill I ever had was getting sliding door fixed on Sienna. $550.00.
Best resale value equals best reliability.
Good luck. D

Emlyn

I think the class of midsize and compact is no longer relevant these days. For SUVs the big differentiator is now three row or two row. True four wheel drive is getting to be rare but AWD and traction control is fine for most people. Getting up to 30 mpg means getting a 4 cylinder engine. Maybe a hybrid version should be considered?

A couple of friends recently bought RAV4 and CRV. They hold their value really well because people want to buy them and they are willing to pay more than for other similar models. That says something.

muncybob

Lots to think about! We'll be in it for the long haul as we usually ride them until they give up the ghost. It will primarily be the wife's vehicle and since she's semi retired I see only about 5k miles/year on whatever we get. Towing capacity is a non issue, any towing/hauling will be done by the 2500HD.

heiney9

Be sure and test drive them all as they are all a bit different in driving position, interior operation of the tech and HVAC, road noise, etc, etc.

Also do your research on the different years. I was surprised to find so many slight improvement's/changes over a 2-3 year span of the exact same model.

H9

muncybob

I hear ya. For instance, my mechanic(GM trained) firmly stated to stay away from any Equinox before 2016.

charley95

There's a YouTube guys channel that's worked on cars for 50 years under the name Scotty Kilmer. He's a little goofy but, he's usually on the money on what's good and what isn't. He has 100's of vids. He's not sponsered by any advertisers.

muncybob

Wow, after watching him I need a nap!

charley95

He is long winded. A guy like him works on all makes daily and see's patterns of issues to stay away from. He's obviously not the gospel but informs the less educated on a vehicle.

Emlyn

charley95 wrote: »

There's a YouTube guys channel that's worked on cars for 50 years under the name Scotty Kilmer. He's a little goofy but, he's usually on the money on what's good and what isn't. He has 100's of vids. He's not sponsered by any advertisers.

Scotty Kilmer says buy a 1994 Toyota Celica! And remember to ring that bell!

GospelTruth

We have a 2010 RAV4 with 96k miles on it. Never had any issues with it, just the usual maintenance. Toyota seems to have less bells and whistles than other manufacturers, but in terms of reliability they can't be beat. We love our Toyota(s) and I'll buy again when the day comes.

muncybob

He highly endorses Hondas and Toyotas. After watching a few episodes I was walking through a parking lot and the vast majority of the mid sized SUVs there were those makes...never noticed before.

heiney9

I am amazed at how when I look at a parking lot it seems 85% is SUVs or Trucks. Me I'm still partial to my sporty GTi..............but I can see why manufacturers are moving away from sedans and hatchbacks based on what seems to sell.

I will say a compact utility vehicle (CUV) has less room inside than my GTi so I have no idea why the CUV's are so popular.........they are tiny inside. Maybe it's the slightly higher seating position, IDK. A sedan has more room, by a lot, compared to a few CUV's and even a small SUV I've looked.

I don't understand the draw.

H9

WLDock

verb wrote: »

Well, I launched the Equinox, and it's sister, the Terrain, globally a few years ago! Great vehicle, and value, IMO. PM me if you'd like to chat a bit more!

Detroiter and a GM Engineer? That makes sense.

ken brydson wrote: »

Wife has a Mazda CX-5 and loves it...

heiney9 wrote: »

CX-5 is a nice ride.

I got one for my wife as well and we love it also. Ours is a 2016.5 and when we got it, it was the one all the outlets were raving about in terms of how well it drives. Also, it was at the top or right under it in terms of fuel efficiency. 29 MPG Combined /26 City / 33 Highway.

Used ones are now in the $10K- under $20K range.

We have to turn it in this Summer. I would like another one but I will be going for the best deals out there. We'll see...

WLDock

heiney9 wrote: »

I am amazed at how when I look at a parking lot it seems 85% is SUVs or Trucks. Me I'm still partial to my sporty GTi..............but I can see why manufacturers are moving away from sedans and hatchbacks based on what seems to sell.

I will say a compact utility vehicle (CUV) has less room inside than my GTi so I have no idea why the CUV's are so popular.........they are tiny inside. Maybe it's the slightly higher seating position, IDK. A sedan has more room, by a lot, compared to a few CUV's and even a small SUV I've looked.

I don't understand the draw.

H9

You and me both. I was a Euro pocket rocket manual shift 5 on the floor fan back in the day. Now, all I want is a large sedan... or even some of the mid sized ones have my attention. My dream is a 5 door / sportback would be the best of both worlds. I was a SAAB fan back in the day. Today the Audi A7 is my dream vehicle. Realistically, I hope to get a Toyota Avalon, Buick LaCrosse, or Chrysler 300 S as the next ride for myself.

heiney9

WLDock wrote: »

heiney9 wrote: »

I am amazed at how when I look at a parking lot it seems 85% is SUVs or Trucks. Me I'm still partial to my sporty GTi..............but I can see why manufacturers are moving away from sedans and hatchbacks based on what seems to sell.

I will say a compact utility vehicle (CUV) has less room inside than my GTi so I have no idea why the CUV's are so popular.........they are tiny inside. Maybe it's the slightly higher seating position, IDK. A sedan has more room, by a lot, compared to a few CUV's and even a small SUV I've looked.

I don't understand the draw.

H9

You and me both. I was a Euro pocket rocket manual shift 5 on the floor fan back in the day. Now, all I want is a large sedan... or even some of the mid sized ones have my attention. My dream is a 5 door / sportback would be the best of both worlds. I was a SAAB fan back in the day. Today the Audi A7 is my dream vehicle. Realistically, I hope to get a Toyota Avalon, Buick LaCrosse, or Chrysler 300 S as the next ride for myself.

I've graduated from a manual to a dual clutch auto/manual. But honestly, my GTi will fit things with the seats down that any midsized SUV will. I like the GTi for it's versatility. Grocery getter, canyon carver, sleeper quick, moving day vehicle.

But that's just me. I see getting a full sized SUV for it's capacity, but these CUV's, I don't understand the appeal.

H9

muncybob

Well the plan was to stick with the car and the truck and to not replace the Jimmy. So I made sure the truck had an 8' bed(for firewood hauling, etc) and doors to access the back seat. After the Mrs got into the truck those plans went down the crapper. It's just too big for her to drive w/o being a nervous wreck.
So a SUV is what she wants for peace of mind and room to haul the dogs around. People around here feel they need the AWD and SUV types for the few actual snow storms we get these days but my Cruze(with snow tires) can go up our 1/4 mile gravel lane no problem if we have less than 4" on the ground.