pdw Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 Later this year, I need to get a new vehicle for my wife. We're looking at mid-size, crossover SUV's. Requirements are AWD, some amount of tow capacity (the more the better) and reliable. The options I see out there are.... New Hyundai Veracruz: This seems quite nice and newer Hyundai designs seem to be doing quite well in value, reliability and safety. The downside is I think Hyundai isn't quite proven yet and it only tows 3500lbs. http://www.autoblog.com/2007/01/09/detroit-auto-show-2007-hyundai-veracruz/ http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2007/01/veracruz_ab12.jpg Mazda CX9: For some reason this doesn't do much for me. It's really long for the interior space and I'd have a hard time fitting it in my garage. Plus, it's got a lot of Ford parts which I'd trust the least of the ones I'm listing here. http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/displayPage.action?pageParameter=modelsMain&vehicleCode=CX9&bhcp=1 http://images.motortrend.com/auto_shows/coverage/new_york/112_06nyas_02z+2007_mazda_cx9+photos_front_view.jpg New Toyota Highlander (supposed to be out in the summer): On paper, this one seems the best. Toyota is a safe bet, it tows 5000lbs, the rear glass opens seperately which is really useful for Home Depot runs and the interior seems nice. It can also be ordered without a 3rd row seat. The only downside I see is it's less than beautiful. http://www.leftlanenews.com/2007/02/07/2008-toyota-highlander/ http://images.leftlanenews.com/content/4-2008-toyota-highlander-hybrid.jpg The two other considerations would be a Honda Pilot and a Tribeca if the redesign is good. The Pilot is getting old and the Tribeca is an unknown quantity. The new Acura MDX would be nice but that's too much $ unless I find a low mileage used one. Any thoughts?
rao Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 Any thoughts? Why a crossover? Why AWD? Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT
pdw Posted February 27, 2007 Author Posted February 27, 2007 Why a crossover? Why AWD? AWD because I live near Boston and we often head north for skiing. Also, both my wife and I hate FWD. Finally, I want to be able to launch a small boat from a boat ramp. FWD is miserable for that. A crossover because it's the best compromise between utility and how well it drives. If someone made a station wagon with the same interior space and other utility aspects, I'd buy it. Actually, Mercedes does but I can't afford that.
rao Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 In that case you have identified the best candidates. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT
pdw Posted February 27, 2007 Author Posted February 27, 2007 In that case you have identified the best candidates. So, any opinions among those choices? Personally, I consider crossovers just tall cars. Any vehicle with a unitbody, transverse engine and independent rear suspension certainly isn't a truck.
SC GT Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 My wife has a Highlander and she loves it. The exterior of the 2008 looks meh, but the interior looks awesome. Since you will actually use your SUV for SUV purposes, you might also want to consider the 4runner. A little bigger and less car-like than the Highlander, but it's designed to haul stuff.
rao Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 I'd go with the Highlander of the Pilot. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT
Gire Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 I spent over an hour in the local Hyundai dealerrship last weekend talking to their sales guy and looking at either the Santa Fe or the Tuscan for my wife. Really, really good bang for the buck on the Santa Fe. Loaded V6 AWD versions (5 passenger) versions are going for under 35K CAN. that's the same price as a Honda Element, and the Hyundai is like, 5 times the vehicle. (And I'm a Honda fanboy, who's owned more than a few in my life.) I will end up getting a used (2000 - 2001) loaded Outback and save a bunch of money though as she wants a Subaru. God Bless her.
BigJack Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 the only thing with hyundai is that the resale is still really bad
Gire Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 True, but Mazda's honestly take a depreciation dump locally here too... they can't all be Honda / Toyota. But Hyundai is working towards that (as is Mazda). -If the gireland from 5 years ago could see me now talking up Hyundai, I'd have jumped off a bridge!! But times change as has Hyundai.
LongHiway Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 True, but Mazda's honestly take a depreciation dump locally here too... they can't all be Honda / Toyota. But Hyundai is working towards that (as is Mazda). -If the gireland from 5 years ago could see me now talking up Hyundai, I'd have jumped off a bridge!! But times change as has Hyundai. Personally, I think Hyundai is going to be a force to be reckoned with. If you drive the car until it's dead, you don't care much for re-sale value and, they offer a 100 K warranty - I'll admit I have not looked at the fine details of the warranty. A friend rented on last summer while their jeep was having surgery. Aside from the stigma of the badge, it was a nice car / truck.
SC GT Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 Yeah, for your needs, I'd take a serious look at the 4Runner.
BigJack Posted February 27, 2007 Posted February 27, 2007 My friend just bought a used sante fe...personally i think they are really ugly..anyway...he got it for 19k I originally sold for close to $30k Its 1yr old with about 10k...thats a hell of a dump. I agree that hyundai has come a long way but they are years away from me buying one. I have several friends with sante fe and they have had alot of problems. My sister has a elantra and its a total terd, but it was cheap and it works.
pdw Posted February 27, 2007 Author Posted February 27, 2007 My wife has a Highlander and she loves it. The exterior of the 2008 looks meh, but the interior looks awesome. Since you will actually use your SUV for SUV purposes, you might also want to consider the 4runner. A little bigger and less car-like than the Highlander, but it's designed to haul stuff. Yeah, I like the 4Runner but my wife doesn't. She says it looks too much like a truck (which is perceptive but annoying). It's all a compromise and I bet the new Highlander has more interior space than the 4Runner. I won't be towing that often so the Highlander would be better on average.
pdw Posted February 27, 2007 Author Posted February 27, 2007 My friend just bought a used sante fe...personally i think they are really ugly..anyway...he got it for 19k I originally sold for close to $30k Its 1yr old with about 10k...thats a hell of a dump. I agree that hyundai has come a long way but they are years away from me buying one. I have several friends with sante fe and they have had alot of problems. My sister has a elantra and its a total terd, but it was cheap and it works. Was this the very latest Santa Fe or the previous generation? There really is a big difference. Like you said though, I'm not sure they're ready for me to spend my money on.
John M Posted February 28, 2007 Posted February 28, 2007 I don't think Hyundai resale is bad -- at least on a model that was decent to start with. We paid $29.9k for a fully loaded Azera and one year later they're selling for $23-24k. That's not bad at all. I'll say it again: build quality is excellent, as are the materials. The 3.8 is quite an engine. I'm not a fan of that football-colored leather in the pics but the rest of the Veracruz design looks good. The 4Runner "looks like a truck" because it is one. It's body on frame with a v8 and has a 7000lb towing capacity. The AWD system has a lockable center diff and hill descent control. The Sport has XREAS suspension which give it amazing handling. My brother's 2005 V8 Sport AWD: http://finddoug.com/054runner/4r1s.jpg
rabydanimal Posted February 28, 2007 Posted February 28, 2007 At least Hyundai is building better looking cars than what Subaru is currently pumping out... Strongly Agree Agree Neither Agree or Disagree Disagree Strongly Disagree <------------------- http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/4540/untitledzu3.jpg eww?
bdisco Posted February 28, 2007 Posted February 28, 2007 Acura MDX transmission problems : http://www.acuramdx.org/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=58 ^ that said we're on our second. (02 & 06) Hyundai Santa Fe comes in 12 different colors (wife likes the silver blue), would try one out if we were in the market.
pdw Posted February 28, 2007 Author Posted February 28, 2007 I don't think Hyundai resale is bad -- at least on a model that was decent to start with. We paid $29.9k for a fully loaded Azera and one year later they're selling for $23-24k. That's not bad at all. I'll say it again: build quality is excellent, as are the materials. The 3.8 is quite an engine. I'm not a fan of that football-colored leather in the pics but the rest of the Veracruz design looks good. The 4Runner "looks like a truck" because it is one. It's body on frame with a v8 and has a 7000lb towing capacity. The AWD system has a lockable center diff and hill descent control. The Sport has XREAS suspension which give it amazing handling. Obviously you missed part of what I wrote. "She says it looks too much like a truck (which is perceptive but annoying)". Perceptive meaning I realize it's a body-on-frame truck. If I can get her to look at one, I'd consider it but she thinks it's ugly. Even so, 5000lbs is enough two capacity for me and a crossover will ride and handle better. It'll probably have better interior space also but that remains to be seen. This will get used on dirt roads at worst so the offroad features aren't necessary. As for Hyundai, we'll definitely look at the Veracruz but the Highlander looks better on paper. Neither are in dealers yet so I'll have to wait to make a judgement.
pdw Posted February 28, 2007 Author Posted February 28, 2007 I was impressed by the Nissan Murano I suppose I should have included that one but I'm not a big fan of Nissans. Also, CVT's aren't proven long term in my mind. We'll probably keep whatever we buy for 10yrs and 140k miles or so. I don't want problems.
John M Posted March 1, 2007 Posted March 1, 2007 pdw - I realized that you realized the 4Runner was a truck; I was just elaborating. Besides, I think it's funny when some people won't buy a "too-truck-looking" SUV and others won't buy a minivan because it doesn't look truck-ish enough. Somehow a "crossover" is considered to be the compromise but to me they're all just minivans with a raised suspension. rabydanimal -- The Tiberon is Hyundai's oldest offering. It is due for a redesign and you can bet the farm it'll be very competitive when it's done. If the replacement car has their 3.8 liter it'll be a real pocket rocket -- 265hp, 6spd trans (stick and auto) -- and it'd probably still sticker under $25k. The current car isn't bad for a $22k car either. What's it compete with - the Civic? Give me the torque of a v6 any day over a screaming 4cyl.
pdw Posted March 1, 2007 Author Posted March 1, 2007 pdw - I realized that you realized the 4Runner was a truck; I was just elaborating. Besides, I think it's funny when some people won't buy a "too-truck-looking" SUV and others won't buy a minivan because it doesn't look truck-ish enough. Somehow a "crossover" is considered to be the compromise but to me they're all just minivans with a raised suspension. I've read studies on this stuff and "not truckish enough" is not the reason people don't want minivans. The reason is people consider them very frumpy and they don't want to look like that. From a more practical standpoint, crossovers are the only things out there that have a combination of space, AWD and reasonably decent ride and handling (some handle quite well, much better than any minivan). They're essentially the replacement for the big station wagons people bought when I was a kid. The only minivan that meets all those criteria is a Toyota Sienna but it has runflat tires and I hate those. It also has a low tow rating. My wife also doesn't like the interior in the 4Runner and I agree with her there. What I'd really like is a VW Touareg with a bigger back seat and Subaru level reliability but that's not going to happen. Anyway, not all crossovers are just minivans with raised suspensions.
rao Posted March 1, 2007 Posted March 1, 2007 Minivans own everything when it comes to practicality and efficiency in terms of cargo and people space. People just don't think that they are cool. Crossovers are really just tall sedans. Your requirement for hauling a boat out of the water and desire for AWD suggest that you should just suck it up and get a Suburban. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT
twisted Posted March 1, 2007 Posted March 1, 2007 i recently test drove the CX-7 while helping a friend car shop. I also drive the RDX at the same time. THE CX-7 seems cheap on the inside. Let me put it this way. After driving the CX-7 u know you just got out of a 25K car and the 32K price of the RDX makes you realize where the ~5K goes into refinement. i'd recommend the honda pilot instead if you need that kind of towing capacity. If u need indulgance and fast....go with the Acura RDX.
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