SUV Drivers Come In...

nfp147 · January 2014

Our stupid effing SUV (Nissan Xterra) is dead and two garages now can't figure out why it won't start. So, we may be in the market for something "new". New to us - like a 2011-2013.

We LOVE Toyota and are looking at Rav4s. We also have a friend who loves her Mitsubishi Outlander.

Any other suggestions? DH "needs" an SUV. (I would be happy with a little car.)

seahorse01 · January 2014

Well I am a Jeep girl, but I know they aren't exactly ideal for everybody.

Grand Cherokee, Liberty and Wrangler- I've had all three. I loved all of them and had minimal problems with each.

thecuddleeffect · January 2014

We are looking at the rav 4 and a honda Crv. My grandfather has a Crv and LOVES it.

nfp147 · January 2014

seahorse01 said:

Well I am a Jeep girl, but I know they aren't exactly ideal for everybody.

Grand Cherokee, Liberty and Wrangler- I've had all three. I loved all of them and had minimal problems with each.

We like the look of Jeeps. Do you find them "solid"? They're cheaper here than others, so I'm concerned that maybe they aren't as sturdy.

I suppose you can't tell me much about their handling in snow

seahorse01 · January 2014

lol- no my Liberty isn't great in rain, but I think it's the big tires that are on there now. I haven't tested snow.

The Grand Cherokee was the one that handled the best. 4 wheel drive is a must.

blueeyedblossom · January 2014

I love my Mazda CX-7

RockABye · January 2014

JEEEEEEP! I'm a Jeep lover. I've had a Cherokee sport, a Grand Cherokee, a Commander, and two Wranglers. I drive a 4 door Wrangler (hard top, but fully removable) now. LOVE them. Seriously, best cars I've ever owned... that's why I keep going back to them. The Wrangler has a bunch of room (4 door) and drives really smooth. It's not as quiet as a car, obviously, but it's not bad at all. I don't think I'll ever drive anything else. Plus, I can climb mountains in my Jeep, trail or no trail, so there's that..

On another note, I also had a Honda Crosstour for awhile.. it's not an SUV really, but is a crossover and it was a great car... LOTS of space... the trunk on that sucker was huge and it drove like a smaller car.

ETA: our Jeep is incredibly sturdy. Again, best vehicles I've ever owned. As far as snow goes, i'm not much help there, but we did just have the major ice storm here and we drove around the entire weekend in it and hardly slid at all.. only when we wanted to. Hubs even turned off the traction control and it still would barely spin around.. and we were TRYING to do donuts. We helped several people stuck in the ice and never had an issue. Just use the 4 wheel drive I never once felt like we might have an issue.

BreMae · January 2014

My sister has a Rav4 and loves it. DH and I bought a Ford Edge in July and I love it! Ford has done a lot better with the build of their cars as well.

iwalktheline · January 2014

I have an older rav4 (2002) and I love it. It does have low mileage for its age, but I haven't had any problems at all and it's great in the snow. I definitely recommend it.

lilliesandvino · January 2014

What price range are you looking for?

islandmonkey8 · January 2014

I have a 2013 jeep compass that I love. Works great in the snow and rain and has 4wd. DH has a jeep wrangler, it's from 1993. Definitely consider it sturdy we even drive it on the beach and it gets salt water on it and does well.

brij2006 · January 2014

We have a Ford Flex with the AWD option, and it goes amazing in the snow. H just drove it to work and back 100 miles today on country roads with drifts. He said it didn't even flinch going through them.

We were just shopping for an SUV this fall, and we were between that and the Jeep Grand Cherokee. I honestly loved it, and loved how it handled so easily. They are also very quiet inside, which is a huge plus. My co-worker has one, and he didn't have any issues getting to the office today in it. The only reason we didn't get one was because our money went a lot further with the Flex than it did the Grand Cherokee, and they were very comparable with what we were looking for.

LittleLady77 · January 2014

RAV 4s are great, especially the newer ones. I drive an Infinity EX35 which I absolutely adore! The Nissan equivalent to my car is the Rogue (same chassis, functionality etc.)

LooneyLife · January 2014

We love our Flex, although I think the gas mileage could be better. I've got my eye on a Mazda CX-5 as my next car.

lindsayandjamie · January 2014

We have a Nissan murano which has been great this winter thanks to the AWD. I'm guessing you don't want another Nissan considering the problems with the xterra.

I've also owned two jeeps- a 1990 Cherokee that lived until 2006, and a 2002 liberty which we traded in last year. 4WD on both was amazing, but they are loud compared to my murano but that is to be expected cause they are sportier. I loved the Cherokee but didn't love the liberty. Too high, and the intererior is tight.

I also know a very honest mechanic if you want another (free!) opinion. If you want his info PM me.

Xan921 · January 2014

I have a 2005 Ford Escape and love it. I've never had any trouble with it, the V6 gives it a good amount of power and the 4 wheel drive is great in the snow. It doesn't do very good on gas though, I average about 20mpg, which isn't too bad for a V6 but isn't great.

nfp147 · January 2014

lilliesandvino said:

What price range are you looking for?

We don't want to spend much more than $20K, but I have no idea how US and Canadian car prices vary.

DangerMuffin23 · January 2014

I have a 2005 Hyundai Santa Fe. It runs great with minimal maintenance and repairs are pretty cheap. Customer service is good at the dealerships too.

nfp147 · January 2014

lindsayandjamie said:

We have a Nissan murano which has been great this winter thanks to the AWD. I'm guessing you don't want another Nissan considering the problems with the xterra. I've also owned two jeeps- a 1990 Cherokee that lived until 2006, and a 2002 liberty which we traded in last year. 4WD on both was amazing, but they are loud compared to my murano but that is to be expected cause they are sportier. I loved the Cherokee but didn't love the liberty. Too high, and the intererior is tight. I also know a very honest mechanic if you want another (free!) opinion. If you want his info PM me.

Nothing against Nissan. The Xterra is 11 years old, so we knew this time was coming

How's the room in the back of the Murano? Big enough for a large dog?

amandaf6383 · January 2014

DH and I are looking for an SUV as well. We were going to go to go Prius but with MA winters, an AWD vehicle is more feasible (our other car is a Lexus sedan with no AWD).

I used to have a Subaru Forester and lovvvvvvvved it; however it was a 1998 and I don't really like the look/feel of the newer model ones.

We love Nissans and Toyotas and will probably end up with either a Murano (which has plenty of space) or Highlander. My sister just got a brand new Honda Pilot and she loves it - it drives smooth and has removable third row seating.

lilliesandvino · January 2014

Hmmm. I'm thinking the prices should be comparable. Do you use Kelly blue book in Canada?

In any case, I just got a used Acura RDX with AWD and love it. It's been good with the weather the past few days.

My H's family looooove subarus. They're great in the cold and snow. A used Forester or Outback (though it's more of a wagon) might be a good option. Both come in AWD.

poppies717 · January 2014

I love my Ford Escape! My mom has had several escapes since 2001 and loves them, too.

sweetpotato123 · January 2014

We have a 4runner and love it. I used to have an explorer and thought it was a good smaller suv (it was 2 doors).

nfp147 · January 2014

sweetpotato123 said:

We have a 4runner and love it. I used to have an explorer and thought it was a good smaller suv (it was 2 doors).

We would LOVE a 4Runner. That's what we had before the Xterra. But, we're not willing to spend the money.

nfp147 · January 2014

lilliesandvino said:

Hmmm. I'm thinking the prices should be comparable. Do you use Kelly blue book in Canada? In any case, I just got a used Acura RDX with AWD and love it. It's been good with the weather the past few days. My H's family looooove subarus. They're great in the cold and snow. A used Forester or Outback (though it's more of a wagon) might be a good option. Both come in AWD.

I can access the Kelly Blue Book, but it only gives the prices for the US state closest to me.

LittleLady77 · January 2014

Murano are amazing. I almost got one (I would have if I didn't have to commute so far). They have sufficient room for a dog

lilliesandvino · January 2014

Oh that sucks. I'm wondering if you can use it for reference/ballpark info.

Is there a Canadian equivalent? Kelly Bleu Book perhaps?

lindsayandjamie · January 2014

lilliesandvino said:
Oh that sucks. I'm wondering if you can use it for reference/ballpark info.

Is there a Canadian equivalent? Kelly Bleu Book perhaps?

Bahaha, love this

. We do have an equivalent, but I can't remember the name.

As for the Murano, our boxer rides in the back with plenty of space. We also live at the hardware store and it is long enough to fit a standard 8' door or length of trim down the middle.

We really do love how it handles and the space. It looks pretty too which is important to me

lindsayandjamie · January 2014

And for reference, we bought ours in 2012 and it was 3 yrs old with 65000km for about $23k.

nfp147 · January 2014

lindsayandjamie said:

Oh that sucks. I'm wondering if you can use it for reference/ballpark info. Is there a Canadian equivalent? Kelly Bleu Book perhaps?
Bahaha, love this . We do have an equivalent, but I can't remember the name. As for the Murano, our boxer rides in the back with plenty of space. We also live at the hardware store and it is long enough to fit a standard 8' door or length of trim down the middle. We really do love how it handles and the space. It looks pretty too which is important to me

I think maybe it's a "black book"?

Thanks!

LuckyAngel07 · January 2014

My sister has a Rav4 that's a few years old now. I've driven it a bunch when I'm down visiting her. I absolutely adore it. It's got great "get up and go", and as far as I've noticed, the handling is very smooth. It's also very quiet. Without the optional third row, the back trunk area has loads of space. A big dog could easily fit back there. And I haven't heard any complaints from her regarding it either.

DH is obsessed with Jeeps and wants his next vehicle to be a Jeep. For the longest time, that meant Wrangler, but he's slowly shifting to something a little more fully enclosed. I think his latest fixation has been on the new Cherokee Trailhawk. I think he likes that one for certain features, and I'm pretty sure it's AWD standard. But I'm almost positive it's a few thousand more than you'd like to spend, and I'm not sure if there are many used available at the moment (I think the new model might have just come out last year?).

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