SUV choices

Hyundai have come a long way and offer tremendous bang for the buck. Still wouldn't touch one. They are cheaper for a reason. They look good on the outside but I'm not convinced they are engineered as well as the Japanese brands (not including Nissan, they just plain suck and they nearly went bankrupt for a reason)

jc100 said:

Thanks for the write up. So no problems with the CVT being jerky? I read a few reviews that talked about jerky on/off accelerator behaviour. That was a review on the non-turbo but I think a few mentioned the turbo was the same. I love the visibility out of the Forester, so far it's unmatched but I'm going to look at the RAV 4 and CRV this afternoon. Need to start taking these for test drives.

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Make sure you test drive the vehicle with the engine / transmission package you are going to buy. I first drove the Forester with the 2.5NA (non Turbo). It felt like a bigger newer version of my wife's Impreza. The 2.0 Turbo has a much different (better IMO) feel to it.

Have fun shopping!

mmmnaked said:

Pathfinder and QX are notorious for transmission problems, there was a class action lawsuit. I looked briefly at the Infinity but that sealed the deal. Also it's a garbage CVT regardless, so even when it's not broken it still sucks.

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Read about all the issues before purchase but still took the chance. I find the CVT smooth and flawless. Touch on wood I haven't experienced any of the noted problems. I'm 61k in and I love how responsive and smooth this cvt has been.

Took a look at the RAV4 and Honda CRV today. CRV was nice inside and it looked refined. Headroom seemed a bit limited and the rearward visibility is crap. Cargo room is spacey but tall, not really deep. RAV4 was nice inside but the sunroof on the top trim level is tiny. At least the Honda has a panoramic roof.

My parents have had Nissans since the day we moved to Canada in 1989....no major issues (outside of me writing one off as a teen!). We've had the 1989 Sentra, then Pathfinder, Pathfinder, Pathfinder, Rogue, Rogue, Rogue, Qashqai (being purchased tomorrow) and have been happy with them each time. No issues with dealers, no real issues with the cars (Pathfinders were thirsty pigs) and it's been a good experience overall. There was an issue where my mom said she wanted 'maintenance' done at the dealer and they did the oil, filters, brakes, and everything for $2k or so. All it took is about 30min with the service manager to show that she didn't have a signed quote and wanted just the oil change and they knocked the price down to $400 when I told them I wanted all the parts back that they took off.
Their current car is a 2012 Rogue with 56k on it, and we are mulling taking it over as our Hyundai is on it's last legs, and the jerky transmission is extremely worrisome right now...hoping it'll last but we need a decision soon....3 transmissions within 170k....

Overall my experience with Hyundai has been positive. The Genesis Coupe 3.8 was bulletproof with minor issues which were taken care of under warranty, and the Elantra Touring has been a great mover and car for my wife and her business. Tons of room, nice handling but the 4speed auto transmission was the weak point of the car. The manual would be better, but she doesn't drive manual so no go on that department.

jc100 said:

Took a look at the RAV4 and Honda CRV today. CRV was nice inside and it looked refined. Headroom seemed a bit limited and the rearward visibility is crap. Cargo room is spacey but tall, not really deep. RAV4 was nice inside but the sunroof on the top trim level is tiny. At least the Honda has a panoramic roof.

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I'll just add panoramic roofs almost always start to rattle, squeak, or make some other generally annoying noises at some point in their life, requiring some parts replacement or the patience of a saint to endure. As a deal breaker, it'd be real low on my list.

Neil_V said:

I'll just add panoramic roofs almost always start to rattle, squeak, or make some other generally annoying noises at some point in their life, requiring some parts replacement or the patience of a saint to endure. As a deal breaker, it'd be real low on my list.

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I agree with one caveat...these "new" shapes for the SUVs and the current fashion I suppose means higher sill heights and higher fascia heights and smaller windows overall. They feel claustrophobic in a way. My crappy old X trail (low level trim model) has a large sunroof twice the size of the one in the RAV4. I don't actually open it much, I just like the light it lets in.

Does anybody call them moonroofs any more, or am I just old?

I haven't owned a car with a "moon roof" since my 86 prelude

fastar1 said:

Does anybody call them moonroofs any more, or am I just old?

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I thought sunroofs tipped and moonroofs slid and tipped? Does anyone sell one that just tips anymore (other than the rear portion of some panoramic roofs)?

No, moonroofs were transparent, sunroofs were solid.

We looked at them a couple of years ago, but ended up going with an eight seater minivan.

The SUV's were just too small for our needs, unless we were to go with the truck based ones.

*cough* get-a-wagon-instead *coughcough*

If you go into compact SUV, might as well get a wagon. Keep the driveability and get tons of space, actually might even be more space than a lot of the compact SUVs

Am i biased?
Maybe

Yeah Ill have to second the wagon suggestion

E63S

mmmnaked said:

Yeah Ill have to second the wagon suggestion

E63S

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I don't think that is is the same price range.

JSW (or whatever VW is calling it now)? A friend has one and loves it. I guess Golf Alltrack is worth a look if AWD matters to you, but I don't think it's worth the extra money.

Wagon? Audi A4 Allroad Quattro would be my ride....

Wagons don't rock my boat. I'm also trying not to go over 40k so that rules out Audi, BMW, Volvo etc.

I know you said you didn't like the American brands, but do yourself a favor and at least swing through the dealers for a look at what's available, and a few test drives. Ford Escape, Jeep Cherokee, Chevrolet Equinox all sound like they are in the size and price range you are looking at. Even if you don't end up liking or buying those, you will have a better impression of what sizes and features are available at what price ranges.

FiatChrysler is notably reviled by keyboard warriors on internet forums ... both of mine have been fine (not perfect, but the things-gone-wrong list is short and insignificant, and the local dealer is good), my sister's Ford Escape has been fine once it got through a couple of recalls early on, friends with various other late model "Detroit 3" vehicles have mostly had good experiences.

IMO the American brands are producing better vehicles than they ever have but their reputation lags (and for that reason some vehicles can be bought for good discounts from stated MSRP), for that matter the same thing can be said of Hyundai and Kia, and the Japanese vehicles aren't as good as they are cracked up to be but they are still coasting on past good reputation and are overpriced for what they are. All cars nowadays are put together from parts built by suppliers and it's largely the same suppliers supplying everyone!

So far, the American brands also keep you away from those gawd-awful CVT transmissions.

Check scheduled maintenance costs, too. Look at the actual car's maintenance book - not the dealer's posted schedule. Some (mostly import) brands are notorious for having a long list of things to (supposedly) check every 12,000 km. I know my dad was used to paying a few hundred bucks every service interval and that was for both VW (fairly recently) and Honda (not so recently). My two FiatChryslers have pretty much nothing in the official maintenance book outside of oil changes (about $70) and tire/brake inspections (which I do myself) until the end of the warranty period - past which it will probably never see the inside of the dealer's shop again ... Watch out for dealers; they have their own schedule of a long list every 5,000 km to milk your wallet to death ... that doesn't mean the car's actual official schedule calls for all that! Hyundai and Mitsubishi in particular have very long warranties ... but look out for what it's going to cost (in scheduled maintenance) to keep that warranty valid ...

(Disclaimer, I'm typing this while taking a break from a trip to Detroit for a meeting about a next-generation US-brand vehicle that I can't talk about ...)

I'm going to buy my second Santa Fe. Probably a 2018 as I don't like the colours from '17.

200,000 km's and I've been delighted with it. Not one issue, other than Whitby Hyundai being ridiculously slow. I use the Bowmanville dealership now.

meme said:

I'm going to buy my second Santa Fe. Probably a 2018 as I don't like the colours from '17.

200,000 km's and I've been delighted with it. Not one issue, other than Whitby Hyundai being ridiculously slow. I use the Bowmanville dealership now.

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I've heard great things about Hyundai and Kia lately.. Koreans are actual contenders