Your Thoughts on Crossover SUVs

[Stuey]

I'd buy a fullsize truck or just keep the Taurus.

The Taurus is practically coughing up blood. I've poured maybe $3k or more into it in the past two years. Right now I need something fixed in the front right wheel well (suspension ??) and I could use new tires. The car only has 90K miles, but is coming up at 12-13 years old. What I don't want is for it to die on me and then have to buy a new vehicle. I'd rather shop around now and know what I want before that happens.

Fullsize truck? Why? May as well go into massive debt and get a Porche which is as equally unsuitable. You do realize that I'm younger than 30, don't go offroad, and only occasionally transport big bulky items. That, and as mentioned my budget is relatively modest <$20-25k.

 

[Merkava_4]

Mercury Milan or Lincoln MKZ

 

[speed bump]

That's a load of ****. Think about how a diff works.

Well it may not kill it but it sure as hell isn't good for whatever distributes the power. I had a set of random tires on my truck so I could use it for a project, it was icy out and so I put it in 4wd drive but when I got on dry pavement it started bucking and running horribly so I pushed the transfer case into 2wd and about 20 ft down the road Ka-bang and it was loud when the transfer case popped out of 4wd.

Furthermore knowing how a differential works its bad to have 2 different size tires on them period because it will cause the differential to favor one side when you want power to both sides.

Fullsize truck? Why? May as well go into massive debt and get a Porche which is as equally unsuitable. You do realize that I'm younger than 30, don't go offroad, and only occasionally transport big bulky items. That, and as mentioned my budget is relatively modest <$20-25k.

I was looking and for $25k I could buy a pretty loaded half ton cheby and come September a pretty nice 09 Ford for under $20k. Now if you want Diesel, 3/4 ton and the rest of the works your at about 40k at the moment.

 

[autoace]

My wife wants a honda element, 4 wheel drive, anyone have one? We have a 96 odessey and its been great but its coming on 150,000 miles and the srs light keeps coming on. Autoace thinks its a computer issue and a new one is a 1000 bucks

Autoace knows it is the ECU. If you want to ever bring it buy free of charge, I'll plug it in and show you. The good news/bad news about your Honda is it will probably run fine for the next 5 years, but people get the itch for a new car every so often.

IMHO Honda is not the best deal going, lots of heavy 60K timing belt,water pump,tensioner,idler,etc...maintenance. Toyota would be your best bet, chain driven 4 cyl., better VVTi system. etc... Honda is a much better choice than GM or Chrysler at this point. I would get a Toyota FJ Cruiser over the element, but that is just me.

Test drive a few different vehicles and see what you like best.

 

[autoace]

The Taurus is practically coughing up blood. I've poured maybe $3k or more into it in the past two years. Right now I need something fixed in the front right wheel well (suspension ??) and I could use new tires. The car only has 90K miles, but is coming up at 12-13 years old. What I don't want is for it to die on me and then have to buy a new vehicle. I'd rather shop around now and know what I want before that happens.

Fullsize truck? Why? May as well go into massive debt and get a Porche which is as equally unsuitable. You do realize that I'm younger than 30, don't go offroad, and only occasionally transport big bulky items. That, and as mentioned my budget is relatively modest <$20-25k.

Stuey
Stay away from those 2.5 boxer engine Subarus, they are nothing but trouble. The 2010 Mitsubishi outlander is getting the Evo nose job, real sharp looking for 2010. The MIVEC 2.4 is a very good engine, and the Outlander is on the Lancer/Evolution chassis giving it good handling, and non-truck road feel. The warranty is 10 yrs. 100K miles.

The Toyota RAV4 has bad egonomics if you are a big and tall guy, the Highlander would be the better choice from Toyota........however the Camry SE is a sharp looking car, if you don't do the SUV thing.

Drive quite a few, and make sure you are happy with it. Remember SUV's with AWD get lousy gas mileage, the best mileage in a small SUV would be the Outlander with it's CVT transmission.

My 2009 Toyota Corolla S gets consistently in the 40's for gas mileage. New 4 cylinder engines are fine. The VVTi makes for a wide and fat powerband.

Happy car hunting.

 

[Hip2u77]

Just remember that whatever you buy you'll liable to own for a long, long time so think about the future. You may not have any desire to go 4-wheeling, but will you be going camping, fishing, hunting? Any vacations planned in the mountains? Like to explore? AWD / 4WD really comes in handy on the back roads and it really opens up a whole other world that the average guy in his car can't experience.

My wife and I love the outdoors and like exploring the back roads. Being able to basically go where we want, when we want, regardless of weather & road condition is huge to us. That's why we've got a '07 Jeep JK Unlimited Rubicon.

Sure, an Escape or crossover isn't going to go where a JK will, but it would allow you more freedom than a Taurus.

In fact, next Friday we leave for Moab for a couple days then we'll be up in the mountains of Colorado for a few days.

I realize it's all in what you like, so just tossing some options out there.

 

[walrus]

Autoace knows it is the ECU.

I stand corrected

The biggest problem for me is, what can I fit in and drive comfortably. It won't be my daily driver but

 

[Diablo]

Well i notived you mentioned the Rav4, and you were concerned about power. I have an '09 Tacoma with toyota 4.0 V6, i have seen rav4's with V6 emblems on them if it symbolizes the same v6 as in my Taco you have nothing to worry about power.

 

[txz28]

I guess I just have not developed any confidence in a belt driven ****** system giving me long, troublefree service.

That is exactly what makes me nervous. I was just wondering if you had any specific experience.

 

[Stuey]

Well i notived you mentioned the Rav4, and you were concerned about power. I have an '09 Tacoma with toyota 4.0 V6, i have seen rav4's with V6 emblems on them if it symbolizes the same v6 as in my Taco you have nothing to worry about power.

The V6 option 3.5L, not 4.0. Thus far I'm leaning slightly towards thr CR-V, but there's no V6 option available.

 

[autoace]

The V6 option 3.5L, not 4.0. Thus far I'm leaning slightly towards thr CR-V, but there's no V6 option available.

The Rav4 V6 has some serious get up and go....269 hp, the specs follow, click on mechanical and the specs will appear.

http://www.toyota.com/rav4/specs.html

 

[Skyline]

Before you decide for sure that you want a mini-soccer Mom machine, have you thought about a small station wagon?

Go test drive a VW Jetta wagon. Same inside space as the little utes, and MUCH nicer to drive. By a longshot. You can even get a TDI version that that gets amazing milage and still retains great power, (EPA 33mpg). Priced very close to a CRV or RAV4.

 

[tpolley]

for what its worth, i used to work at a tire store. if i'm wrong maybe someone can correct me. one thing to consider is that with all wheel drive you can't take it out of awd. which means all 4 wheels are being driven all the time. if you ever have to replace one tire you have to replace all 4 wether they need it or not. as tires wear they get smaller in diameter and turn faster. if you replace one tire it will be slightly bigger therefore it will turn slower. it will eat up your drive train.

one other note, i also changed oil at the tire shop. if i remember right it was the crv i hated with a passion. they put the oil filter on the back side of the engine about 1/4 inch a way from the exhaust manifold. i still have scars on my wrist from burning the s#$t out of myself unscrewing the filter. it's easy as **** to get to, just watch out for that manifold.

 

[Diablo]

Its just personal prefrence but i would deffintly go with a Toyota. I absolutly love my Taco. My stepdad has a highlander and it has probably over 180 000 K on it with no major problems. Fantastic vehicles.

 

[Packard V8]

Yes,

with all wheel drive you can't take it out of awd

No

all 4 wheels are being driven all the time

most are front wheel drive 99% of the time, with power only going to the rear wheels when the fronts start spinning.
Maybe,

it will eat up your drive train.

Always use four of the same manufacturer, tread design and tread diameter on each of the four wheels on a 4WD/AWD. Really bad, really expensive things happen when you don't.

 

[Stuey]

Before you decide for sure that you want a mini-soccer Mom machine, have you thought about a small station wagon?

Go test drive a VW Jetta wagon. Same inside space as the little utes, and MUCH nicer to drive. By a longshot. You can even get a TDI version that that gets amazing milage and still retains great power, (EPA 33mpg). Priced very close to a CRV or RAV4.

Maybe. I'll keep that in consideration.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

autoace knows it is the ecu. If you want to ever bring it buy free of charge, i'll plug it in and show you. The good news/bad news about your honda is it will probably run fine for the next 5 years, but people get the itch for a new car every so often.

Imho honda is not the best deal going, lots of heavy 60k timing belt,water pump,tensioner,idler,etc...maintenance. Toyota would be your best bet, chain driven 4 cyl., better vvti system. Etc... Honda is a much better choice than gm or chrysler at this point. I would get a toyota fj cruiser over the element, but that is just me.

Test drive a few different vehicles and see what you like best.

honda vans cough up transaxles
hondas are major league overpriced

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

Volkswagen has the worst customer satisfaction ratings in the industry

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

The Taurus is practically coughing up blood. I've poured maybe $3k or more into it in the past two years. Right now I need something fixed in the front right wheel well (suspension ??) and I could use new tires. The car only has 90K miles, but is coming up at 12-13 years old. What I don't want is for it to die on me and then have to buy a new vehicle. I'd rather shop around now and know what I want before that happens.

Fullsize truck? Why? May as well go into massive debt and get a Porche which is as equally unsuitable. You do realize that I'm younger than 30, don't go offroad, and only occasionally transport big bulky items. That, and as mentioned my budget is relatively modest <$20-25k.

I take it you don't work on your own car

 

[nirion]

I would recommend the Rav4. I just traded my 06 Rav4 4cylinder FWD (same body style as 2009) in on a 09 Toyota Venza AWD. It had 50k miles on it and it was a good vehicle. I averaged around 30mpg on a trip from central OH to the Smokey Mountains in TN. I am 6'2" and was fairly comfortable (it was my wife's daily driver). The new models have a newer more powerful 4 cylinder or the v6 is even more powerful. We almost got a new 09 V6 AWD Rav4, but the Venza is bigger and more comfortable with more little features my wife liked.

 

[tpolley]

Volkswagen has the worst customer satisfaction ratings in the industry

if i remember right don't volkswagens use lug studs instead of lug nuts? P.I.T.A to change a tire. wtf were they thinking????

 

[Stuey]

I take it you don't work on your own car

That's an accurate assessment. I can handle small things but nothing major. No garage, no lift, just a dark parking lot.

 

[Skyline]

Maybe. I'll keep that in consideration.

Have you seen the TDI cup on the Speed channel? With some minor modifications, (which, afaik can all be purchased at the dealer), these TDIs can go from milage superstars, to just plain fun. People have gotten 45-50 highway mpg out of the sedans, yet they can be made to perform like real sportscars.

 

[walrus]

The Rav4 V6 has some serious get up and go....269 hp, the specs follow, click on mechanical and the specs will appear.

http://www.toyota.com/rav4/specs.html

I just test drove a 4 cyl Rav 4, nice freakin car. It had enough power for Maine driving, which means no merging into 80 mph bumper to bumper. I was suprised my 5 foot 19 inch body fit into it, wasn't as comfortable as my gmc but it wasn't bad. Liked the fact that you could lock the center diff for a true 4 wheel drive feel. Toyota has a fit and feel that is second to none in a 24,000 dollar car


I then drove a Honda Element, it was nice also, alittle more room but the back seat *****. The problem is the wife loves the element, me I'd rather have a crv. The Honda dealership was packed, wow, cash for clunkers is working for them. I've had good experience with Honda, my 96 is still tight and in decent shape for 13 maine winters. Not sure a toyota will take the winters like honda does.

 

[walrus]

if i remember right don't volkswagens use lug studs instead of lug nuts? P.I.T.A to change a tire. wtf were they thinking????

I don't think newer ones do? The older ones definitely do

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

tdi is nice if it would stay running
volks is the lowest of the low , maybe not as low as hyundai or kia , but pretty low

 

[metal1313]

i'd second the idea of looking into a wagon. really i PERSONALLY dont see the point of a cross over, or for that matter family suv's. i might get a suburban if i was towing but other wise i'd get a van. and for just daily driving sedans suit me and most well. more than likely i'll be trading in my bronco towards a fusion and then buying a beater work truck. (bronco is worth maybe 2k, needs a ton of work, and i have a 60mile daily commute for the next year at least)

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

how bout that volkswagen chrysler minivan thing ?

 

[Skyline]

i'd second the idea of looking into a wagon. really i PERSONALLY dont see the point of a cross over, or for that matter family suv's. i might get a suburban if i was towing but other wise i'd get a van. and for just daily driving sedans suit me and most well. more than likely i'll be trading in my bronco towards a fusion and then buying a beater work truck. (bronco is worth maybe 2k, needs a ton of work, and i have a 60mile daily commute for the next year at least)

I have a 4Runner, and love it. For winter ski trips with a family of 4 it gets packed to the roof, and many times without 4WD and that amount of ground clearance I would not have made it. When I tow my 2500lb boat w/trailer, I really would not want a lighter vehicle. I could never launch my boat off certain ramps I use without the ground clearance and 4WD of an SUV. As it is, I have to get pretty deep in the water, and the ramps are often covered with slick moss. If I had a heavier boat, I'd want a heavier SUV. A smaller SUV would be useless for us. There's no point in towing anything heavier than a Sunfish with one of these compact SUV's, whatever their rating says. They are simply too light, and too short. The only true reason to get one is if you live in an area that gets heavy snow, and you NEED to travel through it. Otherwise a small wagon makes much more sense. Just look at Europe.... many more wagons as compared to the US.

While I am glad not to have the 4Runner as my daily driver, my wife loves it. The higher driving position makes her happy. THIS is the primary reason these things sell like they do. But when gas prices go up...the wagon makes more sense.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

4 runners have the interior room of a corolla
must have done 200 head gasket jobs on 4 runners - now the frames rot out

 

[Major Ramifications]

Stuey,
I didn't read all four pages, but do you have any children?

 

[Stuey]

Stuey,
I didn't read all four pages, but do you have any children?

Nope, no children.

I definitely like the idea of a higher POV - right now I always get blinded by SUV headlights driving from the opposite direction.

I took a look at overall length for a Rav4 and a Subaru Outback. the Outback is ~8 inches longer and has less overall storage capacity.

Eh, it's either going to be a crossover, or regular mid-size sedan, no wagons.

I'm not completely against a 4 cylinder sedan either. I drove a Kia Optima in Colorado for a few hours, and well, I was impressed. I'm so used to my friends' crappy 4-cylinders a few years ago at college and more recently my wife's Focus that I never would have been willing to trade 6 cylinders for 4. But, it looks like things have changed.

Still, there are many times when the cargo capacity of an SUV would have come in handy the past few years. New TVs, new tool chests, luggage, moving here and there. Plus, I'm not too keen on bike racks, and you cannot fit a bike inside a sedan..., at least not comfortably, and certainly not two bikes.

I'm really on the fence with this now and am not sure about what I want and what would be suitable for us. All of your opinions and perspectives have been helpful, though - thanks! =)

 

[Merkava_4]

 

[Stuey]

Whatever car I get, it won't be black. It'll be silver (like what I have now), charcoal, blue, or red. Although I am quite fond of orange/rust if it's dark enough to not be considered pumpkin...

 

[FNFS2000]

No offense or anything violent like that, I just had to say I find it immensely hilarious and odd that a fanatical tool forum poster didn't know his long time ford car was front wheel drive. Have you ever opened the hood and wondered why the engine was sideways Or felt the odd torque steer during accelleration, or spinning in gravel and snow. Or wondered why the front tires wore out faster than the rear. I could go on but I'm falling off my chair Must be here for advertising or education or something.

 

[Stuey]

No offense or anything violent like that, I just had to say I find it immensely hilarious and odd that a fanatical tool forum poster didn't know his long time ford car was front wheel drive. Have you ever opened the hood and wondered why the engine was sideways Or felt the odd torque steer during accelleration, or spinning in gravel and snow. Or wondered why the front tires wore out faster than the rear. I could go on but I'm falling off my chair Must be here for advertising or education or something.

I'm not sure where I got the idea, but it's possible my father told me it was rear wheel drive. *shrugs*

Never really felt torque steer, never had an issue in gravel or snow. I always managed in snow and ice well while peers of mine with FWD and/pr 4 cylinders had issues.

I always assumed that the front tires wear faster due to greater frictional forces during braking.

Don't worry, I don't take offense. I've never been seriously informed about vehicles, my own included. Don't forget that this is my 1st car. I'm gradually learning, and when I cannot learn or figure something out via online or whatever resources I have available, I ask the forum.

Most of my tool use is related to robotics, light woodworking, light machine assembly, home use, light vehicle use, laboratory use, etc etc. I'm not a pro, and have very little experience with servicing my vehicle.

I know, I know, I'm expected to be perfect, but what can I say - I'm flawed. =P

In all seriousness, there was no auto shop class available in my high school, and in the 6 years or so that I've been driving, I haven't yet had the opportunity to figure things out. If someone I trust told me that my vehicle was rear wheel drive, I had no reason to doubt them, and lacked the experience to realize otherwise. Naivity could be a valid excuse at times, right?

 

[Merkava_4]

 

[metal1313]

to the guy who responded to my post about his four runner, i do have a large suv, but its my tow/hauler/wheeler rig. if i didnt tow a trailer or haul lots of tools on a reg basis i would not have gotten my bronco. they have their place, i firmly beleive that, but i hate the jersey ideal that once you have a kid you need something huge..like a suburban.

to the op, i'll be looking at fusions tomorrow, im liking the red with tan leather, or black on black, silver on black and considering the hybrid(my university gives prefered parking to hybrids, and since the other lot i can park in is a mile from my classes and the hybrid lot is next to them it be nice, and the permit is alot cheaper)

 

[Skyline]

to the op, i'll be looking at fusions tomorrow, im liking the red with tan leather, or black on black, silver on black and considering the hybrid(my university gives prefered parking to hybrids, and since the other lot i can park in is a mile from my classes and the hybrid lot is next to them it be nice, and the permit is alot cheaper)

What a load of global-warming-fearing ****. I hate people who think they are superior to the rest of the population (and deserve special treatment), because they drive a POS Prius. I'd buy a Escalade Hybrid just to piss them off. It is **** like this that is what's wrong with 'higher' education.

 

[Skyline]

4 runners have the interior room of a corolla
must have done 200 head gasket jobs on 4 runners - now the frames rot out

Huh? The current 4Runner is as big inside as any mid-sized SUV available. Mine has a V6 which is a great engine, and so far, has had zero problems. Not a spec of rust on the vehicle, and this car lives outside 100% in the NE, (wife's too lazy to walk from the detached garage). I see no reason this car will not make it easily to 200k miles. It's more than halfway there, and stll drives like new. The only issue we've had has been leaking TPMs. My Grand Cherokee made about 50 unscheduled service visits in the same milage. If you think Toyota has quality issues, you must realize that EVERYTHING is worse.