Any opinions on these vehicles?

[mami2camjax]

Does anyone have these vehicles and can you give a personal review on them:

Chevrolet Equinox
Mazda CX-7
Ford Escape
Toyota RAV4
Dodge Journey

I’m still trying to find a good vehicle for me and my family. It’s myself and my 2 kids (10 & 6) and on occasion, we have friends tag along with us. Right now I have a mini-van and not certain I want to stay in this van, it's bad on gas and sometimes it's too much room for just the 3 of us. I’m open to getting a used vehicle if it will save me money. So, any opinions on the above listed vehicles? Anything else you might recommend?

I want to stay under $24/25000 and will consider leasing or financing, just something to give me a reasonable car payment.

 

[jaminmd]

Does anyone have these vehicles and can you give a personal review on them:

Chevrolet Equinox
Mazda CX-7
Ford Escape
Toyota RAV4
Dodge Journey

I’m still trying to find a good vehicle for me and my family. It’s myself and my 2 kids (10 & 6) and on occasion, we have friends tag along with us. Right now I have a mini-van and not certain I want to stay in this van, it's bad on gas and sometimes it's too much room for just the 3 of us. I’m open to getting a used vehicle if it will save me money. So, any opinions on the above listed vehicles? Anything else you might recommend?

I want to stay under $24/25000 and will consider leasing or financing, just something to give me a reasonable car payment.

I'm very happy with my Rav4. It gets great mileage & fits me, DH, DD & DDog (German shepherd) with room to spare.

 

[golfgal]

The Rav 4 is a great vehicle and will probably be the next vehicle we purchase-to replace a sedan-we still need our minivan because we carpool several times/week.

We looked at the CX-7 but it didn't get as good of gas mileage and I am not thrilled with our current Mazda-not bad, just not as happy with it as I have been with our Toyota's. We avoid American cars as much as possible since our experience has been that they are in the shop too often and it is a major inconvenience.

 

[acejka]

I have a mercury mariner which is the exact same as the escape and I love it.
I was going to get the escape, but when I saw the pricing on the mariner and found out the only difference was the emblem on the front and the fact that it was fully loaded for the price of a base escape I couldn't pass it up.

It's spacious but not huge and overbearing and it drives like a car.

 

[Desiree]

We just got a Kia Sorrento a few weeks ago and LOVE this vehicile. We've already gone on a road trip in it. Perfect for our family! We got a 2011 demo for $24K but it did have 6,000 miles on it.

 

[Golf4food]

We love our 2008 Escape. It was the best option for us out of what was available along those lines when we bought two years ago. Didn't like the back door on the Rav4 or the interior of the CRV and the Equinox/Torrent didn't get as good mileage then. We get better mileage in our Escape than in our old Nissan Altima (both are 4 cyl auto FWD).

 

[RC Fan]

How about a Subaru Forester or Outback?

 

[npmommie]

Does anyone have these vehicles and can you give a personal review on them:

Chevrolet Equinox
Mazda CX-7
Ford Escape
Toyota RAV4
Dodge Journey

I’m still trying to find a good vehicle for me and my family. It’s myself and my 2 kids (10 & 6) and on occasion, we have friends tag along with us. Right now I have a mini-van and not certain I want to stay in this van, it's bad on gas and sometimes it's too much room for just the 3 of us. I’m open to getting a used vehicle if it will save me money. So, any opinions on the above listed vehicles? Anything else you might recommend?

I want to stay under $24/25000 and will consider leasing or financing, just something to give me a reasonable car payment.

the Toyota rav4 is a good vehicle but you won't have much room for friends to tag along,
one kid in the back, and one person in front.
i have this problem,
I am going bigger with my next car, have to, between carting extra kids, and dogs around, we need it, not to mention all the gear we have in the car sometimes.

 

[MichelleVW]

We love our Rav4. It's ok for our family of 4, but not any extra. We drove it to Disney (2 day trip) and had no complaints and plenty of room, but if you put 5 in there it's pretty cramped.

 

[JoiseyMom]

We got a 2010 Equinox in Feb, and love it! It fits 3 in the back, and 2 in front. Drives wonderfully and decent milage.

 

[Dictator]

OP,
Do youself a favor and look at both KIA and Jeep.
The Jeep Patriot in particular.

I don't own any of the vehicles you listed in your post, however, don't let people talk you down about the quality of "American" cars.
They earned their rep in the 90's, but have made great strides in the past decade. Same with KIA and Hyundai.

 

[WDWisTheBest]

You might want to do your homework on leasing. It can be a financial minefield for some.

 

[arminnie]

I don't know your your van but my Honda Odyssey was rated for much better mileage than the CR/V or element. I think it was better than the Rav4 too. It has variable CAM management and drops down to 3 cylinders unless more power is needed.

 

[tvguy]

I don't know your your van but my Honda Odyssey was rated for much better mileage than the CR/V or element. I think it was better than the Rav4 too. It has variable CAM management and drops down to 3 cylinders unless more power is needed.

I believe you are mistaken.
An Odyessy with VCM is rated at 17 and 25 by the EPA.
An Element is rated at 20 and 25
A CRV is rated at 21 and 28.
A RAV4 is rated at 22 and 28.
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm

 

[S. C.]

I believe the Equinox is rated at 32 mpg highway. It is one of Chevy's hot sellers.

 

[tvguy]

We are transitioning our fleet at work from Explorers to Escapes.
Both the Hybrid and normal Escape are very nice.
We bought 4 Hybrids as an experiment, but corporate has shifted to the normal Escapes. We have discovered what a lot of hybrid owners have, the fuel savings aren't enough to offset the additional cost new, and the cost of replacement batteries down the road.

 

[akcire]

I have a mercury mariner which is the exact same as the escape and I love it.
I was going to get the escape, but when I saw the pricing on the mariner and found out the only difference was the emblem on the front and the fact that it was fully loaded for the price of a base escape I couldn't pass it up.

It's spacious but not huge and overbearing and it drives like a car.

OP--this is our house also. We have had nothing but good luck with the Mariner. It is my husband's daily driver and his commute is 100 miles round trip. He has already stated when the time comes, if they are still making one he would buy another. His is about 4 years old and has needed nothing but scheduled maintenance. It is pretty good for hauling, but nothing like a mini-van's hauling ability without the seats.

The thing I would suggest is that whatever car you decide on you make sure it is comfortable in the backseat for your kids. I know the Mariner/Escape is okay, I have sat in the back for some decent length trips 6-8 hours. I also know that a 2 hr trip in the back of a Jeep has me walking funny, and a 30 minute ride in the Kia backseat had me looking to buy a bus ticket home.

 

[DaisyLynn]

I bought a 2010 CX-7 in Feb and I really do love it. It is my second Mazda (first was a Protege, drove it for 6 years) and I couldn't be happier. I've been pleased with the gas mileage, it's comfortable (backseats are comfy, too) and I feel like the cargo space is a nice size. And it looks sharp...I get compliments often!

Feel free to ask me any specifics on it.

 

[Brooknwdw]

Haven't read all the replies but out of your list, I'd choose the Rav4.

However have you considered a Honda CR-V? We compared/drove both the Rav 4 and the CR-V...they are comparable in price and features and we chose the CR-V. We LOVE it!! It is SO pretty, and drives great! The gas mileage is pretty good, and though we intend to keep it a really long time, it holds its value well. It is within the price range you mentioned.
I'm sure the RAV4 would have been great too...we had a toyota Seinna for 8 years...but know what tipped the scales for us? The SPARE TIRE on the back of the Rav 4, like a jeep..I didn't like that.

 

[bookgirl]

I had a 2001 Escape till I bought my 2010 Escape in April.

Loved my first one and love this one though they are two different vehicles. My 2001 was much more off road sporty. My new one is more like a car. A lot more comfort better ride and little wider so the turn radiance is not as good. Has Front wheel drive, does well in bad weather and handles like a car more than a land tank. It looks good and very upper end.

But it's a great little SUV. Good milage (between 22-24), nice area in back for hauling and comfortable seats. 4 people no problem. 5 is doable but the middle of the back seat is not great for an adult.

Mine is leather seat, Sirus Radio, Sync, moon roof, mood lighting yeah kid you not my foot wells and console can light up in about 7 different colors, V6, and luggage rack. Auto open window hatch in back, wet well storage, keyless entry + Keypad entry. CD/Radio/Sat, Line in, USB port. Has traction control, ABS and a Towing Package, like Level 2 or something. Actually has more stuff then I went looking for but for the things I did want the others were part of the package.

I miss the turn radiace on my old one and my running boards. I also miss the 'ruggedness' of it. My new one is a bit more of a 'luxury' feel. But I do love it.

Can't beat the price. Mine is upper end/mid level and was mid twenties. I think even if you get the Limited Edition (that's the one with auto paralle park) and all the perks it was still in the low thirties.