Do you like your small SUV?

[Kirby]

I have a 2011 Toyota Scion XB. It's not really considered an SUV, more of a wagon but I enjoy driving it. I used to drive a Dodge Grand Caravan and wanted to downgrade in size. I do miss the extra storage sometimes but not often. It has good gas mileage and great acceleration. The big plus was that it was under $20k.

 

[3BoysRDisneyFreaks]

We have a 2011 Kia Sorento and I love it. We have a very base model, but it came with a ton of extras on the base.

Sarah

 

[mrodgers]

We have a Mazda Tribute that we bought new in Feb 2005. I'm afraid I'm going to jinx myself by saying this but that vehicle has be great! No trouble at all. My DH drives it and he loves it.

My DMIL bought a Ford Escape earlier this year and both my DH & I have had several chances to drive it. We hate it. The acceleration is terrible! I've owned a Ford (cars, not SUVs) since 1988 and was excited to drive the Escape but was very disappointed.

Tribute and Escape are the same car (in case you didn't know....) So, I'm curious, is the Escape a 2012? What motor is in it? I can't believe that a newer Escape could be a poorer performer than your 2005. My 2006 Tribute is a pig. It will accelerate nice off the line and into 2nd gear, but when it hits 3rd gear, it falls on its rear. Makes it tough passing all the 45 mph pokies we come across on our way home from town.

Perhaps your Tribute is 2wd vs. the newer Escape having "AWD" (it's not really AWD, some crappy FWD with rear PTO automatic garbage.)

 

[dreams91]

We bought a Chevy Equinox 6 months ago and so far so good. I looked at a lot of cars in the same class mainly the GMC Terrain and the Nissan Rogue.
The Equinox beat out the Terrain because even though they are the exact same car the GMC had a higher price point. The Rogue, and I kid you not, was the EXACT same car but the Chevy had a 100,000 power train warranty and the Nissan didn't.

Equinox is a crossover tho. Had one too & traded it in on pilot.

 

[DISdreamin']

I'm not the OP but wanted to say thanks for all the reviews. I'm going to be buying a new small SUV in the next 3 months. So far I am planning on test driving the CR-V, Rogue, and maybe the Compass or Liberty..maybe the Equinox as well.

Just wanted to say to be sure and drive the trim level you are interested in buying when you test drive. They'll tell you they are all the same, but the material on the seats can be really, really different in the CR-V between the different trim levels (leather versus cloth). To me, it also seemed like the configuration/slope of the seats were different, but that might have to do with power seats versus non.

Anyways, just an FYI about something that wouldn't have occurred to me until I drove the CR-V with cloth and the leather.

 

[DeltaDiamond001]

We looked at a Jeep Compass and Honda CRV before getting our much larger GMC Acadia. For us, the added cost for the third row seat was totally worth it.

I liked both the Compass and the CRV, but would probably go for the CRV. The Compass was a little too close to the ground for my comfort, but I have to say, the price was VERY appealing.

Good luck!

 

[aggielawyer]

I love my Hyundai Santa Fe. I've never kept a car so long before. We bought it new at the end of 2001..it's a 2002 Santa Fe still under warranty! (10yrs or 100,000 miles!) It's only been in for repairs one time and it was no big deal...just ran loud. It was fixed for no charge.
At the time we bought it we also considered the CRV and the RAV4. The Hyundai won because it was so much more for the money (leather heated seats, etc.) and of course a great warranty.
Once in a while I wonder what I would buy today if I needed a new car and I would definately look at the Santa Fe again. The only reason I would consider something else is that after 10 years with the same car, something different may be more exciting. I would probably end up choosing the Santa Fe again though for the same reasons as before!

I could have written this post except mine is an '04 and has 130k miles. I don't have any idea what I'd get if I was in the market for another car but I'd definitely look at a Santa Fe or another Hyundai.

 

[Minnie]

Does anyone have a SUV or Crossover that seems to have a very smooth ride? My Kia Sportage is terrible so I'm looking at other options. I prefer the smaller size vehicles.

Thanks!

 

[puffkin]

I have a 2011 Limited Toyota RAV4. It drives very smooth, has tons of interior space and does well in the winter. We got a FANTASTIC deal on the car though which is why we were able to get the Limited model which had the features I wanted. If we didn't have the Limited I wouldn't be happy with the car. I like it, but don't love it.

I traded in my 2003 Escape which I absolutely loved (except for the gas mileage). I just do not like the newer ones. I looked at the CR-V which I liked but I thought they were very overpriced. And I agree about the seats, the lower trims had HORRIBLE seats...and to get the more common features you needed the top of the line trim which was very expensive. I LOVED the Kia Sportage...they were redesigned in 2011 and are very very nice. My problem was the Sportage was just a bit too small for my family and the Sorrento which was also fantastic was just a bit too big. I have an 80 mile/day commute so I needed the better MPGs. WE also really liked the Ford Edge, but the MPGs just weren't good enough. We just couldn't beat the price of the RAV4 in the end and the gas mileage in the end.

 

[Angeni11]

I know it is still considered a "crossover" but we have a RAV4.

We have a 2008 RAV4 and I still love it. The handling is great and the gas millage isn't bad. We have the 3rd row seat that folds down which has come in handy when hubby's family comes to visit from the UK (they come in groups). We wanted something that would fit us, the kids and the dog and it does that. If anything happens to it we will probably get another one. We have 2 kids in car seats and it gives us plenty of room. We have driven to Disney and NC several times in it and find it very comfy.

I did a ton of research when we were looking and it was between the RAV4 and the Subaru Forrester but we really wanted that 3rd row seat and got a great deal on it (we would have had to pay more for a used one at the time).

We live on a mountain on unpaved roads and it handles great up here (several of the guys up here have one as their secondary car after their trucks).

My hubby loves driving it too.

 

[DISdreamin']

Does anyone have a SUV or Crossover that seems to have a very smooth ride? My Kia Sportage is terrible so I'm looking at other options. I prefer the smaller size vehicles.

Thanks!

I don't know about others, but the Rav4 has a much smoother, cushier (is that a word?!) ride than the CR-V. Toyota in general has a softer, more comfortable ride than Honda - not just with their little SUV but with their vans and cars too, IMO.

So if those are two you are considering, be sure you hit some bumps and rough roads when you are out doing your test drive. They are really, really different vehicles in that regard! And FWIW, I like the Honda ride better - the Toyota is TOO cushy and spongy for me.

 

[Jey12]

My personal opinion, based on my experience is to stay as far away from a Toyota as you can. We purchased a Pontiac Vibe in 2004. The Pontiac Vibe is the exact same as the Toyota Matrix, except for body style. It was a joint venture between Toyota and GM. The car only had a Pontiac body but engine, parts and everything, except for body molding was Toyota. I thought I was getting a great deal. Toyota was supposed to be an awesome long running vehicle and I also got my FIL's GM discount and the more sporty body style of a Pontiac. Perfect right? 85k miles later my engine blows. I had gotten an oil change every 3 months in this car and all scheduled services, most done at the dealership. After some research I found out Toyota has a long standing issue with oil sludge. This had happened with my car and caused damage that could not be repaired, except for replacing the entire engine. Toyota had done a quiet type of recall on their Camry and a few other vehicles for a one time covered engine replacement a few years before we bought our car, but the problem was said to be resolved and they no longer were offering such an offer on their engines. By the end I decided to pay the 3k (would have been 5-6k if it wasn't for a mechanic friend of mine) to replace the engine because everything else in the car was in great condition. It really left a sour taste in my mouth regarding Toyota and once I found out it wasn't just our bad luck and it was more of a common problem I suggest people steer clear from Toyota if they can. Of course I know plenty of people who have had great luck and love their Toyota, but for me personally I'd rather buy a used Pacer.

 

[njmom47]

I drove my mom's 2009 (loaded!) CRV home from Florida this past spring and I loved it.She hasn't had any major issues that I can recall.

 

[Swimalie]

I don't know about others, but the Rav4 has a much smoother, cushier (is that a word?!) ride than the CR-V. Toyota in general has a softer, more comfortable ride than Honda - not just with their little SUV but with their vans and cars too, IMO.

So if those are two you are considering, be sure you hit some bumps and rough roads when you are out doing your test drive. They are really, really different vehicles in that regard! And FWIW, I like the Honda ride better - the Toyota is TOO cushy and spongy for me.

We test drove both the CR-V and RAV4 before buying our Forester and we found the exact opposite with the RAV4. The ride was rougher and the quality wasn't as nice as in either the CR-V or the Forester. The door handles were lose, the car had rattles (brand new, too). And for the price of the CR-V, we got a fully loaded Forester - heated seats, rear camera, leather, etc.

 

[SaraJayne]

I don't know about others, but the Rav4 has a much smoother, cushier (is that a word?!) ride than the CR-V. Toyota in general has a softer, more comfortable ride than Honda - not just with their little SUV but with their vans and cars too, IMO.

So if those are two you are considering, be sure you hit some bumps and rough roads when you are out doing your test drive. They are really, really different vehicles in that regard! And FWIW, I like the Honda ride better - the Toyota is TOO cushy and spongy for me.

My Mom has a 2006 Rav4 and I HATE that thing. It rides terrible! It's like riding in a roller skate. *shudder*

Granted, it is an older model, so things may have been improved since then.

 

[DISdreamin']

We test drove both the CR-V and RAV4 before buying our Forester and we found the exact opposite with the RAV4. The ride was rougher and the quality wasn't as nice as in either the CR-V or the Forester. The door handles were lose, the car had rattles (brand new, too). And for the price of the CR-V, we got a fully loaded Forester - heated seats, rear camera, leather, etc.

Wow! I drove the Limited Rav and the EX-L CR-V (so that it was apples to apples) each a couple times to compare before we purchased and thought the Rav rode quite a bit smoother. I also rented a Rav for 8 days in Florida after I had owned my CR-V for about 5 months and really thought I had a handle on the two, but of course the rental was the base model. We're talking 2010 models, too, so things may be different with newer models. Also, one was driven in NY and one was in FL, so that alone may account for the difference in my perceptions (bad roads in NY?!).

And WOW on the Forester price you got! My CR-V was the version with leather heated seats and sunroof, but no rear camera, and I got a price that was in line with where I saw Edmunds having the upper model Foresters (Limited, Touring). The Forester for the price of the lower trim levels on the CR-V sounds like a great buy!

FWIW, the Toyota Rav4 Limited was more pricey than the CR-V EX-L given the bundling they (Toyota) do for our region.

ETA: It JUST dawned on me that perhaps one of the biggest issues with trying to compare the trim levels is wheel size and tires! The upper trim levels generally have larger wheel sizes which might (and I'm no expert here) give better ride quality. Also, the type of tire changes as you go up in trim levels, which can also absolutely change the ride quality. Same vehicle with different tires can feel COMPLETELY different. BTDT!