OT: New car time. Looking for a small van or SUV. Anyone got an opinion?

[coastgirl]

My Honda Odyssey is dying a slow death, after 11 years of faithful service. (I got it when dd was still in a rear-facing car seat, and said I'd drive it in to the ground. Mission accomplished.)

Do you drive or have experience with some of the smaller SUVs or vans? I'd love to hear it.

I know a few things about what's next:
-I want a higher vehicle, high enough to be "medium-sized"--higher than a sedan but not as high as something like a Yukon or one of those giant pick ups.
-I don't need all the space of a van anymore (but if it's the best combination of things I want, I'm open for it).
-Visibility is important. I like lots of glass and good sight lines, and I hate those tiny angular windows that seem to be fashionable.
-I am cheap, but still biased against North American car builders.
-Life includes winter. Most cars seem to have better features for bad weather than they used to, and I know a good set of snow tires makes a difference, so I'm not particularly worried about that--but keeping it in mind. Actually, I think testing/buying in the winter isn't a bad idea, because you get to see the real performance in these conditions. (Like, will my feet freeze, or the windows not de-fog, or does it handle ok on snow and ice.)

For example, in the fall we looked at a Ford Escape, but the windows in the 2014 were too tiny for me to even bother driving it. We test-drove a new Odyssey but the level of options for the price was too basic; I like Toyota quality but it seems to be priced like Hondas. The smaller of the Hyundai SUVs looked ok, but again, the windows were pretty small (but acceptable). (And the names of the Hyundai's are all so similar there's no way I'm keeping them straight!)

I've heard that something like the Kia Rondo or Mazda 5 might meet my need, but I'm also still considering the smaller SUV choices. Looking at the total package, as I hope I can keep it as long as I have my Odyssey. I was thinking I might be able to get a (lightly) used Honda CRV, but apparently they hold their value too well for me to save much that way.

Happy to hear any input. Thanks!

 

[canadiankim]

My Ford Freestar (Minivan) died in August and so I had to rush to get a new car. I test drove a new Grand Caravan but found that I couldn't justify the price for the level of 'extras' that I wanted. I test drove the Kia Sedona and the Kia Sportage, the Chevie Equinox and the Nissan Rogue.

I liked the Equinox it was bigger than most of the smaller SUV's but found some of the visibility wasn't great. The Kia's were nice but a bit 'tinny' they didn't feel as solid as the other cars we tried but the level of extra's you get with a Kia are great.

We ended up with a 2014 Nissan Rogue, the basic model and it was a great price, it has a nice level of trim, big enough in the back for two growing kids DS 15 & DD12 and we can even put a third person in the back pretty comfortably.

It has taken us some time to get used to a smaller car but boy am I loving the fuel efficiency of this car. It has a reasonable sized tank 55 litres, and the furthest I have driven on a full tank in around 600Kms.

We did put winter tires on it and I am finding it a little 'light' on the road but after driving the Ford it isn't really unexpected.

Good luck with your searching, hope this helped!

 

[mort1331]

You don't have to go new, try the 2012 Odyssey or 2011 ford escape(old style)
We have both, both bought used and they are great. Don't get Hyped about North American. Also look at the Honda CVR.

 

[stefanospops]

We're contemplating replacing our Grand Caravan. We walked into a GMC dealership and they gave us a GMC Acadia overnight for a 24 hour test drive. We loved it! We didn't buy it, or anything, just yet. We have had a Ford Escape as a rental in the past and didn't mind that either.

The US companies, especially Ford, have come a long way in quality. At least, that is what they say on Autoshop (a CP24 program at 8pm on Sunday night for those in the Toronto area). I have always believed that as long as you take care of your car, any car, it should last you a long time, although duds do roll off the line and maybe a little more frequently in the past in the US shops.

 

[bcwife76]

We are Mazda drivers only ;-) My hubby drives a 2003 Protege 5 that we purchased brand new and right now it has about 240,000km on it and is still going!
I drove a 2002 Pro 5 but sold it in 2013 and bought a brand new Mazda 5, I love it!! Like the convenience of a mini van with the sliding doors, but smaller and drives more like a car. Pretty fuel efficient, seats 6 (which is good when we volunteer for field trips etc). I love it!

 

[alicat8]

I just bought a Highlander. I will probably never buy anything but a Toyota. I replaced a 2004 Corolla with 200,000 miles on it that was still running like a champ, but we needed more space. I love it so far! It's got a 3rd row of seats that folds up or down, but it doesn't feel huge like a minivan. We rented a rav-4 in Florida and learned that there was no more space in it than my Corolla. My husband needs leg room (especially difficult in front of a car seat) and there is plenty.

 

[coastgirl]

Thanks everyone, really great to get all the feedback. I did look at a couple of older Escapes online, and the styling is much better. Today I was looking at the site for a local kia dealer and found a surprisingly good deal for a used Sedona. What I like about it is that it looks SO familiar...the cabin layout is nearly identical to my Odyssey. We are going to see it tomorrow. So, fingers crossed!

 

[lucigo]

I could have written the OP. My 05 Town and Country has to go before summer because I'm not replacing the AC.

I have been all over autotrader and the comparison sites. I look at all of the SUVs on the road everyday. I'm sick about the idea of another car payment and shocked at how expensive everything is.

So far the Ford Escape seems most reasonably priced, so I'm glad to see that the older style is still desirable and has better gas milage than the vans.

I strongly considered driving a Ford Focus hatchback, but I think I would really miss sitting up higher.

Glad to know I'm not the only one out there doing the research and trying to figure out what to do now that the kids are (mostly) grown.

 

[badiggio]

for value for your dollar,you can't beat kia or Hyundai.I've had Rio's ,then Magentis and now A 2011 Sorrento and 2012 elantra.Never a problem with any of them.Unless you can but something cash,I wouldn't recommend financing a used vehicle.After you factor the rates of interest over term and not a new vehicle warranty,you might be looking at the same cost as something new,especially with the great rates for new.

 

[coastgirl]

Thanks for your input, everybody. We found something today! We found a used Sante Fe with only 50k on it and 4 years of bumper-to-bumper left. Oh my, I am so happy to be getting into something new. The kids are heart-broken, though--they don't remember me driving anything else, and they are very attached! Dh already drives a Hyundai, and I agree, it's good value. We did see a couple of used Escapes today, and I like the older styling better--hate those tiny windows. The model of Sante Fe also has larger windows, so I'm really pleased. The salesman gave us good winter tires, the thing already has undercoating and all the warranty you can buy (thank you, Old Guy who used to own it but never actually drove it...), so the finance guy couldn't even upsell us. And now we can drive it to NH to fly to Orlando in March, without having to squish into dh's sedan for that drive.

 

[rjan67]

We just replaced our 2000 Ody with a 2014 Ody Touring. Love it!

 

[lucigo]

Thanks for your input, everybody. We found something today! We found a used Sante Fe with only 50k on it and 4 years of bumper-to-bumper left. Oh my, I am so happy to be getting into something new. The kids are heart-broken, though--they don't remember me driving anything else, and they are very attached! Dh already drives a Hyundai, and I agree, it's good value. We did see a couple of used Escapes today, and I like the older styling better--hate those tiny windows. The model of Sante Fe also has larger windows, so I'm really pleased. The salesman gave us good winter tires, the thing already has undercoating and all the warranty you can buy (thank you, Old Guy who used to own it but never actually drove it...), so the finance guy couldn't even upsell us. And now we can drive it to NH to fly to Orlando in March, without having to squish into dh's sedan for that drive.

Awesome, I bet you will love it! I've been trying to talk my mother into buying something new and selling me her Santa Fe as I know it has been well taken care of, but she doesn't seem to want to let it go LOL

 

[coastgirl]

We just replaced our 2000 Ody with a 2014 Ody Touring. Love it!

Oh Ruthann, I'm not telling dh you got three more years out of yours! He keeps saying "I thought we'd get to 300,000 (km)..."

 

[rjan67]

Oh Ruthann, I'm not telling dh you got three more years out of yours! He keeps saying "I thought we'd get to 300,000 (km)..."

We were at 425,000. It wasn't the motor that went either. Just ready for a new vehicle. I love my Ody!

 

[coastgirl]

^ Wow.^ Now I feel like a slacker!

Drove home my new Sante Fe today. The thing I'm most excited about is my integrated bluetooth--much as I loved my Odyssey, there weren't many cars on the road in 2003 that paired with your phone! (I think I had the last model year that had a cassette player instead of a cd/mp3 port!) And I have to say this is the first car buying experience I've had that didn't feel like a high-pressure adversarial process. This is the same salesman who sold dh his Sonata. I think now we're going to be like those old fogies who always go back to the same dealer!

 

[rjan67]

Glad you love your purchase! Dh and I were just commenting on the Sante Fes the other day. They look sharp! Have fun!

 

[DeniseinNS]

I highly recommend Hyundai Santa Fe, they are fabulous!! I am someone that hates my vehicles ever 2 years and I have been driving my Santa Fe for 5 years and still love it. We are talking about getting a second one. It's great on gas, lots of room in the trunk and lots of seating space

 

[coastgirl]

Great to hear that Denise, thanks for the vote of confidence. I must say, so far I am a happy camper, and almost looking forward to the 10 hr drive to NH in March!!

 

[lucigo]

I traded my van in this week for a 2010 Nissan Rogue. Not new by any means, but very nice. My husband was on ebay last night searching for a fancy bluetooth radio/gps to put in it because I was sad about how much I was going to miss the free Sirius radio that my van had for the last 8 years since they never turned it off after the test trial. Yup, the best thing about my old van was the radio!

 

[DeniseinNS]

Great to hear that Denise, thanks for the vote of confidence. I must say, so far I am a happy camper, and almost looking forward to the 10 hr drive to NH in March!!

I see you are in the Halifax area! I'm in Cole Harbour Glad you like the Santa Fe so far