Midsize SUV - what would you look at?
 

So starting to look for a midsize SUV for my girlfriend. Don't have a lot of requirements: leather, AWD, Bluetooth and heated seats. Want to keep it to around $29-$31 MSRP.

So far we're thinking about the CR-V and the Cherokee. Checked out the new Renegade, but I think it's going to be too small. Any other ones we should be looking at? I've thought about the RAV-4, but honestly, just never been a Toyota fan.

My dad has a 2008 Rav-4 with V6 and towing package (3500lb). He's got nearly 250K miles on the thing, and it's still in great shape. I like the Rav-4 with a V6; it has decent power and decent mileage. The CR-V is a good option as well. I would never buy a Jeep though. My dad is looking at the Acura RDX (new probably out of your price range), but he is also considering the Nissan Rogue for mpg reasons (and a new one fully loaded is cheaper than the RDX).

Santa Fe Sport with the 2.0 Turbo. You will be surprised how much nicer it is than the competition. Hyundai has their product line nailed down these days.

Anything in that price range is going to be fairly small unless you look at something gently used. We bought a 2014 Cherokee Trail Hawk and its pretty good, even with 5 people (3 adults 2 kids) in it we had pretty good room. Most of the time its just the wife and it works great for us. Please note I am a Jeep kind of guy and currently own 3 of them. My opinions can be skewed although normally I hate anything other than Wranglers and Grand Cherokees

Just picked this up about 6 weeks ago and I absolutely love it. It is a Jeep Cherokee Trail Hawk, and has more capabilities than I will ever use. I also looked at the Ford Escape and the Hyundai Santa Fe, but for me, it came down to looks and amenities.

You can also look at the Mazda CX-5 as this is in the same class.

If the new Santa Fe is anything like the 2003 that I traded in for my new Jeep Cherokee Trail Hawk, you can't go wrong. We've had Hyundai's for over 20 years, and they've always been very good. The one thing that I didn't like about the Santa Fe Sport was having to use premium fuel (same with the Ford Escape with 2.0L turbo). I also didn't like the 2.0L, 4-cylinder having to work hard to move this heavy vehicle.

Def the new santa fe sport turbo. My parents have one.

They got it with almost every option except nav and sunroof for 24k. Heated seats front / back and the turbo in there does kick quite nicely. The Audio system could be better but with the navigation option it is (bass is a bit lacking, but highs are nice)

Easy and comfortable to drive. Smooth. Looks good and with 30k miles absolutely zero issues just like the 2006 sonata they had (130k miles 0 issues..ever..)

Also, the person above is incorrect. the 2013 with Turbo does not REQUIRE premium. It works with 87 up to 93. They advertise a drop in power about 10hp with 87 vs 93.

Mazda CX-5. I really like ours. It is my wife's DD..

I'm going to have to go with this. Had one as a rental as it drove pretty good. At first I didn't like the light feeling of the steering wheel but then I saw that you can adjust between comfort, sport, etc. Put it in sport and it felt just right.

:iagree: i think this will be our next new vehicle. I like the way they look.

Those are all compact crossovers. Mid size would be the Highlander/Pathfinder, which you can't get in that price range unless you buy preowned.

I just recently bought a small crossover for my wife and we narrowed it to Rav4 and Rogue. We ended up with a loaded Rav4 awd and she loves it. The new Rogue is very attractive as well. I just dislike the CVT. The Mazda CX5 was a close third, it was attractive and the most athletic but we didn't think the interior fit and finish was as nice.

Thanks for the replies. I did look at the Rogue (y'know, keeping it in the Nissan family & all), but you can't get leather in it - which I'm pretty sure means no heated seats. Two deal breakers.

We did the Cherokee Trail Hawk ride (over the big hill & all) at a car show and were pretty impressed. That's why we were kind of drawn to that one.

Funny how often the Hyundai shows up on here - maybe we'll check it out. Just never saw myself owning a Hyundai. Even though they've been around for a long time, I still don't think of them as a 'real' car company. Maybe a test drive would change my impressions.

Right now she's got a Ram Rumblebee - so anything would be an improvement. Especially for a 5' tall, 53 year old woman trying to get in and out of that thing. Good thing is that it's bright yellow so she's easy to spot.

Okay. Just priced out the Santa Fe. Equipped like the Cherokee or CRV, it's about $12K more! Granted it's got more HP than the others, but that's not really what I'm going for.

We can get leather with heat in the Rogue here in Canada, the SL model. Is that Canada only?

The SV model has cloth, and heated seats.

whats the equipment level needed?

I saw a santa fe sport turbo
2014
new
awd
navigation
leather
heated seats front/rear
other stuff

just around 29k nearish to you

Where did you see that? That can't be for the Turbo though. Base on the Turbo AWD is $33,275. By the time you add in the packages, it's $43,000 For the non-turbo with all the equipment (except nav), comes out to about $31,000 list, so comparable to the CRV or Jeep.

Then look at non turbo. That's actually what I drove.

It's a fun world when we say heated seats are a dealbreaker. :)

I never cared for heated seats much. but when you have a gf, who gets cramps, and loves heated pads.. and you wanna take her anywhere during that time... lol heated seats help

Hell, she's always hot - she probably wouldn't use them. They're for me. :)

Yeah...I know...First World Problems.

But seriously, we have an unattached, unheated garage so the only way to get warm before you get to work is to either start the car early or use seat heaters.

:confused: huh?

The SL trim has leather/nav/around view monitor. You can also get blind spot monitor, power liftgate, LED headlights etc. etc. It's pretty loaded for a cute 'ute

You are correct, good sir...

I didn't scroll down far enough on the website. About $32,000 fully loaded. I'll take a look at one when I go to get my oil changed next week.

Word of advice, be VERY sure you like that CVT. I used to own a 3.5 Altima w/CVT and grew to really dislike it over the years. If not, cross it off your list and don't look back. I had all the goodies and still couldn't look past the CVT

:iagree: I'm definitely watching the Jeep.Cherokee for long term reliability. I always drove sports or GT cars and pretty much detest the whole SUV/pickup culture. But i am getting older and will need family like transportation. And if I'm gonna go there? I'm gonna do it in a Jeep. I have always admired them from afar.

Besides jeeps double up as SHTF vehicles. Oh and jeep resale value holds very well on 4x4 trailrated models. :tup:

I bought a 2010 5.7l grand jeep cherokee and it has all your requirements plus nav, 4 lo, and MSRP around 22-24k. So far I love mine. I had to make a few repairs due to the soccer mom who owned it before not being very diligent with suspension components etc. But it was cheap and straightforward all said and done. Love it!

Toyota

Jeep Cherokee. If you need a smoking deal, hit me up….I'm a Manager for Jeep around Chicago...

So was over at Nissan getting an oil change and took a look at a Rogue SL. Very nice. Not as minivan looking in person as I thought it would be (but it's getting there!). It was a little more refined / luxurious than the CR-V for about the same price or maybe $1000 less. Rear seat room was a little less, but not a huge issue since there are just two of us. CR-V just felt a little 'cheaper'. Didn't drive one since it was pouring rain, but I think I'll take the GF over to drive one. So I think it's down to that or the Cherokee Trailhawk. The Trailhawk is a couple thousand more, but honestly, I just like the look of it better. The crossovers are stuck right between a station wagon and a minivan anymore - very little ruggedness left in the design. The Trailhawk still has that small SUV look vs. most of them in that category.

Though I'd update this.

Ended up ordering a Trailhawk last week. The others were just too minivan for me. Of course by the time we got everything on it we wanted, it was closer to $43,000 w/ TTL, but that's how it goes. Essentially got everything but the sunroof & nav. Should have it in about 7 weeks. And already sold the girlfriend's truck - first day. Got $2000+ over what the trade in would have been so we came out ok.

And here's something I learned while doing research on Jeeps: If you want a Chrysler Affiliate discount (1% below invoice), you can join a club called Tread Lightly and become a member of the Chrysler Affiliate Program. It's $100. If you're buying a Chrysler and don't want to dicker around or have a high demand vehicle that they don't want to discount, it's a pretty good deal. My situation was that the dealer is a client of mine - so didn't want to go in and beat them up on price like I normally would. But, with discounts & rebates, ended up nearly $5000 below sticker, so not too bad.

VW Tiguan is an option. Most German cars have heated seats. I have cloth in my GTi and they are heated and will burn bread if needed :)

Couple of shots of the Jeep. Came in on Friday and we picked it up on Saturday. Spent all day Sunday detailing it - including 3 coats of Zaino. So sore I can barely move now. Z is much easier to detail!

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps1e35d2c0.jpg

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps0dce4966.jpg