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I'm surprised you said the RAV4 was rough, definitely not my experience with V6 version I had as a rental for a week. It felt a lot like a Camry wagon with an elevated driving position to me. It's also 1000lbs. lighter than the CX-9 so you would get about 50% better fuel economy. If you don't mind the minivan stigma than that would give you the most room. I'm kind of surprised to hear a Sienna is more expensive than a CX-9.
The Rav4 was rough when driving it directly after the smooshy Highlander. It's still a decent car, but it wasn't quite right. But there's a ton of them around here, and I can definitely see why. It was more cramped than I was hoping for, and while certainly nicer than my current car, it was a step back from the niceness in the other cars. Bonk bonk.
The Traverse: The biggest problem was blind spots. I don't like the mirrors with the little inset-mirror. Inset mirror too small, and big mirror needed the real estate. Couldn't see well out the back at all, and the corner posts blocked too much of the view. Trying to merge in highway traffic was AWFUL. I couldn't see anything anywhere! Didn't have that problem with Highlander or CX-9. Also, no matter how I adjusted the seat and steering wheel, I couldn't see my speed. Wheel blocked it from my vision. Later, when I turned around and put my knees on the passenger seat, as I will often do to turn to see kids, I put all my weight down on some unpadded awful hard thing that dug into my knee. That *hurt*. (Otherwise, the interior was great, and I really liked the second sunroof). When driving, something just felt wrong. Hard to describe. It just didn't handle like I expected. The highlander was easy and the CX9 feels "right" when driving; the Traverse felt WRONG. I felt like I couldn't stay in my lane, I was getting surprised to see I was moving to the left, I was afraid when pressed between a semi and another large car -- not confident I could stay safe between them. I took the next exit and got the hell out of the driver's seat. Could I learn to drive it? Probably, but it just felt all-wrong. Nothing worked the way a car should work. I know that's mushy and not all that specific, but it just felt wrong. The only specific thing I can say is that the blind spots were really bad, the worst of any car we drove.
Got the CX-9 tonight!! The only thing I don't love is the console; it crowds the knees a little on the side. I think I'll get used to that. It just feels so good to drive. And everything else is pretty much perfect.
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jenlion
The Traverse: The biggest problem was blind spots. I don't like the mirrors with the little inset-mirror. Inset mirror too small, and big mirror needed the real estate. Couldn't see well out the back at all, and the corner posts blocked too much of the view. Trying to merge in highway traffic was AWFUL. I couldn't see anything anywhere! Didn't have that problem with Highlander or CX-9. Also, no matter how I adjusted the seat and steering wheel, I couldn't see my speed. Wheel blocked it from my vision. Later, when I turned around and put my knees on the passenger seat, as I will often do to turn to see kids, I put all my weight down on some unpadded awful hard thing that dug into my knee. That *hurt*. (Otherwise, the interior was great, and I really liked the second sunroof). When driving, something just felt wrong. Hard to describe. It just didn't handle like I expected.
On the Traverse, I think the blind spots can be attributed to the way the rear and rear side windows are shaped which is why I liked the Acadia and Outlook better.
The mirror issue I can't address as I have never seen those type of mirrors and I had no problems with adjusting the seat to see the speedometer.
Ya, you probably banged your knee into the center console, no kids here, so not a problem.
When merging I found that you might need to "lean" into the gas a little more to get up to speed due to the trans and the weight of the vehicle.
The CX-9 was my second choice, I think you will be happy with it.
I'd really urge you to check out a Ford Explorer. You may have had bad luck with Ford in the past, but it's really not fair to write off automakers as a whole based on your experience years ago or their nationality, etc. They change considerably. The Explorer (or perhaps the Flex) might be the right car for you, but you won't know unless you try it out. Ford went from near bankruptcy and a terrible reputation in the early '00s to being the best selling brand in America today for a reason. The Explorer and Flex are on a modified version of the platform the CX-9 is also based off of, and the same basic engines as well.
Also, you said you are worried about Mazda because of resale and repairs? Based on what? Mazda's are fantastic for both.
I can honestly say that from my experience, the mechanical side and resale was great. I loved my Tribute! Mine was a 2001 Tribute had 118k, it had no where NEAR the problems my husbands car did that was newer. When someone hit me and totaled it out I got just over 8k for it. If I had to do it all over again, (and if the body style was the same) I would have gotten another Tribute over my Odyssey.
BTW, Mazda is owned/manufactured by Ford. I can guarantee if you look under the hood you will see things labeled Ford.
Not to mention the new Explorer is getting less then stellar reviews. I'm sure Ford will have it right in a year or two.
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Cx-9
