What are some compact SUV's made within the last 20 years or so? (sedans, AWD)
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I have a now 12 year old Kia Sportage. I love it. The newer ones are a tad bigger. I LOVE my Sportage. It's possibly the most reliable vehicle I ever owned. (I'm 67)
This vehicle has made long trips, was used in the city, and now spends most of the time on highways since we live in the country - last 4 years. Yes, it's starting to need more maintenance and we've had some big repairs but it's still my favorite vehicle - and we now have 2 others.
We have hauled a 10' christmas tree on the roof rack, a full size washing machine inside, 5 adults, and I can park in a tiny space!
Mine is a 2002 Sportage, the last of its model. They brought it back in 2005 with a lot of changes. I prefer my old one. I am involved in animal rescue and needed a vehicle with a different configuration for animal crates - and more crates - so I wound up buying a Caravan. The Kia is still my favorite to drive when I am not transporting 6+ very big dogs.
I love my Kia Soul; will be trading in my second one the end of the year and most likely will be getting another one. They cost under $18K depending on what options you get. My first one was around $14K.
They seem to be very popular where I live. I see lots of them every day.
You might want to go to carmax.com (no, I'm not affiliated with them in any way shape or form and have never bought from them) and search by "type" - you can select crossover (10,000 listed right now) or sport utility (14,000 listed right now) and further define by size (compact, full-size, or mid-size). That will give you a lot of different makes that you can further narrow by year and mileage and distance. You can also look for other options like leather seats or running boards or roof rack. It will give you a good idea of cost for different models, too. Since you dont' really seem to have a particular car in mind, this might help you narrow your search.
I've never bought from there, but I do often use for research.
Not so much Blazer or Explorer or Jeeps (too thirsty and unrefined)
more like Saturn Vue, Toyota Rav4, Isuzu Rodeo, Isuzu Amigo, and Chevrolet Tracker, (the bigger, 4-door, more on-road oriented version, not the little two-seat more off-road oriented version)
the Suzuki Samurai, although I like it, it's too off-road oriented for everyday on-road driving comfort
I guess I'm looking for something somewhat more on-road oriented rather than off-road oriented
You want to scratch anything that came from Isuzu. Bad record.
Tracker I believe is rebadged Suzuki. Samurai was a staple for off road kids and has excellent record for reliability and go anywhere vehicle.
You have only few options in 20 yo realm - is that what you want? - it's a Toyota or a Honda. RAV4 or CR-V. Period, and of sentence.
Well, it sounds like what I really need is more like a crossover than a true body-on-frame SUV. Also my current vehicle that I'm driving is a 2008 Ford Fusion with 43K miles on it and it's in good condition. It's worth around $4,425 if I sell it to a private party and the trade-in value to a dealer is around $3,050.
For a replacement vehicle, I haven't really established a budget yet, but I'm guessing its going to be on the low side.
Of all the vehicles mentioned so far which ones are unitized body construction and which ones are body-on-frame and which ones are "crossovers"?
Does this really matter if the vehicle meets all your other requirements? (budget, fit, mileage, size, etc)
Btw, your low mile '08 Fusion is probably worth much more than $4k based on KBB/Edmunds and asking prices in my local area -- more in the $5-6k range.
I had a 2000 Honda CR-V that had a manual transmission and I routinely got 33 mpg. That model is nice because it is one of the few SUV's built on a car, not a truck chassis. No more manual trans after 2006.
This. I had two CRV's and loved them both. In fact, the first one was my absolute favorite car I ever owned. DW drives the other one now. Honda makes a very reliable car and we have never had trouble with any of them (we owned several of their cars over the years).
Jeep-Chrysler are notorious for being unreliable. I had a Dodge van once and once it hit 70,000 miles it started giving us problems. Other family members had similar issues so I will never buy one again.
Toyota seems to make a reliable car as well. Their RAV-4 is similar to the CRV so it maybe another option to consider. Jay
Does this really matter if the vehicle meets all your other requirements? (budget, fit, mileage, size, etc)
Btw, your low mile '08 Fusion is probably worth much more than $4k based on KBB/Edmunds and asking prices in my local area -- more in the $5-6k range.
This is kind of what I thought too. When I got a price quote online at KBB it seemed awfully low. Then I went to the bookstore and checked the actual KBB physical hardcopy book and it gave me the same low-ball figure too. Why are they quoting me such a low price? After all, it's a low mileage vehicle that's only 8 years old? It should be worth more than $3,000-$4,400......?! Shouldn't it?
Sorry, my bad.
Made WITHIN the last 20 years.
OP, Honda CR-V or Toyota RAV4 are your best bet. If you need excellent 4WD, Subaru is the choice.
Subaru and RAV4 now have hybrid version.
Period, end of sentence. For real.
This is kind of what I thought too. When I got a price quote online at KBB it seemed awfully low. Then I went to the bookstore and checked the actual KBB physical hardcopy book and it gave me the same low-ball figure too. Why are they quoting me such a low price? After all, it's a low mileage vehicle that's only 8 years old? It should be worth more than $3,000-$4,400......?! Shouldn't it?
I don't know what info you're putting in but in CA, your car fill fetch high $5 to low $6.
Well, it sounds like what I really need is more like a crossover than a true body-on-frame SUV. Also my current vehicle that I'm driving is a 2008 Ford Fusion with 43K miles on it and it's in good condition. It's worth around $4,425 if I sell it to a private party and the trade-in value to a dealer is around $3,050.
For a replacement vehicle, I haven't really established a budget yet, but I'm guessing its going to be on the low side.
Of all the vehicles mentioned so far which ones are unitized body construction and which ones are body-on-frame and which ones are "crossovers"?
You've got a low mileage car in good condition, it won't fetch the best resale/trade-in (simply because it's not a Toyota or Honda), you say you don't need AWD, don't go off road and budget is limited. IMO you may be making a mistake to trade for an older used crossover just to have higher entry height and seating (unless, of course, you have a physical limitation requiring a higher vehicle).
If you must have a small used SUV, I would stick to the big 3, ie. RAV4, CRV, Forester. But I would give serious consideration to just keep running the Fusion and saving the cash to eventually buy a new or 1-3 year old x-over of your choice.
To answer your question, all of the small SUV's in the size range you desire are car-based unibody or stub frame construction, but really for your needs what difference does it make? Also keep in mind if you go back too many model years some safety-related features like multiple side air bags and backup cameras will be unavailable, as well as the gasoline direct injected engines that have increased fuel economy in spite of vehicles getting heavier. My 2016 CRV gets the same mileage as the 2011 Mazda 3 it replaced and weighs 1000 lbs more (both with 2.5 liter engines).
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