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Shamelessly lifted the title from the luxury thread....
In familiarizing myself with recent models of cars after not owning one for many years as I am getting back into the car owner market, my focus is on mid-sized vehicles.
My criteria is higher ground clearance than regular cars, safety, reliability, reasonably good gas mileage, and either AWD or selectable FWD. I haven't yet decided on new or recent (back to 2016) used.
I looked for a thread like this and not finding one, thought to start one to see what perspectives I could get.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I would consider the Subaru Outback or Ford Edge, and most likely go with the Edge, with 60.5” of rear seat width, the Outback has only 55. Makes a big difference if you want to have 5 people, especially if one or two are kids in car seats. The Outback gets better mpg, 25/32 and the Edge 20/27, not enough difference to matter to me, especially since the Edge is 315 horesepower, Outback 256.
Subaru Outback or Forester. I might even look at a Baja.
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, 2006 or earlier. Just my opinion. I do not like the look of the 2007 and newer.
I've test driven the Nissan Rogue, Murano and Pathfinder, the Mazda CX5, Honda CRV, Toyota Rav4 and Highlander.
Mid-size, the Toyota Highlander (6 cyl only) or Honda Pilot would be top of list for me. Compact would be the Mazda CX-5 - though I expect the new Rav4 to give it a good run. Keep in mind it rarely rains and never snows where I live, people with actual weather might have a different opinion.
For full disclosure, I'm biased against four cylinders in SUVs, turbos in general and CVT transmissions. Not that I wouldn't consider them, it's just if there's a good alternative I'll take the alternative.
As of today (might be different next week), my top two picks would both be at the Subaru dealer -- the Outback or the smaller Forester. I'd probably go with the Outback, but my wife might prefer the Forester since she likes smaller cars. It's going to take a road test in each to decide.
My experience with Subarus were from the 80s, so it's pretty outdated (although no regrets on 2 of them), but Subarus are usually LOVED by their owners and said to be nearly trouble-free.
Ground clearance? Check. It's more than what it appears -- 8.7 inches for both models. It's not what you'd get with a Jeep CJ or 4x4 pickup, but that's pretty good for a wagon/suv.
Safety? Excellent. Get the Subaru EyeSight safety package and the LED headlights that turn as you turn the steering wheel.
Reliability? Yes. I've never owned anything more reliable than my 2015 Toyota Prius, but owners constantly tout Subaru reliability. I was talking to a gal this afternoon who owned a 2010 with 60K miles on it, and she said *NOTHING* has ever gone wrong with it since she bought it new. They've lived in Fairbanks, AK, NE Wyoming and the mountains of New Mexico since buying it, and she said it was the perfect car in each place.
Gas mileage? 26/32. That's not bad for an AWD SUV. Not great, but not bad. They do, however, require premium gasoline, at least the ones I've looked at. That'll drive your fuel costs up, even with good mileage. Still, not bad for a roomy AWD.
I don't think any other AWD is as good as Subaru's. Some will disagree, and I don't know that anyone can prove which AWD is the overall best, but I'm not alone in my opinion, and most any semi-knowledgable car enthusiast would rate Subaru's AWD near the top.
Prefer a sedan? Subaru Legacy. Mileage is a little better, up to 34 mpg. It's been the best selling AWD sedan for 10 straight years.
I don't want to sound like a salesman, but sales shouldn't be too difficult with the Subarus. They're good, dependable cars, made for all-weather driving for as long as I can remember -- at least into the 70s. And I can't recall ever talking to an owner/previous owner who was disappointed with a current/previous Suby.
I like the Kia Sorento and the Hyundai Santa Fe. Loaded with features and all the safety technology. You also get a 5/60 bumper to bumper warranty and a 10/100 powertrain warranty, which is the best in the industry. I have a 2015 Hyundai Sonata that I bought four years ago. So I still have a year of bumper to bumper warranty left and six years of powertrain warranty left. My newer Jeep and much newer truck warranties have both already expired. And the Sonata has the most miles on it.
As of today (might be different next week), my top two picks would both be at the Subaru dealer -- the Outback or the smaller Forester. I'd probably go with the Outback, but my wife might prefer the Forester since she likes smaller cars. It's going to take a road test in each to decide.
My experience with Subarus were from the 80s, so it's pretty outdated (although no regrets on 2 of them), but Subarus are usually LOVED by their owners and said to be nearly trouble-free.
Ground clearance? Check. It's more than what it appears -- 8.7 inches for both models. It's not what you'd get with a Jeep CJ or 4x4 pickup, but that's pretty good for a wagon/suv.
Safety? Excellent. Get the Subaru EyeSight safety package and the LED headlights that turn as you turn the steering wheel.
Reliability? Yes. I've never owned anything more reliable than my 2015 Toyota Prius, but owners constantly tout Subaru reliability. I was talking to a gal this afternoon who owned a 2010 with 60K miles on it, and she said *NOTHING* has ever gone wrong with it since she bought it new. They've lived in Fairbanks, AK, NE Wyoming and the mountains of New Mexico since buying it, and she said it was the perfect car in each place.
Gas mileage? 26/32. That's not bad for an AWD SUV. Not great, but not bad. They do, however, require premium gasoline, at least the ones I've looked at. That'll drive your fuel costs up, even with good mileage. Still, not bad for a roomy AWD.
I don't think any other AWD is as good as Subaru's. Some will disagree, and I don't know that anyone can prove which AWD is the overall best, but I'm not alone in my opinion, and most any semi-knowledgable car enthusiast would rate Subaru's AWD near the top.
Prefer a sedan? Subaru Legacy. Mileage is a little better, up to 34 mpg. It's been the best selling AWD sedan for 10 straight years.
I don't want to sound like a salesman, but sales shouldn't be too difficult with the Subarus. They're good, dependable cars, made for all-weather driving for as long as I can remember -- at least into the 70s. And I can't recall ever talking to an owner/previous owner who was disappointed with a current/previous Suby.
We have a 2018 Subaru Outback Touring and both the 2.5 and 3.6 engines use regular 87 octane gas. Premium is neither recommended, nor required.
There are YouTube videos that demonstrate AWD capabilities in numerous CUVs. Subaru and VW are the only ones that provide traction to only one wheel, if the other three have none. So their AWD system is definitely one of the best ones, if not the best.
We have the turning LED headlights, which unfortunately are only available on the top Touring trim level. I am a firm believer in LED and HID headlights. They are much brighter than halogen headlights.
We were happy enough with our 2007 Outback that when our 'city car' (late model Passat) hit the point it wasn't worth putting more money into it, we replaced it with a 2016 Subaru Legacy. And have been even happier with the improvements Subaru has made over the past ten years and are starting to get the itch to replace the Outback with another Outback.
The Adventure Wagon was bought after Subaru figured out its head gasket problems and we've only had to put something like $500 into it beyond scheduled maintenance in 11+ years. Lots of cargo space with the back seat folded down and does well in all weather conditions and road surface types.
Subies don't have the rock-hopping ability of a Jeep. But if you want a solid and generally reliable vehicle that's a comfortable , safe, and reasonably fuel-efficient daily driver that you can take on moderately gnarly logging roads on the weekend, that's their niche.
They also hold value well (relatively small manufacturer who doesn't really have the capacity to fully meet North American demand for its vehicles), so if you decide an Outback is not for you after a year or two, you'll also get more in trade-in than a lot of its peers would.
I’ve rented and driven dang near everything Hertz offers in a suv and owned an Acura RDX for three years/63,000 miles. If you can swing for an RDX, you won’t be disappointed. Now I drive a Macan S (CPO). Not disappointed but they’re kind of pricey.
Would run circles around my 'plastic' & frail Forester! (at better economy (free fuel) and tremendously longer service (1m+ miles)
< $5k all in for next 20 yrs (DIY)... Oh... need to add $8 / yr for a Racor fuel filter element.
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mileage,
