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I am going to be in the market for a small used SUV after Christmas (2005-2008) and wanted to hear from any of you that have them and any pros or cons with them? I want to hear from those with any make/model and especially some of the cheaper ones (ex. Suzuki, Kia, Hyundai, etc.) to see if there are any complaints with these. I would love to have a Honda CRV (I'm a past and present Honda owner), but need to consider price. Thanks!
I was actually going to post this very same question! We are going to buy my mother-in-law a used one for Christmas, and are looking to spend around $14k tops. Of course, mileage and condition will vary, but here is what I show as the used compact SUVs from my local paper and Auto Trader under $14k:
Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute/Mercury Mariner (2005-2007, generally under 30k miles) Honda CR-V (only older, higher mileage ones) Hyundai Santa Fe (2006-2007, decently equipped, under 30k miles) Jeep Grand Cherokee (depreciate like crazy and 2006 models actually are in the range; low fuel economy) Kia Sportage (same as the Hyundai Santa Fe, right?) Mazda5 (OK, not really an SUV, but this is my favorite for its sheer practicality) Nissan XTerra (mostly older, higher mileage) Saturn Vue (our local Saturn dealer has two 2008 XE models with 28k miles on them in this price range) Suzuki Grand Vitara Toyota Rav4 (mostly older, higher mileage)
I am thinking that the mainline Japanese models (Toyota, Honda, and Nissan) will be too expensive, and not necessarily any more reliable (though I need to verify this in Consumer Reports). The domestics and "second tier" imports appear to depreciate a lot more, which works to our advantage in this case So, the Ford Escape, Kia Sportage, Hyundai Santa Fe, Suzuki Grand Vitara, Saturn Vue, and Mazda5 are at the top of the list.
If I have time, I will get on the Consumer Reports website and see what sort of history these models have.
From that list, I can tell you that nothing is in the same league as the Grand Cherokee. In my opinion, it offers the best combination of refinement, utility, capability and comfort. I've got an '06 with the Hemi V-8 and couldn't be more pleased with it. Granted, it won't deliver the fuel economy of most of the others in your list. But to me, that's a fair trade for everything else that I get in return.
I drove a Chevy Tracker for a while. Absolutely loved it. It didn't suck up too much gas in comparison to my Focus. I never had any problems with it and it ran wonderful. I really do miss it.
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