CUV's , anybody's opinions

[Cinci Jim]

I have a 2007 Rav4. It is a very nice vehicle; I got the V6 AWD Limited. Its got 260-270 HP so it goes like a bat out of hell. If I drive reasonably, I get 28 mpg or so. If not I get about 22 mpg. Since the spare is on the back door, it has several storage boxes under the rear floor. Also it has levers on the side walls in the back to fold the seats down without having to open the side doors to get to the levers on the seats. It fits my bike (54) very well with lots of spare room.

I have to admit this is a bit of a shill, as I work for Toyota and I get it for free - but it is a good compact SUV.

[Too Tall]

Titanbro - Oh momma THAT's an SUV.

Smilesofmiles, we recently rented a Ferd Edge. Whaddapieceof@#$%. Terrible mileage and the AWD had a "hiccup" that scared the carp outta me. Take a pass. Besides the rear cargo area is not big enough to haul anything.

[RPS]

Toyota is introducing the brand new Highlander, which starts at $27,300; with a powerful V-6 now standard. Being a new model they probably won't negotiate much.

It's bigger than the previous model, and looks more like an SUV than tall station wagon.

The Honda Pilot of similar size will be redesigned for next year, so current-model pricing is a plus.

To carry two bikes and two people, I personally like a Honda CR-V. It's a four cylinder but has plenty of power for me and gets good mileage. When carrying more people or bikes, or carrying a tandem, I put them on the roof rack. Mine is an older model, and the new ones are much bigger (i.e. -- much taller inside at the back).

[Chad Engle]

Second Jim on the Rav 4. Or hybrid Escape.

[Ken Robb]

Originally Posted by Chad Engle

Second Jim on the Rav 4. Or hybrid Escape.

My neighbor got an Edge Hybrid just before a big tour of the Southwest. He thinks the car is ok but I'm not very impressed with the 25mpg he got overall on this easy highway driving. Heck my M3 and 330i pp get 26 to 28 mpg on the highway though it's premium vs. regular.

[zap]

, get a wagon. Better in every regard.

[RPS]

According to the Houston Chronicle article this week reviewing the new 2008 Highlander, the 2008 EPA fuel economy rating standards are more demanding to better represent real-world performance.

As an example, the new 2WD Highlander is rated 18/24/20 MPG city/highway/combined; but had it been rated by the previous standard, it would have been 20/26/22 MPG.

For the new Hybrid Highlander (not yet introduced) the numbers are 27/25/26 MPG, but with previous ratings would have been 31/27/29 MPG.

It appears the new ratings affect hybrids (at least this model) more so than conventional.

[bozman]

I have to agree with RPS on the Highlander. My parents are on their second one and they are averaging mid-20's for mpg for highway driving. They love it.

You might also look at the new Subaru Tribeca. They improved the appearance significantly for 2008. It's around 30k. Though the mileage ain't great (16 city-21 highway) it does have an excellent government crash-test rating.

[SWorks4me]

Originally Posted by Ken Robb

We had a new Hyundai Santa Fe for a week while our car was in the shop and we were very impressed. Here in SD they are selling them for $4,000 off MSRP so about $22,000 for a pretty loaded car. We got about 22mpg overall. I took it to a driving school where I was instructing at Willow Springs Raceway and it was ok for such a tall soft-riding vehicle.

Ours was the base model with 2.7l engine and 4 spd. automatic. The mid and upper level model come with 3.3l motor and 5 spd. auto which would be better acceleration and economy too I'll bet. Well-built, no rattles, 100,000 mile warranty. The reviews on the Edge have not been good.

Last year while visiting DBRK we had a Ford Freestyle which hasn't sold well enough for Ford to keep them in the line but it shares a chassis with Volvo XC-90 and was a good driver too. We had the CVT and 3l motor. They are GIVING them away for $7,000 off MSRP. or about $16,000-$18,000. We got 23mpg. for the week.

I too had a Santa Fe for 2.5 years. Fully loaded 2002 model. Great road trip and hauling 2 riders and gear. Very happy with power/performance/economy

[dwightskin]

A Bigger Vehicle (but probably same gas mileage):

Saturn Outlook --- these are really pretty incredible, 3 rows of _comfortable_ seats, powerful V-6, decent gas mileage


Smaller, but still pretty cool (probably same gas mileage):

Jeep Patriot


Then there are the Mazda CX-7 and CX-9 which would be similar to the Ford Edge. Both are supposed to handle really well.

[DukeHorn]

Not a CUV, but how about a Mazda3 hatchback? Real good financing right now (I got the 0% APR for 3 years), comes in under $21,000 out the door for the midlevel model. The 4 cylinder has pretty good pep (2.3L with 166 hp), gets great reviews in a lot of car magazines--just a lot of touches that make it seem higher end.

I fall back upon my Grand Cherokee if I need to haul 3+ bikes or my kayak, but this Mazda has been lots of fun to drive. Mileage has been around 28 in mixed driving.

[PaulE]

If whatever CUV you're considering is available in front wheel drive as well as 4 wheel drive, the front wheel drive version will generally get better gas mileage. A lot of people want 4WD or think that they need it because it snows once in a while, but everyone should be honest with themselves and consider if they really do need 4WD. For some models the front wheel drive version isn't available with the engine or option package you want though, or the dealers just don't have them (because nobody ever buys them), so you are basically stuck taking the 4WD version.

If you want smaller, Acura has the RDX now, which is an Acura-ized version of the Honda CRV and a turbo 4 cylinder engine (and I think may only be 4WD, going against my earlier recommendation). Judging from the lease and financing offers I see in the papers for them, they may be dealing on them.

P.S., tell your company to pay you in cash whatever you save on the CUV and you can put it in your Meivici fund (and not sell the Hors).

A third vote for the Santa Fe. It has everything I wanted in a car for less than the others. They now have one of the best repair records out there. I particularly like their outstanding warranty. It is head and shoulders above the others and for only $1100 I extended it to 10 years or 100,000 miles bumper to bumper. Lastly the crash ratings are very high and mine came with anti-lock brakes, traction control, and electronic stability control all standard. It is a heck of a car and looks great as well. They copied the best of the others car's looks.

[Wayne77]

I'll throw in a vote for the Mazda CX-9. It's getting rave reviews from most publications and the interior (Grand Touring version) is right up there with most luxury CUV's in the 40-50K range. The new Aisin auto transmission is very smooth and responsive, with a tiptronic style manual shift mode. It's similar in size to the Saturn Outlook/GMC Acadia but it has a much better shifting transmission, IMO, and just has a much sportier feel. I looked at the Ford Edge which shares the same motor (an excellent motor BTW) but not much else. The interior is MUCH nicer on the CX-9, IMO. I've become a fan of what Mazda has done recently. They have done a great job differentiating themselves from the Honda/Toyota mundane, yet reliable image (not a bad image to have, it's just a space that Mazda has chosen not to compete in), with some very thoughtful/sporty designs that are still highly functional (Check out the Mazda 5 - what a cool little wagon!)

The Mazda Cx-7 is also a nice car. More "zoom-zoom" than the CX-9 but it is a 5 seater, vs 7 seats for the CX-9 - not sure if that makes a difference for you.

OT, I just test drove a Mazda 6 (Mazdaspeed version) that my little brother just bought. Now that's a fun, very fast car!

[m_moses]

If I were you, I'd check out consumer reports. They've had good things to say about the offerings from Honda, Toyota and Subaru. They've also been impressed by the new Saturn Outlook although as a new vehicle, it's reliability is unknown. They also were disappointed with the Edge.

I drive a Toyota Sienna and it's excellent for hauling stuff, rides better than a SUV and is fuel efficient. Not as popular with the ladies though . . .