Opinions needed - safe, sound, $ smart SUV

[BillB]

I am looking for a new SUV for my brother. He is coming off of a lease of a Chevy Trailblazer and needs another SUV to take over as his primary vehicle. He is on a tight budget, but we want to find the safest SUV we can that has AWD. No small children involved, so it can be on the small to medium size. Who has a good story to tell about their vehicle?

[MikeT]

Originally Posted by BillB

I am looking for a new SUV for my brother. He is coming off of a lease of a Chevy Trailblazer and needs another SUV to take over as his primary vehicle. He is on a tight budget, but we want to find the safest SUV we can that has AWD. No small children involved, so it can be on the small to medium size. Who has a good story to tell about their vehicle?

If the Pilot is too much on $$$ side, take a look at Hyundai and Kia. Thay have made amazing progress in the style and reliability departments and use a similar AWD system in the Honda Pilot and Ridgeline.

[mdwalls]

I have a co-worker with two Santa Fe's and love's them.

[k757]

My parents just drove the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and the Subaru Forester. The best of the 3 is the RAV4, so they are buying one.

If I was in the small/medium SUV market, priced ~$25k or less, I would look at these:

• Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute (though I have a feeling these would fall of the list quickly)
• Honda CR-V
• Hyundai Tuscon
• Hyundai Santa Fe
• Mazda CX-7
• Mitsubishi Outlander
• Nissan Rogue
• Toyota FJ
• Toyota RAV4

[shovelhd]

If the Pilot is the right size and cost, and he can deal with the gas mileage, then it's one of the best out there. Our 2003 has been pretty much trouble free for 116K mostly city miles. It rides like a dream, and goes anywhere. It's a perfect vacation mobile for a family of four. The completely new Pilot is due in the spring, so he may be able to negotiate hard on a 2008.

Good luck

[denvrfan]

Being a true Honda lover, it was a giant leap of faith when I purchased the new Hyundai Veracruz for my wife. I considered the aging Pilot and could have save thousands vs. a loaded Veracruz, but the creature comforts on the Veracruz blew away the current generation of Pilot. We've owned the Veracruz Limited AWD since last June and have logged just under 9000 trouble free miles. You can buy a nicely equipped Veracruz for under $30,000. I recommend that you include it and the Santa Fe on your test drive list. Good luck.

[weather_wrangler]

Originally Posted by BillB

I am looking for a new SUV for my brother. He is coming off of a lease of a Chevy Trailblazer and needs another SUV to take over as his primary vehicle. He is on a tight budget, but we want to find the safest SUV we can that has AWD. No small children involved, so it can be on the small to medium size. Who has a good story to tell about their vehicle?

As a former Element owner (before trading up to a Ridgeline) I can recommend it for many reasons, but some things were not all that workable with the Element.

Pros:
-Decent mileage but a little on the low side considering the square Element body. You'll get around 18 in town and 22 on the highway on a good day.
-excellent front seating. All day driving confort. Rear seating very good, also with excellent rear legroom and the rear seats also tip back for more comfort.
-terrific handling even in the wind.
-quiet with minimal wind noise on the road.
-terrific access and reach for groceries and things via the rear doors and the really nice rear hatch.
-the four wheel drive is really nice for snow slick roads and getting up off of grassy berms after pulling off the road.
-near limitless headroom.
-terrific little sound system.

Cons:
-not good for sleeping in the back. the seats are hopelessly uncomfortable when laid back due to the protrusions on the seats.
-only Godzilla (or his strong cousins) can put the rear seats up into their stowage position.
-the glass "moonroof" in the back is just a dumb idea. Lets in sun and heat.
-instrument cluster hard to read due to recessed cowl. badly designed instrument setup.

But for around 18 grand the Element is a great bang for the buck. The Ridgeline, I might add has nearly zero annyoance for me in 2 years of use and cross country travel and sleeping in the back when on the road. Maybe you could find a Ridgeline (certified used) and spend a few extra dollars and get so much more in the long run.

[cdepuydt]

My wife and I owned a 2004 Pacifica for about 4 years and really liked it. The only complaints I had at the time time is it was a little underpowered and I would have liked another gear or two in the transmission. I think starting with the 2007, the Pacifica has an available 4.0 liter V-6 (a nice upgrade from the under-powered 3.5 liter) engine and they have added another gear to the transmission.

One of the reasons we chose the Pacifica was the high crash test ratings it had and the safety of AWD. Next to the RL it was one of the nicest driving, most sure-footed, vehicles I have ever driven. It was very reliable, also. I have never been much of a Chrysler fan, but I was pleasantly suprised by the lack of trips we had to take to the dealer for issues, and our Pacifica had very few squeaks and rattles.

I know you were saying you were gonna go new, but I know you can pick up used Pacificas, pretty much decked out (navigation, DVD, leather, power rear lift gate, etc), around $25K.

[hofffam]

A used Pacifica is a terrible idea. Maybe the previous poster has had a good experience with his but it has a terrible reputation for reliability. The 2004 (first year) was especially bad according to Consumer Reports. Yes it is very comfortable but lets be real - it is not a SUV. It is a luxury minivan styled to not look like a minivan.

My short list for this requirement would include the RAV4, the CRV, the Element, and maybe the Nissan Rogue. Shame on Honda for the poor mileage of the new CRV compared to the V6 RAV4.

[BillB]

Thanks for ideas. We test drove a Subaru Outback today and at ~22K it is in the budget perfectly. Drove pretty well and it is much more nimble than I thought it would be by reputation. Turning radius is rediculous as it spoins around like one of those zero turn lawnmowers. A bit small for my taste and family size, but just right for my brother. I think we will also try the RAV4. I am not a big Hyundai fan, but that is a past history bias that may not be true anymore as I hear they have come a long way. Pilot is too big and non-economical for this search, but CRV might rate a look.

Any comments on the Subaru from you guys?