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Good entry level SUV?

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Kingpen

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I'm going to be getting in the SUV market soon, and am wondering about certain cars. I am looking at a Honda CR-V, and was intrigued by the new Xterra, but it gets crummy gas milage. I don't want something that is really big, but I need something that is bigger then a RAV-4, but smaller then the Excursions, Expeditions, Tahoes, Durangos of the business.

My budget is to stay within the 20Ks for this. I would be intrigued by the Ford Escape Hybrid if they didn't have a markup of over 3K on it 'just because'....
 
I want something to be able to fit the wife and I, a medium sized dog or 2, and camping stuff inside it. We would us it to go skiing too. So the size is an important function for me. I'm going to go test drive the CR-V in an hour... I want to see if a 4 cylinder is enough power for me...
 
the k24 in the crv is quite driveable. i think you'll like it. it even gets decent mileage in 2wd trim iirc
 
Get an Escape, it's the cool thing to do these days.

Ford dealers have been lowering the prices on them; for example, the dealership that I just got mine from offered it to me for $50 less a month than I was paying for my Taurus. Plus the gas mileage (20 city and 25 highway) isn't all that bad, and it's about what I've been averaging.
 
If you don't buy an Xterra(we have a Yellow '03), then u suck! ;) But yes they don't get the best city gas mileage... but we love the thing anyway.
 
i haven't heard the greatest things about the escape... falling apart and so on. BUT, the ford deal that's going on right now where you can get x-plan pricing with a referral from any ford employee will make it very cheap.
 
fart said:
i haven't heard the greatest things about the escape... falling apart and so on. BUT, the ford deal that's going on right now where you can get x-plan pricing with a referral from any ford employee will make it very cheap.
Click to expand...

I'll let you know in a month or so if that's true.
 
I like the Xterras, but I don't know if I can stomach paying a crap load of money for gas to head to Colorado to ski every time. Plus we would be using it a lot in the city to drive to work, and we would have to eat the gas cost there.

Any glaring problems with the CR-V... They seem to be able to be resold fairly decently off of the Honda rep...
 
Kingpen said:
I like the Xterras, but I don't know if I can stomach paying a crap load of money for gas to head to Colorado to ski every time. Plus we would be using it a lot in the city to drive to work, and we would have to eat the gas cost there.

Any glaring problems with the CR-V... They seem to be able to be resold fairly decently off of the Honda rep...
Click to expand...

No problems with the CR-V except for a lack of... personality IMO... but that's a eye of the beholder type of thing. Honda's entire line seems to be suffering from that right now(the new Civic might start change that).
 
the crv is quite solid afaik. the engine is pretty much bulletproof, both drivelines (2wd and the slippage 4wd) are proven tech. yah, it's pretty well put together. the worst part is the mileage i think..

the rav4 i think has a slightly higher tendency to flip.

check out safercar.gov for crash test and rollover ratings.

the xterra sounds like overkill. i think you were on the right track with the crv/rav4
 
fart said:
do you have a hybrid? those are cool, despite the ford quality
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Nah..that would be great but the cost was too much to make it practical.

But I've got a limited, which is surprisingly cheaper than the hybrid. And more surprisingly has better gas mileage than my taurus.
 
Personally, I don't think there are any better choices than the Honda CR-V - except maybe the Element, since it's cheaper and has a better stereo. Of course you have to dig Lego blocks on wheels.
 
I test drove the CR-V and liked it a lot. The acceleration concerns I had with the v-4 have disapeered, and the thing has a ton of cargo room if we want it. The ONLY thing I didn't like, was the way the seats felt. They had these sides that wedged out, and were a little too stiff for my liking. I wonder if the seats break in over time and get a little more comfortable on the shoulders. Other then that, it looks like I'll be negotiating a price for this thing. It had a lot of nice options I didn't expect to get at that price point.
 
Kingpen said:
I test drove the CR-V and liked it a lot. The acceleration concerns I had with the v-4
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ARG

There is such a thing as a V-4, the original Mustang concept car had a V-4.. but nobody makes them anymore. The design fell out of favor a very long time ago because they're extremely rough. For all intents and purposes, four-cylinder engines in modern cars are inline-4s. Except for Subarus - those are horizontally opposed, H4 or "boxer" motors.

have disapeered, and the thing has a ton of cargo room if we want it. The ONLY thing I didn't like, was the way the seats felt. They had these sides that wedged out, and were a little too stiff for my liking. I wonder if the seats break in over time and get a little more comfortable on the shoulders. Other then that, it looks like I'll be negotiating a price for this thing. It had a lot of nice options I didn't expect to get at that price point.
Click to expand...

Yes, those will soften over time. When I got my Element, the seats felt like Nerf footballs. It has been 9 months now and they've already become comfortable.
 
My father has a '97 CR-V and I drove it for about two years to and from school. Excellent vehicle, absolutely no complaints from me with the exception of it being 4 cylinders. I'm fine with that though if it means better fuel economy.
 
test drive an element before you put any money down on the crv. between the crv and the rav4 i'd probably go for the crv. insurance rates should be a little lower, i think.
 
I'm getting rid of my '95 Explorer in August for my father's Explorer Sport Trac.
I'm on the West Coast and will be driving down from Seattle to LA.

Interested?
 
A Vibe or Matrix are great cars if you want lots of room without SUV prices (gas, insurance). I can easily fit two bikes standing up (the rear seats have rails + fork mount = awesome), plus have tons of room for other biking / hiking junk, and I don't have to push up the seats so me and the passenger have tons of leg room.
 
the only downside to the vibe/matrix is that you can't get them with a 4wd drivetrain. then again, cheaper, better mileage, almost as much space. probably competent with winter tires
 
The CRV is nice.

The RAV4 (I've had one for years-- it is now the "old car") holds a lot more than you might think. I went camping with it every year for 5-6, and we took out the back seats, making it a land-based cargo shell. Holds a lot.
 
You must make a decent amount of money if you're buying a SUV. It costs like $50 to fill one up these days.

Godspeed
 
I have been very happy with the Chevy Equinox. Its was the perfect middle ground as far as size. Loads of leg room for the back seats. On paper it is not the best but the little touches make up for it. I like that the back seat pulls all the way forward so I can reach the baby seat without much effort and store more in the back. The passenger seat has a hard back and folds down for when your hauling lumber, shelving or changing baby =)
 
My bad on mentioning about a V-4 LOL.... Anyways, I'm glad to hear about the seats getting softer over time. The RAV-4 just was a little too cramped for what I wanted when I got into it. I wonder when the 06's are coming out.... I am glad that it is mid year though, and it usually is a lot easier to negotiate prices with the salesmen when they have a large stock and are trying to get rid of it. I currently have a 00 Grand Am, and this SUV seems to get the same, or better gas milage then it!

Plus I have a 2 mile commute to work (with that commute, I should be looking at the H3, but the wife wont bite... LOL)
 
Diablos said:
You must make a decent amount of money if you're buying a SUV. It costs like $50 to fill one up these days.

Godspeed
Click to expand...

Not true it only costs about high $30 to low $40 to fill up our Xterra.
 
So I started looking at cars too. I like the Xterra. Unfortunetly I don't know much about cars. Any good sites that compare cars? I like the CRV too but its a little underpowered I believe. I would like to pull stuff(2 4wheelers maybe). :lol Right now I'm dreaming 'cause I don't have the money to buy this stuff but some day.

How do you like your Xterra DarienA?
 
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