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[Vicetrailia]

I’m looking for a SUV at the 20-30k price point.

I want some luxury features for comfort. Panoramic sun roof if possible, and acceleration performance. But I also care about fuel economy. All of these cars handle well.

I looked at:

2015-2018 Ford Edge Sport: Pros are luxury, performance and panoramic, con is fuel economy. 24 mpg highway yikes.

2019 RAV4 hybrid XLE+: Pro is fuel economy and exterior looks, con is price being above my budget and small space. Still worth it? No panoramic.

2019 Subaru Sport: Pro is price, interior, fuel economy, panoramic. Con is performance since it’s just a family car.

2019 Mazda CX-5 Signature: Great luxury/performance/good economy, con is stretching budget unless I get lower trims where the performance isn’t as great. For those who have 187 hp variants is it zippy enough on acceleration? No pano.

2016-2019 Lexus NX: pro is luxury and kind of performance, con is size and price being a little outside budget. No pano. Can’t afford RX and don’t like UX.

Crosstrek: Meh.

Opinions anyone?

 

[GeekyDad]

I'd do a 2016-2018 Rav4. Build quality in Toyotas/Lexus (especially transmissions) is just much more reliable in my experience than pretty much anything else out there.

 

[Vicetrailia]

I'd do a 2016-2018 Rav4. Build quality in Toyotas/Lexus (especially transmissions) is just much more reliable in my experience than pretty much anything else out there.

Hard to go for those when the 2019+ versions look so good. I don’t wanna get buyers remorse.

 

[Mohonky]

Considered Hyundai Santa Fe?

Otherwise CX 5 is a good choice

Doubt I would trust a Ford Edge

 

[Vicetrailia]

Considered Hyundai Santa Fe?

Otherwise CX 5 is a good choice

Doubt I would trust a Ford Edge

Same here about the edge. The 2018 Santa Fe limited seems to hit the spot apart from the fuel economy which is at the edges level.

IF I gotta made a sacrifice somewhere.... where should it be. Performance is the easiest.

 

[Soltype]

Most cars today have low end torque, so don't look at HP figures too much.They all try to feel fast off the line, after that is where they fall apart.

 

[DESTROYA]

Might want to check out the Mazda 3 hatchback Turbo model, it’s a brand new car but checks most of the boxes you want , it’s not a a traditional SUV but does have AWD , very fast gets decent gas mileage and has a excellent interior . Only thing is it goes for around $30K but at least its has a 3 year warranty

 

[Azzurri]

I'd go for the Mazada CX-5

 

[Square Grooper]

I'm biased toward lexus.

Buy the lexus... Find a good used rx/ nx and dont look back.

 

[EverydayBeast]

I still think suvs are for families.

 

[Romulus]

I have an awd Rav4 Prime SE. $39000 but I got a $7500 tax rebate. A bit out of your range but i feel like I can top any suv in terms of mpg that isn't telsa and make some money back.

It has 302hp(feels like more honestly) and I'm averaging 79mpg on the dash. Over 90mpg last week. 3 weeks ago I commuted all electric zero gas but I'm traveling again and less charging access so I'm running more gas. I can get 590miles range on tank and charge.

The reason why I say it feels faster than 302hp is my coworker was curious and took him for ride could not believe the power. We raced his top trim rav4 regular hybrid and it was not even remotely close.(which was hilariously more expensive than mine and supposedly 'quick.')
He also has a 2000s mustang and beat that barely. Granted I'm not a racer but he lives on a dead end street with no traffic. He timed me hitting 60mph in 5.3secs and that's spinning the tires. Lol

This thing is really incredible to get this sort of fuel economy and have any measure of performance.

Oh and that Toyota reliability is nice. Its hard to find them btw. It took me abt a month because as soon as they hit the lot they're gone.
I've had 3 people ask me about it on the street and really surprised by the price/performance/eco side of it. Really feels like a jack of all trades. Gas goes up? Use electric. Electric skyrockets? Use gas. It still gets 40mpg with zero changing and has the option to operate like a regular hybrid year round.