Compact SUV Purchase

#1
TN-GAYTOR-HATER

TN-GAYTOR-HATER

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#1
Looking at possibly purchasing a 2008 jeep patriot limited. Insight from anyone that has owned, or currently owns a patriot would be greatly appreciated. Have also considered GMC Terrain and Chevy Equinox, I need something that has a little room, but still gets great gas mileage and looks nice. Would like to spend 20,000 or less as this will be a work vehicle. Thoughts on vehicles mentioned or other possible options ?
 
#2
#2
are you looking at exclusively American models? The Terrain and Equinox don't exactly get great mileage. They're on the large end of the segment.

if not, the Honda CRV and Element, Scion tC, and Toyota Rav4 should also be high on your list.
 
#3
#3
MG1968 said:
are you looking at exclusively American models? The Terrain and Equinox don't exactly get great mileage. They're on the large end of the segment.

if not, the Honda CRV and Element, Scion tC, and Toyota Rav4 should also be high on your list.
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2011 Terrain and Equinox get 22 city 32 highway, not sure about fuel economy of the ones you mentioned. Not looking exclusively American, but I like the looks of the Terrain and Patriot more than the others. I like the square look alot more than the curvy look.
 
#4
#4
My daughter has a 2010 RAV4. Nothing but positive things to say about it.
 
#7
#7
Patriots are garbage IMO. It's essentially a Dodge Caliber dressed up with a classic Jeep look, but literally all of its competitors have bigger, better interiors, far better off-road capability, more reliability and equivalent economy for not much more if at all. Toyota RAV4 is probably your best bet in that category, though they can be a little spendier. CRV is a decent option, but my personal favorite by far in that sort of vehicle is a Forrester.

Regarding Equinox and Terrain, the GMC is essentially the gussied up Terrain. I haven't been in the new GMC, but I've heard good things, primarily that the interior is easily the best of small American SUV's (which hardly surprises me with GMC) while the Equinox has probably the worst interior of this group (did some factory servicing on a new one at my old GM training facility, the interior pretty much was crap). However, there are some things to go with that: Best interior from American makes usually means just on par with the Japanese, and with most small American SUV's I'm guessing the four cylinder engines are worthless while the V6's are the only ones capable of anything, but you end up paying for it at the pump. Also, the Terrain IIRC has only been around since MY '10, making me assume that your odds of finding one for less than $20k are pretty slim.
 
#8
#8
I've been thinking about getting a new or reasonably new compact SUV. I need a decent AWD vehicle that will still get OK gas mileage, but also give me some room transporting bigger items (relative to what will fit in my wife's Civic).

Milo - you mentioned the Forrester. My initial list to check out included the Rav4, CRV, Equinox, and Forrester. I really liked the Forrester, the Rav4 was also a nice vehicle....but I've been leaning toward the Forrester. Do you know of any knocks against the 2.5X's acceleration relative to others in it's class? The 4cyl Rav4 I test-drove seemed to pick up better, but in limited test driving it is hard to tell.

I plan on bringing a Forrester home for a night to get a bit more time in with it, but I just wanted to get your (or others) opinions on that.

The Equinox or done other small American SUV is still on the list because I have warned by about 20 people to buy American here in Michigan. But, that really just makes me want to make sure I buy from a foreign manufacturer. :)
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#9
#9
From all accounts, Equinox V6 is an all-around decent car, but the mileage and long-term reliability will probably be suspect compared to Japanese competitors.

Obviously the Forrester has been around forever and has changed little because it works. Subaru had this compact SUV thing nailed a decade before anybody else even got involved.

Wanting AWD only drives it home, nobody does it on that level like Subaru does. They're good on pavement, but absolutely brilliant on any sort of low traction surface. The RAV4 is definitely gonna be the sportiest in its group, best-handling, best 0-60 time, etc. Honda CR-V's handle nearly as well, but not as fast, and can't haul much.

Try them all out, my guess is that the RAV4 and Forrester will be your best bets.
 
#10
#10
Went through this exercise last year....

1. If you are looking at spending 20K or less and have luxury then good luck because I doubt you are going to find anything 08 or newer in that price range that doesn't have a ton of miles, and Terrains didn't exist until 2010.

2. The Forrester is a much better small SUV than I thought it would be. I drove one from Knoxville to Port Canaveral in 09 and liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

3. We were deciding between the CRV, Highlander, and Terrain. I, personally, do not like the body style of the new CRVs. There is something about them not appealing to me. All indication are that they are a good car, but it was a personal thing. I was disappointed in the Highlander in what it offered versus price tag and thought the inside was crappy honestly. Not worth it, IMO. Don't know if that would hold true with RAV-4s or not. We didn't look at those closely because we needed more room than they offered.

4. We ended up settling on the Terrain. Milo is correct in that the interior is very nice, which surprised me a lot and is what won my wife (read: us) over. The only model that gets the 32 MPG is the 4 cylinder which I would HIGHLY recommend not purchasing because it doesn't have enough power. We purchased the 6 and it gets roughly 19-21 in the city and 23-25 on the interstate. Great car. The only gripe I have about it is that the turning radius is a bit wider than any other car I have driven. But, once again, you will not find one of these for under 20K.

All in all, if you are looking for a work vehicle that gets decent milage, I'd go with a CRV, RAV-4 or even a Ford Escape if you are looking for something purely basic that (with my experience with Ford Explorers) would get you from point A to point B. And you could probably find basic model at or around 20K.

Have fun. I don't envy you. :hi:
 
#11
#11
Yep, GMC is really the only US auto make that has decent interiors, IMO. It's supposed to be our luxury brand, and though it can't hold a candle to the interior of an X3, GLK, Land Rover LR2, etc. it is $7-8k less than those.

Re: The Highlander, it's a midsize crossover, and is more a competitor for the Ford Explorer, Honda Pilot, etc.

For your situation, it's probably down to a Forrester if offroad capability is what you seek, if not, then CR-V or RAV4. CR-V is better around town, and not as large but drives extremely well, has incredible reliability and sips fuel. RAV4 can at least get it done offroad while still being nice to drive on it, and has a decent bit more space. The V6's in these are also surprisingly efficient and actually pretty quick, 270-ish bhp IIRC.
 
#13
#13
Xterras are a little bit larger than what we're talking about here, but are about as good as it gets offroad. Although I wouldn't touch the first gen ones with a 10ft pole.
 
#14
#14
milohimself said:
Xterras are a little bit larger than what we're talking about here, but are about as good as it gets offroad. Although I wouldn't touch the first gen ones with a 10ft pole.
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true but for some reason it's always seems to be lumped in to test groups with the crv, rav4, etc. Always wanted one when the first came out but glad I waited for the 2nd gen

I was between a Titan and the X but the dealership screwed up the Titan deal so I grabbed the X. Only downside is very little aftermarket support but there is a good community out there that helps
 
#15
#15
The Nissan Rogue would be a better (cheaper) option than the Murano.

also, don't discount the Hyundai/Kia options in the small ute category.
 
#16
#16
The Hyundais are great but I'd only warn to buy one if you are committed to keeping it for a long while as the resale values are awful. Can't beat that warranty though.
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#17
#17
I had a Mazda CX-7 and would highly recommend it. The only knock on it is the gas mileage ain't great (18-20).

It rides and handles about as good as you're going to get. Good interior and pretty good cargo space.

It's a 4 cyl but turbo tweaked for low-end so it has plenty of power.

Plenty of them out there under 20K - I highly recommend it.

For a 2008, you could probably get one loaded (Grand Touring model) for under 20K easy.
 
#18
#18
Mazda is always a great option, I spaced on them. Most of their models have their drawbacks, but they're inexpensive, reliable and for the money they are the most fun to drive across the range.
 
#19
#19
I am in the opposite situation of the OP. I currently own a Honda CRV and really need to get a larger SUV. With two kids growing up, there just doesn't seem to be enough room anymore when we go on vacation. What are people's opinions on the larger SUV's? I have rented a Jeep Grand Cherokee a few years ago and it seemed to drive well.

Thanks in advance for any advice/price suggestions.
 
#20
#20
I have a Hyundai Santa Fe. It was by far my favorite one to test drive. I had always wanted a Nissan Murano and hated it when I went for a test drive. The seats in a Chevy Exquinox are hard if they are cloth. The Ford Escapes are good but they are built more on a truck frame. The Kia Sorento drives good as well.
 
#22
#22
TennTradition said:
I've been thinking about getting a new or reasonably new compact SUV. I need a decent AWD vehicle that will still get OK gas mileage, but also give me some room transporting bigger items (relative to what will fit in my wife's Civic).

Milo - you mentioned the Forrester. My initial list to check out included the Rav4, CRV, Equinox, and Forrester. I really liked the Forrester, the Rav4 was also a nice vehicle....but I've been leaning toward the Forrester. Do you know of any knocks against the 2.5X's acceleration relative to others in it's class? The 4cyl Rav4 I test-drove seemed to pick up better, but in limited test driving it is hard to tell.

I plan on bringing a Forrester home for a night to get a bit more time in with it, but I just wanted to get your (or others) opinions on that.

The Equinox or done other small American SUV is still on the list because I have warned by about 20 people to buy American here in Michigan. But, that really just makes me want to make sure I buy from a foreign manufacturer. :)
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Where are you living now TT? I can tell you this...I'm no Milo or Vbham but I was stuck with a CR-V when the twins were born. It was my wife's, but had to trade my Tundra in on a Suburban. I've enjoyed it more than I imagined I would. It is full time all wheel drive and the thing is like a mountain goat. If you have the clearance it will go anywhere. It is the best thing I've ever driven on snow and ice.
 
#23
#23
milohimself said:
How large? Like Toyota 4runner/Honda Element size? Larger? How many kids?
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Don't know how much larger I need to go. We are finished with kids at 2 (but they aren't even past 8 years old yet and I know that it was a pain to pack the last time we went on a short vacation). Ideally, I'd like to have much larger luggage area, and enough space in the back for 3 people to sit in. What am I looking at?
 
#24
#24
OldandStillaVol said:
I am in the opposite situation of the OP. I currently own a Honda CRV and really need to get a larger SUV. With two kids growing up, there just doesn't seem to be enough room anymore when we go on vacation. What are people's opinions on the larger SUV's? I have rented a Jeep Grand Cherokee a few years ago and it seemed to drive well.

Thanks in advance for any advice/price suggestions.
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I'm going to sound like I work for Mazda but the CX-9 might be worth looking into. It is well reviewed.
 
#25
#25
OldandStillaVol said:
Don't know how much larger I need to go. We are finished with kids at 2 (but they aren't even past 8 years old yet and I know that it was a pain to pack the last time we went on a short vacation). Ideally, I'd like to have much larger luggage area, and enough space in the back for 3 people to sit in. What am I looking at?
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Not that I've had much experience hauling kids around, this is the one area where I go off what I read and watch on C&D/Motortrend/Top Gear, but with two kids, third row seating becomes pretty important if you wanna haul their friends along at all. By most accounts I've heard Volvo XC90 is an outstanding SUV for handling the chit'luns.
 
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