We are looking for a small SUV, something with a little more room than a car. Has to be easy on mileage in the city, and better on highway.

We looked at a Ford Escape, but I'm not 100% sure with that one yet, so looking for other ideas. I like the idea of 4wd when needed so that is a plus.
Looking to stay in domestic market also, not buying new. Hopefully $15,000 and under.

you should look a chevy hhr they are pretty good suvs

Hhr. Lol. I think he is looking along the lines of crv trailblazer and things like that. Forester is nice. You can usually get the older xt for around that price. Crv and the rav4 are OK. My brother in-law got a new Santa fe for around that price.

For transmission reasons I would stay away from the Escapes, as well as any Saturn Vue with a CVT. The CD4E's are what puts the power to the ground in AWD Escapes. A FWD econobox transmission with a transfer case attached.......... And the Vue CVT is a paper thin, problem prone POS. Trust me, those 2 would give you more trouble than they're worth. And that's just in the transmissions.

CRV would be a good bet, as well as something like the Pathfinders and the like.

(tabs) wrote:

z yaaaa wrote:its not much fun trying to argue with a wall.

oh, trust us, we know

i hear a lot of good things about the rav 4 as well as the CRV's

Damn, was hoping to stay away from the foreign ones, but looks like it will be the best bet in the long run.

Any other recommendations? The woman wants something larger and better in the winter, shes stuck in a 97 cavalier right now. I'd like to see her just get a fullsize sedan for mileage purposes, not to mention I've never worked on a foreign car.

MRThompson (jrthompson) wrote:Hhr. Lol.

Our other car is an '08 Escape, meh, nothing I'd love to work on plus it's got some nice door seam rust forming and has demonstrated some funny tire wear despite suspension and alignment being in order.

Unfortunately your other half is involved, my SS wagon that's for sale would be great with dedicated snow tires, plus it's red & turbo .

Joe Schulte wrote:

MRThompson (jrthompson) wrote:Hhr. Lol.

Our other car is an '08 Escape, meh, nothing I'd love to work on plus it's got some nice door seam rust forming and has demonstrated some funny tire wear despite suspension and alignment being in order.

Unfortunately your other half is involved, my SS wagon that's for sale would be great with dedicated snow tires, plus it's red & turbo .

No more modified cars for us it would be nice to have another red turbo sedan around lol

Trying to talk her into a fullsize car rather than an SUV. Hard to go from the j-body and delta platform to something totally new.

We have an Equinox and have been really happy with it. Its the first generation model, but if you can nab one of the new models, the 4 cylinder is supposed to get pretty good gas mileage for a CUV.

i love my trailblazer SS but its not exactly MPG friendly lol...my wife has a 08 escape and i hate every aspect of it. but hers does it over 23mpg around town






RIP JESSE GERARD.....Youll always be in my thoughts and prayers...

also the dodge journeys are good, we got one for the wife and are thrilled


Modding my j since I found the org

What about a Nissan Pathfinder? Kind of mid size. Not sure how they do on gas either, but its not small but not full size from what I have seen.

We have a Mazda cx7....it's pretty fun to drive! Not as much now that my car is chipped (1.8t passat)...but when I had the sunfire it was a blast when j for to drive it!!!! LOL I think I calculated getting 24mpg at one point...but it's hard to keep track of that since the eye drives it and can't remember/didn't care to track it.

Journey is too much of a minivan, Pathfinder is way to big and harsh on gas, CX7, meh don't care for mazdas...

Still thinking I'm going to change her mind to a full size sedan...hopefully. Not liking what I find for any SUV's

I like my Vue, its only Fwd, but I'm not taking it mudding.



USACi =>146.9db
14.88 @ 90.73MPH =>GM Charger, Motor Mounts, Catback exhaust

It's considered a Hatchback or Wagon, but how about a Pontiac Vibe? Very reliable... there are members on GenVibe.com that have 200,000, 300,000, even one guy with 400,000+ miles on his 2004 with little to no major issues. They are available with AWD as well. Very good on gas. Many owners easily get 30+ mpg. The AWDs get a little less with the extra weight, but still get good mileage compared to other comparable vehicles. Plenty of cargo room. Heck, you could even get a 2009 or 2010 for under $15,000. The 2009-2010s came standard with tons of air bags, traction and vehicle stability control, 4 wheel disc brakes, plus a bunch of other nice stuff that was all optional on the 2003-2008s.

I can personally tell you that going from a J-Body to a Vibe was a very nice upgrade. Way more room, sitting higher up while driving, etc. while still keeping the positive things about J-Bodies like great mileage. Just my $.02.

I have thrown the idea around of a Vibe, I like them.
Don't know much about them though...like common issues, easy to work on, etc.

]

Jeep Liberty?

I think they are nice little SUV's, personally. People will tell you that they aren't as offroad capable as Grand Cherokees and Wranglers, which is true (biggest difference IMO is lack of solid front axle), but that also makes them nice road cars and they still have really good 4wd when you need it. I too think the Dodge Journeys are ugly and the Liberty's from 2008+ are rebadged Journey's so you would want to get something 2007 or earlier.

No Liberty's at all. My mother owned one for less than a year and got rid of it.
Consistently would get 17-20mpg, and had no power at all. I hated the thing.

vibenvy wrote:It's considered a Hatchback or Wagon, but how about a Pontiac Vibe? Very reliable... there are members on GenVibe.com that have 200,000, 300,000, even one guy with 400,000+ miles on his 2004 with little to no major issues. They are available with AWD as well. Very good on gas. Many owners easily get 30+ mpg. The AWDs get a little less with the extra weight, but still get good mileage compared to other comparable vehicles. Plenty of cargo room. Heck, you could even get a 2009 or 2010 for under $15,000. The 2009-2010s came standard with tons of air bags, traction and vehicle stability control, 4 wheel disc brakes, plus a bunch of other nice stuff that was all optional on the 2003-2008s.

I can personally tell you that going from a J-Body to a Vibe was a very nice upgrade. Way more room, sitting higher up while driving, etc. while still keeping the positive things about J-Bodies like great mileage. Just my $.02.

Agreed. I really like the later Vibes...


http://www.autotalk.com/pictures/data/1536/medium/2005_Chevrolet_Cavalier_Xtreme_002_autotalk_com_.jpg

My parents had a 2005 equinox LT awd. They loved it but it had 200K on it so they traded it in for a 2008 jeep GC. They owned the jeep for about a month or 2 and could not take the gas miles and my mom hated how it drove. They sold it to my uncle and then My parents went out and bought a 2010 equinox LTZ 4cly awd. They love it. If feels just as fast at the 3.4 in the 2005 and gets very good gas miles. My mom keeps saying how much she loves the thing and she isn't one to care at all about cars

You're gonna stick her in a Vibe you should really buy my wagon, plus it's delta-based .

First gen Equinox interior is horrible looking in quality IMO, couldn't handle it.

My mom got a 2007 equinox lt brand new. It ended up being a lemon. It was in the dealer 11 times before it had 30,000 miles on it with seat/safety problems. Gm extended her warranty to prevent her from lemoning it. It also had a problem with a computer recall. And like said above, GM didn't put much quality or time into the interior. The exterior looked cool tho (laser blue with factory 17 polished aluminum wheels). So, naturally I am not a fan of first gen equinoxes. At 64,000 we traded it in on a 2010 fusion sport (3.5 v6) and haven't looked back. Btw, fusions come in awd, and the only problem we have had is replacing 1 tail light bulb and it has 50,000 miles on it now. I love the fusions and the 4 cyl and 3.0 v6 get good mpg's as well. With the 3.5 v6 we average around 24-26 mpg. Fwd on factory 18's with low profile tires actually are decent in the snow here in southern Ohio.

2010 legacy plenty of room and good mileage. plus awd.

equinox sport.



I choose the technology built for land speed records... not the technology built to save on emissions and gas mileage.