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new car - opinions please

Leo Voisine

Leo Voisine

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Location
East Freeetown, Massachusetts
I have been saving up for a new car. Just about all of my sign income goes to this, plus about 10 years of savings. Well not brand new - new to me. Thinking of 2016 - 2019 model year, maybe closer to 2018-2019. I want something nice - AWD, not 4wheel. I have narrowed down to 4 cars.

Honda CR-V EX or EXL
Subaru Forester (equivalent to Honda trim)
Mazda CX-5 (equivalent to Honda trim)
Toyota Rav-4 (equivalent to Honda trim)

Living in a light, but occasional heavy snow area, I want some decent snow performance.

Do any of you OWN one of these?

What are your thoughts on these 4 cars?
 
A suggestion? We have a 2005 Lexus RX with over 210,000 miles and it runs as good as new. Nearly bullet proof. I know Vaughn had one at one time as well and I think his opinion was similar. Might warrant a look. A step up from those you have listed so it might require falling back a year or two to stay in budget, but you might find it to be worth it.
 
My wife drives a CR-V and I have a RAV-4. In fact this is my second RAV-4. I like the first one so well when it came time to buy a new car I bought another one. It is now10 years old and the only thing I have had to do is routine maintenance. I do have to remember to periodically top of the air in the spare tire because if I don't a warning light will come on.

The CR-V is a very nice vehicle but it does not sit quite as high off the floor as my RAV-4. It also does not get as good gas mileage. I average 29-30 on the road and my wife gets around 27-28. The ride in the CR-V is a little better as the RAV-4 is quite stiff so you feel the road...i.e. if the road is smooth the ride is smooth and conversely, if the road is rough.....

I don't think you can go wrong with either vehicle.

I have no personal experience with either the Mazda or the Subaru. However I have a friend with a Subaru who has over 400,000 miles on it and drives it every day. He has owned Subarus for most of his adult life and swears by them. Actually he still has two of the last Subarus he owned and lets his grandkids drive them. Both of those vehicles have well over 750,000 miles. They do not get particularly good mileage but seem to run forever. I believe them to be very well built based on observations only.

P.S. The Lexus (Lexus is owned and built by Toyota) is built on the same frame with mostly the same undercarriage components as the RAV-4. Obviously different body and interior trim as well as a different powertrain. You can buy both a CR-V and a RAV-4 for what a Lexus costs and have change left over for gas.
 
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As Rennie mentioned, I loved my Lexus RX 300. What I didn't love was the cost of parts for the rare occasions when it needed them. I'm currently driving a Toyota 4Runner, which - like the Lexus - has a reputation for long term reliability. (That's a general Toyota trait.) Of the four that Leo listed, I'd be looking real hard at the RAV-4. My BIL has a RAV-4 that he has barely maintained, and it's still running good with nearly 200K miles.

One of my bandmates drives a Forrester and he loves it. It's been very reliable for him. Very capable in the snow, and has enough beef under the hood to tow his Hobie Cat with no issues.
 
We have a 2015 Honda CRV-EXL and find it a great SUV, my son has one, his in-laws have two. My work I retired from had a 2007 and just sold it with 420,000 miles, yes I would recommend it. On that note, my dad has the Rav-4 and loves it, I have friends that are on their 2nd Subaru ! I guess find the one you like style wise and options, sounds like you can’t go wrong:)
 
Can't go wrong with either the Forester or the RAV4. Both are great. My preference would be the Subaru, though. I've had five of them over the years.
 
Leo Voisine said:
I want some decent snow performance
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Decent winter tires do a good chunk of the mileage for that. A lot of folks here swear by the nokian hakkapeliitta's and Car & Driver rates them pretty highly as well https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a15102773/best-snow-tires-for-winter/ - followed pretty closely by the Michelin and then the Bridgestone.

I suspect most of the above will do pretty well comparatively, in light snow & ice I find a lower center of gravity is generally more stable so perhaps a very slight nod to the Subaru Forester but I suspect it's really close to a wash out to other features.
 
I haven't ever had a Rav-4 but I've had some Toyotas, and, I'll likely only have Toyotas from now on. #1 wife drives a 2012 Lexus RX350. Navigation system is a little stupid but other than that annoyance it's a great car. I feel very confident with her driving it. It's not likely to break down, but, if it does, they'll go get it and her. The only time it's been back to the shop (other than regular maint) was to get a new key. She cleaned out her purse one day by taking out what she could see and then dumped the rest into the trash. $350 remote keyless key is sitting in a landfill someplace.

but, just to get a key, the service dept. checked it out completely and washed and vacuumed it free gratis.

Now, obviously, you pay for that up front, but the car is as sound as any I've seen.

I started driving a Toyota T100 in 1999. In 2008 got a Tundra, then 2013 a Ford f-150, then in 2017 another Tundra.
#1 wife started driving an Avalon in 1998, 2001 Sequoia, 2008 4Runner, and 2015 the Lexus.

In the four years with the Ford (since 1999) it failed on my numerous times. I hated it. I asked #3 son if he wanted it. He did, then he hated it. Traded it in for a Tundra.

In fact all my sons have Tundras. When they all come over the driveway looks like a used Toyota lot.

My vote is for the RAV-4 if you can't have a truck.

Alan
 
We've had a CRV for 10 years, and it was the first new car I ever bought (out of 11 or so in my life) that didn't need to go back to the dealer for some kind of warranty repair. It was recalled once for a software change, but otherwiese it was golden. In snow it did very well, though as someone mentioned it isn't off the ground like a pickup, even so it was a very good car. We replaced it a year ago and did not get a CRV, but that was more due to a change in the dealer ownership than the car itself. What I really wanted was a Suburu, but for us the newest dealers were both 75 miles or so away, and i didn't want to deal with that distance. It still gets my vote for the car to own, though for us it might be the Outback model.
 
Awesome reviews. I guess I am on the right road. Surprising is the mileage of the Subaru's.

I didn't hear anything about Mazda.

Currently, Diane is driving a 2003 Civic base model with 173,000 miles on it. We got it with 50k miles.

Yesterday we drove a 2018 Forester Premier. That is one trim level up from base model. That seems to be the correct trim level for us. I loved it, but the front seats were good, not great. Back at the dealer he showed us a 2021. From 2019 and up they are all the same. A 2021 or a 2019 will feel the same. Seats are much better. I am sure I would love driving it. Diane said sure, she could get used to it.

Lastly, he had a 2020 Premier with 5,000 miles on it for a decent price. Nope - not yet.

Today we will go to the Mazda dealer and look at a CX-5. Hopefully we will get to test drive it.

Not today, but next we will test drive a Rav-4, Then the CR-V.

Fred you said you really wanted a Subaru, but dealership was too far away.

Fortunately all four - plus many others are within a couple of miles apart on the same road.
I also can do to other areas of equal distance from home, for the same dealerships.
I am thankful to be so fortunate.

I want to land on ONE car, then shop for the car for us.
 
Bought the wife a Subaru Outback, she loves it and is her 2nd Subaru. The only negative for me is the seats which are not long enough for thigh support.
 
Not a car guy, and know little to nothing about any of the cars listed... only time I ever drove a Rav4 was on a visit to daughter in CA... she lent me hers for a day... was back when they were tiny and if I remember, drove fine.
Other daughter in Illinois drive an Outback... she loves it and I think this is here second.
Currently I drive a little KIA Soul and have come to really enjoy it... no problems other than I keep picking up nails in my tires... so far I've had to replace 2 tires with nails in the side wall...
Before the KIA, we drove a Toyota Avalon for 17 years... it was a '96 bought used and I drove it to 320,000 miles... only problem I ever experienced, the driver side servo motor on the window failed and I hit a small log that fell off a truck and damaged the CV joint on the driver side front tire... not a fault of the car. I would have stayed with the Avalon, except the wife was having trouble getting in and out due to the lower ride than the KIA... she has some severe back issues that has decreased her mobility by about 50%.
To get in the F150, I have to play conductor and set out a step stool for her.
 
A 4Runner is a good mix of car and truck. It is actually on a truck chassis. The Highlander is not. It is on a car chassis. #1 wife actually liked her 4Runner more than the Lexus. She'll likely get another one when the time comes.

Alan
 
So far I drove the
Rav-4. Really nice car. hard to say no, but I agreed that it is a joint decision. (we both need to love it)
Subaru Forester - we both LOVE it
CX-5 - it's a nice car, but not for us
CRV - no - I don't feel confident with the 1.5 oil dilution issue - didn't even drive it, even though that was my first choice.

So, it sounds like we are Subaru people. Seriously considering a used 2020 Subaru Forester Premier with 4335 miles on it. Comes with 7 year 100,000 mile warranty. May close that deal early next week.
 
Been researching cars for aot8 months before pulling the trigger. The Subaru Outback or Forrester looked about the best overall. I just need to find one that I can fit in. At 6 ft 4 and long legs it's difficult to find car that I fit in. Pickups good but LOML says no more of that. It all comes down to personel preference. Fun to shop and tease salesmen.
David
 
We looked at the Subaru also when we were shopping, as many of my co-workers have them and love them. We almost went that route, but then my wife decided on the jeep instead. ;) It's not a gas saver, but fun to drive. It's also held its resell value much better than any other car or truck I've owned.
 
One of our local dealers took on the Subaru. After about two years he dropped them. Said they were almost impossible to keep running. Maintenance was excessive. I dunno. Just repeating.
Not yet mentioned, the Kia and Hundiay get good reviews.
That said, I do not care to have any make that does not have a dealer nearby. The idea of a 250 mile tow and overnighting in a motel just doesn't appeal to me.
I would go for a Ford Explorer. There are scads of them out there. Ford must be doing something right.
 
Frank Fusco said:
One of our local dealers took on the Subaru. After about two years he dropped them. Said they were almost impossible to keep running. Maintenance was excessive...
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I disagree with that. Over the years, I've had five Subarus - all Outbacks - and I've put well over 300,000 miles on them. (not counting the newest one which is only a few months old). In all that time, I've NEVER needed a repair. I do follow the maintenance schedule religiously. Of course, things like brake pads , tires, batteries, light bulbs, etc. are maintenance items, not repairs. I don't understand your local dealer's position.
 
My friends girlfriend said she has a Subaru with 267,000 miles on it and it runs great and is comfortable.

I have not heard any reports of bad maintenance.
I have heard that the older models had issues with head gaskets, but that has been fixed.
 
Leo Voisine said:
I have heard that the older models had issues with head gaskets, but that has been fixed.
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That was the 2006 model of the Crosstek. They introduced a new engine variant that year. The fix was a redesigned head gasket (replaced under warranty). Don't know of any other maintenance problems, though.
 
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