I have a Mazda CX-7... love it! If I ever had more than my BF, 11 year old and 100 lbs dog to tote around, I've already said I'd trade it in for the CX-9.
We need to have drinks and I can check out/test drive your car lol BEFORE the drinks of course! lol
I'm on vacation for 2 weeks starting tomorrow... let's do it!
Acura MDX. We loved it before kids, and we love it now with 2 car seats in it. When we upgrade, it will be to another MDX.
How's the gas mileage and maintenance?
FX, but the maintenance has been a dream. We bought it in 2007 and aside from the regular scheduled stuff, I've only taken it to a mechanic once (there was a problem with our bluetooth mechanism that drained the battery).
I get in the 20-24mpg range, depending on highway or city. It was a great commuter car when I had a long drive to work. Now, I just drive the kids around our town and we use it for long trips.
Post by holdingthestars on Dec 18, 2014 13:04:48 GMT -5
I bought a 2012 Toyota Highlander Limited new and have been very happy with it. I bought an SUV hoping to have a kiddo in the backseat. Now that I have E, I couldn't imagine not having a SUV. It's so much easier to get a baby into his car seat in my car than H's Nissan Maxima.
I have a 2009 Ford Escape and it has been the best car for our family. It's the perfect size, it's not too big, and it's comfortable. Plus, it has about 90k miles and knock on wood but it's never had a single issue. A couple of years ago they changed the style to look like something closer to a station wagon and I really don't care for it. But it would still be worth looking into. I would definitely buy a second escape if it had the same body style.
I currently drive a VW Tiguan R Line. Such a fun car to drive! I love the roominess of it without being too big. It fits our 2 large dogs perfectly. We are leasing it right now so no $$ for maintenance. It has all the bells and whistles and gets great gas mileage. I actually want to keep it when the lease is up ha.
Previously I had a 2012 Jeep Liberty. We still have it. The 4x4 cannot be beat. The drawback is the gas mileage. It's a v6 so it's not very good.
I traded in my Nissan Rogue when we got the liberty. I loved the Rogue but I needed a bigger vehicle when we got the 2nd dog.
kellsbellesmajick143 My mom is on her second SRX and she LOVES it. I love her car too (you can flame me for this) I was trying to avoid it so I wouldn't copy her! lol I am going to add this one to my list after your input! Oh and majick I will definitely be reaching out, I'm going to need all the help I can get. H is mechanically challenged lol so I need to make sure this is a good buy. I tend to keep cars until I drive them into the ground!
xokell2 I'm kind of glad to hear you hate the Acura, I was going back and forth on the MDX but haven't heard feed back from anyone either way. Gas mileage isn't great.
aak0517 I haven't had a car payment in 3 years, this sucks! I've been protesting buying a new car but when you blinker controls you instrument panel and not your actual blinker you know it's time! lol
gringachef I fell in love with H's Audi, I just have a hard time with the expensive maintenance and premium gas. I LOVE the Q5 though!
I'm going test drive some of your suggestions this weekend so keep them coming! I forgot about the Acadia...
I can totally appreciate not wanting to copy your mom It's worth a look though, they're such a great car. I actually downsized from my full size SUV's to this because of how much I enjoyed how it drove and all of the little extras that it came with. We searched far and wide for the exact color interior and exterior that I wanted that also had the rear seat entertainment package. I will say that the Cadillac CUE system takes a little learning to figure out everything that it can do but once you get it, there's no going back. I hated it when we were test driving them because I didn't know how to change things quickly but I overcame that quick and trust me, I was grumpy with my H about it until I learned how to use it.
We compared that with the Acadia and the Buick Enclave which are a little bigger than the SRX but really really nice. We settled on the Caddy since we have had Cad's for years and are kind of partial to the luxury aspect. Sitting in the Buick and GMC I noticed the little things that it didn't have that I was used to and would have probably missed. I don't think it was anything that I would have missed had I not had it in a previous vehicle.
DEFINITELY reach out for advice if you need it! My H lives, eats, breathes and sleeps cars. It sounds like an exaggeration but it's 100% true. Good thing I love cars too otherwise we would never had made it. haha!!
Town & Country. I love having the room of a van with 2 kids but if I had the choice of buying a new car I'd go with the GMC Acadia. I drove one for a few days while my van was in the shop for body work and I fell in love.
I have a 2013 Fender Edition Beetle as my daily driver and a 1994 Mazda Rx7 as my fun car. Neither of those would be family-friendly, though.
H would get an Rx7 in a minute if I said yes. He misses his fun cars all the time! lol
We just sold DH's 2004 Rx8. Funny story, he bought it originally in 2004, sold it when he had kids (previous marriage). When we got together in 2012, the owner called him out of the blue letting him know he was selling it. The selling price was ridiuclously low since the guy was willing to sell it for the price the dealership would give on a trade in, knowing that it was going to someone who loved the car. I told him to buy it back, so we did. We had it for about 2 years and now just sold it again, actually making money on it. It was such a fun car.
Post by DirtySouth on Dec 18, 2014 13:46:19 GMT -5
I lease a Nissan Leaf, which with the federal and GA tax credit, turns out to be nearly free. I have a 2 year lease, and after receiving the GA tax credit, I will only have paid for six months of the two year lease. If I had gone with the basic model, it honest to God would have been free. Crazy deal. Plus, I'm now not spending $200 a month on gas, and there is no maintenance like oil changes. The only downside is if you drive more than 80 miles in a day, you are going to have to charge somewhere.
I drove an Acura TSX before that. I loved it, but the electrical system started going out when the car was 9 years old. I had planned to drive it for 2 more years and was really bummed when $2k spent on repairs didn't fix the problem.
What I really want when my lease runs out is a convertible, but I'm not finding one I like with a backseat for my kid. So while I really want a convertible, I might end up with an SUV.
I've driven volvos, Mazda and VW. We recently said bye to our Volvo wagon (xc70) and got a used Volvo SUV (xc90),
Similar to you, I wanted to do an SUV type car for near future kids (and we also wanted clearance for mountain/trail rugged driving). I never thought I would say this, but I love the power of the W8 engine and all wheel drive is nice too. We get about 17mog for city and 20mpg for highway (although that's mountain driving, we'll see what we get on flat interstate at Christmas!) plus I love the folding 3rd for when we have family visit!
I have a Ford Edge and I love it. I am single and do not have kids (yet) so I don't really need the room but whatever, I love it anyway. It's great on gas mileage, compact yet roomy. Lots of leg room even in the backseat. When this one goes I will buy another.
We have a GMC Acadia with bucket sets in second row and love it. It feels so much bigger inside than it appears but it's not a tank to drive and park (in the city). The other car we were going to get was the Infiniti QX60? We both loved it but the second row just wasn't working with two carseats, we needed access to row three for my older son.
I have a Volvo S60 and I love my car! I drove my last car for just over 15 years and replaced it last year when I got my Volvo and am loving my Volvo. My mom likes it too and makes sure we take it when we do stuff together.
ETA: I just returned the Volvo XC60 that the dealership gave me to drive as a loaner while my car was being serviced, and I loved it! It really drove much like a car and was very easy to park. I've driven several SUVs and my parents have a BMW X5 and while this is smaller I much preferred it.
I have the MB GLK 350. I had a sedan before and I really wanted a SUV. Now that L is here I realize it doesn't have enough space. With his carseat the passenger seat is pretty far up. I should've went with the X5 I was looking at instead.
Subaru Outback. I really wanted a throwback station wagon and this is sort of close. In any case, Subaru's are some of the safest, most reliable, best car in weather (all wheel drive), affordable cars out there. Mine is a 2011 and I plan to drive it until it reaches 250,000 miles or more.
We got a Jeep Liberty when we had our first DD. We wanted an SUV type car, but didn't want anything too big. We've had it for 6 years now and it's been great. Now we have 2 kids. So last year DH got rid of his really old Jeep Wrangler so we could get a "more practical" 2nd car. We wound up getting a Hyundai Santa Fe after DH did a ton of research. It's a bit bigger than the Jeep Liberty, so that gives us more legroom and more trunk space. It's also got a V6 engine so I can smoke lots of other drivers if I need to. The Santa Fe drives really smooth and both are good in the snow.
We have a GMC Acadia with bucket sets in second row and love it. It feels so much bigger inside than it appears but it's not a tank to drive and park (in the city). The other car we were going to get was the Infiniti QX60? We both loved it but the second row just wasn't working with two carseats, we needed access to row three for my older son.
We are currently looking at Acadias. What year/model do you have? We were initially looking at new models but can't really find the color/options we would like at the price range we would like to stay in.
We have a GMC Acadia with bucket sets in second row and love it. It feels so much bigger inside than it appears but it's not a tank to drive and park (in the city). The other car we were going to get was the Infiniti QX60? We both loved it but the second row just wasn't working with two carseats, we needed access to row three for my older son.
We are currently looking at Acadias. What year/model do you have? We were initially looking at new models but can't really find the color/options we would like at the price range we would like to stay in.
We have a 2013 and the basic model, not sure what it's called, but for being a base model it really included everything we needed and wanted. My only requests were a sunroof and leather seats and I got both. We have white with grey/black interior
I have a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid. I love it. It's actually smaller than the mazda 626 I used to drive, so cross-overs aren't necessarily going to give you more room.
I have a 2013 Honda Pilot. I love having the 3rd row. We don't use it a ton but it's so handy when we need it. I had a Subaru before and loved it.
I have a Honda Pilot as well, albeit a much older one, but I love it! It's not too "momish" I don't think, but we love having the 3rd row and use it a ton even with only one kid. We use it with friends, family, etc.
I have a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid. I love it. It's actually smaller than the mazda 626 I used to drive, so cross-overs aren't necessarily going to give you more room.
I've never considered a Subaru but I'm definitely intrigued. I keep hearing a lot about what great cars they are...
Post by FormerCityGirl on Dec 19, 2014 15:06:43 GMT -5
We have his and her's MINI Coopers. Mine is a convertible with a supercharger, sport package (to go faster), heated seats, paddle shifters, runflat tires, racing stripes, and racing harnesses. His is a hardtop in purple haze with the winter package and panoramic sunroof. Our next will probably be a Countryman which is their SUV. We love the gas mileage and how they handle. The first 100k of maintenance is covered and DH's 2005 is already over 158k miles with no major issues.
We have an Acura TSX and while it was great before kids, it's feels small now that we have 2. We'll be getting a Toyota Highlander. I know it's a Japanese brand, but a lot of their vehicles are built in the US (if that's important to you)
I have a 2014 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid. I love it. It's actually smaller than the mazda 626 I used to drive, so cross-overs aren't necessarily going to give you more room.
I've never considered a Subaru but I'm definitely intrigued. I keep hearing a lot about what great cars they are...
Subaru was one that we checked out but the interiors are just so blah. Plus it was so loud inside the one we test drove. (We were looking at the 2015 WRX). We liked that they're AWD and have a good reputation but it just wasn't meant to be I guess lol.
I've never considered a Subaru but I'm definitely intrigued. I keep hearing a lot about what great cars they are...
Subaru was one that we checked out but the interiors are just so blah. Plus it was so loud inside the one we test drove. (We were looking at the 2015 WRX). We liked that they're AWD and have a good reputation but it just wasn't meant to be I guess lol.
They're not fancy, but that just means less stuff that breaks down over time.
The hybrid version has all the bells and whistles that a subaru could have, and it's still plain jane/utilitarian. I still love it though. I know it's going to get me from point a to point b for a very long time without random things going out over time.
Well, I have a minivan. I'm too young to be loving it as much as I do. But I have 3 kids including 1 year old twins. I wouldn't recommend it if you don't have the load I do. Lol.