You can't go wrong with a Honda CR-V. I had a 2012 and LOVED it, although there is a known issue with the ATC actuator so if I was buying used I'd buy a 2013 which I've heard doesn't have this issue as much. (FWIW--this issue didn't cause any problems, really).
@@ Although--we have 2 kids and a dog and just upgraded from this to a Honda Odyssey. We couldn't fit 2 kids and a dog in the backrow. With only 1 kid you'd probably be fine. Car seats are so large.
Saturn's were great cars. RIP!
ETA: FWIW, we had a Rogue and a CR-V. Preferred the CR-V hands down. No comparison.
You can't go wrong with a Honda CR-V. I had a 2012 and LOVED it, although there is a known issue with the ATC actuator so if I was buying used I'd buy a 2013 which I've heard doesn't have this issue as much. (FWIW--this issue didn't cause any problems, really).
@@ Although--we have 2 kids and a dog and just upgraded from this to a Honda Odyssey. We couldn't fit 2 kids and a dog in the backrow. With only 1 kid you'd probably be fine. Car seats are so large.
Saturn's were great cars. RIP!
ETA: FWIW, we had a Rogue and a CR-V. Preferred the CR-V hands down. No comparison.
Just to clarify the Rogue sport is not the same as the Rogue but in mini form. It’s a different car, picked up from a Nissan model popular in Europe that they renamed in the US as the “Rogue Sport“ to capitalize on the popularity of the regular Rogue here.
I always recommend Mazdas because they're soooo fun to drive and I had my last one for 15 years with minimal issues. I have the CX-9, which is the 3rd row SUV, but they have a few smaller SUVs and hatchbacks.
If you look at the Honda CRV, you should also test drive the Toyota Rav4. I had it narrowed down to those 2 and bought the Rav4. We have a 2009 and I love it! It's a great car and I much prefer the way Toyotas drive vs. Hondas, but I've heard that's a personal preference. I like a smoother ride. We're loyal to Toyota, my previous car was a Corolla that I bought for $16K, drove for 13 years and then sold easily for $4K. H drives a Camry hybrid. They are very reliable and have great resale value.
Post by lolobeth802 on Mar 6, 2020 13:22:32 GMT -5
We’re more like a family of 4, instead of 5 since our son purchased his own car. We downsized from a Honda Pilot to a CRV, but still often ride comfortably as a family of 5. I just love it. It’s my favorite car ever.
Post by tacoflavoredkisses on Mar 6, 2020 13:39:13 GMT -5
I have a RAV4 and love it. It drives well and fits a ton of stuff in it (we road trip to our families for vacation twice a year). I get great gas mileage too.
We bought a used outback a few years ago - we got financing through the credit union. Eventually, Subaru financing actually gave us a better deal, but it's nice to walk into negotiations with financing in place so you can only talk about best and final price, not monthly payments and APR and stuff. Anyway, the Outback is great, but the crosstrek is ALSO great. The 3 year old outback we got was right around $19k, so not the absolutely cheapest, but it has GREAT safety and dependability ratings. We got the monthly payment down to around $350, including a bumper to bumper warranty.
Post by Scout'sHonor on Mar 6, 2020 14:12:29 GMT -5
We liked our CRV, but I LOVE my RAV4, so much so that I traded in my 2014 gas for a 2019 hybrid last year. Plenty of room for hauling the one kid and two dogs and get an average 41 mpg.
redheadbaker, I'm currently eyeing the new Honda CR-V hybrid. I have an Insight currently. I need a vehicle that will haul my gardening stuff and big dogs. Once they changed the Insight to a sedan, I decided to go with the CR-V hybrid.
Post by georgeglass on Mar 6, 2020 14:25:57 GMT -5
@
We just bought a Nissan Rogue and love it. We bought it from Carvana and it was super easy. We had test driven a few cars around town but weren't happy with the dealer selection (or the dealer - like the one who made us buy gas for the test drive) and then found the one we bought online. Took 15 minutes.
We had thought we were going to get a CRV but my son is tall and has long legs and didn't fit in the CRV in the driver's seat no matter what we adjusted.
We liked our CRV, but I LOVE my RAV4, so much so that I traded in my 2014 gas for a 2019 hybrid last year. Plenty of room for hauling the one kid and two dogs and get an average 41 mpg.
I want the hybrid so badly! My car is almost 11 years old now, so went to test drive the 2019 hybrid. It's a great car! I heard they are coming out with a plug in hybrid next year so I'm planning to wait for that. My car still drives great, no issues and it is paid off so I'll probably keep it another year or 2.
I love our Outback. It has around the same cubic feet of storage as CRVs and similar sized SUVs, but it's longer so you get it in floor space rather than stacking stuff which I prefer. The roof rails are really easy to use to put one of those roof boxes on for traveling if you need extra space. I also found the seats and ride more comfortable than some of the other small SUVs we tried.
We liked our CRV, but I LOVE my RAV4, so much so that I traded in my 2014 gas for a 2019 hybrid last year. Plenty of room for hauling the one kid and two dogs and get an average 41 mpg.
I want the hybrid so badly! My car is almost 11 years old now, so went to test drive the 2019 hybrid. It's a great car! I heard they are coming out with a plug in hybrid next year so I'm planning to wait for that. My car still drives great, no issues and it is paid off so I'll probably keep it another year or 2.
Delurking to comment - My H and I just ordered a 2021 Rav4 Prime (plug-in). They aren't out yet, and it's still only listed as an upcoming vehicle on the Toyota website, but our dealer called us a couple of weekends ago to let us know Toyota told them they could start taking orders and that we'd likely get it by May or June. We test drove the regular hybrid and loved it, and given what we read about the Prime version decided to go for it. We'll be downsizing from a Honda Odyssey - I'm ready for something smaller that gets better gas mileage.
Post by dutchgirl678 on Mar 6, 2020 15:17:36 GMT -5
cap, we are interested in getting the new Rav4 prime. Did they mention anything about towing capacity? I haven't seen any information on that from Toyota.
cap , we are interested in getting the new Rav4 prime. Did they mention anything about towing capacity? I haven't seen any information on that from Toyota.
I honestly don't know. My H drives an F-150 (he's a farm boy and you can only take farm boys so far from the farm), so it wasn't something I looked at. I gleaned a lot of info about the Prime version from news articles, like that it'll likely qualify for the full $7500 tax credit based on what they estimate the battery size has to be to get the 39 mile all-electric range. TBH, knowing we'd get that much tax credit really sealed the deal - it'll be cheaper in the long run to get the Prime over the regular hybrid.