Test Drove 6 Vehicles - Narrowed down to CR-V and Equinox

Searching for an SUV, over the past three weekends my wife and I test
drove several models. We haven't come to a final decision yet and
would appreciate some input. We want a new small to medium sized SUV
below 25k (us dollars) (below 23k is preferable). My wife and I drive
aggressively, plus where we live, highways have short on-ramps so
acceleration is a must. Safety ratings must be five stars, it must
have a usable back seat and it needs to have a mechanical rating.
We've narrowed our choices down to the CR-V, Chevy Equinox and the
Liberty as a 3rd option. We ruled out testing the Toyota Rav 4 because
the interior looked too small.

I've included a summary of our experiences for each. We tested only
automatic models that came in under 23k.

Honda CR-V
- Impressive acceleration for a four cylinder engine. Why is that?
- Good mechanical and safety reviews
- Fully functional back seat that folds down nicely
- the cargo door swings sideways making it problem when parked two
feet from another car. This makes it useless 90% of time. This is
necessary since the spare is on the back, but there's cargo space
under the back compartment that's the same shape and almost the size
of a spare tire.
- cloth interior looks cheap.

Mitsubishi Outlander
- Good acceleration for a four cylinder engine but not as good as the
CRV. This bumped the CR-V up on our list.
- Back door hinges upward (the proper way)
- Interior is rather boring for the price-range model we looked at.

Chevrolet Equinox (my wife likes this vehicle above the others)
- 6 cylinder engine. Best acceleration of what we've tested.
- Fully functional back seat that folds
- First-run model so there's no history to research. Yes, it's build
on all existing parts, but still.
- Seems rather big to me for some reason. Maybe psychologically when I
think "Chevy", I think "big"
- Seemed like a lot of vehicle for its price
- Instead of a curtain to cover anything in the back, there's a
plastic shelf. This is a nice thing. But it's not quite big enough to
fully obscure anything back there. No big deal though.

Subaru Forester (vanilla four cylinder model)
- Tight cockpit.
- Bad acceleration
- Expensive to add a decent engine
- We didn't feel it was worth the price

Hyundai Santa Fe
- A friend of mine had access to some research that made us consider
this
- Weak acceleration on the six cylinder (non V6) model. Much less then
the four cylinder CR-V
- tight cockpit. My arm was pinned against the door.

Jeep Liberty
- One of my favorites
- Good acceleration (tested 6 cyl model)
- I like overall aesthetics
- The backseat is useless. It doesn't adjust for comfort and there's
no leg room.

We'd go with the CR-V in an instant if it had six cylinders. The fact
that it has four concerns us.

Any advice is appreciated.
~ Avery

 

Did you tried Honda Element?
Is a CRV based engine and trans, less expensive, more space inside,
more cargo, etc.

Chris, love my Element!

 

I don't know what it is about the "SUV" that has you in that market.
What about the Ford Escape, or the new Ford Freestyle? (The Freestyle
might be out of the price range).

I just ordered an Escape Hybrid, but that's out of the price range.

I'd go for the Chevy in that group. The CR-V isn't really in that group
except by pricing, is it? Watch out for the type of 4wd/awd. The Liberty
comes with several different styles, and only the most expensive is
comparable to the CR-V.

http://automobiles.honda.com/models/model_overview.asp?ModelName=CR-V
has a "comparison" in the top right, where you can select several models
for a multiple comparison.

 

The Escape has a rating of 2 out of 5 for mechanical quality at J.D.
Power. :-(

http://kbb.com/kb/ki.dll/kw.kc.jd?kbb.NY;444160;NY119&10538;suv&1695;Ford;2004%20Escape&M9M20A5;;M9M20&&&&jdpay

The Freestyle is out of our price range.

 

I was where you are a few weeks ago. Here is what I thought of my
possibles.

Saturn VUE V6
- the engine is a 3.5L Honda built engine (250 hp)
- 2004 model has a $3000 rebate which the Tallahassee Saturn rose to $3750
which puts the FWD model under $20k with the option of 17" alloy wheels.
- more standard feature than most vehicles out there, including safety
- very impressive power, not as agile as the Ford Escape. Has the feel of a
larger vehicle

Honda CR-V
- it was ok, unimpressive power, pricey

Honda Element
- "different" look, not sure if I would like that look a year from now.
Better prices than the CR-V and essentially the same vehicle.

Ford Escape V6
- avoid the 4 cyl... WAY too under-powered
- the V6 had lots of power
- agile handling

Chevy Equinox
- I didn't even drive it after driving the VUE as the VUE has 250 hp and the
Equinox has 185 hp, less standard features (including safety features) plus
it is about $2k more than the VUE before options

I skipped the Jeeps all together as they are not very impressive with gas
mileage.

I suggest taking 30 mins and going for a spin in a Escape V6 and a VUE V6.
I wouldn't worry so much about car ratings, though they are worth looking
into. I had a '95 Neon that only had one trip to the dealer for warranty
work (broken O2 sensor) and they were (and probably still) rated VERY POOR.

Get the vehicle that excites you the most! Best of luck!

-keith
tallahassee, fl

 

It's a Honda.

Not sure why this is a "concern." I don't know if it is as fast a the
6 cyl. competitors but I certainly wouldn't worry about
reliability/durability compared to a Chevy.

If you are 'aggressive drivers' and you think it had impressive
acceleration, then it must be OK. Fully loaded with AC on it will be
slower of course. Is that likely to be how you use it? Maybe need
another test drive with some friends.

I personally would always get the MT if it is available. Faster,
better control and more durable if you are 'aggressive.' Then again,
I wouldn't be too aggressive driving any of these truck-like vehicles.

 

Having been a member of the crack J.D.Power survey population, I have less
than no regard for the results they tabulate.
It is absolute crap. The questions are phrased the way the sponsors want
them phrased. The mantra associated with each brand continues unabated,
fueled by J.D.Power results.

 

Caveat: When I say "aggressive" I don't mean insane, we like to get to
the speed reasonably quickly.

We considered the Vue, but we drive a Saturn now and it's falling
apart (1995 L2). There have been problems for years that the mechanics
have never been able to fix. There's something wrong with the
automatic gear shifting. We took it to Saturn and they replaced some
chip to fix the problem, but only temporarily. Then small things like
a rattle under the dash, windows suddenly fog up in the rain or cold
(imagine dealing with that on a wet, snowy highway) and as a result we
ALWAYS drive with the AC on, not enough windshield wiper speeds,
there's a leak in the door that has never been properly fixed, and
wind noise. I've had parts replaced more often on this car then any
other car I've owned and it only has 75k miles.

We have no confidence in their repair department. Aside from their
failing to fix the ratting dash and the leaking door, we had an
over-heating problem during the summer. The first time the mechanic
charged us $300 to replace the water pump. That wasn't what was wrong.
They gave it back to us without testing it. The next day they replaced
another part for more money. When I picked up the car it still
overheated AND the temperature gauge stopped working! This day they
never called to tell me it was ready. Probably because they didn't
want me to rip another hole in them. When I called them the repair
shop had already closed. I had to deal with a very kind salesman who
waited an extra hour after closing for my wife to pick it up. The
third time they got it right with a replaced fan, but it was still
$500 later. Now the over heating problem has started again. That
Saturn repair shop we dealt with has since closed. So I can't
negotiate based on their poor job the first THREE times. So Instead of
taking it to a dealer, renting a car for the day and possibly paying
for new parts that weren't replaced the first time, we've decided to
get something else -- but not a Saturn. The I'm sure things have
changed with them, but the stigma is still there and we wanted
something else.

 

My wife's car is a 2003 CR-V. It's a 4wd model with a manual
transmission -- which helps the acceleration and probably the gas
mileage. She is a landscaper and uses the vehicle to haul around
a lot of tools, etc for her business. So far, the CR-V has been
absolutely flawless. It is reliable, fun to drive and cheap
(everything is relative) to purchase and maintain. The back seat
is quite large and useable. When the rear seat is down, it does
well carrying her tools around.

In a nutshell, I'd buy another one in a second when the time
comes.

 

Just one piece: remember to shop actual price, not MSRP. For
better or worse, american cars come with big incentives. I think
there is a $1500 one now on the Equinox if you finance through
GMAC, maybe more? And they update those all the time.

Good luck!