Buying and Selling Vehicles - new small SUV recommendations?

Hi,

Anyone have any smaller SUV type recommendations of models, makes , etc. Any experience?

thanks,

Pick the makes and models that YOU like, put them down on piece of paper then go to each dealer and road test each of them, when road testing, paying attention to road noise, handling/turning, ecceleration, braking, power train noise, visibility/view, interior control, easy to reach to temp control, radio control, how the seat feel and position of the seat.........ect.... . Then after all that, pick the one that YOU like best.

Check Consumer Reports.

We've always been Subaru fans, so my choice would be a Forester.

Toyota Rav4, redesigned in 06 for more room and better mileage. 2.4 or the V6 both rated at 28 mpg, but expect about 26 mpg road/19 in city.

The 2.4 is 157 HP and has very good acceleration. That engine is all you really need. If you want to snap your neck the V6 puts out 250, I believe.

Even the base model is dressed up.

We've had ours since they came out - very pleased with it.

Hope this helps,

Bob

A word of advice. Don't buy an SUV with the new cvt transmission. I bought one last year and it was really cool at first. No gear changes. I loved showing it off and everyone loved it, but after driving it for about 3 months the novelty wears off. It's not at all responsive to the point that pulling out into traffic is dangerous. If you test drive one get it at a slow roll maybe 3-5 mph and floor it. It doesn't go anywhere. At about 20mph floor it and you can count to about 5 before it does anything. Very annoying. I would recommend a Nissan Pathfinder.

I drive a lot of rental cars, so I get to test a lot of different models.

Contrary to the earlier post, I have driven the Forester and thought it was one of the worst vehicles I've driven. It reminded me of an early 80's import - tinny, rattly with a crappy interior.

Interestingly, I think the Subaru Outback is one of the better vehicles. But that's more of a station wagon than an SUV. The only thing I didn't like was the engine - the power is very poor, although it is quite smooth.

One of my favorites, believe it or not is the new generation Saturn Vue. I think they buy their V6 engines from Honda - they have plenty of power and smoothness and it has a very classy interior.

The Ford Escape is a very nice vehicle - It has one of the least offensive Ford powertrains, a very nicely laid out interior, and just feels good to drive.

I liked absolutely nothing about a Hyundai Santa Fe.

I also didn't like the Toyota Highlander - about the only Toyota vehicle I've driven that I didn't like. It's ride and handling was very bad in my opinon. I know lots of people love them, but I didn't.

Off the top of my head, those are the ones I remember.

Toyota Rav4 or Honda CRV. I have an 06 Outback and love it.

Dodge Nitro..is descent