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Looking for Compact SUV

quagmire said:
The Venza's great if you like an uglified Highlander. And the Highlander is just bland…. :p
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I bought a Highlander based on compromise with my spouse. What tears me up is that I know it's due for a remake and I'm going to have the old version. What I have is a solid vehicle, but bland. I like the looks of the Venza. :p:p
 
quagmire said:
The Venza's great if you like an uglified Highlander. And the Highlander is just bland…. :p
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I see it as a jacked up Camry, like the Honda Crosstour is a jacked up Accord. Sure, my Outback is a jacked up Legacy but it's more of an SUV/cargo hauler than either of those other 2, and costs less (I know, I looked at prices when I was shopping)
 
Huntn said:
I bought a Highlander based on compromise with my spouse. What tears me up is that I know it's due for a remake and I'm going to have the old version. What I have is a solid vehicle, but bland. I like the looks of the Venza. :p:p
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If it's anything like the redesigned Rav4, you'll be glad you bought the previous generation.
 
I got a Scout about a year ago. One of the older and smaller ones. The newer ones were just too big for my needs.
 
Thanks for all of your feedback. My wife loved the Forester like a number of you suggested, so that's what we went with. I couldn't get her to budge on the turbo, but that's okay.

Thanks again!
 
hallux said:
Congrats! I assume you got the 2.0/CVT combo then?
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2.5L with CVT. My wife really liked it. I wouldn't get a CVT on a sedan, but that's not what it's for, so no worries. Extremely comfortable and the windows are huge. I didn't expect such high visibility.

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Sharp color. My dad recently picked up a 2014 Outback with the same engine/transmission combo in the same color as your Forester.
 
You can get a great deal on a CRV, its not as great looking as the others, but its good quality and retains value well. The Subaru's are a great choice too. Another one to look at would be 2014 Nissan Rogue.
 
ZhenyaF said:
You can get a great deal on a CRV, its not as great looking as the others, but its good quality and retains value well. The Subaru's are a great choice too. Another one to look at would be 2014 Nissan Rogue.
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Read 3 posts up, the OP has made a decision...
 
djplaxe2109 said:
Good choice, how do like the CVT?
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Not the OP but I have one also. LOVE it. The lack of shifts make it so smooth, but it also has 6 pre-programmed ratios that I can select with the paddles on the wheel, with a manual mode to go with them if desired. One thing I like doing is (with minimal traffic) to get the engine to a speed (say, 2000-2500 RPM) and feather the gas on that RPM until I get to speed, try that with a regular automatic. The CVT does a GREAT job keeping the engine in its optimal power range and cruises at 2,000 RPM at 70-75 on the highway.

In my case (I have the Outback), the vehicle rides and drives so smoothly you forget that it's classified as an SUV (NYS DMV registers them as "SUBN" which designates an SUV). The CVT also allows for better MPG than a conventional auto, I've gotten 33 MPG on the highway with mine (even doing 75-80), when you consider that it's a 4,000 lb AWD SUV that's pretty darn good. I guess the 4 cylinder helps there too.
 
djplaxe2109 said:
Good choice, how do like the CVT?
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I can take or leave the CVT. My wife likes it, and it must be part of how Subaru can get strong efficiency numbers out of an AWD vehicle. I can't complain. I have only driven it a couple of times. I love the AWD (moreso than my FWD TSX i'm afraid).
 
AustinIllini said:
Thanks for all of your feedback. My wife loved the Forester like a number of you suggested, so that's what we went with. I couldn't get her to budge on the turbo, but that's okay.
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You know that it's all wheel drive I assume. Not trying to pour cold water on your sizzling, snappy looking new car, but... Personally, I would never buy an all wheel drive. I might have started this conversation on the forum before, but it's about tires. If you drive it awhile (can't say how many miles) and then have a damaged tire that has to be replaced, you'd better replace all four at once or you could regret it. The AWD monitoring system will detect the difference in treads and operate continuously to compensate. That will burn the system up and it will need to be replaced, for more than the cost of three tires!

I bought a 2011 Mitsubishi Outlander, and the CR-V was in the running too because it's an excellent vehicle. I just really liked the styling of the Outlander better, and the quality/reliability was comparable to the Honda. I didn't like the hinged RAV4 rear door. I looked at an Escape, and really liked the way they designed the rear seats to fold up, but the reliability record wasn't in the same league. A colleague bought one (2011) and within 18 months, had major transmission problems and had a loner from Ford for over two months while it was being fixed!
 
Technarchy said:
I'd go Mazda or Subaru (Forester or Outback)

CX-5 is super slick.
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The CX-5 was easily the best looking. That being said, there were just little things that we knew would drive us crazy. For example, the headrest was too tall to lower the back seats without sliding the front seats forward.
 
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