<p>Thank you, good points, all.
The minivan was also a Sienna and was looking forward to changing brands. DH convinced me to test drive the RAV 4, since each car is different and it is 10 years newer. I wasn’t impressed.
Would look at the Forester, S’s buddy has one and it looks nice -has the largest sunroof I’ve ever seen, but the nearest dealership is 30-40 minutes away, that’s too far to go for warranty service.
I’ve driven the CR-V and Santa Fe - apples and oranges- I4 and V6 - and the mpg reflects this; the Tucson is the comparable Hyundai but the 2009s are sold out, no 2010s until Feb. -I need it by 12/17.</p>
<p>I hope to get to the Chevy dealership on Friday.</p>
<p>I like the rental/overnight idea uc…dad. Might try that once I’m down to deciding between 2. And intparent, I’m off to call the insurance company now.</p>
<p>I just read an article in the Sept Motor Trend on the Equinox and they seem to think it’s pretty decent for that class. Here’s another article by them on it - </p>
<p>I suggest also seeing what Motor Trend and others like Edmunds have to say about any of the vehicles you’re interested in if you haven’t already done so.</p>
<p>Asked around at dinner last night re the head rest issue - and no one had any complaints about the headrests in the CRV. I suspect that it is driving position and height related - so the only way to have an answer for you would be to test drive the car in question. For what it is worth, we range in height from 5’ 6" to 6’ 3"</p>
<p>We all have stories of a great car, or a horrible one, and I think to paint a broad brush on a manufacturer based on one car- either way- is too broad to be highly relevant. I have a '73 Dodge with over 200k miles, and it has needed just the usual “wear-out” parts that go with 35 yrs old and the mileage. Replacement batteries, tires, starter, but no big unexpected repairs. I won’t recomend for or against Dodge based only on the quality and dependability of this one vehicle.
I shall respect the op’s request and advise on which of the 3 I recommend, and no preaching on the value of American jobs.
Of the 3 mentioned, I’d choose the Equinox.</p>
<p>Another CR-V vote here. I had mine 10 years, and LOVED it:</p>
<ol>
<li>Fits into a small car space</li>
<li>HUGE storage capacity (never once do I recall not being able to fit something into it when I put the back seats down). </li>
<li>Great reliability: in a decade, never once needed a repair except the brakes once. Even the timing belt doesn’t need replaced until way way higher mileage than most cars. </li>
<li>Great resale value: Just sold it for 37% of what I paid for it brand new a decade ago.</li>
</ol>
<p>Good point. I raved about my CR-V because it held up so well and resold so high. But I also bought it after knowing the long solid track record of Honda and bought accordingly. I think you should scope out all these options and look at what the history of data tells you from many years of happy drivers, Consumer Reports?, resale values, and any other more systematic data you can get your hands on (rather than just our tiny sample).</p>
<p>I suspect you will get a much better deal on the Equinox than the CR-V. Other than the Camaro, Chevy dealers in my neck of the woods are selling 2010 Chevrolet cars at below invoice. The 2009s are a steal. Several models have cash back from Chevrolet but I don’t think the Equinox has much cash back because of its popularity.</p>
<p>My main reluctance of the GM product is that I prefer to not purchase items, especially those of complex item like a vehicle, from manufacturers that are in a major decline - closing factories, laying off production workers, laying off engineers, laying off management, cutting expenses everywhere they can, etc. since all of this can have a big effect on quality. GM’s the most impacted in this way of any of the manufacturers indicated in this thread. The vehicle might seem good on the surface but when it’s designed and manufactured in an environment like this I’d have doubts about its quality and reliability long term.</p>
<p>OP Update:
Well I never did get to the Chevy dealership.
I did find a closer Subaru dealership (just wasn’t with the Costco program) and went to test drive a Forester. Drove the Outback as well, but preferred the Forester. The Black Friday deal was sweeter than Costco’s set price. In addition to the lower cost, the iihs safety ratings favored the Subaru.</p>