<p>It is time to move on from the mostly beloved Isuzu Trooper; a big box on wheels with lots of windows and a blind spot on the driver’s side. An SUV is needed to transport our greyhound comfortably between Madison and Chicago when we go to our in-town place. But, also because I just like having an SUV. Actually, it’s mostly because of the last reason. I am focusing on the 2011 GMC Acadia; the Ford Explorer; and the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Any suggestions. </p>
<p>Anti-SUV comments will be understood but ignored.</p>
<p>In terms of size, it would be Acadia,Explorer,Cherokee(largest to smallest)…I have a Volvo XC90, doesn’t drive like a truck(had an Explorer twice),plenty of room for our 2 dogs…</p>
<p>We’ve had lots of different SUVs - Land Rover, Jeep, Acura, Mercedes, Range Rover, Lexus (3). The Range Rover was my favorite in terms of driving, fabulously comfortable seats, could turn on a dime (was the easiest of all of them to park), lots of space for carrying cargo and dogs. I love the luxury of the Lexus, although there are small, finicky things that bug me. I’m not sure what I’ll get next time. I might look at the Volvo again. The first time we looked at them was the first year they came out with an SUV and the finishes were not the quality we were looking for. The newer Acura also looks nice and has gotten some good reviews, and now, like many others, comes in two sizes. I have a friend who has a Highlander that she loves, and another with an Escape who is happy with it. We had friends who visited who rented a Ford Edge, I believe it was, that was nice.</p>
<p>Love my Honda Pilot, but you have to be very small to use that back seat (3rd row)! Great for our family of 4 though & plenty of room for the dog too. :-).</p>
<p>When we looked at the Pilot while the front seats were very comfy, we found the passenger seats to be not comfy - too “bench-ish”. </p>
<p>H recently was in the market to replace our extended length Envoy. We too liked the Highlander, but not the price. He ended up with a Saab 9-7x 4.2i and is very happy. Has the “bones” of an Envoy but about 20% smaller - still roomy inside. He bought one loaded with about 12,000 miles and a great warranty for about $20ish thousand dollars. Looks nice and drives nice. It is put in the same size class as the Acura MDX.</p>
<p>The newly designed Jeep Grand Cherokee is getting great reviews from the auto mags. It’s a totally new design that was done when the company was ‘Daimler Chrysler’ so the chassis (but not engine) is largely shared with the Mercedes ML SUV. The interior trim is a higher level of quality over the previous generations. A friend just bought one and it’s very nice.</p>
<p>If you need a third seat the new Dodge Durango is essentially a somewhat stretched Jeep Grand Cherokee so it’s getting great reviews also.</p>
<p>If you want upscale but don’t want it to be huge, take a look at the Acura MDX or Lexus RX.</p>
<p>If you want an SUV but somewhat smaller and less expensive, take a look at the Hyundai Santa Fe and Tucson in addition to the usual Toyota Rav4, Honda CRV, Subaru. The Santa Fe is built in Alabama.</p>
<p>I like my Volvo XC90–have had it for nearly eight years and it has moved a lot of furniture, duffel bags, IKEA boxes, and groceries. It is extremely comfortable on long trips; it does not have a particularly good turning radius, and gas mileage is not great, but for an SUV it isn’t bad.</p>
<ol>
<li>Ford Explorer</li>
<li>Range Rover (electrical issues I didn’t like.)</li>
<li>Ford Expedition</li>
<li>Acura (Drives better in the snow than anything I’ve ever driven, kept it for the kids to learn on because of that. Very stable)</li>
<li>Jeep Sport (for the kids)</li>
<li>StupidToyotaSUV (WAY too light for the expressway)</li>
</ol>
<p>My family is about to replace a Nissan Pathfinder with a Honda CRV. The Ford Escape Hybrid was an interesting choice. I am thrilled that no GM cars were considered.</p>
<p>We have a Honda Pilot and an Acura MDX. They both have 3rd rows, so they’re great for the occasional need to haul a lot of kids. Both work well for hauling two Newfoundlands around.</p>
<p>I also am in the market for a new SUV in the next 6 months or so. Currently driving a 1999 Lincoln Navigator with 205,000 miles that is going to need a very expensive repair in the next year. While we plan to keep the Nav as it is worth nothing, I am ready for a smaller SUV as I no longer have to haul kids around, just the dog who “owns” the right rear passenger seat. She will not stay in the way back as she likes to sit upright facing the front of the car. If you look in my car from the front, you would think there was a blond headed woman in the back as you see the top of her head, but not her face!</p>
<p>On our radar at the moment, yet we have not driven any yet; just going by body style and some reviews. We are afraid if we start test driving, we will buy and we don’t need it just yet!:
Volvo XC 60 (my 1st choice by looks only)
VW Tiguan (might be too small)
Accura RDX
BMW X3 (husband is a BMW person)
Hyundai Santa Fe</p>
<p>Might also look at:
Infiniti EX
Nissan Murano</p>
<p>My husband likes the crossovers, although I don’t like the looks of some of them and don’t know if they will ride high enough for me. After being in my “truck” for almost 11 years, I don’t like sitting low to the ground.</p>
<p>Our Toyota Land Cruiser is an amazing SUV. We have 180,000 miles on it and it runs like new. They are expensive but it is the best SUV we’ve ever had. I have a Mercedes GL450 which I also love. H is turning 50 so he is ordering a Porsche Cayenne as his gift to himself. He chose it after driving: the BMW X5, Range Rover Sport, Volvo XC60, Audi Q5 and Q7. We are not getting rid of the Land Cruiser.</p>
<p>snowball, we love the Tiguan. Test drove the Q5 for the fun of it, but out of our price range. The Tiguan still has that tighter German driving thing, but at a better budget range. If that is too small there is a the Tourag.</p>
<p>We did drive the Toyota & Honda’s, they were fine, and no doubt would be reliable.</p>
<p>I’m on my fourth Range Rover in many years - the latest model is pretty close to perfect - the interior console is improved, has a larger nav screen, heated steering wheel and lots of other comforts. All of the kinks that existed in prior models have been worked out. We bought D a LR2 last year, and it’s been great. Very reliable, comfortable and the excellent visibility unique to Land Rover. I liked that it was one of the few smaller SUVs with backup sensors - I would not purchase a car without backup sensors/camera.</p>
So does my 1998 Dodge Durango although it has a few thousand more miles on it.</p>
<p>The Land Cruiser has a great reputation for reliability, durability, and off roading. Unfortunately they’re very pricey.</p>
<p>‘Most’ vehicles nowadays are pretty decent and reliable (except for the 1991 Ford Exploder I had) so it really comes down to fit (where have we heard that before?). It’s a matter of overall size, number of rows of seats, styling, handling, power, fuel economy (keep in mind some of these vehicles require premium gas!), features (nav, power this and that, radio, etc.), color, access to dealerships for service, for people like me who do a lot of their own maintenance - servicability, and importantly for most (except for ‘anothercrazymom’ and her H!) - price.</p>
<p>My mechanic cringes each time I mention the Volvo XC60 and the VW Tiguan; tells me they are nightmares in the repair department. Don’t know why he would care, he is the one that would make money off of the deal :-)</p>
<p>I have to say, whatever SUV we get, my mechanic will keep it in great running order. The only reason I am ready to replace my current SUV is after almost 11 years, the repair are creeping up to where a car note might soon be cheaper than the repairs. Of course this last repair will allow my SUV to have almost all new workings, so it could live another 200,000 miles!! Other than the small rips in the leather due to wear and dogs nails, scratches on the exterior and an electrically system that acts wacky at times, I still love my truck.</p>