Need some honest advice on what SUV to get

[Martinjmpr]

Since you don't need the off road capability or towing I think a large crossover would probably work better for your needs. For the 4runner in particular you would be paying big $$ and an MPG penalty for features you will never use. Also on the 5th gen 4runner unless you get the Limited model that has full time 4wd, you cannot use the 4wd system on a paved road (they deleted the "multi mode" 4wd system that the 4th gen had when they went to the 5th.)

I've always loved the looks of the FX-35 but since I was never in the market for a crossover, I never seriously considered them. They do look cool, though.

It may sound odd but would you consider something like a Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander? I've heard good things about both. The looks are a bit bland, perhaps, but they're solid vehicles. You're likely going to have to compromise on something to stay within your budget.

Personally, if you are driving mostly in-town, not pulling a trailer and not going off-road I think a Tahoe or Yukon would be too much truck. On my Suburban, I won't lie - in-town gas mileage SUCKS (figure 11 - 12 on a GOOD day!) Combine that with the Tahoe/Yukon's smaller 26 gallon tank and you're still looking at a pretty marginal 286 mile fuel range (my Suburban has a 31 gallon tank so I get a bit more.) On the highway they can be surprisingly decent (up to 20) but in town, not so much. The transmissions on these GMT-800 trucks can also be problematic. Mine went out at 149,000 miles. That was the bad news. The "good" news, relatively speaking, was that when it failed it didn't leave me stranded (I lost gears 3-4 but was able to make it home in 2nd) and the rebuild cost was "only" $2000 which is a lot lower than some import vehicles.

They are big and comfy, though, and finding one with all the "luxuries" like leather, Bose stereo, power seats, etc, is pretty easy. Price-wise they fall far below the Toyotas so if you budget in some of the $$ you save for fuel and repairs you can do pretty well, as there are a bajillion of them out there.

 

[Vistance]

Since you don't need the off road capability or towing I think a large crossover would probably work better for your needs. For the 4runner in particular you would be paying big $$ and an MPG penalty for features you will never use. Also on the 5th gen 4runner unless you get the Limited model that has full time 4wd, you cannot use the 4wd system on a paved road (they deleted the "multi mode" 4wd system that the 4th gen had when they went to the 5th.)

I've always loved the looks of the FX-35 but since I was never in the market for a crossover, I never seriously considered them. They do look cool, though.

It may sound odd but would you consider something like a Honda Pilot or Toyota Highlander? I've heard good things about both. The looks are a bit bland, perhaps, but they're solid vehicles. You're likely going to have to compromise on something to stay within your budget.

Personally, if you are driving mostly in-town, not pulling a trailer and not going off-road I think a Tahoe or Yukon would be too much truck. On my Suburban, I won't lie - in-town gas mileage SUCKS (figure 11 - 12 on a GOOD day!) Combine that with the Tahoe/Yukon's smaller 26 gallon tank and you're still looking at a pretty marginal 286 mile fuel range (my Suburban has a 31 gallon tank so I get a bit more.) On the highway they can be surprisingly decent (up to 20) but in town, not so much. The transmissions on these GMT-800 trucks can also be problematic. Mine went out at 149,000 miles. That was the bad news. The "good" news, relatively speaking, was that when it failed it didn't leave me stranded (I lost gears 3-4 but was able to make it home in 2nd) and the rebuild cost was "only" $2000 which is a lot lower than some import vehicles.

They are big and comfy, though, and finding one with all the "luxuries" like leather, Bose stereo, power seats, etc, is pretty easy. Price-wise they fall far below the Toyotas so if you budget in some of the $$ you save for fuel and repairs you can do pretty well, as there are a bajillion of them out there.

Yeah, I mean I just need the ability to haul the occasional large piece of furniture or something. Good to know on 5th gen, I do like the looks though. The worst thing I see for a lot of crossovers is many of them end up looking like mommy wagons or something. Like a Traverse, I have never seen one that didn't have a ton of kids in it. They've just replaced the minivan basically.

I found a nice '11 MDX but I'm surprised to hear it gets like 17 MPG average, surprised it could be so low. The RX350 tends to be 19-20 MPG and is similar sized, so I'm not sure why the MDX has noticeably worse mileage. It does have a 3rd row that the RX350 doesn't - a completely unneeded feature for me - but it has a cool look and lots of nice gadgets and tech that I would enjoy. My biggest issue with Pilots or Highlanders is just that they're pretty run of the mill and ** hum. My Vette is sporty and fun of course, and my Nissan that I'd be giving up is a sporty fun 6-speed V6 sedan so it kind of hurts to go from two fun to drive cars to one that will be much more hum drum. The FX35 would really bridge the gap nicely, but unless I go up to $20k+ I can't find any even within 200 miles of me.

I've looked at a few full size trucks like Silverado/Sierras and Tundras but I know the gas mileage will be mediocre, the biggest complaint I have though is how spartan they are. I guess I'm spoiled from never having a spartan car, my first car was a loaded old Buick, then I had a Caddy. My current Nissan has lots of goodies too, so manual cloth seats that aren't heated, steering wheels with no controls, and lots of really cheap plastic everywhere just feel underwhelming to say the least. I'm sure a real working man wouldn't care, but considering it's questionable how often I'd have a bed full of stuff or anything I tend to prefer to have some more creature comforts.

 

[Martinjmpr]

I've looked at a few full size trucks like Silverado/Sierras and Tundras but I know the gas mileage will be mediocre,

If by "mediocre" you mean "flat out TERRIBLE" then I agree with you. 12MPG if you're lucky in town. Not much fun to park, either.

the biggest complaint I have though is how spartan they are. I guess I'm spoiled from never having a spartan car, my first car was a loaded old Buick, then I had a Caddy. My current Nissan has lots of goodies too, so manual cloth seats that aren't heated, steering wheels with no controls, and lots of really cheap plastic everywhere just feel underwhelming to say the least. I'm sure a real working man wouldn't care, but considering it's questionable how often I'd have a bed full of stuff or anything I tend to prefer to have some more creature comforts.

One of the things I noticed years ago when cross shopping trucks and SUVs is that (a) SUVs almost always have more comfort and luxury features and (b) pickups almost always have fewer features, higher mileage, and are more "beat up" at exactly the same price point!

If you don't believe me, look at a comparison between, say, a 2009 4runner (4th gen, last year) and a 2009 Tacoma (essentially the same vehicle in pickup form.) Both have the 4.0 V6, both have 4wd. But the 4runner has a multi-mode 4wd system, power windows, door locks and remote entry, etc. The base model Tacoma has none of that, and the 4wd system is conventional, no multi-mode. The Tacoma also has a polycarbonate (plastic) bed while the 4runner is, of course, all steel. Even the base model 4runners had alloy wheels while the base model Taco has steelies. And yet .... often as not you'll see the Taco selling for THOUSANDS more than a 4runner that has lower mileage! It's crazy! But the demand for Tacomas is high enough that they have no problems selling them at higher prices.

I often wonder why that is and I think what it comes down to is this: If you need a truck, then you need a truck, period. Nothing else will do, and for that reason they command higher prices.

Also people often buy SUVs (especially "luxury" SUVs like the Tahoe, Yukon, etc) as "status symbols" and once they got older, they lost that status symbol status which meant they would be worth less and sell for less.

In any case, if you like luxury features I suppose you could also consider some of the luxury marques like Volvo (XC series crossovers), Audi and BMW (x-series.) I don't know much about them although I do recall that the BMW X3 was available with a 6 speed manual for a few years.

 

[Vistance]

If by "mediocre" you mean "flat out TERRIBLE" then I agree with you. 12MPG if you're lucky in town. Not much fun to park, either.



One of the things I noticed years ago when cross shopping trucks and SUVs is that (a) SUVs almost always have more comfort and luxury features and (b) pickups almost always have fewer features, higher mileage, and are more "beat up" at exactly the same price point!

If you don't believe me, look at a comparison between, say, a 2009 4runner (4th gen, last year) and a 2009 Tacoma (essentially the same vehicle in pickup form.) Both have the 4.0 V6, both have 4wd. But the 4runner has a multi-mode 4wd system, power windows, door locks and remote entry, etc. The base model Tacoma has none of that, and the 4wd system is conventional, no multi-mode. The Tacoma also has a polycarbonate (plastic) bed while the 4runner is, of course, all steel. Even the base model 4runners had alloy wheels while the base model Taco has steelies. And yet .... often as not you'll see the Taco selling for THOUSANDS more than a 4runner that has lower mileage! It's crazy! But the demand for Tacomas is high enough that they have no problems selling them at higher prices.

I often wonder why that is and I think what it comes down to is this: If you need a truck, then you need a truck, period. Nothing else will do, and for that reason they command higher prices.

Also people often buy SUVs (especially "luxury" SUVs like the Tahoe, Yukon, etc) as "status symbols" and once they got older, they lost that status symbol status which meant they would be worth less and sell for less.

In any case, if you like luxury features I suppose you could also consider some of the luxury marques like Volvo (XC series crossovers), Audi and BMW (x-series.) I don't know much about them although I do recall that the BMW X3 was available with a 6 speed manual for a few years.

Yeah see, that's what I was afraid of. I was wanting to be as close to 20 MPG as I could, I don't care about getting more because I am just not sure I could ever enjoy a 4 cylinder SUV. I've looked at lots of reliability info and it looks like Japanese is the best way to go. German stuff looks great, but very questionable reliability and maintenance costs. Not looking to get something I gotta fix all the time. I really never did drive a Pilot, they look very plain if non offensive so I guess I can take a look at one and see how it feels. On an RX350 I'd have to be in a 2010+ to get that sharper body style. So I think that's what I'm between now.

• 2010+ RX350 AWD
• 2010+ MDX SH-AWD
• 2009+ FX35 AWD (Hard to find)
  
• 2005-2009 4Runner 4WD

 

[adventurenali92]

So I'm a single 24 year old with no kids. I drive a 2006 denali xl. I drove standard and long wheel base suvs. I ideally wanted a Toyota sequoia limited. It would have been good amount of space, power and handling. But I couldn't a limited model that also had 4x4 which is a must have for me since I get rain and snow 3 to 4 months out of the year. So I started looking I to the gms. Drove a few tahoes suburban and yukons. The denali had all the interior bells and whistles I wanted, and the extra room in the xl is perfect for hauling all of my,detailing gear in the summer and the various large items I always end up getting stuck hauling. Haha. Having the space and towing capacity is worth it for me. And I have the 31 gallon tank. I'm not spending anymore a month in gas now than I was a couple years ago when I had my 2001 dodge durango limited before the denali. Have I had to replace things under the hood, yes! But it's still worth it because my denali hasn't let me down yet. I've had Toyota and dodges before and absolutely loved them. My sister has a 97 forerunner with a little 4 banger and a 5 speed manual trans. That car has well over 300k on the clock and runs like a champ. I love driving her car. But I have no regrets buying my denali.

 

[RED TAHOE LS]

You certainly know what you need and want, finding that in a previous owned vehicle with a broad spectrum could be difficult. JMHO and good luck.
David g........................

 

[Big Mama]

Wow, tons of great feedback. My bias toward Yukons and Tahoe, i've had 4 currently an 07 Denali, not XL.is purely based on what I use it for. We have 5-10 occasions a year where we need to haul 7 people, I leave the 3rd row out except for those times. I've put everything from sod, lumber, mulch, furniture, you name it it's been back there. The auto levelling feature takes care of the extra weight. I have a trailer for bigger items and also pull a 22' boat. I bought this one in 2011 with 45k on it and have only had to repair normal wear and tear items. The 04-06 Denali is a great truck and are relatively cheap and have the 6 litre for plenty of power. If you're not hauling lots of people have you considered a crew cab truck? Might get you closer to the mpg you're looking for. Good luck with your search. Lots of great people on here to give honest info.

 

[Vistance]

I agree, and appreciate the helpful comments. SUVs are really not my thing. Trucks neither. I just don't know how to manage to make having a two seater Vette and a sedan work, but I'd much rather drive a sedan than any SUV. The Pilot gets 17 MPG, the MDX is based off the Pilot and gets the same mediocre 17 MPG. I used to have a 5.0 Mustang GT (2014) that got just under 18 MPG. It wasn't great, but all things considered I was happy with that. Any of these SUVs are going to be much much slower and much worse on gas. If they were fast it would be one thing, but most aren't. It sounds like one of those stupid little 4 cylinder ones is what would fit better given they will be better on gas than my Nissan (which averages about 21 MPG, and I floor it all the time).

So I gain safety, hauling capability (used sometimes? Other times ehhh), AWD (I made this a requirement, otherwise what's the point?). I lose handling, performance, gas mileage, and fun to drive. It still looks like a net loss to me for how I like to drive. Maybe some people like the raised seating position or tend toward trucks or something but I would tend toward low to the ground cars and the like. If I could get some kind of SUV for under $10k that might help some, I just have a hard time spending money that I know I could buy a car I'd love buying an SUV that I'll mostly just find decent but not anything I'll really like. I probably just need to make friends with someone who owns one and pay for their gas or something to borrow it once in awhile, but as it is the friends that live near me have cars and the ones that do have SUVs are long distance.

 

[02_Tahoe]

Hey guys, the last time I was here I was looking at a pretty high mile (208k) Denali XL but I decided against it despite very good records and all because I just did not need something that big. I've been looking for a wagon or an SUV to replace my car to give myself the ability to haul things for a house I'll be buying in the near future. It's been an arduous process trying to decide on what I think looks good, what I would enjoy driving, etc. I'll admit full stop I have only had cars all my life, I have had some big cars (Deville) but no trucks or SUVs. However I just don't think I can manage to cram everything into a car that well when I've got a house and haven't needed to put anything too big in my cars.

My short list (yeah, I doubt most people cross shop these - but whatever, I can see merits in many different ways).

• '06-'08 Infiniti FX35 AWD - I like the looks of these, they have a great exhaust note, they seem reasonable on MPG at around 18 MPG, and I love luxury gadgets and stuff which they have intelligent key and things like that.
  Downsides: Hard to find in the specific colors I want, I have a specific feature set I want, not the most cargo space for an SUV, some of these years have dash bubbling problems ($1k to replace).
  
  
• '04-'09 4Runner V6/V8 4WD - Looks good, drives reasonably well, not a powerhouse but I test drove a V6 one with nearly 200k miles and it had plenty of go.
  Downsides: Toyota reliability means the price for these even with a lot of miles is still high. The one I looked at had the 4LO actuator broken, probably lots of these while still running good haven't had proper maintenance so would be some catch up stuff to do to ensure they keep running well. V8 has timing belt, people seem to questionably keep up on this. Kinda sucks to pay so much and be getting 160-200k miles and they're not all that new.
  
  
• '07-'09 Lexus RX350 AWD - Very nice interior, drives smooth, really has a lot of cargo capacity for no bigger than it is, Lexus being Toyota has great reliability and I know of no real issues with these.
  Downsides: Possibly the most "rich" soccer mom looking SUV out there. It's like a 65-70% female owned car, and as a guy that hurts its appeal to me. I'd have to get one in black, the only decent color and would need to do a few exterior mods to not have it look so plain.
  
  
• '07+ FJ Cruiser 6MT 4WD - As someone who normally only likes cars, these look cool to me. Wranglers never did it for me, but these do look kind of retro classic. Toyota reliability again, so these will last and people all believe it too so they keep their resale value well. It's a real off road machine too (Not that I honestly have any need for that).
  Downsides: They seem a bit more prone to road noise, visibility not the best with the weird design, the cool shape makes for some bad gas mileage and it has a really small gas tank for the MPG it gets (Around 15-17 MPG) giving it like a 220-240 mile range. My previous 5.0 Mustang GT had a range like that and it drove me nuts.
  
  
• '04-'06 Tahoe Z71 - These still look great, I remember from my test drive of the Denali XL that they ride really nice and I like that feeling of the bulk that it has. Not as "modern fancy" as the Infiniti or Lexus, but reminds me more of the pre-Art & Science Cadillac with that old school luxury feel. Genuinely has massive hauling capability and towing capability if I ever needed it.
  Downsides: Gas mileage is the biggest one, with all this weight and just a 4 speed auto the best MPG I saw people reporting was 15 MPG in mixed driving. I'm more comfortable around 18-20 MPG, but I'm afraid of pouring all my money into the gas tank all the time. I also know theft on these is a bit higher thanks to dumb gangsters that like to chop shop these or the like. How much that might be a problem I don't know as it's not a concern in my area usually, but I won't even consider an Escalade because of the theft rate and I know insurance would be more pricey on one because of it.

My car (and this replacement) is/will be a second vehicle for me, with my other being a Corvette. I will drive the Corvette a fair amount when it's Spring-Fall, so it will be a fair split between it and whatever the other vehicle is. However, hauling stuff in the Vette will be limited and I don't care to drive it in the rain if I can avoid it - nor the winter (It has summer tires). I found a very clean, well kept '05 Z71 with nearly every option (even the old GPS system) with about 130k miles on it for $10k but I hate to drive something as big as a Tahoe when I have no family to haul in it. It's an awful lot of vehicle to move around for just me. But I do like the safe feeling of that said size, a luxury in its own regard despite not being a luxury vehicle per se.

Thoughts? I know I'll get some bias in favor of the Tahoe. I'm fortunate enough to work out of my own home so I don't drive every day but my current car gets 20 MPG with me punching it all the time and it's a sporty V6 sedan with a 6-speed manual. I have no complaints at all about the gas mileage on that (if I drove it easy I could get 22-23 MPG). The FX35 is almost a more luxurious SUV version of my car, but cargo wise it has nothing on any of the others except the FJ. If gas mileage ever became too big an issue, I'd like the safety of knowing someone else would still buy it - the lowest MPG SUVs I feel will get tanked hard. My Vette is paid off as is my car, so at present money is no issue but I like to live very safely within my means.

I've got an 02 (not in the range you stated but pretty much the same). At 15 years old it runs great. I just bought it about 8 months ago and it had been sitting for a year in the guys yard doing nothing so of course I had to do some stuff to get it to pass inspection but all I needed were new break pads, calipers, rotors and a windshield. Since it's been running the only thing I've needed to fix were break lines because one busted but again that's related to old age and sitting outside in rain and snow. Also should mention it has no problems at 233k miles. Gas mileage is definitely pretty bad, I get about 10 or 11 mpg, but I do mostly in town driving and I have bigger wheels and tires. Can't relate it to any other car/truck because this is my first vehicle but I bought it for 1500 over another truck for 2500 and if I could redo it I would buy the Tahoe every time.

 

[Martinjmpr]

If your budget is under $17k then you could look at either a Mercedes MLK350 or a BMW X5 or X3. That would give you the luxury and performance you want, AWD and still retain some "utility" features.

My current DD is a fairly loaded up 2002 Nissan Pathfinder (R50) with a 5 speed but I've often thought an X3 or X5 with a manual would be a fun DD. Never owned a German car before although I currently own a German bike (BMW R1150R) and it has proved to be flawlessly reliable.

The Pathy is fun to drive (for me, anyway) although my biases are the opposite of yours - I don't like "cars" (I've only owned 2 since 1979) and greatly prefer to drive trucks or SUVs.