quote:

Originally posted by tleddy:
I am a fan of:

Edmunds.com

Here is their small SUV Rarings:

https://www.edmunds.com/suv/#small-suvs

Good luck!

Thank you for this! It made me realize my list is wrong and I should be looking at the Subaru Forester and not the Crosstrek if I want to keep comparing apples to apples here.

Get the Mazda CX-5! Just Sayin'

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
OK for shits and giggles I am going add ONE American make here:

Ford Bronco

Anyone have one? I really like the look and the size and they look to have decent visibility unlike 80% of these jellybean-on-wheels looking small SUV's now. Hows the performance and reliability so far?

Big Bronco? Or the Escape based Bronco Sport?

I guess the smaller one

Had a coworker with the top trim 1.5l engine. He liked it & said the MPG was reasonable.
He got in a minor t-bone accident & had persistent squeaks/rattles afterward. Ended up trading it for a Lincoln Corsair.

My main knock on the Badlands, is that you can't get the tech pkg without the brown leather.
Same with the Maverick Lariat. Have to either get the brown leather or pay even more extra for the black pkg, which also sticks you with black wheels.

quote:

Originally posted by mark60:
My wife drives a hybrid Rav4 and the only thing I don't like about it is that it is a little loud on the highway. The drive system is seamless and she routinely gets over 45 MPG

My wife loves hers. I like it, but can't drive it due to insufficient leg room for the driver -- I have 36.5" inseam.

Not on your list, but if you find yourselves wanting or needing something larger, but not a full-size three-row SUV, take a Honda Passport out for a test drive.

CX-5s are still made in Japan, as are the Foresters. Rav4s are made in Canada.
I'm a german car snob, the only new cars I would look at are Mazdas.

Still Mazda.

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by tleddy:
I am a fan of:

Edmunds.com

Here is their small SUV Rarings:

https://www.edmunds.com/suv/#small-suvs

Good luck!

Thank you for this! It made me realize my list is wrong and I should be looking at the Subaru Forester and not the Crosstrek if I want to keep comparing apples to apples here.

Like I suggested on page 1…

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
OK for shits and giggles I am going add ONE American make here:

Ford Bronco

Anyone have one? I really like the look and the size and they look to have decent visibility unlike 80% of these jellybean-on-wheels looking small SUV's now. Hows the performance and reliability so far?

Take note, there are TWO variants of the Bronco, the Bronco is a full sized vehicle and the Bronco Sport is a smaller version. So engine options are different between the two as are the transmission options.

My nephew has the full size version with the 2.3 litre turbo 4 and a Manual Transmission. Yeah in my family we like Manual Transmissions. He really likes his Bronco for it's utility for driving with small children and it's off road capability for fishing in the western NC terrain. Mileage he's not so fond of because it's pretty miserable on the highway. Cause for that is the styling, it's basically a big box.

Now about Ford Engines. The 1.5 litre 3 is not a motor designed for a long service life. The design is based on the 1.0 Ecoboost with it's wet timing belt and all the issues caused by that belt failing at 100,000 miles or a bit more. The 2.0 and 2.3 litre 4 cylinders feature a dry timing belt which is much easier to replace and inspect. Those are 200K engines if you maintain them properly and replace the timing belt when that is needed.

The Ford V6 engines have major issues that will lead to a blown or seized engine after about 100K miles. With the 2.7 it's a wet timing belt driving the oil pump. When that fails the engine will either seize or throw a rod(s) thru the side of the block in about 1 mile. With the 3.5 engines the issue is the water pump is inside of the oil gallery with the cam chains. Once the front seal on that water pump it will start leaking coolant into the oil pan. This will slowly puke out the bearings in the engine, so if you catch it early you can save the engine. The bad news here is that it is VERY expensive to remove the front timing cover to get to the water pump.

The bottom line on Ford engines is that if you aren't planning on getting rid of the vehicle at 80K miles do NOT purchase a Ford with any engine other than the 2.0, 2.3 four cylinders or the V8. The 3 cylinders are junk and the V6 engines are designed to fail at 100K. It's called obsolescence folks and Ford is a big believer in it. Pretty sad to think that the F-150 that was once notable as a "forever" truck is now a get rid of it at 100K truck.

I will also note that it's not limited to Ford, all the automakers are now building vehicles with a limited life span. One example is Mercedes, you won't ever see another 500K Mercedes because the powertrains are not designed for longevity, they are designed for power and a limited life span.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Scooter123,

I'm still stuck in the era of full time 4WD with a center differential.

I suppose that doesn't even exist in a mid sized SUV.

Any movement on this? Still looking?


We just picked up a new 2024 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands to replace my wife’s aging 2018 Escape.

Worked out a good deal ($7500 under sticker with discount and rebates), and got a for trade for the Escape.


Badlands has the 2L engine and is definitely a little peppier than the two 1.5L ones I drove. Only about 1-2” higher to get into, so should still be ok for my mother in law to access (no way could she get into my full size Bronco)

I am in the process of trying to help my mil procure a 2024 Maverick awd gas. Maybe a fwd hybrid depending of availability and trade in. Right in the middle of it now.

I looked at the Edmunds ratings posted earlier

Like me, Edmunds ranks the Mazda CX-50 as #1.
The CX-50 sits lower than the CX-5; roofline is lower; but the fun-to-drive factor is way better than even the CX-5.
If I were looking for a compact SUV, that would be my choice.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
I looked at the Edmunds ratings posted earlier

Like me, Edmunds ranks the Mazda CX-50 as #1.
The CX-50 sits lower than the CX-5; roofline is lower; but the fun-to-drive factor is way better than even the CX-5.
If I were looking for a compact SUV, that would be my choice.

I'm pretty curious to see the new CX-70 [effectively a 2-row CX-90 IIRC]
Turbo straight 6 in a smaller pkg...Zoom zoom.

quote:

Originally posted by 911Boss:
Any movement on this? Still looking?


We just picked up a new 2024 Ford Bronco Sport Badlands to replace my wife’s aging 2018 Escape.

Worked out a good deal ($7500 under sticker with discount and rebates), and got a for trade for the Escape.


Badlands has the 2L engine and is definitely a little peppier than the two 1.5L ones I drove. Only about 1-2” higher to get into, so should still be ok for my mother in law to access (no way could she get into my full size Bronco)

I'm def going to look at what you got, but I'm not doing anything until around mid-next year unless this beater Mazda I have now blows up or something.

quote:

Originally posted by Cookster:
Not on your list, but if you find yourselves wanting or needing something larger, but not a full-size three-row SUV, take a Honda Passport out for a test drive.

I don't think you will be displeased with the Honda Passport.

quote:

Originally posted by goingbroke:

quote:

Originally posted by Cookster:
Not on your list, but if you find yourselves wanting or needing something larger, but not a full-size three-row SUV, take a Honda Passport out for a test drive.

I don't think you will be displeased with the Honda Passport.

Do the Passport & Pilot still use the 9spd? I think the Odyssey got the 10spd, but read that the 9AT was pretty awful.

All 3 of those are a good bit larger than what the OP is looking for, as well.
CRV is more in line with the size he's mentioned.

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
Like me, Edmunds ranks the Mazda CX-50 as #1.
The CX-50 sits lower than the CX-5; roofline is lower; but the fun-to-drive factor is way better than even the CX-5.

Well, if you read their reviews, they reviewed and rated the turbo CX-50 but the standard CX-5, giving the standard CX-5 a 8/10 in performance but the turbo CX-50 an 8.5. So not apple-to-apples there. Otherwise, they're near-identical in ratings, with both ending up with an 8.1/10 overall.

They call both out as being fun to drive with excellent handling, but specifically highlight that the CX-5 is the "best handling" in the class and that the turbo version of the CX-5 has quicker acceleration than the turbo CX-50 (0-60 in 6.6 vs 7.2).

The primary difference between the CX-5 and CX-50 is that the latter is slightly better off road. Though it still isn't a true off road vehicle; they note that it's more of a "soft road" vehicle. Mazda even markets their CX-50 more towards the outdoorsy segment.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:


The primary difference between the CX-5 and CX-50 is that the latter is slightly better off road. Though it still isn't a true off road vehicle; they note that it's more of a "soft road" vehicle. Mazda even markets their CX-50 more towards the outdoorsy segment.

The two biggest differences that stand out to me for them are:

CX-5:
Built in Japan
Independent rear suspension

CX-50:
Built in the US
Solid beam rear suspension

The CX50 also looks a lot wider than the CX5