Need some opinions, small - midsize SUV

[skudr248]

My father is looking to purchase a small to midsize suv, something that is new, or a year old, I am trying to help him out so I'd like to get some opinions, and reviews on which make and model to look at it, price is flexible, he will spend more if it's more reliable, his preferences is something that is somewhat good on gas... and must have some decent options.

He's looking at everything from RVR's to X3's, what other options should I suggest to him to check out? Thanks for the input guys!

[Dynamic]

There are literally so many small SUVs now I think you gotta look at them and pick a couple candidates and go from there cause your head will spin trying to compare them all.

I have a crv and its very reliable but boring.

[Vulcan]

I like these guys reviews.



You can tell they like the Escape.



If he wants something more capable, there is the new Cherokee which comes out this fall.

[Miniac]

I drive an old rav4 during the winter. Although there is like a million of them in the city, they are great cars. Very reliable SUV and low maintenance. However that being said the new rav4's are ugly! From my experience, I liked the X3's very soild SUV's and great for all season. But stay away from Land Rover LR2... they are complete crap and have zero reliability. Plus you don't want to deal with the extremely awful Land Rover dealership here in Calgary.

[redforever]

I had a Honda CRV and it is very underpowered compared to the Ford Escape or Toyota RAV4...and it does not get any better gas mileage that the others either.

The tires are a piece of crap as well.

[MoneyGuy]

RAVing about my RAV.

[Fozzie_DeBear]

Mazda Cx-5
Ford Escape
Subaru Forester

An off the wall suggestion is a wagon. The Cadillac wagon, the Subaru's, the Volvo's...all very good alternatives to the SUV

[Tiger]

Bought a forester recently and love it. My parents love their RAV4 but want a forester next

[killer_carlson]

Huge fan of the Outander from Mitsubishi i bought last year.

Consider that o ne as well. I bought a used one with 7 + years of warrnty left.

[Ben_in_Canada]

+1 for the Escape.
I had the 4cyl, was good on gas, had ample power, never had an issue in winter and was comfortable to drive.

[Sylvanfan]

What sort of driving is he looking to do? City, some hiway? Why an SUV over say a truck or a station wagon?

I have the previous generation Rav4, not a bad vehichle capable in the winter, V6 has lots of power. Probably less costly to maintain than an X3 or other premium brand.

There seems to be a lot of the new Santa Fe's selling with that 2.0 turbo these days,

[darklord700]

Small utes have replaced sedan to be the family vehicle of choice these days so you'll have tons to choose from. The new Santa Fe will be my suggestions with the turbo. But you can't go wrong with the likes of RAV4, CRV or Escape.

[lucky1]

The BMW X1 is a nice little crossover, pretty peppy 4 cylinder turbo, and I like the VW Tiguan - is very capable in the AWD version.... One if the few VW's still built in Germany these days

[bubbsy]

got the 2013 CRV as our baby mobile, and very satisfied. Lot's of competition for this genre, but the honda standard package (ie. don't need any upgrades to get the rear camera, etc) made it an easier sell than the escape/rogue, and the rav4 got some negative reviews from friends due to things like it's trunk door style.

CRV is a great value and amazing on gas in econ mode.

[FlamingLonghorn]

The new Santa Fe with Turbo is great. Bought ours a couple months ago.

[photon]

I want a Mercedes GLK 250 BluTEC

EDIT: The Audi Q5 if they had the diesel would be cool, no idea if the hybrid is any good.

[Sliver]

Here's pretty much the sickest car going right now. E-Class Wagon. I was drooling over this one at the dealership last month.

[loob job]

I bought a Ford Explorer with the ecoboost engine in December, i know it's a little bigger than what you're talking about but i absolutely love it.

[bizaro86]

I've been very happy with my '08 Sante Fe, just came off warranty and haven't had any issues. Reliability has been good for me, anyway. The new one is probably worth a look.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by loob job

I bought a Ford Explorer with the ecoboost engine in December, i know it's a little bigger than what you're talking about but i absolutely love it.

Those new Explorers are totally awesome.