Need some opinions, small - midsize SUV

[Hatter]

I was considering a small SUV purchase a few months ago, and drove quite a few. I didn't take the plunge, but liked the Mazda CX-5 and Ford Escape the most. Was not a fan of the Honda CRV.

[cral12]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

You may be right but the thing is, have you ever owned one or are you just taking your opinion from Consumers Reports or from your neighbor down the road?

I've owned a few Chrysler products and I've never had any particular problems. Myself, I'm going to wait until they come on the market and we get some good reviews and I can do some research.

That's the thing. I've owned 2 Jeeps and have said for years next vehicle will be Japanese or maybe German. Thing is, despite CR reports and the like I've had my latest Jeep for 11 yeas now and very few issues to this point.

[photon]

Any measurement of reliability, quality, longevity, etc is going to be over a large # of vehicles, and only makes sense over a large # of vehicles. Even the worst manufacturer will have a percentage of their vehicles that will be great, and even the best will have a percentage of their vehicles that are lemons.

So owning one or talking to a neighbour that's had one is almost useless, it's basically anecdotal evidence. Only by looking at large #'s can the difference between model A and model B be evaluated, and even then you're only skewing your odds somewhat.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by photon

Any measurement of reliability, quality, longevity, etc is going to be over a large # of vehicles, and only makes sense over a large # of vehicles. Even the worst manufacturer will have a percentage of their vehicles that will be great, and even the best will have a percentage of their vehicles that are lemons.

So owning one or talking to a neighbour that's had one is almost useless, it's basically anecdotal evidence. Only by looking at large #'s can the difference between model A and model B be evaluated, and even then you're only skewing your odds somewhat.

What I look at is what the taxi fleets are using. They deal with mass numbers of vehicles and have to put their money where it works best. The only problem is taxis are limited to only a few body styles. I don't live in the city anymore but at one team they were using Chev Impala's, Chrysler mini-vans and sedans, and Ford Escape hybreds and their Crown Victorias. The thing is the Crown Vics were the worst of the big three domestic manufactures rear wheel drive cars but Consumer Reports were in love with Ford, so Dodge and GM couldn't compete.

[HockeyIlliterate]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

You may be right but the thing is, have you ever owned one or are you just taking your opinion from Consumers Reports or from your neighbor down the road?

I've owned a few Chrysler products and I've never had any particular problems. Myself, I'm going to wait until they come on the market and we get some good reviews and I can do some research.

I have never owned a Jeep. One my friends had one, however, and remarked that the car could get through and out of anything except for the mechanic's shop.

Did the car ever leave him stranded? Not to my knowledge. It did have a lot of little electrical gremlins though.

[19Yzerman19]

I drive an rx350. Aside from having to buy premium gas it's all you could want from a midsize SUV. Never had an issue in the snow (blizzaks), pretty good fuel economy, enjoyable and insanely comfortable, quiet ride. Absolutely no issues whatsoever after 5 years. Literally no major maintenance or repairs. Still looks as new as a 5 year old car could, too, though that's partly thanks to the 3m.