I have a small SUV -- it's a loaded Ford Explorer Sport, and it's about 20 years old, so it's probably fairly different from whatever you'd buy today.
Bad points:
- SUVs are not cheap-to-keep cars. They guzzle gas (oh, so much gas), and you'll be shocked and amazed at the cost of tires. Any repair costs more than it would on a small sedan; the parts are larger and more expensive. Do not underestimate the price increase you'll find between a sedan and a small SUV.
- Lifting /closing the back hatch requires some muscle. When my kids were small, they couldn't do it.
- Ours only has four seat belts.
Some of this is probably true; that's why I noted the age of my Explorer. However, even 22-23 MPG is a far cry from the 38-40 MPG I get in my newer car, so even the new SUVs are more expensive to keep than a similar-aged sedan -- gas mileage has improved in all vehicles, not just SUVs.You really cannot compare your 20 year old explorer to the current Edge or Escape. On a road trip, I can easily get 27-28 MPG, and I have AWD in my Edge, our Escape can get even better. Even with mixed city/hwy I still get 22-23 in my Edge. Gas mileage in small SUV's have come a long way in 20 years.
Same for the lift gates, and they all have 5 seat belts these days.
LOL. I would expect any modern car to go 10 years without issues. Or if there ARE issues I would expect the manufacturer to step up. The newest car we have is a 2007 Taurus, and the fuel pump went out AFTER the normal warranty, but Ford had issues with fuel pumps, so the repair was free since they extended the warranty on fuel pumps.I have a 2007 Honda CRV that I've owned since it was new. Knock wood, we've hardly had to fix anything besides routine maintenance (and absolutely nothing till relatively recently...) When this one gives out I'll definitely consider getting another one. I like it for the reason you said -- it's easy to get into/out of and I feel like I'm sitting high enough that I can see, but not driving a tank.
I posted earlier about my car issues- since it's an older car (I bought it used) it might not be worth it to put a lot of money into it so of course I started looking at cars online. If we do end up getting something else I would like a smallish suv- I have a 4 dr sedan right now and with my hip issues sometimes it's hard to get out of or get down into it so I would like something that sits a little higher. I like the Ford Edge and Ford Escape but am open to pretty much anything. What do you have you would recommend or what do you have that you want to warn me about? LOL
so thats what there calling them now a days, I have a big one
so thats what there calling them now a days, I have a big one
You really cannot compare your 20 year old explorer to the current Edge or Escape. On a road trip, I can easily get 27-28 MPG, and I have AWD in my Edge, our Escape can get even better. Even with mixed city/hwy I still get 22-23 in my Edge. Gas mileage in small SUV's have come a long way in 20 years.
Same for the lift gates, and they all have 5 seat belts these days.
2004 Suburu Forester with 165,000 miles and still problem free. These older models are much more compact than the newer ones!
My last three vehicles have been Ford Escapes. I love my Escapes. Unfortunately they have changed the body design to mimic the Edge (2012 is the first I believe). I will not be buying one as my mom has an Edge and I dislike the bullet design. (due to a long torso I hit a blind spot when I drive it and to keep the top edge of the roof out of my sight line I have to put the seat really low which also makes me have a blind spot)
I thought that the Escape had the best of both worlds in that it handled like a SUV with out the bulk and it had Front Wheel Drive and came with a V6.
I posted earlier about my car issues- since it's an older car (I bought it used) it might not be worth it to put a lot of money into it so of course I started looking at cars online. If we do end up getting something else I would like a smallish suv- I have a 4 dr sedan right now and with my hip issues sometimes it's hard to get out of or get down into it so I would like something that sits a little higher. I like the Ford Edge and Ford Escape but am open to pretty much anything. What do you have you would recommend or what do you have that you want to warn me about? LOL
I have a 2007 Honda CRV that I've owned since it was new. Knock wood, we've hardly had to fix anything besides routine maintenance (and absolutely nothing till relatively recently...) When this one gives out I'll definitely consider getting another one. I like it for the reason you said -- it's easy to get into/out of and I feel like I'm sitting high enough that I can see, but not driving a tank.
DS bought a Ford Focus(used from a dealer a year old) and it was a disaster! The transmission was horrible and after multiple service calls and no fix the used car dealer took it back and he got a Toyota Corolla. I would never purchase a Ford after this experience.Prior to this I had a ford focus and I had a ton of trouble out of it. So much so that I probably won't ever buy another ford