Looking for a new car

So the wife and I are looking to trade in my car and get a crossover so we have something that can hold the family, dog, and luggage/stroller.   We've been looking at GMC Acadia and Terrain, Chevy Equinox and Traverse and recently the Ford Edge.   I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or knowledge on these or similar cars.

I own a dodge Durango its a good car and seems to be priced lower than those others when I was looking. Mine isn't great on gas but its a V8 hemi. Other than that I would recommend it.

when i worked at enterprise my favorite SUV  to drive and ride in was the  acadia lots and room and very comfortable

Acadia FTW!  My mom just got one and I took it for the weekend to Atlanta with the kids. Great SUV. Tons of room, nicely equipped, drives nice and get OK gas mileage. Really enjoyed having it this weekend.

S7 Interseptor wrote:Acadia FTW!  My mom just got one and I took it for the weekend to Atlanta with the kids. Great SUV. Tons of room, nicely equipped, drives nice and get OK gas mileage. Really enjoyed having it this weekend.

The back seat is spacious in that one too...   

The Acadia would be our first choice but it's tough finding a doable price on one.  We're looking used but they're a little pricey when you're looking at lower miles.  

As for the gas mileage, my car is an '02 Grand Prix GTP and it gets like 18 and 24 mpg, with it usually running about 20-21.  Most of the crossovers get the same mpg.

My wife drives a ford edge and I like it. Good gas mileage, good room, and rides good. Cost of ownership is pretty low too. Her's has 150k miles on it and still going pretty strong.

The Ford edge is nice, and drives really well with a comfortable ride, but is a bit pricey and doesn't get that great of gas mileage. I would love to have one, as they are good family vehicles. The new Ford Explorers are good family vehicles too, but are even more expensive. If you don't have to get an SUV (I know they are better when you throw the dog into the mix) check out the chevy Impala. Really nice, and you would be surprised at the room in the trunk and back seat. Plus, Chevy has made the effort to bring it back to it's roots as a sport sedan. Ours has a V6 and will flat out run, and still gets 30 MPH on the highway.

~mrmiller

My wife has a 2010 Prius that handles my big ass, two kids, and her driving really well. Plus room for luggage and 47mpg at 70-75 mph. Haven't tried it with the dog yet. As far as crossovers, I've read good things about Subaru.

We haven't really considered foreign brands too much but we're not ruling them out.

ok I've been meaning to post my info on this for bit so here goes.

Me and the wife bought a honda pilot n jan and I Looked at several suv's we mainly wanted a third row suv so here is my input

THe chevey treverse has one of the biggest amount of total room
and it was one of the cheapest 3rd row suvs until the 2013 model came out. the 2010-2012 were a lot cheaper and you could find one used for around 18k to 24k. problem we had from it was it felt/drove like a mini van and the cabin interour and tech was basic and cheap looking. it did get good mpg and the 3rd row was easy to get into the 2nd row move f and b. the Ford explorer was nice drove great, like a truck cabin tech top notch it was just a little too pricey we got a brand new 2013 for abot 2 grand more then a ford explorer with 80k miles on it. the 3row is basiclly two bucket sets that dont lay down flat when not in use, u can reove them but. The 2011-2012 ford escape is a great option if you don't need a thrid row but with a car seat you really only got room for 3 adults and the baby. the escape gets good mpg and the interior is real nice v6 drives great too. 2013 escapes are just fugly IMO.Arcaides are real nice all around but just cost too much new or used. the terrian is about equal to the escape in all forms but fords cabin tech looks alot nicer. the terrian does look more manly then most suvs. both of the KIA's sportage and sorrento are really nice looking, cabin tech and interor top notch and really upto date looking, great price and warrenty good mpg the problem with kia's is there engines are weak on horse power and they just didn't handle smooth for me. THe suberues are super nice all around and drive great ,they just don't look that great body wise and are $$$. The Honda CRV and the Pilot drive great suv style, cabin tech is good, but not as flashy as the ford or the kia, the interoir is nice and the car is quite and seems to be put together better then the chevy and ford, the fords seem to have some racket noise and road noise more but it might be just the ones i looked at because they were used. the Pilots 3rd row lays completly flat and gives you about 5sq ft of room and it can be put up/down easy and the 2nd row can be put/down east, both are split 30/70 The pilot is also alot higher off the ground then the terverse but its mpg is not the greatest . the 2013 hyndai Santa fa has one of the nicer interiors and drives like a car but has less cabin room and they didn't have a 3rd version at the time, but would be my choice if i didnt need a third row, followed by the escape or the terrian. We also got the AWD/ 4x4 pilot due to it can tow 3500 lbs. the treverse and the honda have the best accesible 3row. 0.9% finiance on the honda help too.
good luck, just buy on the last week of the month get your price before you let them know your gonna trade in a car. they should be able to come down 3-5 grand and should give you around 60 -75% KBB price on your car, but you would be better off selling your car then trading it in then go to the dealer and say hay this is what I can afford can you meet me. I walked away and 2 days later they called me back and I got my car , I still think I could have got them down another 1500 but o well.

So we went out and looked at a handful of cars.   I test drove 2 Edges, a Santa Fe, and we're currently doing a 24hr test drive with an Equinox.  I wasn't a huge fan of the Sante Fe but the Equinox and Edge seem like pretty solid vehicles.  

I liked the roominess of the cabin of the Edge.  It felt like there was a lot of room and that it was open and uncramped.   I also liked the 6 disc changer (not a huge plus with an aux jack and my iPhone) and the backup sensors are nice too.  I would have preferred a different color, leather seating (with heated seats) & either AWD or an option for it (the one I drove was FWD). 

The Eqiinox has the best gas mileage (because it's an inline 4) and isn't as roomy as the Edge, but the driver seat is setup like a cockpit almost and has everything within a comfortable reach.  It also has the aux option for the stereo and a lot of other bells and whistles.   It's a bit more expensive than the Edge but it has the special preferred program that gets free detailing and oil changes and a bunch of other neat crap.  Both are certified used and have some warranty left to them.  

So, anyone know anything about the Equinox?  We checked reviews and the 2010 model seems to be the best year for the car (based on reviews and ratings).  It gets pretty solid numbers from the NTSB and other groups so I'm not too afraid of safety, and it has half the miles of the Edge (32k vs 65k, both are 2010), but I was looking for some input from someone I know rather than strangers.

THe ford sync system is bad ass ,blu tooth and ipod direct hook up plus usb stick media player and vocie control and by far the best stock media center in any car but its doesn't come with the basic trim package. There seems to be a lot of used ford edges out there for sale due so you should be able to get a btter deal on one of them, the escape has more cabin room then the edge and they do make a 4 cylinder version, I did have a friend whos edge burnt to the ground when he was driving through the country and he parked at a park and the leaves on the ground caught fire from the heat of the catylical convertor but that would prob happen on any low to ground car. The eqiinox is a solid car IMO i just think the interoir dash looks outdated and the non leather package looks cheap compared to other cars in the price range. I would put the car seat in and see if you lose an additional seat and if the 2nd row has a split seat which i think it does. also check to see what or how many air bags it has, you will want side curtin 2nd row air bags for the kids. I also think chevy might have a better warranty then ford but cant remember

Sync for the win.

Check out kbb.com the have a price to own comparison thing. With the higher mileage on the edge I would be a little focused on that vs the initial price.

Yeah I've considered the price to own for both and I've looked at the curtain airbags.  Also, I put the carseat in, folded down the 60 portion of the seat, and put the stroller and dog in back and everything fit fine.  Going from a supercharged 3.8L V6 to a 2.4L I4 will be a change but I can deal with it.  I'm a dad now, not an youngster with a fast car.  

The current thing that kept up from signing today is that the car was a smokers car.   We didn't find any burn marks but the car smells like smoke.   The dealer says they have some "bomb" that should kill the smell and that it supposedly works on cars sprayed by skunks and stuff so we'll see how that works.  My wife and I both used to smoke so the smell is more of an issue to both of us so they're tying that out and we'll go take a smell tomorrow night.   

Assuming the smell gets handled, we'll probably buy the Equinox tomorrow night since it has what we want and should do what we need.

Good for you Puppet.  All grown up... *tear*.   Buying a new car is always exciting.  I have been on the hunt for about a year now.  I am in no hurry but I have that new car itch.  My problem is that I am all over the place with what I want.  V8 Hemi Challenger, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, the new Cherokee Trailhawk or keep my car and buy an old 2-door Wrangler etc...

S7 Interseptor wrote:Good for you Puppet.  All grown up... *tear*.   Buying a new car is always exciting.  I have been on the hunt for about a year now.  I am in no hurry but I have that new car itch.  My problem is that I am all over the place with what I want.  V8 Hemi Challenger, Jeep Wrangler Unlimited, the new Cherokee Trailhawk or keep my car and buy an old 2-door Wrangler etc...

Please don't get a Challenger.

I can vouch for the Challenger. I'm chopping onions every time I think about when I traded mine in for a truck.

@ puppet get them to come down more on the price for the smoke thing, just go buy yourself and say the wife really has a problem with it and I will buy it for x but Im still looking around, look up the KBB price because if it was a trade in then theyonly really got abot 60 -75% of the KBB price in it. You might also want to look at finace on new cars 0% vs 5-8% on used can make a big difference but 0% vs 2.9 not really a big deal

fyi I got my honda pilot 4x4 ex for about 5000 less then the sticker price around 30000

S7 Skipito wrote:I can vouch for the Challenger. I'm chopping onions every time I think about when I traded mine in for a truck.  

My Brother-in-law has a 2010 SRT8, it's nice, but has never struck me as anything special. Personal preference I suppose. 

AtrumX wrote:

S7 Skipito wrote:I can vouch for the Challenger. I'm chopping onions every time I think about when I traded mine in for a truck.  

My Brother-in-law has a 2010 SRT8, it's nice, but has never struck me as anything special. Personal preference I suppose. 

if you go and have the computer whipped of all the safety sh1t dodge put on it to  help save the engine and trany  SRT8 become beast!!!! you also will void any and all Warrenty  you have with dodge XD

I just think they are cool cars.  The looks are bad ass, pleny of room and big ol V8.  Good times.  But they are a little common for my tastes.  Unfortunately the 2008 RS4 is still out of reach.  Sad face. 

You guys seen the crazy new 2014 Cherokee (not grand, the original Cherokee is back)?  Specifically the Trailhawk edition?

Yes looks bad ass.

I think the Edge sports are really good looking vehicles with the black front end and 22's.  Also doesnt hurt to have the Ford ecoboost twin turbo v6.