My wife is in need of a new vehicle, she likes the smaller SUVs. I know all 3 of these are a little underpowered, but it will be mainly for her Commute. She needs AWD or 4WD. Any recommendations? I’m not trying to turn this into a debate, just real world experience.
We have a 2016 Escape. It has a 2.5 L and AWD. It is not low on power.
28 mpg
Subaru Outback with the 3.6 would be my vote. Not an “suv” strictly. A forester 2.0XT would be my runner up.
My old man’s forester is on 370k. No joke.
I’ve always been a Chevy person. Does routine maintenance (oil, brakes, etc) any more money
We’ve had Escapes in the fleet since shortly after they came out, they’ve managed to survive my kids high school and college years.
Recently bought my daughter a 2018 1.5EB AWD, so far so good. However, first time I went to do a DIY oil change I discovered a full engine cover underneath the engine, 12 or so screws holding it in place. More or less impossible to remove/install while laying on my back, so off the the dealer it went for the oil change (first one was free).
HRG
Work in the auto industry and have no reason to steer you a certain direction. If you’re looking at small SUVs you have to check out the Mazda CX-5.
Older Rav 4 with 3.5 v6 has 269 hp. Not underpowered at all, fun to drive,tows the boat, decent mileage and reliable.
I purchased a new 2017 Honda CRV in the EX trim level with AWD in May, 2017. This model has the turbo charged engine with the continuously variable transmission. I really like the car. It has more than enough power for accelerating down on-ramps and for passing but is not big enough to pull my Lund Explorer 1700SS if that’s what you mean by under-powered. Driving around town, which is actually a fair amount of highway driving, I’ll get 31-32 mpg. On two-lane highways doing about 60 I’ll get 34 mpg or a bit better. It’s got plenty of room for four people but can seat five.
If I fold the back seats down, my boy and I can fit two of the largest size decoy bags full of goose decoys with enough room for a couple dozen silhouettes and all our other gear.
It’s got a great back-up camera and a lot of other safety features. I can’t think of anything that I don’t like about this car. We paid right around $27K without a trade-in.
Good Luck
I would also look at the MDX-I like subaru too, got 300k on one that I sold still running great, many models will seem underpowered. The japanese models have not been in the turbo game for as long or to the same extent as the europeans, I would be nervous about a turbo unless I was buying new and knew I would sell before the warranty was up. I now drive a Pilot and like it a lot but would be too big.
My wife is on her third CRV, and she has had zero problems with any of the three. She is now thinking about CRV number 4. I don’t know about the RAV, but the CRV does have more room in it than the Escape.
Thanks everyone for the info, was a lot more helpful than talking to a salesman
If you are going to own it past warranty, I would really research any cvt transmission on the car. Some of them are not as reliable and pretty expensive to replace from what I understand.
wife had 2 CRV”S and had 0 troubles, just traded for a pilot for a little more room
Wife is on her second CRV and both have been great. Only trouble we have had is Honda brand batteries. They have not lasted over a couple years. Not enough power to pull a larger boat, but 30+ mpg all the time. Love the all-wheel drive. Cannot speak for the others.
May I recommend a Jeep Grand Cherokee , reliable and long lasting FW has 187,000 miles on her 07 thing still runs like a boss in any kind of weather and flies down the highway . I would jump in it and drive it to Florida its that trustworthy 
If you are going to own it past warranty, I would really research any cvt transmission on the car. Some of them are not as reliable and pretty expensive to replace from what I understand.
I did get an extended warranty. The Honda dealer finance guy who does all the paper work offered a 100,000 mile warranty for about $1400 I believe it was. I was thinking we should get it but my wife said we didn’t have any problems in the first 100,000 miles on the two previous Pilots we have had. So we told the guy that we didn’t want it. At that point he said they had an experimental program or something to that effect that is also bumper-to-bumper but good for 150,000 miles for basically the same price. So we did buy that extended warranty. We keep our vehicles for a long time so I like the thought that for the next 150,000 miles I won’t have any major repair expenses on that car. Just hope it’s not involved in an accident.
It seems all vehicles from all manufactures are just so much more reliable then they were 30 years ago. I think it’s a combination of better quality control programs, good supplier partnerships, much better machining and robotics, and much better input materials.
If you’re a chevy person check out the equinox we just purchased one a few weeks ago and can’t believe the amount of space in it whether you’re in the front or the back ours has the little 2.4 inline 4 but it gets great millage we easily hit over 30’s mpg on highway and you can get in them with awd
all 3 of those are great vehicles in my opinion.
X2 on the CVT, you couldn’t pay me to own a vehicle with one. They’re all 3 good vehicles, IMO. But the fact that all new CR-V’s come with a CVT is the deal breaker for me. It’s not a Nissan CVT at least…
Have her drive all 3 and she will know what one she likes. I do not think you can go wrong with any of the 3. good luck
Gas/oil intrusion scared me away from the new CR-V 2.0T
Lots of information out there on that subject.
We’ve had subaru’s for years, great cars, but not the quietest ride. This year we bought a certified pre-owned 2016 BMW x1 for about the same price as a new decked out forester. The ride quality is unbelievable. Still love the Subaru, but this one is really nice.
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