Thoughts on New SUV’s

Hey guys, the FW is getting a new ride this year. Her 2014 RT Caravan has been an incredibly reliable ride for the last 185,000 (and still going).

She is finishing up her master’s degree and I told her she could get anything she wants for all of her hard work.

We’re open to ideas, and she wants a mid-size SUV. Right now she’s interested in the VW Atlas and the Toyota 4-runner. She also likes Jeeps but I’m only lukewarm on that idea.

I see the Atlas is slightly bigger, is AWD instead of 4wd, and is made in the US. The 4-runner is 4wd and made in Japan.

The Atlas has a 4 year 50,000 mile warranty, the 4runner has a 3 year 36,000.

She had a VW Tiguan before the minivan and we had zero issues with it in the 2-3 years we had it.

What else should we be looking at?

It will be pretty much strictly a commuter/daily driver with no towing anticipated.

Im biased because I hated working on VWs. That was awhile ago so maybe they are different now. I dont think you could go wrong with a 4 runner. No clue if you would consider it but a honda pilot might be worth a look. Not sure if a crv or rav4 is smaller than what you are looking for but they have a huge following in the SUV market. the car market is still a little tight right now but its getting better as far as prices go.

My parents have had like 3 pilots now and I’ve always thought they were decent.

I’ve always heard VW is a nightmare to work on and parts are expensive. Not sure that’s changed. 4 runners are great vehicles. Kinda depends on how long you plan on owning it. If you’re the type to change our vehicles every 5 years I’d say get whatever you want. If you want longevity hard to go wrong with toyota or honda

Youbetcha wrote:

Not sure if a crv or rav4 is smaller than what you are looking for but they have a huge following in the SUV market.

I have a 2023 Rav4 Hybrid on order and there is a 4-8 month wait for it. Just a FYI

gimruis wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Carter Johnson wrote:</div>
Not sure if a crv or rav4 is smaller than what you are looking for but they have a huge following in the SUV market.

I have a 2023 Rav4 Hybrid on order and there is a 4-8 month wait for it. Just a FYI

I hear its similar with the CRV hybrids as well.

Youbetcha wrote:

I hear its similar with the CRV hybrids as well.

I’m sure. You can buy a used one with 30k miles but it costs about $5 grand more than a brand new customized one. No thanks. I’ll just wait for the new one, its not an emergency.

Toyota motor Corporation owns Lexus and Toyota. Both are almost always in the top 3 for reliability with Lexus at top spot in 2022.

Kia telluride is most popular followed by hyundai palisade.

Honestly, those brand new Sequoia TRD pro’s and the 4runner TRD pro’s are the baddest SUV’s out there, and both feature 3rd-row seating and some V8’s getting just at or above 20 mpg’s sign me up.

My wife is always looking. Her current daily driver is a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit. She buys what she wants, when she wants. I suggest things that make sense, but ultimately she will decide and purchase what she wants. The last 2 vehicles she paid cash and went to pick them up on her own after we looked at them together. We have 2 kids (maybe a third at some point) and live in the country with a 1200’ driveway that will drift shut daily, so she wants something capable and with more space.

On her latest target list is:

-Ford Expedition
-Jeep Grand Cherokee L (3rd row)
-Tahoe (whatever one of the higher trim levels is called)
-F150

I’d prefer she not get the Tahoe, as I’m not a big GM fan lately and their price tag is absurd for what you actually get. She likes how they look (and I agree they’re sharp). I’m also not big into the Expedition as a coworker had one and had issues with it from day 1 brand new. We rented one for 5 days in California and I wasn’t impressed. Hopefully she eventually decides on the F150. Even though she currently has a Jeep, I think the new 3rd row ones have a pretty absurd price for what you get too. A brand new F150 Lariat is cheaper with the same options.

catching salmon hawgz wrote:

Honestly, those brand new Sequoia TRD pro’s and the 4runner TRD pro’s are the baddest SUV’s out there, and both feature 3rd-row seating and some V8’s getting just at or above 20 mpg’s sign me up.

No v8s available in New toyotas

My wife got a Palisade last year, it has been great and she loves it. Has all the bells, whistles and tech. I did a ton of research and the Palisade and Telluride were 1 and 2 on almost every list I saw. I am partial to Mopar/Dodge/Jeep and we looked at a Jeep L and was very underwhelmed and thought it drove like a tank (not in a good way) compared to the Telluride/Palisade.

I hated working on VW’s and sometimes getting parts was a nightmare. I don’t care if it is assembled in the US. German engineering never tripped my trigger. I’d work on any Asian or US vehicle anytime.

BigWerm wrote:

My wife got a Palisade last year, it has been great and she loves it. Has all the bells, whistles and tech. I did a ton of research and the Palisade and Telluride were 1 and 2 on almost every list I saw. I am partial to Mopar/Dodge/Jeep and we looked at a Jeep L and was very underwhelmed and thought it drove like a tank (not in a good way) compared to the Telluride/Palisade.

We have a Palisade as well that we bought new. Wasn’t a lot to go off of for research when we bought since they were fairly new to the market at that point. No issues to speak of, just basic/oil/filter maintenance has gotten us to the 50k mark. Had a few minor recall repairs but there really aren’t many vehicles that don’t have some sort of recall on them anymore.

I bought a ford explorer back in January was a 2020 used. I bought it to keep miles off my f350 diesel. Save some cost etc. I have been very happy much more than I thought. lots of room handles great pretty quick. 2.3l eco. I drove the 3l eco it was a rocketship but had less fuel economy so opted for 2.3l. I also was looking at GMC Acadia. a week after I bought the explorer I rented a Acadia 2023 on a trip was not as happy as was with the ford. I hated the blind spots and the seat vibrates as the proximity alarm.

Toyota 4Runner all the way. Much better reliability and resale value. In my opinion, they have more curb appeal than the VW. Every person I’ve known that had a VW experienced electrical issues.

I really like the look of the new Pilot, we have owned each generation and never had any significant issues. Can’t go wrong with a 4Runner if you don’t mind a little less tech and a harsher ride, most reliable SUV out there.

VW is fine, but if you plan to keep it longer – the issue will be finding a mechanic (besides the dealer) willing to work on it.

Need a third seat ? That third seat determines much in your decision making process.

Toyota 4-Runner or Highlander would be my choice. We have a 2015 Highlander that we bought new that has 90,000 miles. Plan on driving it a couple more years and then buy another Highlander or a Rav4.

Toyota 4 runner drives like a brick. My wife was in the same market 1.5yrs ago and test drove every mid size SUV there is and ended on the palisade. There is a reason the palisade/telluride are number 1 and 2 on virtually every review. If you want to go the Toyota route I would make sure to test drive the 4 runner vs Highlander…and then go test drive the Kia/Hyundai. I personally love the look of the Atlas but have also heard too much about the maintenance on Volkswagen product.

I’ve leased a 4 runner, definitely rides stiff but 4wd. Narrow cargo space. Then I leased a hybrid Highlander and bought it after the lease. Awd, wider than the 4Runner, good tires now so good traction. Wife is leasing a Highlander and it’s bigger than my ‘19. And she had to drive through last week’s snow at 1am and made it before plowing happened. Finally Toyota just unveiled the ‘24 Grand Highlander which is bigger still. See it on YouTube.

This is just my opinion but i would stay away from the VW and Jeeps.The VW’s are hard to find people to work on other than dealers and spendy repairs.The Jeeps ,well there just Jeeps.Bassackward POS.
I would look at Toyota or Honda.JMO.

The Palisades and Tellurides get very high ratings. One other I have not seen listed here is the Mazda CX-9. 5/5 quality rating and a very nice vehicle.

Palisade

A buddy had a VW (was a car) also said the same thing, hard to work on. I think he had to take half the bumper off to change the headlight. Was a good vehicle, but expensive for parts too.

**ANYthing she wants if that’s truly the case then it’s gotta be a Land Cruiser – the king of suvs.

Just checked and after 60 years they freaking discontinued them The used ones are gonna cost like a million bucks now. And maybe they still make the Lexus counterpart, I think it was the LX

chuck100 wrote:

This is just my opinion but i would stay away from the VW and Jeeps.The VW’s are hard to find people to work on other than dealers and spendy repairs.The Jeeps ,well there just Jeeps.Bassackward POS.
I would look at Toyota or Honda.JMO.

Totally agree. I would not have anything with a VW or Jeep badge in the driveway.

Did you look at the Durango ? My wife is on her 4th… 2002, 2003, 2004 and the 2020 she has now. Actually, the Nissan Pathfinders are cool too !

I would skip the suv and get another mini van. I love mini vans, my lady doesn’t. I want to sell the Tahoe for a mini van. But the woman doesn’t like that idea.

Honda Polit or Toyota Highlander, You will never have any problems with either on them.