Thoughts on New SUV’s

Id stray away from Nissans because I think they all use a CVT transmission and those are trash.
My vote would be a 4 Runner. Its built like a truck with a full frame and well you know its a Toyota. This is coming from a GM guy. My wife’s next vehicle will be a 4 Runner. THey are sharp. I think the 3rd row you can get now is essentially useless though.
The top of the line Tahoe is the Premier and they are fantastic. If you were to get one, get the 6.2 with the 10spd and you will have smiles from ear to ear. My 13 year old has no strong emotion about anything. I took him to lunch on a day they didnt have school and asked him if he wanted me to “6.2 it” and he said sure. I hammered it at hit 90 in no time and that was the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face.

My wife gets a new work vehicle every couple of years. Last vehicle was a 2018 Toyota Highlander and she loved it. New one is a 2022 Ford Explorer. 10,000 miles and already had leaking wheel bearing seals replaced. She doesn’t like it nearly as well as the Highlander.

I vote a Subaru Forester or Ascent!! I’ve been driving Subarus for years and I LOVE them! Can’t beat the AWD in the winter and my late husband said they were fairly easy to work on and get parts.

I just drove my buddys new SUV and loved it. Probably not practical for this discussion though. 22 Dodge Hemi Durango RT. Interior-sweet. Driving it-sweet.

If I were to get a Subaru it would definitely be the Ascent. Good sized vehicle and AWD.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Id stray away from Nissans because I think they all use a CVT transmission and those are trash.

CVT ditched in 2021. Come with a 9 speed now.

big_g wrote:

CVT ditched in 2021. Come with a 9 speed now.

Good, they were trash! If you made it to 100k you were lucky.

A little misdirection I guess … somewhat on topic I suppose …

The Nissan CVT has been flawless for us. We have 120K on our Nissan and the ONLY issue was the headlamp assembly which Nissan replaced in 2022 as part of a class action settlement. Altima has been all over the US.

With the VW we owned (bought used). Great runner – one son had it at college for 18 months. Once a year synthetic oil change. Headlight or headlamp change on the post above ? The Jetta headlight replacement was the easiest of any car I owned. As it approached 14 years of age though – “suggested” repairs mounted … finally found a mechanic that did it all for about 18% of the dealer quoted cost. It was rear-ended and totaled last fall. The other thing with that VW. Car showed some minor paint delamination … VW repainted almost the entire vehicle at their cost…

Over the past 2-3 years or so … I actually reviewed, visited dealers, and drove many mid-size or trying-to-be mid-size SUVs … Toyota, Honda, Kia, Nissan, Hyundai, VW, Subaru, GM, Ford, and even a Jeep. Some were test drives – others rentals. We went Honda last fall. Could not be happier. Daughters Subaru appears to be increasing in value daily… that little SUV is pretty nice too.

I took a Pathfinder for a test drive right after a 5” snow storm. It was awesome to drive in snow mode. I tried to spin out in an empty parking lot. Nope. Plus it’s the only midsize suv with 48” of width in the cargo space. To me that is a big deal.

I thought everybody was going to drive electric cars now?

We had a 4 Runner. It is about as comfortable as an old one ton truck. We switched to a suburban and it was a drastic improvement. We are now looking at a diesel Tahoe or suburban

Another vote for the 4 runner. All the comments above about toyota are almost correct. Yes its ALmost slow, Yes it rides stiff, and yes if using the third row cargo space is a bit small. However this one just hit 95k miles and it has cost us nothing but oil changes, filters, and tires. My wife loves it for our family of four so much she cant wait to see what they do with the ’25 model year that is supposed to give it a refresh.

Touching on the land cruiser comment, they did discontinue them, however alot of the “features” of the 200 series and any updates where put into the new sequoia. It basically replaced the 200 series in the line up. And you can fit 35″ tires on a factory suspension without trimming if that’s your style.

Bottom line, I buy toyota for reliability, my Tundra is my 4th Toyota, all of them have been issue free, hold resale, and are great for what our family needs.

ekruger01 wrote:

Touching on the land cruiser comment, they did discontinue them, however alot of the “features” of the 200 series and any updates where put into the new sequoia. It basically replaced the 200 series in the line up.

Blasphemy

Interesting to note the recommendations for 4Runners. We test drove a 2020 a couple years ago and walking away that was the easiest “No” decision my wife and I ever made. For the $$$ the features were lacking, and it had similar handing to a box truck. My wife took it down a ramp to the highway and said it felt like it was towing something with it’s lack of responsiveness.

There’s no denying 4Runners are reliable as many have noted. …but that’s where their advantages end in my opinion.

My wife would be driving a 4runner right now if they weren’t so underpowered.
We made it a block on the test drive and she turned around. We were very disappointed because we know they are great wheelers and dependable.

As far as reliability, when I was living on Maui, twice, to get an appt at my shop for oil change or repairs, was typically a 3 day wait… to get into the toyota dealer for oil change or repairs, was a month out. We did a lot of oil changes on yotas. Just my experience, it was kind of unique with only 1 store available for each brand.

buckybadger wrote:

Interesting to note the recommendations for 4Runners. We test drove a 2020 a couple years ago and walking away that was the easiest “No” decision my wife and I ever made. For the $$$ the features were lacking, and it had similar handing to a box truck. My wife took it down a ramp to the highway and said it felt like it was towing something with it’s lack of responsiveness.

There’s no denying 4Runners are reliable as many have noted. …but that’s where their advantages end in my opinion.

Thats the biggest reason I like ours, The wifes old car was an Audi A4, bright red, AWD.. She drove it like a rally car. I get a pretty steep discount on go fast parts working in the industry, eventually the 4runner will get a supercharger, For now. It stays on family duty.

suzuki wrote:

My wife would be driving a 4runner right now if they weren’t so underpowered. We made it a block on the test drive and she turned around.

My wife wanted a 4runner in the worst way and the test drive went exactly like this. “It’s like driving your truck”

Thanks for all the input guys and please keep it coming.

She went and test drove a handful of cars yesterday.

The 4-runner is out. The Toyota dealer she went to only had one new one in stock that had someone else’s name on it, so she test drove a 2020 to get the feel and didn’t care for it. That and a new one with her name on it would be 8-9 months out.

She test drove a new Pilot and really liked it.

She drove a Lexus GX something and liked it.

She eye balled the Hyundai Palisade but didn’t like the looks and features and didn’t drive it.

She doesn’t want a KIA.

She test drove the WV Atlas and her and her sister both LOVED it.

I’m guessing she’ll probably end up with that one, but if there’s another “must test drive” car out there she should look into please let me know!

Lexus GX is 4runner bones with a v8 and some luxuries. I’d be pushing for that.

CaptainMusky wrote:

If you were to get one, get the 6.2 with the 10spd and you will have smiles from ear to ear. My 13 year old has no strong emotion about anything. I took him to lunch on a day they didnt have school and asked him if he wanted me to “6.2 it” and he said sure. I hammered it at hit 90 in no time and that was the biggest smile I have ever seen on his face.

Loving my 2020 Denali XL with the 6.2 10 speed. Just got back from an 1800 mile round trip with a lot of wind and Smoky Mountain driving. Averaged just a touch under 18 MPG and was hauling a$$ on the interstate. Way better than the 5.3L it replaced.

Lexus GX460 V8 is a great one. Like you said tswoboda it is a luxury 4Runner with and amazing full time four-wheel drive system, hi/low grearing, and locking center differential. Also called Land Cruiser Prado over seas. I have had a 4runner, a Blazer, and two Suburbans, but our current GX460 is by far our favorite. My wife loves it and won’t drive anything else. They are easily good for well over 300,000 miles. We have a 2009 GX470 in the family well over 200,000 miles that drives exactly how it did right off the lot new.

Consider finding a used one after someone else took the initial depreciation. Typically they are one owner, impeccably maintained, with all service records from the dealership.

Bearcat89 wrote:

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.

I keep kicking around the idea of a 6.6 gasser Chevy Express. Not a minivan- a macro-van and honestly it checks every single box I could ever want it to check. I could configure it exactly the way I want for towing, hauling, people moving, etc. Could camp in the damn thing. every bit as capable as my half ton and then some, attarctive price tag, BUT my Wife absolutely hates the idea of it lol.

KPE wrote:

I keep kicking around the idea of a 6.6 gasser Chevy Express. Not a minivan- a macro-van and honestly it checks every single box I could ever want it to check. I could configure it exactly the way I want for towing, hauling, people moving, etc. Could camp in the damn thing. every bit as capable as my half ton and then some, attarctive price tag, BUT my Wife absolutely hates the idea of it lol.

High roof cargo vans are a dynamite 2-person camping rig

Well a decision has officially been made.

She pulled the trigger on a 2023 Honda Pilot Trail Sport

Wouldn’t have been my first choice, but if momma’s happy I’m happy lol

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Way better than a VW.

Cant go wrong with a honda! Looks sweet!

Excellent choice.

B-man,
Happy Spouse Happy House!!!