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What compact SUV would you get today?

5K views 39 replies 16 participants last post by  Zurdo 
#1 ·
I already own a 2016 Tucson. My wife and I just had our first baby and she wants to get rid of her 2014 Cruze. It is a manual and she just wants something around the size of my Tucson.

If you were in the market today what would you get?

A 2nd Tucson isn't really an option. She likes my car but of course having 2 of the same car wouldn't work for her.

We have test drove a 2017 CR-V, Rogue, Forester, and Rav-4. All of them being the limited model or equivalent.

My favorite so far are the CR-V and Forester. The CR-V is the best rated compact SUV in its class. She likes the Rogue the best due to the interior. I agree it was nice but the ratings on it are just not very good. The Rav-4? - drove well but everything else was kind of blah.
 
#4 ·
Definitely a Sportage. Same car/chassis as the Tucson :)

It will have the same engines as the Tucson so not sure why the mileage would vary...


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#7 ·
Sportage has the 2.4L naturally aspirated instead of the 2.0L and the higher models have a 2.0turbo instead of a 1.6L turbo.

My vote is for the CRV 1.5Turbo.

The forester will seem nice during the test drive, but they haven't addresses their sound deadening issues, it's still one of the loudest in it's class. Whereas the CRV and Rogue will seem comparable to your tucson as far as road noise. I had a subaru impreza before I bought the tucson, traded it with 150k miles. The throw out bearing went out at 89k miles, that's the only repair it needed, however, it was an expensive one. The subaru boxer engine also eats a little oil, that's normal so don't be suprised if you have a put a little oil in every now and then. It's just part of the flat boxer design.

I like the Rogue because it's the largest in it's class, and has the softest suspension, great for babies and long road trips. But it's powertrain is a bit dated, the 2.5L engine is relatively an old design. However, old designs tend to be the most reliable due to years of refinement. The CVT was a new 2nd generation when they did this architectural redesign. Keep in mind, the rogue's fuel economy ratings are high, but in the real world, will be more like 25-28mpg average, whereas the honda 1.5T will get over 30mpg on average for high mileage commuters.
 
#9 ·
I vote for 2017 CX-5 or Sportage if not Tucson. Sportage will be the easiest to transition to from Tucson when you drive each other's vehicles as far as control placement/feel/familiarity. CR-V felt like driving a bus compared to a Tucson and the interior is a bit cheap feeling. The 1.5T sounds absolutely horrendous when you give it any throttle.
 
#11 ·
That is the one thing I noticed about the CR-V was how loud it was getting up to speed. I mentioned that to my wife when we were test driving it. I was wondering if it was just me which is why I wanted to give it another test drive. Maybe I should go on their board and see if it's an issue.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I don't doubt that it was by design. Honda is absolutely brilliant with getting power and fuel efficiency out of engines and still making them reliable, but such decisions do compromise NVH, where they often lag behind competitors. They should have taken that vibration further into account when designing engine isolation components/mounting. NVH is important to many people (especially as current mainstream cars are rivaling luxury cars from 10-15 years ago), but then again, Honda still sells a ton of vehicles, especially CR-Vs.

To be fair on my complaint on the Cr-V, I probably wouldn't have noticed the noise on the 1.5T as much if hadn't driven the Tucson back-to-back with it and that my other car is a Sonata hybrid, which even in gas mode, you can't really hear the engine much. I can feel it turn on and off, but unless I am in a parking lot or stopped, I don't really hear it.
 
#17 ·
I don't doubt that it was by design. Honda is absolutely brilliant with getting power and fuel efficiency out of engines and still making them reliable, but such decisions do compromise NVH, where they often lag behind competitors. They should have taken that vibration further into account when designing engine isolation components/mounting. NVH is important to many people (especially as current mainstream cars are rivaling luxury cars from 10-15 years ago), but then again, Honda still sells a ton of vehicles, especially CR-Vs.
They did, I remember before buying the tucson, I did alot of research on the CRV as well. I remember watching a video from a press event with an engineer talking about the offset cylinder design. He mentioned taking extra steps to reduce the extra vibration from the offset design. But alas, you can't put lipstick on a pig when it comes to an unbalanced design, however, it's quite remarkable how well honda was able to hide the vibration.

As for total NVH, honda did focus on it for their 2017 redesign, benchmarking it against the BMW X3. The 1.5T engine noise just doesn't sound good, but the rest of the cars NVH is good.
 
#22 ·
I have a 18 month old recently gone up to a rear facing seat good for up to age 4. I can still sit in comfortably front of him (I'm 6ft 4in). It's the MaxiCosi 2-Way Pearl for reference. Can't help thinking your child seat must be huge!!
 
#25 ·
With two I've used, I had to move the seat up enough that I felt like I was sitting on the steering wheel. Since the back of the seat should not touch the car seat, it was an uncomfortable driving position. I will say that when I put that same seat in my Santa Fe there's no problem, that's why I suggested the OP to check one out.
 
#27 · (Edited)
If you only have 1 carseat, you can just put them in the middle of the back seat. That's what I did in my subaru impreza, both front seats in their normal position, though no option to recline. You would only have to do this for about 14 months. All of the papers say to keep them rear facing for as long as you can up to 24 months. So I bought the graco 40 lbs carseat carrier, but at 14 months my son was already looking too tall for it. He was also throwing a fit on any trips more than 30 minutes. It's just not feasible to keep them in the rear carrier style for more than that. Don't wast your money on the graco 40, stick with 30lbs. Then at 14 months switch them to the more upright, rear/front facing seats, which should fit just fine in most cars. You can still have them rear facing, but they'll be more upright.

The sante fe is a good midsize option with a 4 cylinder and decent fuel economy, so is the Nissan Murano, though it's a 6 cylinder. You would have to decrease your trim level to stay under budget. Great for carseats and extra room. The mazda cx9 would be great for when the grandparents visit, it has an awesome 2.5 turbo that returns decent fuel economy. Though, you would have to get the base model.
 
#28 · (Edited)
For smaller SUV, you could always try one of the new Nissan Rogue Sports (import of the Nissan QashQai "Cashcow"). Don't know much about it other than that is considered a competitor to the Tucson in overseas markets, but it is a tad smaller than a Tucson, but still larger than an HR-V. Like I said I don't know much about it, but it may be worth a bit of research.
 
#30 ·
I agree! And (for my personal taste, anyway) the chrome molding on the belt line under the windows.

BUT!!! The Sportage doesn't get the fuel mileage or have the 1.6L Turbo engine and DCT. It was a tough choice for me at the time. And every time I see a new Sportage, I wonder if I would have been happier with it. Oh well.

We just took a 200 mile round trip with 4 adults on board in 100+ degree temperatures and traveling at 75-80 MPH, and returned 32.3 mpg! Bet I would not have even been close in the Sportage.
 
#31 · (Edited)
Well we ended up opting for my in law's 2017 Forester 2.5 Touring. Just the best deal for us as trying to stay below 30 and get all the options the Forester had on it was hard to do. He test drove a few of the options with us and absolutely loved the comfort of the Rogue zero gravity seats. I have a feeling that could be his next vehicle if they decide they need a 2nd car.

A couple things the Forester has that the Tucson doesn't have. Heated steering wheel, adaptive cruise control, and memory seats. That steering wheel will be nice next winter. I'll be taking that when she's just going to stay at home with the baby.
 
#36 ·
Forrester is a good family car... got a friend who owns one with 2 kids.. no complaints from them. You should be fine with it.

Mazda's ... nice looking car but still have not done anything to fix/change the rear brakes.. expect grinding in reverse and premature wear.. replacing pads/rotors every ~2 years depending on mileage.

I'm interested in getting a new car now a little bit but I don't know which way I would go... the Tucson / Sportage is kind of the only styles I like right now..
 
#37 ·
My Compact SUV Choice

My wife loves her 2016 Tuscon Ultimate & plans to drive it forever. I was ready for a change myself so a few months ago I bought a 2017 AUDI Q3. Well equipped & not that much more than the Tuscon. I have had many German cars & like the driving feel. 2.0 4 cyl turbo. Not quite as good on city mpg as Tuscon but the same on hwy driving. 6 speed automatic is very smooth. All LED lighting inside & out. BOSE audio--big step up. 4 yr warranty
Works for me!
 
#38 ·
My Wife has the 2016 Forester Touring and she loves it. Great dependability and resale. If you do have any issues, give Subaru of America a call, they tend to take really good care of their customers. No issues with my wifes Forester or my Outback. Thats not true I had a small rock chip in my OB in the first week of ownership....Subaru gave me a new windshield for free. Hope you got Eyesight, its a super system.
 
#39 ·
The Subaru Forester has been #1 in the compact class for the last 3 years. It would definitely be my choice for sure. No blind spots, lots of room and very dependable. The new Tuscon is very nice but way too much vinyl around the rear and the wheel wells which reduces the value of the vehicle and is extremely high mtce. The CRV is also a good choice but very expensive when loaded up. However the AWD option gives you all of the safety options as standard equipment which is really good. Found the ride in the Mazda CX-5 to be a little rough and more sporty which is nice for those who value that type of performance.
Liked the Sportage as well but the mpg is not good especially the turbo SX model. The Ford Escape is way too small but very popular and continues to capture the sales numbers.
So my choices would be the new 2018 Subaru Forester, Honda CRV EX as of now. Waiting to see and test drive the 2018 Volkswagen Tiguan which I think will be the new leader in the class when available. Early reports indicate that it is really nice! Should be here in Canada by August.
 
#40 ·
Interesting to see different perspectives.... we have an Outback that was in for warranty work and had a 2017 Forester Limited as a loaner. I had a 2011 that was an oil burner.

They have made a lot of improvements to the Forester but I wouldn't buy one.

The seats are very uncomfortable (aggressive lumbar support, built like a bench and short seat bottoms). There are lots of complaints about the seats since the 2014 redesign came out. There is wind noise at high speeds (much more than my Tucson). The transmission screams when you really need to push on the gas pedal. The infotainment screen is shiny and can't be easily seen with polarized sunglasses. No problem with my Tucson. Funny because one of the things I don't like is the lack of cladding / molding around the wheel arches. I know that the adaptive cruise control is very popular but I'm not a fan (unless it's on a long highway trip). It's too aggressive breaking and accelerating, causing the car to jerk back and forth. The console in the Forester is really small. A nitpicky thing is the headliner which still looks like cardboard. I also prefer the overall feel of the cabin in the Tucson - like I'm sitting in the car, not on the car like with the Forester.

Other things... no panoramic sunroof on the Forester, the sunroof cover has to be opened and closed manually, no audible alert with BSM system and no ventilated seats.

Finally I think the Tucson looks much better. I'm not a fan of the boxy look of the Forester, at least this iteration (preferred the prior generation).

I do like the Harmon Kardon sound system and the LED headlights.

Anyway, it's good to have choices. [emoji4]
 
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