I am thinking about a getting a SUV

I bought a new base model 2013 Toyota Highlander with the V6 & FWD. The Highlander is basically an SUV Corolla. Car has plenty of power for acceleration, maybe just a tad too much for the weight. The gas mileage is right about 20 mpg in the city which is 99% of my driving. At 60,000 miles the only thing I've had done was a front wheel bearing (50,000 miles), a new battery (at 5 years) and a set of 4 tires other than regular oil and filter changes. So far it has worked out great for hauling all my stuff to the shooting range and hauling 3 or 4 kids to and from baseball, soccer and hockey. I downsized from a full sized 1996 Chevy 1500 Silverado 4x4 when I moved to into town.
 
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2022 Mazda CX-5 Signature here. Compact SUV. 2.5 liter turbo. 0-60 in 6.1 secs per specs and on premium fuel. (Still plenty zippy on regular .) Lovely interior. Comfortable ride. Great handling. Sporty drive. Excellent AWD for weather. Not good for towing, but I have no intention of towing anything.

For us, great daily driver. Has a 360° camera which my wife likes.

Years ago, used to have a Lexus RX. I'd say that was an even more comfortable, quieter ride, but it was nowhere near as fun to drive as the CX-5 w/ turbo.

You should probably go drive a bunch of SUVs and see which one you like.
 
My 2016 CX5 non turbo was a great compact SUV. Ran like it was on rails, great gas mileage, fun to drive. I just want something more refined so purchased an RDX.

Mazda is the sleeper of car companies. Few models but well done.

Gone but not forgotten.

9-C9-CFAB3-231-F-4-A48-87-A4-434-FFA273-A02.jpg
 
My vote goes to the 4Runner. Best pound for pound vehicle out there. If You are not going off road, just go find a used Buick or Ford Crown Vic. If You want a used Jeep, come up here, the lots are full of them from 10K miles to over 100K miles. If I was You I would look seriously at a Toyota Tacoma and a shell for the bed.
 
Pete ...

Fist off, Many THANKS for your daily humor posts. You make my day sir!

With regards to your SUV post, one things that I haven't seen, or perhaps noticed in the posted replies. The Toyota 4Runner has one features that separates it from all the rest ... a electric tail gate roll up/roll down window. For dogs, and fishing gear, that's a really handy feature. No idea why other manufacturers who once had this feature have chosen to drop it.

Good luck with your search!

Tony
 
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Pete, are you looking for new or used?

Any body on frame SUV and all Jeep products will have awful gas mileage. I owned a 2005 Xterra for nearly 15 years. Incredibly capable on and off road but couldn't pass a gas station. Never got better than 21 mpg on the highway even observing the speed limit and using the cruise.

My wife drives a 2018 Mercedes GLC that gets great mileage on the highway, and she's still getting 23 mpg or more commuting across town. It does require premium fuel because it has a turbo motor, but so do many of the SUVs available at the moment. Oh yes, certain manufacturers will say it will run on regular, but the simple fact is that the best performance and mileage can only be had on premium. The small percentage difference between regular and premium in this state means that buying regular is a false economy.

If you don't want a turbo motor, but want better than the 16/19 mpg you quote, I would suggest a Toyota RAV 4, Toyota Highlander, or a Honda CRV.

I cannot recommend any Chevy or Ford products because I detest their interiors. The recent Buick SUVs look nice inside. I suggest staying clear of the Cadillac SRX due to its pathetic A/C. The more recent versions of the Ford Escape are not something to buy in Vegas because the windshield sweeps back into the roof and your legs get cooked even with the A/C going flat out.

Hope this helps!
 
On my second Dodge Durango as my wife's ride. Retired the first with 300k miles after it basically rusted to oblivion from the road salt.
For me, F250 or walk. All the EV's showing up means more gas for me.
 
I bought a new 4wd ForeRunner in 2016. It gets about 10% or so better mileage than that quoted by the original poster.

Good vehicle overall, but I didn't realize how tall it is from the ground to the running board to the driver's floorboard until I recently had hernia surgery. My next vehicle will sit a little lower and I no longer have a need for 4wd anyway.

I buy everything, guns, cars, etc. with desirability and resale value in mind. I'd rather spend more up front than wind up with something no one wants at sale or trade time.
 
LVSteve said:
...It does require premium fuel because it has a turbo motor, but so do many of the SUVs available at the moment. Oh yes, certain manufacturers will say it will run on regular, but the simple fact is that the best performance and mileage can only be had on premium...
Click to expand...

Steve, not that I understand it very well, but you might find Mazda's turbo design of interest. (See link below chart.)





Mazda's Secret To Efficient Turbo Engines - YouTube
 
Onomea said:
Steve, not that I understand it very well, but you might find Mazda's turbo design of interest. (See link below chart.)





Mazda's Secret To Efficient Turbo Engines - YouTube
Click to expand...

Yes, I've seen articles about this engine elsewhere. I find it refreshing that Mazda explain that there is a difference in performance depending on the fuel you use. Other manufacturers totally obfuscate the issue. Here an older piece on regular vs premium in turbos done by Edmunds on a Chevy Cruze. It was done because a certain editor there refused to put premium gas in a non-premium car.

https://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/cruze/2011/long-term-road-test/#the-ultimate-hot-weather-mpg-test-regular-vs-premium

https://www.edmunds.com/chevrolet/cruze/2011/long-term-road-test/#hot-weather-mpg-part-2
 
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Narragansett said:
...My first thought was a Toyota 4Runner...
Click to expand...

Stop right there. Nothing else on the current market in the U.S. comes close.
Mid-size body-on-frame SUV, still made in Japan in one of their best factories.

Check the resell value on these and you'll be shocked.
Just about the best resell value of any vehicle.

Excellent old-school 4.0 V6, excellent old-school transmission, smooth and powerful. Gas mileage isn't great, but these aren't economy cars.

It's the last of it's type.

In fact, some models have part-time 4-WD with an actual lever to manually operate the transfer case...not electronically controlled. When's the last time you saw that on a new vehicle?

Toyota will refresh the 4-Runner soon, and you can bet it will be a hybrid with the associated added complexities, etc. No thanks.

If you're looking for old-school reliability and simplicity, the 4-Runner is it.
 
I have a 2023 Chevy Traverse. 6 cylinder gets about 26 mpg. It has 2 wd, awd, and 4 wd available at the turn of a switch. Interior room is advertised to be within 10% of a Tahoe.

We have had it about a year now. Only problem was hitting elk with it.
 
Depending on size, the Honda Pilot is a good one. We went back to one after a stint with a Toyota Highlander. The best thing about the Pilot is it "tracks" like my GMC Sierra. It is effortless to drive. Only downside is they have more road noise from the front end, as all our Honda's have.
 
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I have a Soob Forester of 06 vintage and a 23 outback XT.
the Forester ... she old ... but far from used up. It's still more car than I expected it to be when I bought it as a junkyard refugee to subject to abuse.
The Outback is a turbocharged pleasure to drive. The ride quality and comfort are at an unexpected level. MPG is an EPA 29 highway, and it pretty much matches the torque and horsepower of the 03 Mustang GT.
Handling ... it's not a Porsche 911 but it's definitely not an econoline either. It too is above what you might anticipate.
It's a lot of things ... all worth looking into.
Last word? I doubt it. But the Soob team put in some long hours and probably engaged in mortal combat with their accountants throughout development.
 
Another vote for the Lexus RX 350. Last year we bought a 2013 model with 120,000 miles. It had a wonderful history, all logged in the carfax. It's been trouble-free, very comfortable, getting about 20 mpg around town. It's closely related to the Highlander, shares the engine and drivetrain with several Toyota models. It's front-wheel drive until AWD is needed. Not a Jeep or 4-Runner, but will get in and out of 90% of the places they'll ever go.
 
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