Need opinion on the following .....
 

Likely buy new. BMW X1 or X3 or Honda CRV.
Thanks, Guy.

Volvo.

Lease a new BMW. I work on them every day. You dont want the problems.

Now you have to admit, that's pretty funny...SmileWavy

Honda. All appliances, may as well get one you can depend on.

I am coming to this conclusion as well.
G.

As the resident car guy in my office, home, circles of friends etc. I am always asked my opinion. In the case, CRV. No question. Maybe not as much curb appeal as the BMWs but the CRV does a lot less shop time, comes with excellent options group for the money, is very competent in all weather, good resale... New ones look great too IMHO.

Hondas are great.

I think Hyundai has a vehicle in that segment. Hyundais have a completely ridiculous warranty. They've even warrantied tweaked race cars. It's pretty much a no-questions-asked replacement deal on the drivetrain.

16 months ago, I got a Volt instead of a mid-size SUV and just the other day, I carried: 911 long hood, left and right full ST fenders, ST rear flares and rear one piece bumper. And I had room to spare. Cost me about $0.80 to drive to get the parts and bring them home.

We've pretty well decided the replacement for Cathy's Lexus GS will be a CRV. Studied the Acura RDX a bit but couldn't justify the extra $10k (for a V6, worse mileage). Nearest BMW dealer is two hours away, too far for the expected amount of service needed.
Jim

Also, the CRV uses unleaded Regular. The BMWs use Premium.

I'm really curious how you came up with these as the three options.

It seems like me saying I want a can of Budweiser, Bud Light, or Diet Pepsi. How did you come up with only those three options (and not the RDX, CX5, Q5, Tiguan, etc.)?

Macon baby

Bacon maybe

Because I have tried the CX5. Tiguan has DSG trans., Q5 is too big plus it is Nissan. RDX is too much $$$$.

G.

CRV.....

1973 911 T MFI Coupe, Aubergine

Steve

Wouldn't hurt to throw in the new Benz GLA into your choices. You pay a premium, but you get a lot more car.

I did some training in which they compared the GLA to both the CRV and the X1. CRV felt chinsy compared to both the BMW and Benz. But the BMW felt cramped and clunky compared to the GLA.

(Then again, I work for Benz, so I am biased...)

-Z

Considered the Ford Escape EcoBoost? Or the Buick Encore? Or the Jeep Cherokee? The new RAV4? The new Lincoln MKC?

The new RAV4 comes only w/the 4 banger now.
They dropped the V6 a couple of years ago...maybe longer ago than that.
I get 1 - 2 less mpg than those w/the 4 banger. Mine's an '07.

So does the CRV, Rogue, Escape, CX5, etc, etc

We have a '12 CRV... Car is boring as can be, but the seats are comfortable and the power is adequate, although my wife complains it is not enough. We only had one minor issue with a battery going dead due to some electrical issue that was covered under warranty, otherwise it has been very reliable

My wife used to have an FX35 that was fast and use to guzzle gas. I am much happier with this car. It sips fuel in comparison and has less horse power for a crazy driver.

This.

I put about 1000 miles on a Escape Ecoboost rental and came away very impressed. Great motor, nice steering/brakes/handling by SUV standards.

My parents have a 2012 CRV that I have borrowed on multiple occasions. It feels well put together and totally without personality - a typical Honda appliance. My mom loves hers and it's been flawless, but I would prefer an Escape or CX5 (or a hatchback).

Todd (nostatic) has an X1 that he bought new, you should ask him about his experience thus far.

Now that is the age old problem Matt I agree. Most suv's have no personality. BMW maybe but like the above say they have mechanical issues. I have tried the CX5 and it similarly has no personality. The Miata has a personality perhaps coz of its size.But that is another category altogether. The Forester is pretty good but basically what is boils down to are reliability factor and the features it comes with.
A flat 4 engine.

The VW Tiguan drives nicely and probably better than most suv's but it has reliability issues plus it is not that big.

Well I have about 3 more months before the snow comes and the slick roads so then an suv makes sense....

Guy

I'm assuming you've considered the RAV4. Is the Volvo XC60 too spendy?

Wait.... a Mazda CX5 has no personality..... but the CRV does? WTF

I think the CX-5 will be coming to the US with a diesel sometime soon. Don't know about Canada.

I agree the CRV has no personality but nor does the CX5. One thing that the CRV has that the CX5 does not is that it is more dependable .The fact that there are more CRV's around than CX5's tells me something. WTF
G.

Would this be of any help?
.
Reviews | Autoweek

Yes, it tells you that sheeple believe that more sales equates to a more 'dependable' vehicle. :rolleyes:

Good point. It also mean a bigger audience when it's time to sell.

Good point. Then the OP should consider the GM Equinox/Terrain as they are the #1 seller in the small CUV segment.

Sales of Chevrolet Equinox / GMC Terrain through June: 171,518

Sales of Honda CRV through June: 154,692

Sales of Toyota RAV4 through June: 116,952

Sales of Mazda CX5 through June: 50,275

The way I see it is that 50k miles on a GM product = 100k+ miles on a Honda or Toyota. The only way I would be seen dead in a GM product is in a Cadillac hearse.
Just a question of time before Toyota/Honda make a hearse though.....
That is not an anti US statement coz lots of Japanese cars are made under licence in the US.
G

But I thought the number of sales "tells you something" about the dependability :confused:

Anyway, in CANADA, the Ford Escape handily outsells everything else and keeps padding their lead... the Escape is the way to go in Canada. Great little vehicle, every bit as nice as anything else, certainly better than the CRV.

honda.

coming from a guy who recently sold a Cayenne for a Toyota Highlander

Great comparison test by a couple friends:

Ford Escape vs. Honda CR-V vs. Kia Sportage vs. Mazda CX-5 vs. Volkswagen Tiguan - 2012/2013 Compact Crossover SUV Comparison - Motor Trend All Pages

Depends on what is important to you. I owned a CR-V for a month or two. Competent vehicle with tons of room. Quick enough from a stoplight, abysmal when at freeway speeds. Totally boring and uninvolving vehicle. I sold it.

BMW X1 however - I have yet to find a fault with it other than possibly suspect long-term reliability (I'm leasing). It is a small vehicle, but all the stuff that I need fits in it. I got the sport option so the seats give proper support. The 8-speed automatic is pretty slick, and the 2L turbo is plenty quick (240hp/255 ft/lb). The last of the hydraulic steering racks, and all-wheel drive. Plus it comes in orange. It has however been to the shop twice for adaptive headlight errors (I'm at about 12K miles). Fixed quickly under warranty so we'll see how it goes. If it behaves, I'll likely buy it out of lease as I really like the vehicle. Like I said - for me, I can't really find flaws. Sure I'd like to have a 2600 lb coupe with a manual transmission - until I need to haul stuff or sit in LA traffic.

http://nostatic.com/photos/carbike1.JPG

http://nostatic.com/photos/x1-1.jpg

http://nostatic.com/photos/x1-5.jpg

That there are lots of people who don't adequately comparison shop, and will pay more money for an equal or inferior product because of effective marketing?

Sincerely - the happy owner of four Mazdas that have all been flawless vehicles.

The CX5 also just entered the market. While even comparing specific model years the CRV still shows higher sales volume, the CX5 appears to lag even farther than it does in reality because there aren't an additional 10+yrs of models out there. (Your mental count of the number of CRVs out there is very likely influenced by the number of old ones you've seen as well as the number of new ones.)

Mazda is minuscule compared the the big 3, Honda, and Toyota. Smaller production capability, smaller advertising budget, smaller dealer network. So much so that I've read articles questioning their long term ability to stay independent. In my opinion (and many journalists) their cars are class leading, but they are still in many ways a well-kept secret.

"Sheeple"... that is great. Thanks for the evening chuckle... and so true.