We own the CRV. While yes it is lower profile than the heavy duty SUVs, it is still higher profile than a sedan and gets buffeted around in the wind. The seats are also just awful. It is, however, a very economical car to own. We have rarely needed to do more than change oil and replace tires. I believe ours is a 2006. Will probably still be on the road after we are dead.

I don't consider the Outback to be an SUV. Its more of an AWD station wagon. If Consumer reports says the newer models have solved their engine leak issues, then that might be your best bet. The people I know who have them love them. I prefer the stiffer feel of the road that you get in the Forester.

piqué, our Honda Fit is like that, super reliable, zero problems. That’s one of the reasons why Honda is at the top of the list.

In terms of the car’s profile (getting blown around) I don’t know how often we have windy weather, but we are always surrounded by huge pick-up trucks...

Anyway, we are getting farther from having a decision made, rather than closer!

But I am sharing everyone’s comments with Mr SK, so keep ‘em coming!

My minivan is a big square box and I live in PA. Every once in a while I feel myself getting blown around in really insane winds and very occasionally when passing semi trucks or when they pass me. But 99% of the time I don't notice any difference between it and my smaller cars. I think the winds in Montana must be a lot different than the wind on the east coast! :-)

Anyway, where you live, I wouldn't make "getting blown around by the wind" a huge concern. But I think you're going to just have to get out there and drive things to see how you feel about them. For me, I like sitting higher than the typical sedan (or even outback) sits....I can see my surroundings better and I don't feel like a fender bender would result in someone's bumper coming through my windshield. There are plenty of smallish SUVs (or again, the Kia Soul) that handle like a car but still give you that higher vantage point and that is what I would use as my starting point if I was car shopping. But you may feel completely differently and decide you want to be aerodynamic and low like Pique! The only way you're going to know is to get out there and drive a few things to start narrowing your criteria down.

SK, here are a few more resources for you to check out:

Car and Driver

Edmunds

The term SUV is pretty loosey-goosey, as you'll see if you look up the vehicles you're interested in on the sites I've listed above. They might be called SUVs, compact SUVs, small SUVs, crossover SUVs, or station wagons. Sometimes there's a distinction made between vehicles based on a sedan or one based on a truck platform.

A lot of the cars we've talked about here have undergone redesigns over the years. The Outback and Forester that we test drove in 2016 are quite different from the current models in a number of ways. While we can offer our general experiences with various manufacturers, of course you want to be looking at the actual current offerings as you assess the field.

Bottom line: Any car is a series of tradeoffs that involve features, safety, reliability and cost. Test drive the ones on your short list and it's likely one or maybe two will pop to the top.

Lisa, thanks for these comments. Re this:

quote:

I don't feel like a fender bender would result in someone's bumper coming through my windshield

That is exactly how it feels!! I almost wonder if we wouldn't have bought this car had we been car shopping down here. We bought this car before we moved (from the upper midwest) and I am certain that there are way more big pick-up trucks on the road down here (in town and on the highway) than there were where we lived before.

And I am almost more worried about the big pick-up trucks than I am about semis. For one thing, we are around those pick-ups a lot more, and for another, I feel like most semi drivers are at least "professional drivers" and on the job (although that may be naive..)

WTG:

quote:

Bottom line: Any car is a series of tradeoffs that involve features, safety, reliability and cost.

Indeed! And we still haven't worked out where all the criteria go on our priority list.

Also, thanks for those comments about the redesigns etc.

Gee, car shopping is (almost) exactly like piano shopping: you can have a brand or two in mind that you like, but you have choose based on playing driving the exact one you're going to buy.

Most SUVs have grown over the past few years. While the CRV that Pique owns would be the perfect size for what we want next, the newer models are longer...

Another consideration when shopping for SUVs is the driver's sightlines being obstructed by the giant pillars many manufacturers are installing in the back corners. You won't know until you sit down in the seat and turn and look back how much the headrests or pillars will keep from seeing traffic for merging.

quote:

Another consideration when shopping for SUVs is the driver's sightlines being obstructed by the giant pillars many manufacturers are installing in the back corners. You won't know until you sit down in the seat and turn and look back how much the headrests or pillars will keep from seeing traffic for merging.

Would driver assistance tech (whatever it's called) not mitigate that?

It does help. Unless you are an old fart and learned to drive when such niceties didn’t exit and you had to turn around to see what’s behind you and you can’t break the habit

One of the reviews I looked at talked about the difference in the sizes of the rear pillars in the Outback vs the Forester. Unobstructed view is better in the Forester.

For whatever reason, I’ve found the front pillars in the newer Camrys to be particularly bad. I wouldn’t buy a Camry for that reason alone. There’s something about the size, location and angle that are a problem for me.

This is why I think renting for a few days or a week is a good idea. It takes a while to overcome the newness of a vehicle and to drop back into normal driving habits. Weekly rental rates can be quite reasonable.

Lisa brought up something that I think is worth your consideration. I drove a Honda Odyssey for 14 years and the wind was not a problem, nor was stability. In over 100k miles I never had to do a thing to it outside of maintenance. It was very, very comfortable and had a an immense hauling capacity. You sit up pretty high.

I regret having sold it since we did not get another new car as we had planned, but kept the Camry as a second car and gave daughter the GMC. At 14 years it ran and drove like a new car.

They are not as sexy as SUVs, but that never mattered to me. If I want sexy I'll get another convertible. Ask Quirt. I think he loved his Odyssey as well.

We definitely wouldn't want an Odyssey, much too large.

Also, I don't really like the Outback or the Forrester (sorry!) so those won't be on the list.

Re the pillars, you know, even in the Fit there's more of a pillar than I'd like. I'm trying to remember, IIRC the Prius was similar. Weird.

I was just looking at the Honda Civic hatchbacks or the Toyota Corolla hatchback, maybe we'll look more closely at those....

We are never going to buy a new car because we won't be able to decide what kind we want.

Mik - Ditto my Sienna, a 2003. Handling is solid and I never had a problem with handling on windy days or passing trucks on the highway.

We could really make do with one car, but I've been reluctant to get rid of our geriatric Sienna that is still in great shape. I love having something with a lot of space to drag plants home from the nursery....

quote:

Originally posted by ShiroKuro:

Also, I don't really like the Outback or the Forrester (sorry!) so those won't be on the list.

I knew that; I'm using them as examples to illustrate points about car features.

Though what is it that you don't like about them, if you are consider the CRV or the RAV4? Just curious.

quote:

Though what is it that you don't like about them, if you are consider the CRV or the RAV4? Just curious.

It's completely illogical. I don't like the way the Outback or Forester look, but I do like the newer designs of the CR-V and Rav4 (probably the last three years? not sure). Esp. when they are blue or red. I also think I probably will decide the Nissan Murano is too long/big as well (aesthetically, I mean).

The aesthetics of a car is not the most important point, and I won't buy a car if I like the way it looks but it doesn't mean my safety and reliability standards. But I also am not spending a huge chunk of change for a car that I don't like visually.

I will however compromise on color (probably).

I echo a lot of the comments here. Many "rugged" SUVs have been gentrified and enlarged over the past few years. I had the same reaction as someone here, who said that older CRV's would be the perfect size, but the new ones are too big. I actually did some research on car footprints (thinking about garage space) as Mr. Nina and I were thinking about replacing our (old) Lexus SUV. Surprise! Turns out that the CRV (called a "compact") is the exact same size (footprint-wise) as our old Lexus RX400h. Super annoying.

So you (SK) also were asking about how to tell which SUV you were getting, the "U" or the "S" (my terminology). Generally speaking, I do think that now unless you go out of your way to get a utility-type SUV, you are not getting it. Generally speaking. Looking at something like the 4-Runner, they now offer it as 2WD, AWD/CVT, and something else that I can't remember, but it's their "yes, I am really taking this thing off road" version.

Most SUVs (including the CRV, RAV4, etc.) come now in both an AWD and a 2WD version. 2WD is the SUV shape/form but no all-wheel drive. Clearance I'm not so sure about, but all the specs are on line. I'm assuming it's all the same body for things like 2WD v AWD RAV4/CR-V, just different um, drive trains? transmissions? --whatever you call whatever it is that makes a car 2WD v AWD v 4WD.

I'm guessing that a car that's offered as 4WD is intended to go off road. AWD is more for city/suburban driving, snow and the occasional trip on snowy but decent roads.

BTW, my daughter has an Outback and loves it. So do I. But I really am wanting to get a hybrid and Subaru did the most STUPID THING with their Outback hybrid. It's a hybrid + plug-in. But the plug-in has a range of like 10 miles, AND they took up half of the back storage to put in the plug-in battery. Ridiculous. I was pretty much ready to buy one until I saw that. Grrrrrr.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:
We own the CRV. While yes it is lower profile than the heavy duty SUVs, it is still higher profile than a sedan and gets buffeted around in the wind. The seats are also just awful. It is, however, a very economical car to own. We have rarely needed to do more than change oil and replace tires. I believe ours is a 2006. Will probably still be on the road after we are dead.

I don't consider the Outback to be an SUV. Its more of an AWD station wagon. If Consumer reports says the newer models have solved their engine leak issues, then that might be your best bet. The people I know who have them love them. I prefer the stiffer feel of the road that you get in the Forester.

I have had both and found the Outbac to be stiffer. Forester felt kind of mushy.

My Outback has more than 200k miles. NO no routine maintenance issues.

Jf