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Thread: Three Row Car Based SUV/Crossover

  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by GJM View Post
    I understand the new design, 2020 Ford Explorer, starts shipping in July. We are looking at an ST, with the 400 horsepower engine, to replace a boring current year 4Runner.
    They look like they’re going to be pretty damn cool!


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  2. #12
    Hammertime
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Desert Southwest
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Nesbitt View Post
    Attachment 39181

    My wife's new ride. 2019 Toyota Highlander SE.

    Toyota has been making dependable Highlanders for over 15 years. The Ascent is a new vehicle. The Highlander has a V-6 with 295 HP. The Ascent is a new engine, a 2.5 liter 4 cylinder with a turbocharger. The Toyota easily has more stuff when you step on the gas. We'll let you know how it does after she drives this one for 14 years.
    Thanks for that post. Yeah. I like Subarus, but my hesitations are:

    CVT transmission: who knows?

    Turbocharged engine: I realize they are the future, but prefer displacement and the Toyota V6 is incredibly proven. Turbos just drive weird in my experience.

    New model: I don’t like cars at the beginning of their design roll out. The Highlander is at the end. Our 2002 end of third generation 4 Runner has been completely boring for eight years.

    AWD is not a huge issue. Although my wife requires it, it will get used 3 days a year max.

  3. #13
    Hammertime
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
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    Desert Southwest
    Quote Originally Posted by GJM View Post
    I understand the new design, 2020 Ford Explorer, starts shipping in July. We are looking at an ST, with the 400 horsepower engine, to replace a boring current year 4Runner.
    I liked the Explorer. But this is her car and she had some nits to pick regarding steering wheel and purse placement options

  4. #14
    Member JHC's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    North Georgia
    Here's another Ascent review.

    “Remember, being healthy is basically just dying as slowly as possible,” Ricky Gervais

  5. #15
    I just bought a Subaru Crosstrek. It's my first Subaru, and it's still new to me, but I fricken love the thing so far. Totally blown away with the build quality so far.
    As a bonus, it's available in FDE!

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  6. #16
    Site Supporter
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    Feb 2011
    Location
    Midwest
    While I think the offerings of Toyota and Suburu are likely more reliable, if I were in the market for 3 rows I would at least take a spin in a VW Atlas. They have reviewed fairly well and have a 6 yr/72K bumper to bumper warranty which is 2x that of the others.

    Something to think about.

    My impression is that is VW still in wheeler/dealer mode for customers with strong credit given "dieselgate." VW is highly motivated to get their mark back on the road and has been fairly aggressive in their out the door pricing.
    Last edited by vcdgrips; 06-18-2019 at 05:17 PM.

  7. #17
    Hammertime
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Desert Southwest
    Okay. We just drove the Pilot. That muddied the waters considerably. Extremely nice vehicle. We both preferred the driving manners and interior ergonomics. It’s a much more clean, intuitive design than the Highlander, Scandinavian almost.

    Interior room much better.

    I generally love Hondas, but for this car’s application leaned Toyota.

    We are going to have to pick a trim level and drive them back to back to decide, I think.

    The EX-L seems to be the sweetspot for the Pilot. We don’t need the extra time electronic doo dads of the Touring, and I am not sure if it worth the extra money to go from a 6 speed Honda to 9 speed ZF transmission?

    Any input on that decision would be helpful from transmission guys here.

    For now I have ruled out the Mazda and Subaru. And it is down to Highlander vs Pilot.

  8. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Doc_Glock View Post

    The EX-L seems to be the sweetspot for the Pilot. We don’t need the extra time electronic doo dads of the Touring, and I am not sure if it worth the extra money to go from a 6 speed Honda to 9 speed ZF transmission?

    Any input on that decision would be helpful from transmission guys here.
    Have you been able to compare the driving characteristics of both?


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  9. #19
    Hammertime
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Desert Southwest

    Three Row Car Based SUV/Crossover

    Quote Originally Posted by Sigfan26 View Post
    Have you been able to compare the driving characteristics of both?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
    No. We only drove the 9 speed today and I don’t know how much one can learn on a short test drive. I did like the bitchen paddle shifters but disliked the engine off at stoplight feature that the 9 speed has the the 6 speed doesn’t.

    Plus, we don’t have a car under 11 years old so anything is going to drive amazing.
    Last edited by Doc_Glock; 06-18-2019 at 07:35 PM.

  10. #20
    Site Supporter 0ddl0t's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Location
    Jefferson
    Just helped my mother make a purchase in this segment (though not with AWD) so I'll copy the research I did of the contenders. The prices are estimated post-haggle and are for models equipped with her minimum options (full safety package with automatic emergency braking, leather/pleather, multizone AC, Android Auto, etc)

    Subaru Ascent Limited
    $37,000
    26/20 mpg
    4 star rollover (5 star everything else)
    all wheel drive
    Consumer Reports Recommended

    Mazda CX-9 Touring
    $33,000
    28/22 mpg
    4 star rollover and frontal crash, 5 star everything else
    front wheel drive
    Consumer Reports Recommended (though 4/5 - "good" instead of "excellent" - reliability)

    2020 Kia Telluride
    $29,000
    26/20 mpg
    Not crash tested yet, but based on sorento (5 star)
    Front wheel drive
    Add $2,000 to have 2nd row captains seats (7 passenger instead of 8 for the bench)
    Consumer Reports Recommended (though 3/5 - "fair" instead of "excellent" - predicted reliability. But it does have a 20 year, 200,000 mile powertrain warranty)

    2019 Toyota Highlander LE-plus
    $34,000
    27/21 mpg
    4/5 stars rollover & frontal crash (5 star everything else)
    front wheel drive
    No android auto, subtract $3,000 for cloth seats
    Consumer Reports Recommended

    2019 Toyota Highlander Hybrid XLE
    $39,000
    28/30 mpg
    4/5 stars rollover & frontal crash (5 star everything else)
    front wheel drive
    No android auto, subtract $3,000 for cloth seats
    125,000 miles to pay off hybrid cost at $3.50/gallon
    Consumer Reports Recommended

    Honda Pilot EX-L
    $35,000
    27/19 mpg
    4/5 stars rollover & frontal crash (5 star everything else)
    front wheel drive, subtract $3,000 for cloth seats
    Consumer Reports Recommended (though 3/5 - "fair" instead of "excellent" - predicted reliability.)

    2020 Toyota Highlander
    $??,???
    34mpg
    probably 5 star crash tests
    includes Android Auto

    The 2019 Nissan Pathfinder SL
    $35,000
    27/20 mpg
    3/5 consumer reports predicted reliability (minor problem areas: transmission, electronics, paint & trim, & in car entertainment)
    4/5 star frontal crash test and rollover
    front wheel drive

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    She decided on the CX9 mainly because the local Mazda dealership is excellent (stuff like lifetime free car washes), the mpg was better, and she loved the "birds eye view" display for parking:
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    The redesigned 2020 Highlander is due in December (hybrid version in February), but she didn't want to wait and the local dealership is awful to work with. Still, I bet it would have won if the dealership wasn't so terrible.

    My favorite was actually the Kia Telluride and it would have been my choice for a lease, but for a purchase expected to last 10 years it seemed like too much of a gamble. The Pilot might have been more of a contender except for surprisingly bad Consumer Reports reliability history (mainly transmission).
    Last edited by 0ddl0t; 06-18-2019 at 08:07 PM.

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