STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

alb · Marc Jacobs

looking to buy a small SUV

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

Everyone I know who has had the Honda CRV loves it, but I test drove one and hated it. My mom has the Rav4 and loves it. I've driven it and it drives like a car. It doesn't sound like you are looking at the Ford Escape, but my friend has one and it gets lousy mileage for its size. Their extended version Trail Blazer gets better mileage than their Escape.

You may also consider the Subaru Outback. Several Co-Workers have owned them and swear by them. It isn't my favorite look, but it has gotten better in the newer model.

You may also look at some crossovers. I like the look of the Nissan Murano. They are kind of a cross between a SUV and a minivan. I think they are built on a car/van frame instead of a truck frame, so they drive/ride more like a car.

Kel · Coach

I like the Nissan Rogue

Elle · Hermes

greendiamond wrote:

You may also consider the Subaru Outback. Several Co-Workers have owned them and swear by them. It isn't my favorite look, but it has gotten better in the newer model.

You may also look at some crossovers. I like the look of the Nissan Murano. They are kind of a cross between a SUV and a minivan. I think they are built on a car/van frame instead of a truck frame, so they drive/ride more like a car.

We have 2 Subarus and really like them both. Good gas mileage for the size and an amazing cargo capacity. Our newest is a Forrester, and I like how it drives alot - easy to manuever, good turning radius, easy to parallel park, enough room to seat 4 adults comfortably, but also the smallest SUV that can fit 3 carseats at the same time on the back bench seat. They freaking run forever with minimal upkeep in our experience, and you could definitely get a nice one under your budget. My absolute only beef with them? They're a touch noisy on the freeway. But I'm going to venture a guess you won't be taking too many 2k trips while you're over there?

NCshopper · Hermes

I test drove the CRV when I bought my Civic and LOVED it. I thought it was a great car for the price, but we don't have a need for that big of a car, so we went with the Civic, which I love as well. Anyway, the CRV drove and handled like a car, but felt very roomy on the interior. The gas mileage was quite good for a vehicle that size too.

FashionPrincess · Hermes

We have a VW passat wagon and it is pretty cute for a wagon :) I also like the VW SUV and the BMW X3 (which may hopefully be my next vehicle). Oh and a good friend of mine has a CRV and hearts it, I just have a personal preference for European imports :)

alb · Marc Jacobs

thanks, girls! i've made a list of most of these mentioned and am going to research these now. elle - a good friend of mine just bought a forester and she loves hers! we don't know much about subarus in general and are sort of partial to toyotas and hondas as we've owned them before, but we are going to look at them anyway as i've heard good things!

FP - totally hear ya on the european car thing. my last car was a landrover discovery (which we had to sell in cairo) and if it were up to me, out next suv would be a bmw x5. however, have to consider the hubby and he's not as big of a fan as i am and (he's much more practical). do you like your passat? do you feel like it has a lot of room for trips w/ the kids? i love passats - and volkswagons in general. btw my hubby and i both really like the VW suv but he thinks it might be bigger than he wants.

eta - to change "here" to "hear"

-- Edited by alb on Thursday 14th of May 2009 09:28:18 AM

FashionPrincess · Hermes

alb wrote:

FP - totally here ya on the european car thing. my last car was a landrover discovery (which we had to sell in cairo) and if it were up to me, out next suv would be a bmw x5. however, have to consider the hubby and he's not as big of a fan as i am and (he's much more practical). do you like your passat? do you feel like it has a lot of room for trips w/ the kids? i love passats - and volkswagons in general. btw my hubby and i both really like the VW suv but he thinks it might be bigger than he wants.

Love the landrovers!

Yeah, we really like passats, this is our third one, hubby's second one and I have one. I currently only have one carseat in there, the britax marathon and it fits just fine. I did have two car seats in it for a short road trip with a girlfriend of mine and it worked great, the only thing is if you and hubby are really tall that might effect the legroom in the back. Hubby is 6'2" and I don't think I'd be able to have an older toddler behind his seat because he has to put it almost all the way back, but I'm 5'5" and Zav has sufficient room. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Oh, and I highly recommend that when you find a couple you're serious about, take your two car seats and kiddos and put them in there with you two in the front to really see what kind of room you have, that's the only real way to tell. Happy car shopping!

alb · Marc Jacobs

FashionPrincess wrote:

alb wrote:

FP - totally here ya on the european car thing. my last car was a landrover discovery (which we had to sell in cairo) and if it were up to me, out next suv would be a bmw x5. however, have to consider the hubby and he's not as big of a fan as i am and (he's much more practical). do you like your passat? do you feel like it has a lot of room for trips w/ the kids? i love passats - and volkswagons in general. btw my hubby and i both really like the VW suv but he thinks it might be bigger than he wants.

Love the landrovers!

Yeah, we really like passats, this is our third one, hubby's second one and I have one. I currently only have one carseat in there, the britax marathon and it fits just fine. I did have two car seats in it for a short road trip with a girlfriend of mine and it worked great, the only thing is if you and hubby are really tall that might effect the legroom in the back. Hubby is 6'2" and I don't think I'd be able to have an older toddler behind his seat because he has to put it almost all the way back, but I'm 5'5" and Zav has sufficient room. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Oh, and I highly recommend that when you find a couple you're serious about, take your two car seats and kiddos and put them in there with you two in the front to really see what kind of room you have, that's the only real way to tell. Happy car shopping!

that's a great tip about the carseats, thanks (although my husband is probably going to say it's too much work!). we have one britax marathon and one roundabout. neither of us is very tall - i'm 5'1 and hubby is under 6 ft. thanks for the review!! i just looked them up on their site and they look really nice!

nunzi182 · Kate Spade

I have a Jeep Liberty (it's my second one) and I love it! Also, a Ford Escape is relative small and it comes in a hybrid version which would help with gas.

Karina · Chanel

a vote here for the rav4. i had one for 2 years, it was great on gas, fast and reliable. also, i got into a car accident with the kids in it. someone hit my rear passenger side (while giselle was sitting on that side, in her car seat, 6 months old) in an intersection, and my car spun around and hit a telephone pole. the car was totaled, but myself and most importantly, the kids were unharmed.

afterwards, i got a gmc envoy, which i've had for 3 yrs now, which is good also. i got it because it was rated one of the safest suvs as well.

http://www.newcars.com/gmc/envoy/index.html

-- Edited by Karina on Friday 22nd of May 2009 11:42:05 PM

jettie · Kate Spade

My parents have a Nissan Murano and really like it.

fairywings · Dooney & Bourke

I have a Hyundai Tucson right now and I highly recommend it. It's safe, cute, a good size, and very practical. I test drove all of the other small SUV's when I was buying mine and this is by far my favorite.

alb · Marc Jacobs

thanks everyone! we narrowed it down to a crv, vw tiguan, and rav4 and went with the rav4. we really liked all three cars, but the rav4 was the most practical out of all three - at least in terms of gas-mileage.