Outback, CR-V, Rav 4, Prius - Help me choose

[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack ...I’d mostly ignore JD Powers, especially the “J.D. Power U.S. Initial Quality Study” (first 90 days). It seems like something automakers conjured up to give themselves awards for ad copy.

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Having worked in the industry for a whole career and spent many an hour going over these and the company's own internal surveys, I agree. In the first 90 days, most of the quibbles are over things like the feel of the interior upholstery or dealing with the interactive screen, not things like whether the transmission died, which is what I'd really care about.

+2

[scrinch]

Chuckanut, I'm late to the party, but have another suggestion if you are still in the car market. I just went through the same search you did, and I'm 6'3", 34 inseam, size 14 feet, with two shiny new metal-and-plastic knees. I eventually settled on the Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid. It is surprisingly roomy in both the front and rear seats, both in terms of leg- and headroom (and it's easy to get into and out of...tall doors). It has a little less cargo space than the CRV and RAV4, but still enough for me, and the rear seats fold down for lots of space if there are only 1 or 2 in the car. The Niro gets mid-40's mpg, plus whatever miles you drive in EV-mode are gas-free. I bought the mid-level EX trim model, and it comes with all the new safety bells and whistles. The MSRP was $33.5k...I paid $32k, received a $1k rebate, and will get $6k in federal and state tax credits this year. That's a total of $25k plus t&l for a new, safe, crossover-looking plug-in hybrid that can drive around town (26 miles) on no gas at all. The car has fairly upright seating and better ground clearance than most sedans. No AWD is available, however.

[Chuckanut]

After a good deal of research it came down to the Subaru Outback and the RAV4 Hybrid. Both are very equivalent in my estimation. I live in a state with some of the most expensive gasoline in the country, and that tipped it to the RAV4 Hybrid.

I ended up with a 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid LE. So far I really like the car. But, ask me again in about 24,0000 miles.

FWIW, I bought it through the Costco program.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut After a good deal of research it came down to the Subaru Outback and the RAV4 Hybrid. Both are very equivalent in my estimation. I live in a state with some of the most expensive gasoline in the country, and that tipped it to the RAV4 Hybrid. I ended up with a 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid LE. So far I really like the car. But, ask me again in about 24,0000 miles. FWIW, I bought it through the Costco program.

Terrific! I hope you love it and that it meets your needs. From what I understand it is an excellent choice.

[RetiredGypsy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut I ended up with a 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid LE. So far I really like the car.

I really wanted to like the RAV4 Hybrid, but the back seats only folding to about 45 degrees or so unfortunately put it out of the running.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetiredGypsy I really wanted to like the RAV4 Hybrid, but the back seats only folding to about 45 degrees or so unfortunately put it out of the running.

First, let me add my thanks to all who shared their thoughts. They really helped me focus on what was most important to me on this expensive purchase.

Mine fold farther than 45 degrees, perhaps to 30 degrees, I haven't measured it. But, you are right, they don't fold flat. OTOH, 40 mpg on a AWD small SUV can compensate for many imperfections. I figure the $800 extra for the Hybrid drive will have a payback period of under two years. Keep in mind I live in a high cost of gasoline state.

Driving through the Southern states and mid-West last year I could only marvel at gasoline prices anywhere from 75¢ to over $1 less than I pay at home.

[Moemg]

Good choice . I love my Rav4 .

[Chuckanut]

I am sure I will enjoy owning the RAV4.

One thing I should mention is that while the Hybrid is AWD, its AWD system is not as robust as the gasoline only version.

It seems that the Hybrid AWD has no mechanical connection between the front and rear wheels. Instead, Toyota engineers have taken advantage of the electrical power of the car to power the rear wheels via an electric motor. As a result AWD does not work at highway speeds (I can't find a mph number for that).

Toyota calls it AWD-i, IIRC. It's not as good as full mechanical coupling AWD, but is certainly better than only FWD in snow and on poor, slippery roads. It has a 'trail' button that the driver can push to make it work better on bad roads. Essentially, it duplicates a limited slip differential.

If you are really into off-road driving, you probably don't want a RAV4 anyway.

[Lsbcal]

Chuckanut, sounds like a nice car you got there. What are the advantages of the Costco purchase? We aren’t currently Costco members.

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal Chuckanut, sounds like a nice car you got there. What are the advantages of the Costco purchase? We aren’t currently Costco members.

Costco has a pre-negotiated price for the car. There is no haggling. Sort of like CarMax.

FWIW, my new Rav4 Hybrid with 11 miles on it cost only about $3500 more than a 2018 Rav4 non-hybrid with 30K on the odometer at CarMax. Go figure.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut Costco has a pre-negotiated price for the car. There is no haggling. Sort of like CarMax. ...............

Not to bum you out, but to expand on the answer, the Costco price is not the lowest price. When I bought my Highlander, I got a Costco price, then sent it out to all the local dealers and asked them to beat it, which they did repeatedly in several rounds of bidding.


That said, it is a convenience to just get the Costco price and move on if you are happy with the price.

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Not to bum you out, but to expand on the answer, the Costco price is not the lowest price. When I bought my Highlander, I got a Costco price, then sent it out to all the local dealers and asked them to beat it, which they did repeatedly in several rounds of bidding. That said, it is a convenience to just get the Costco price and move on if you are happy with the price.

How much did they beat the Costco price by?

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chuckanut After a good deal of research it came down to the Subaru Outback and the RAV4 Hybrid. Both are very equivalent in my estimation. I live in a state with some of the most expensive gasoline in the country, and that tipped it to the RAV4 Hybrid. I ended up with a 2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid LE. So far I really like the car. But, ask me again in about 24,0000 miles. FWIW, I bought it through the Costco program.

Nice, I don’t think you could have made a bad choice between the two. I’m driving a 2018 Outback and we had a 2007 Camry Hybrid for 11 years and a 2012 Prius for 6 years, both were trouble free (not a single hybrid or traction battery issue) with decent resale. I think you’ll be very happy with a RAV4!

[Another Reader]

An SUV where the seats do not fold down all the way is a non-starter here. Hope Toyota is not as stupid with the upcoming Highlander replacement.

[Bamaman]

There's been a number of road tests and articles written on the RAV-4 Hybrid recently. The owners absolutely love them, and they're relatively difficult to find on dealer lots.

I've had my 2018 Camry Hybrid 2 years & 40K miles, and the new RAV-4 has the same hybrid system. I'm averaging 49 mpg presently, and it's never seen the shop. Only complaint is the 0W16 motor oil presently costs a fortune (thru Amazon.com), and no auto parts store carries it. I'm using 0W20 and giving up maybe 1-2 mpg.

[RetiredGypsy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bamaman Only complaint is the 0W16 motor oil presently costs a fortune (thru Amazon.com), and no auto parts store carries it. I'm using 0W20 and giving up maybe 1-2 mpg.

Is the service period long enough to make up for the cost? Every 12-15k instead of every 5-7k or anything like that?

[Chuckanut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover Not to bum you out, but to expand on the answer, the Costco price is not the lowest price. When I bought my Highlander, I got a Costco price, then sent it out to all the local dealers and asked them to beat it, which they did repeatedly in several rounds of bidding. That said, it is a convenience to just get the Costco price and move on if you are happy with the price.

I agree it's not the lowest price, but my situation (car suddenly damaged beyond repair while I am recovering from a tough surgery) make it the best alternative for me at that time. FWIW, contacted several dealers and most were selling the vehicle at MSRP and added some overpriced nearly worthless 'goodies' to make it seem like a deal. Not so good.

If I had to do it on my schedule, I would have waited until the dark days of Winter when cars don't sell as fast, and then spent 3-4 weeks looking around, haggling a bit and so on.

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal How much did they beat the Costco price by?

It has been a couple of years now, so I don't recall the exact difference. As I recall it was about $500.

[FreeBear]

Quote:

Originally Posted by travelover It has been a couple of years now, so I don't recall the exact difference. As I recall it was about $500.

Not bad for Costco! Thanks for some real world info. I’d gladly pay to avoid the usual BS.


Anyone else is Costco??

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FreeBear Not bad for Costco! Thanks for some real world info. I’d gladly pay to avoid the usual BS..........

I didn't do the "usual BS". I sat at my computer and got the Costco offer, then sent out a half dozen emails to local dealers asking for a counter offer. Then I did it again for a final offer. A couple dealers called or asked me to come it, I declined. Dealers that didn't play didn't sell me a car.