SUV Recommendations?

mountainsoft

Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Joined
Nov 14, 2016
Messages
2,533
Location
Washington State
I love my 2000 VW Jetta but it is needing a few repairs. Suspension work, AC has never worked, headliner drooping, etc. I'm also finding it harder to climb in and out of a car that sits so low. So, I'm thinking about picking up an SUV. Something that sits a little higher, with decent gas mileage for traveling. And I think I'm finally ready to move away from a stick shift to an automatic.

One of our requirements is a good size cargo space. We frequently need to take our elderly mothers shopping or to doctor appointments, so we need to fit their walkers in the car easily (seats up, not folded down). My mom is fairly short, so her walker just fits in my trunk. My mother-in-law is a bit taller, so we have to take apart her handles every time we put her walker in our trunk. I haven't gone out looking at vehicles yet, but every SUV I've seen while out driving around looks like it has less cargo space than my Jetta behind the rear seat.

While not necessarily a requirement, it would be nice if there was enough cargo space to fit two folding electric bikes (seats folded down okay for that scenario).

I have only owned VW's my entire life, so the Tiguan and Toureg are the only two SUV's I know much about (and that's quite limited). We also rented a Jeep Cherokee several years ago on our trip to Alaska and liked it a lot. But from what I've been reading they don't sound very reliable, and cargo space is limited for the size of the vehicle. Again, I'm just going by what I've read, we haven't looked at anything in person yet.

Our budget is under $10K, so I'm probably looking around a 2011-2015 model or so.

I thought about a mini-van, but neither of us really want to go that route. So looking at SUV's or crossovers only.
 
My brother has a RAV 4 and loves it. My sister had a jeep and loved it, but her DH did not.
My favorite (for versatility) car has been our Toyota van. We had a 2000, kept it until 2016, over 250,000 miles.
DH and I probably won't need to buy another car, as we replaced both of ours just prior to retirement, but we both would consider a van again. Even without schlepping kids and sports equipment around! :)
 
Ouch... $10k budget makes this difficult. I would heartily recommend the Mazda CX-5, but I honestly have no idea if you could get one for $10k. I love my 2016 CX-5 and am strongly considering getting another one ('23 or '24 model) within the next year. I think it would meet all your criteria... except price, perhaps.
 
I love my 2000 VW Jetta but it is needing a few repairs. Suspension work, AC has never worked, headliner drooping, etc. I'm also finding it harder to climb in and out of a car that sits so low. So, I'm thinking about picking up an SUV. Something that sits a little higher, with decent gas mileage for traveling. And I think I'm finally ready to move away from a stick shift to an automatic.

One of our requirements is a good size cargo space. We frequently need to take our elderly mothers shopping or to doctor appointments, so we need to fit their walkers in the car easily (seats up, not folded down). My mom is fairly short, so her walker just fits in my trunk. My mother-in-law is a bit taller, so we have to take apart her handles every time we put her walker in our trunk. I haven't gone out looking at vehicles yet, but every SUV I've seen while out driving around looks like it has less cargo space than my Jetta behind the rear seat.

While not necessarily a requirement, it would be nice if there was enough cargo space to fit two folding electric bikes (seats folded down okay for that scenario).

I have only owned VW's my entire life, so the Tiguan and Toureg are the only two SUV's I know much about (and that's quite limited). We also rented a Jeep Cherokee several years ago on our trip to Alaska and liked it a lot. But from what I've been reading they don't sound very reliable, and cargo space is limited for the size of the vehicle. Again, I'm just going by what I've read, we haven't looked at anything in person yet.

Our budget is under $10K, so I'm probably looking around a 2011-2015 model or so.

I thought about a mini-van, but neither of us really want to go that route. So looking at SUV's or crossovers only.
We currently have a 2019Toyota Hilander Hybred and can put our 2 Lectric bikes in folded. Before this one we had 3 Kia Sorentos, 04-09-&2014. In the price range you are talking the Kia might do the trick. just a quick look shows a 15 for $12.5 k and a 21 for 19.k they are very dependible vehicles. Good luck in your search.
 
I believe your budget is doable for the age your interested in looking at. If you were willing to wait another year (and closer to me), I would sell you my 2016 Subaru Outback in your target window. (I'll probably just give it away as a trade-in to keep my life simple).

...We frequently need to take our elderly mothers shopping or to doctor appointments.,
Remember that SUVs sit up higher, and either you climb down or your mothers climb up. Might not be problem, but it is for my MIL.
 
...We frequently need to take our elderly mothers shopping or to doctor appointments.,
Remember that SUVs sit up higher, and either you climb down or your mothers climb up. Might not be problem, but it is for my MIL.
I have a Venza Hybrid and really liking it so far. But, the only issue is my mother, who is very short, can barely get herself into it. On a really bad day it has taken her up to 20 minutes to get herself in with my assistance.

Have you considered a mini van? A little lower to the ground, but the seats sit a little higher. And you can fit a ton of stuff in them. We're primarily a Toyota family because of reliability, so I would recommend a Sienna. But I'm sure a Honda Odyssey would be just as reliable.
 
We are thinking of smaller SUVs too. Out shortlist is:

Toyota RAV 4
Honda CRV
Yes, I've owned both (currently RAV 4.) I like (liked) them both. They are NOT as smooth riding as most sedans nor do they handle as well. But reliability is good and costs are relatively low. Of course, YMMV.
 
I bought a 2023 Mazda CX-5 this past June after my husband totaled my 2007 Nissan Sentra. I absolutely love it. Hondas are considered to be in the top of safe cars.
 
I've been looking a Kia Sportage.
Make sure you get an insurance quote before buying any Kia or Hyundai. I bought a 2022 Kia Seltos right before the Tik Tok challenge that lead to mass thefts of those vehicles. My insurance went up 102% in 2 years.
 
Make sure you get an insurance quote before buying

Always a good idea, if not often done. I currently have a Soul and the insurance is not bad. But it has an aftermarket alarm. For $4,000 you are only getting something old and almost for sure with high miles these days.
 
A bit tongue in cheek, a 99 suburban in good shape.

I have one. Lots of room for anything and nearly everything. Haveit one since 2000, bought it used.
Moved entire household from Maryland to Western PA with it. That alone paid for it.
Yeah it is a gas hog :) but with 15000lb towing capacity. a 2500 version.
I suspect used ones run around 6 to10k.
I would not sell mine for less tha 50k. it is nearly perfect, no rust.
 
We've never spent more than $4000 on a vehicle (I paid $1900 for my current Jetta), so $10K seems extremely generous for something that mostly just sits in our driveway. :)

As we get older we spend more on newer vehicles? Why? Safety concerns. For instance you mention transporting both your Moms in your vehicle. The older you get the more protection you can use in a crash. The present generation of airbags, including side impact air bags can save your life. We thought a lot like you do until someone we know ended up in a wheelchair because of an accident on icy slushy roads. This lady said to anyone that would listen, if I had been driving my good SUV instead of my beater use in the winter car, I probably wouldn't be paralyzed. I have no way of knowing if this was true, but it did make a major impression on us. So if you end up spending more then you planned there are a few positives.
 
Last edited:
I love our toyota sienna van.
Nice and high seating to see down the road.
Easy to transport lots of stuff all protected from the elements (unlike a plain pickup truck).
Holds a 4x8 sheet of plywood.
The back with middle seats removed and back seats folded down is flat, DD had a SUV and when back seats folded down they were still tilted at an incline, so large things were not able to be supported as they hung over the top of the seats.

I never had a van before and find it very flexible.
 
As we get older we spend more on newer vehicles? Why? Safety concerns. For instance you mention transporting both your Moms in your vehicle. The older you get the more protection you can use in a crash. The present generation of airbags, including side impact air bags can save your life.
I couldn't agree more. It puzzles me why folks here in the E-R forum, who have enough financial means to retire early, choose to scrimp on something as important as an automobile. Why not pay a little more than you might want to in order to get the latest and greatest safety technology that can only be found in new(ish) cars? Why deliberately forego those potentially life-saving features in order to save a few thousand bucks? Obviously, there is some wiggle room to this (otherwise I would buy a brand-new car every year), but I strongly believe it's a sound principle to follow whenever one does decide it's time to purchase a vehicle. It only takes one tragic accident—where serious injury or death could have been prevented by safety tech you didn't think was important enough to pay for—to make you regret your unnecessary frugality for the rest of your life. (Of course, this is all predicated on the notion that one can easily afford to purchase a new-ish car every so often. If that's not the case, sorry for the rant.... please ignore.)
 
We live rural where serious crashes happen at uncontrolled intersections and wind turning the snowy roads icy. When our oldest DD turned 16 and began to drive we went out and bought a 3 year old car with modern safety features, because you know, new drivers without bad weather experience. Many neighbors were fine with if it runs it's good enough for the kids cause they might ding it up anyway. I never understood this way of thinking.
 
We have a 2016 Subaru Outback with almost 100,000 miles and have had great results... no problems... just regular maintenance and wear parts (brakes pads and rotors most recently).

We also have a 2007 Honda CR-V that has also been very reliable.

IME, Honda, Toyota and Subaru are all very reliable.
 
I have a 2018 Subaru Forester that suits all my needs and has been reliable. It's also the easiest car to enter and exit that I have ever owned.
 
We've never spent more than $4000 on a vehicle (I paid $1900 for my current Jetta), so $10K seems extremely generous for something that mostly just sits in our driveway. :)
Have you searched your local craigslist lately? They have a nice set of search filters now. I usually select for sale by owner, price, clean title status, max mileage and type. Plenty of slightly higher mileage, older SUVs types out there in your price range. I see your point in wanting to pay less for a car that sits around most of the time. I would look at Toyota, Honda and Mazda for reliability. You could go down the rabbit hole and watch some YouTube reviews if you desire. Here in Phoenix bonus is no sales tax on private party sale. Hopefully same where you are at.
 
Back
Top Bottom