Need Advice on Small Suvs

I bought a used Escape with 30,000 miles in 2002. I LOVE this car! My husband is 6'4" and can drive and ride in the car fairly comfortably. I absolutely recommend this car and will buy another one whenever mine finally falls apart. My car now has over 135,000 miles. We used to take the dog everywhere in it before the baby was born. I like it because I feel that I can transport almost anything in it and it's easy to maintain. My gas mileage is good, too, so I can only imagine that the newer models have even better mileage.

Incidentally, the Mazda Tribute is the exact same car on the inside with a slightly different body style. Ford made the engines for both vehicles. Mazda designed them. Good luck.

I have a Hyundai Santa Fe. I've never had any problems with the engine or anything like that. The only problem I have is that anytime we take my daughter's carseat out of the car, the seat belt doesn't work properly when we go to put the seat back in (the belt won't lock, so the carseat shifts). It's quite a headache since we have to take it to the dealership, and they always argue with us that it's working correctly when it's not. For that reason, I will not buy another Hyundai and will be trading this one in as soon as I can afford to.

I have a 2005 Hyundai Tuscon (smaller than the Santa Fe.) My 6'4 husband drives it with no problem. However, we have found the seats to be very uncomfortable, especially on long drives. It does have a great safety rating with front, side, and SIDE CURTAIN airbags, if that's important to you. We downgraded to the Tuscon from the Sonata so we'd have more space but still get good gas mileage (which is does.) BTW, I LOVED my Sonata and would take it back in a heartbeat!

I have a 2005 Ford Escape, which I really, really like. I get an average of 20mpg (I drive on the highways a lot, but I'm also in traffic). I've gotten as much as 22, as low as 18.5 (when were hauling a lot of heavy stuff). We put in the synthetic oil and I think that helped a little. I've been able to fit everything we've wanted to carry.

As for your husband, mine is just over 6' (not quite 6'1") but he fits in it just fine. I am 5'10", but have very long legs and have not had a problem (in a lot of the smaller SUV's, my knees would knock the steering wheel). We also test drove the Mercury Mariner, which is the same vehicle (more fancy because it's a Mercury). We like it, too, so if you found a used one of those, you might consider it (same engine, just different trim... like the other poster mentioned, the Mazda Tribute is also the same vehicle).

I had a Saturn for 10 years before getting this, which had terrible road noise (people could even hear it over my cell phone), so I may not be the best judge, but I've found it to be quite quiet.

The handling is really nice. I chose to go with the V6 instead of the V4 (you would probably get better gas mileage with the 4 cylinder, but I wanted the extra "oomph" for passing on the tollway!). It was a little bit of a change to go from a low car to a higher-riding SUV, but I think that would be the case will all SUV's, and once I got used to it, I really like being up higher where I can see better.

I drive my daughter everyday to mom (who keeps her during the day while I work). I feel like it is a very safe vehicle. There are different blind spots that I had with my car, but with the right mirror adjustments, I've been able to mostly eliminate those. The brakes are very good. We've had several occassions where the traffic just slammed to a stop on the freeway (even in rain) and the Escape stopped on a dime and the ABS worked great.

I don't know anything about Hyundai or Kia (my husband is a car guy and Ford man - we buy American), but I've heard Ed Wallace (the "Wheels" guy on the radio) say that he is more impressed with Hyundai now than when they first came to America. I don't recall his comments about Kia.

I was looking at the CRV (against my husband's desire!), but my dad had mentioned to me that the rear compartment opens horizontal instead of vertical, which presents two issues: 1), being made in Japan, it opens to the left, so that if you are parked on the street, you have to walk to the traffic side to get in to the car and then out and around the open door... small thing, but worth noting and 2) If it's raining, it's nice to have the one that opens vertically so that rain doesn't get on the stuff in the car.

The only think I don't like about the Escape is the position and angling of the vents and the options for the a/c. My husband assures me that I'm the only one in the world for whom this would be an issue, but my Saturn separate controls for where the air came out and whether or not you were selecting a/c or vent. I used to put it on face and feet (upper and lower) even for a/c, which it's only an option for the heater in the Escape. I find this annoying. I like to have cool air blowing on my legs and feet, too. But it wasn't something I really thought about when we were looking.

That's all I can think of right now (long post as it is).

I don't know where to buy a used car, except to say that we bought our Escape at Middlekauff Ford and we almost bought a used 2004 from them (but I wanted a sunroof) and I really liked the salesman in their used car section. He was a former Marine (still in the reserves) and my husband knew him. If you want his name, send me a message and I'll ask my husband for it.

Good Luck.

Hi, we have a honda CRV that we just purchased for the new year. We love it. My husband is 6'1, so it really shouldn't be a problem. We bought a Honda because they retain their value better. Plus, it has great safety reports. It's a great vehicle. Your husband should definitely test drive it to see if he's comfortable in it. My husband doesn't complain, so I think it's okay.

A friend of mine has a CRV, and she absolutely loves it. Also my mom used to have one, and she loved hers too. The CRV also has a fold-out table in the cargo area. I think if you're looking for a small SUV that does good on gas, Honda is the best. Not only are they VERY fuel efficient, but they also will out-last almost anything on the market!! I have been a BIG promoter of Honda's and ABSOLUTELY love them. Another "interesting" SUV that Honda has is the Element. Now the Element is different because while it is an SUV, and does get good gas mileage, it's also very unique. This vehicle is rugged, great for guys, family trips, fishing etc. There isn't carpet inside...instead there is rubber mats, but don't worry it sounds worse than it is. The benefit of rubber mats is that if the inside gets dirty, you don't have to shampoo the carpet, you can simply spray it out with a hose! The seats are made of a water resistant material, so cleaning the inside out with a hose or whatever, won't damage your seats in any way! This vehicle is actually pretty cool on the inside. Also the back seats can fold up along the inside of the vehicle, so that the entire back end is clear. The stereo in it sounds really good too because the styling of the vehicle makes for a more acoustic sound. All in all, it's a good car, and pretty cool too. Also, you'll love the price tag on them used! They aren't very expensive! One more thing...the Element will probably be more comfy for your guy because of his height. The inside of the CRV isn't as big as the inside of the Element.
Hope I helped some!!
A.

Hi! I drive a 2004 CRV, and we got it strictly because they retain such good resale value. That and I never found another hatchback/SUV/station wagon where the back door opened side to side instead of top down, which is something I love about that car every day. It handles fine, it seems to get decent gas mileage for an SUV, it's got good visibility, it's got really great safety ratings, all that.

Downsides: If you've got a carseat in the middle in the back, it's a squeeze for a person of any size to sit on either side. I imagine a 6-ft guy could drive it every day but, depending on the length of his legs, there might not be much room behind the driver's seat. It also has a LOT of road noise, rides a little bumpy, and the stereo system quite frankly is subpar. :-) This car is exactly what it seems to be: the most basic and reliable, affordable SUV/station wagon.

When I upgrade in four years, I'll be seriously considering the Torrent (or a hybrid). I test drove the Torrent as part of an auto test and loved it.

Another note: I have several friends in the car biz who agree that Hyundai is now what Honda was like 10 or 15 years ago -- good product, awesome customer service, but not as much resale value because the reputation is not quite there yet. If I was going to buy used today, I would seriously consider the Santa Fe. I don't know how they wear but I know Honda maintains the most resale, so the Santa Fe may actually be a better deal (if it's in good shape).

Hope this helps!
J.

I love my Nissan Murano too! It is the best car I have had (this is my fifth).

I have a murano (nissan) and LOVE IT!!! I have driven the ford escape, explorer and expedition... and those don't come close.

My husband drove a CRV for 4 years and he is 6'1" too. We loved that little car! It was perfect for the family and perfect for hauling anything we wanted to haul (we got the car at the same time we got a new house, so you can imagine the kinds of things we trucked around from the hardware stores). Also, my friend's husband is 6'8" and he fits in their CRV! As far as handling, it's not exactly a performance vehicle. Ours was a 2001 and had just a 4 cylinder engine. Maybe a 1.4L? I just know it was smaller than I thought it should be. But, we got about 25mpg. Ours was the all-wheel-drive which made me feel safe when roads were wet or icy. We drove it in the ice every year just because we could :-). Always had good control. Road noise was probably average. I think the newer models are a little quieter and have a more plush interior. It was such a useful little car that I'd easily give it an 8 (out of 10) for overall satisfaction -- a 10 being a V6 engine.
For where to buy a used car, we had a good experience with buying a lease-return from D&M Auto Leasing in Arlington. They sell their lease returns through a company called Superior Leasing. You can check out their inventory at www.superiorleasing.com. Their prices are great and they sell high quality cars. Our sales guy is Mark Eachus. We leased our CRV from him and when we turned it in, bought a minivan from him. They move their inventory pretty fast. The cars sit on the lot for a week or two before they put them on Ebay (this is common, I've learned, at many used car dealerships).

My husband has worked on cars for 16 years. He would never buy a Hyundai or a Kia. Also, my friend had a Kia and that 10 year warranty covered almost NOTHING. She had a lot of problems with it all of which were not covered by the warranty. My husband would definitely reccommend the Honda or Ford either one. My husband works at Town East Ford in Mesquite. He does estimating for the body shop. I think they have a really good selection of used cars so, you might try them out. You can tell them Tony from the body shop estimating department referred you. Good luck.

I have a CRV. I like the car but the color is BLAH. Thing is for me is I had a Blazer that was fully loaded that I absolutely adored! So it's hard to get over my baby. The CRV is good on gas and is a good family vehicle. The fold out table is handy for us when we go camping. Good Luck!

N. B.
Mom Advice Central-http://www.mymommycentral.com

I had a Ford escape and absolutely loved it. It would have plenty of room for your husband. I traded it in for an Explorer and have been sorry ever since. . . miss the gas mileage etc. I am going to trade the Explorer in for another escape the first chance I get.