My mom is dead set on buying a crossover or mini-SUV from a prestigious brand, and she's one of those people who knows how to find the "deals" on cars that look OK but are actually awful E36 M3box nightmares that you should run away from, and are thus selling for cheap.
I want her to get something from a Japanese brand so that we can get cheap aftermarket parts for it here. I've talked her down from some mid-2000s Merc (2002 320ml) and a Freelander (
).
So for something decent, I'm thinking Lexus RX3xx/4xx series? Anyone know if any of those are good? Anything from Acura?
I got a 2007 Rav. Solid good car. Do it.
Acura does have one can't recall which ?DX it is but, it should be a solid car. Don't have any first hand experience though. Looked on the Ebay, appears the RDX would be the smaller of Acura's offerings.
The CX-5 is the crossover to have right now, shame Mazda isn't a "premium" brand.
My wife has a 2008 Acura RDX with the Tech package that we purchased new. It currently had 120000 miles.
Its been basically trouble free, except for the compressor clutch coil which failed and was covered by Acura. Other than that, the only problem is the gas mileage. Being a 4 cylinder turbo means that is very right foot dependent. My wife will get 21mpg while I can't seem to get anymore than 18-19mpg when driving it.
J
We are still talking Barbados, right?
Can I suggest to think a little outside of the US box? Not that I follow much on the compact SUV/CUV side of things outside of, well, you know.... But the last time we were in Barbados, the selection of products looked far more European than US.
Renault, Citroen, VW, and Ford have that kind of car not in the US.
Secondly, diesel options are probably there, too, if so inclined.
Vigo
UltraDork
7/7/13 11:46 a.m.
You cant go wrong with a Lexus RX, imo. Mostly Camry parts ftw.
We don't get Renault, Citroen or VW here. Euro car parts are notoriously expensive to import. Only Ford stuff the dealers sell here is the Ranger and Focus. Diesel is OK.
So can you bound the choices? May make it easier for recommendations.
Mike
HalfDork
7/7/13 1:21 p.m.
Shame. I really like the Freelander and the ML. It's only the eye wateringly severe engine issues on the Freelander that make me stay away. I still have an urge to build a mean ML320 and take it on some trails - I suppose everyone is entitled to a bad idea or two.
Wait. Barbados?
Did you get any Freelander engine other than the gas V6/auto we were stuck with in the US? Did those suck too?
I think all the Freelanders here have the gas engine.
Diesel and gas are both OK, stick to Japanese and Korean brands for easy parts buying. Must be automatic.
Saturn Vue. Those things are built like anvils. There's an 85 year old man in town that is a semi retired farmer. I've seen him haul feed and all kinds of stuff through his fields in it. Rain or shine. He was in a head on collision (while at a stop a kid hit him) and broke the front diff. But it was repaired and still on the road.
The Saturn Vue is indeed very durable, but there are none here 
Get the toyota. It's boring, but will make your mom happy. Wife loves how it drives (read: BORING!)
Yeah I've said the RAV4 is a good choice, the one she was looking at turned out to be a bit too expensive. Also keeping an eye out for RDXs and CX5s.
CX-5 is the best vehicle ever produced. I sell Mazda's in Atlanta so am glad to provide this painfully biased opinion.
I got beaten by a Vibe at the last autocross I did.
/hangs head in shame
MDX, most recent body style. Everyone I know who has one loves it.
