Replacing the Wife's Lease....

She currently has a 2016 Subaru Forester XT. Great vehicle, fun to drive, etc etc. Her lease is up soon and I don't want to buy it out just because I don't think the buyout price is worth it. She also wanted an Ascent (which I refuse to buy a first model year Subaru or engine), then she was okay with the new Subaru Forester Sport, now the Crosstrek. Her reasoning is to save money which I'm perfectly fine with; but, she originally wanted a 3 row for the kids and friends. 

I've been trying to convince her to let me buy a slightly used Odyssey but she doesn't want to be "that mom." I'm having a losing battle trying to convince her of function over form. She also doesn't want a Tahoe or Suburban sized vehicle. 

Mazda CX-9 is my vote, love the power and solid fuel mileage to back it up. feels nimble on its feet for the size and I always enjoyed driving them at the dealership and it looks good. 

Regal TourX

I came here to say CX-9. Chevy has a splatter of offerings too. The Toyota Highlander is a solid 3 row choice but I think it’s not as interesting as the Mazda. 

I know nothing about how leases compare between different brands, but just about Everybody offers a 3 row CUV with AWD (I'm assuming that's a priority since she seems to prefer Subarus), so you've got a lot of options to pick through.

Pilot, Explorer, Traverse, Enclave, Santa Fe, Highlander, CX-9, Durango, Sorento, etc. I'm certain that I'm missing some, but that's a good start. Drive them, compare leases, and then consider fuel economy as that can also contribute to monthly costs.

In reply to STM317 :

/thread 

Do what I do. 

Let her drive whatever she wants. 

It's not worth the fight for a car that is her primary transportation. If you pick it and she doesn't like it, it will be a long term problem. If she picks it and doesn't like it, you can spend years smugly patting yourself on the back.  

toyman has it right. let her pick and live with the consequences

Just be sure to try the 3rd row for what you intend to seat there.  Many SUV 3rd rows are pretty hypothetical.  That is, you wont get a full size car seat back there and you wont get a full adult back there.  These SUV 3rd rows are best for booster seats to adolescence or about 5 yrs to 12 yrs old kids. 

Does that fit with how you intend to use the 3rd row?  

Also scrutinize how much storage room you have left if you are actually using the 3rd row.  In some of the vehicles you are left with very little luggage capacity when using the 3rd seat.  On some, the 3rd seat may be a 50/50 split meaning you can only have half the seat down when seating one kid back there.  This is nice because you do not have to give up all the storage capability of the 2 seats on times you just want to use one seat.  

My wife and I were dead set against a minivan until we drove one. After seeing that they drove pretty well, and being mesmerized by the power sliding doors (and not having to worry about the kids throwing open the doors and dinging other cars) , we were sold. After 10 years with one, I can't imagine not having one in the fleet. With four growing boys, there's not much else out there with the combination of seating/cargo space. 

I'd drive a few different things to get a good comparison, but if she's interested in getting serious use out of the third row, a minivan is a solid option. Very few SUVs actually have a usable third row (the Traverse, Explorer, Expedition, Suburban, and Pilot had the best when we were looking).

And +1 on letting her make the final call for her vehicle!

In reply to John Welsh :

This is one of the reasons we still have out 06 R class, the third row has enough room for adults

Replacing the Wife's Lease.... and I thought marriage was forever. Didn't know leasing was an option.

T.J. said:

Replacing the Wife's Lease.... and I thought marriage was forever. Didn't know leasing was an option.

Can't believe it took this long to get to that line of thought.

I’ve told my wife if anything happens to her I’m sticking to rentals.

She wants Ascent. Lease an Ascent. That way "new motor" issues shouldn't be a problem. In 3 years, if its reliable, buy it out. If not, return it, and get whatever wife wants next. 

That said, of all 3 rows Japanese vehicles I sat in myself, Sequoia (too big) and QX60 (perfect) were my only ones I liked that had 3 row that I fit as an adult. Pilot looks horrible (and I am a honda fanboy), MDX third row put my knees up to my chin

Happy wife is worth a 100000 blowjobs. 

In reply to mr2s2000elise :

That last statement was a bold one. Do they all have to be by the same person?

In a row?

We were looking to replace our odyssey and went with a GX. Plenty of room and comfy. Pretty good deals used.