Currently driving a '17 MDX, thought '22 comes out, I jump on that and not a care in the world. WRONG! This plan would have worked if my insurance didn’t count '22 MDX as made of gold and the insurance payment alone would be jacked up by $180 a month. So '22 MDX is now bottom of the list. Since I don’t need 3 rows, decided to test drive everything under the sun in my quest to find the perfect vehicle. So far (cars are going to be all over the place spec / price wise):
21 RDX - loud, jumpy, unrefined - are all words that come to mind while driving it.
BMW X3 30i - like the car. The seats are a bit short. Would have been nice to have thigh extender. Going back later to check 40i to see if the sports seats are more to my liking, but I have a feeling that they will cut into my legs on the sides. Also the version that I test drove was barebones, need to find the Premium version to test drive exactly what I would get (hoping 40i will be closer to that to at least test out how things work)
BMW X5 - didn’t drive yet, later today
Audi Q5 - waaaay to small in the seats department
Audi Q7 - would have been perfect, but who makes a luxury car with no auto hold?!? I’m too lazy to hold my own brake. Also the dynamic cruise was kind of shitty in the lane keep assistance. It was bouncing all over the place and a few times went seriously out of the lane before correcting. Is this normal for Audi?
Pallisade - drove SEL that had both optional packages. All I can say is that I’m coninced that Hyundai spent an obscene amount of money making all the reviewers gush over it. Wind noise was ridiculous. The dash looks like the cheapest plastic known to man. My 3 year olds toys are nicer in the plastc department.
2020 Santa Fe Limited - not bad, but too cheap in finishes for the price. the turn cameras have got to be the dumbest gimmick since honda’s version
2021 Outback Limited XT - actually liked it. The car is jumpy from the power distribution, but I can regulate that. The infotainment system will probably take some getting used to, but considering that I’m more of a plug the phone in and use that person, I don’t think that’s too much of an issue.
2020 Ascent - kind of liked it, but it’s loud and loud is not my favorite. Didn’t try the 2021 version with updated MobileEye.
My “hell-no” category:
nissan / infinity - bad experience with the brand and the local dealership for any service repairs is horrendous
Volvo - no nearby dealer
Pilot - don’t like front seats because of the arm rest (picky I know)
Atlas - same issue with auto-hold as audi
Tesla
Wants / needs:
suv form factor or a tallish wagon
comfortable seats (super important), have really destroyed back
enough room for 2 adults, one child seat (Gigantic child seat Britax) and later on a mid/large dog
decent to good semi-autonomous system especially when it comes to low / mid speed traffic
android auto
would love a panoramic roof
something that leases decently (unlike for example Hyndai / Kia)
I know it’s a very long post dismissing a ton of cars, but maybe I missed something and should take a look at.
maybe another insurance company would have better rates on the MDX? if you are focusing on price the Outback and Santa Fe will probably be cheaper along with cheaper insurance. if you can tolerate the weaknesses it’s probably the best option
Wind noise is an issue on some of these due to some door seal misalignment problems. Sounds like you test drove one of the bad ones.
Ultimately, we can’t really help you here. This is a purely subjective thing and nothing a bunch of internet strangers can say is going to help you here. Work out your budget and wants, drive some cars, and when you’ve got that narrowed down with target deals set, we may be able to actually helpful. These “what car should I get” threads never go anywhere productive.
It’s not really about consensus as I fully understand that nobody here can tell me how my ass is going to feel in different cars. It’s more about trying to figure out if I missed anything that LEASES ok.
Nothing you picked, with the exception of the Subie and Santa Fe really leases all that great. Lease OK…sure, depending on your definition of ‘OK’. Great…not really.
If you’re a Costco member and are coming out of a competitor’s vehicle maybe check out the Cadillac XT4 or XT5 depending on the size you are looking for? There’s been some pretty decent deals on these recently thanks to incentives.
Looking at the /r and knowing reddit in general, something tells me that the question of what 50-70K SUV should I get because my priveleged hiney is not comfortable in a 40K version is going to go over really well and with useful results.
Based on your description, Volvos in general would fit the bill for you best. Maybe it’s worth a drive to a not so nearby dealer to test drive, and use a broker to have one shipped to you.
About 20 miles apparently, which may not be that bad, will add Volvo to my list. I was just spoiled by the fact that most other dealerships no further than 10 minutes including traffic lights.
Also I wouldn’t rule out CX5 in a turbo version. They aren’t ‘lux’ but we see a ton of them here in Marin, along with BMW (Basic Marin Wheels) and of course Teslas (every other car).
No idea if they ‘lease well’, but that’s how I’d get one.
