My mom is looking for a new car again, and we are looking for SUV's. We are looking at the MDX, the XC90, and the X5.

We have heard great thigns about all of them and we are really leaning toward the XC90 T6. Jsut wondering what everyone thinks of it.

 

I'm trading an MDX for a Volvo V70R. The X5 is kind of small inside (smaller that a 3 Series wagon) but handles the best and is the most car like. The Volvo has a great interior and a ton of safety features but doesn't get great gas mileage. The MDX is a great car but kind of boring with a very Honda-esque interior. You can get a deal on the BMW, less so on an MDX, and not at all on the Volvo.

 

X5

 

If your in the $40,000-45,000 range I'd check out the FX35. If you want to stay under $40,000 check out the Murano. I just got one and love it. With Navi and all the toys I got SL w/4WD for less than $35,000.

 

It really depends why she wants an SUV.

Is it for off roading? Towing? Size? Ground clearance? Passenger capacity?

If size is the issue then that rules out the X5. In fact, the Toyota Matrix and Mazda P5 both hold more cargo than the X5.

If she wants capacity and AWD then I'd look seriously into the new Toyota Sienna AWD.

If she needs the offroad capability and size then the MDX is the best value but the XC90 is probably nicer - not sure it justifies the extra dough (I'd get only the T6, the T5 is a dog).

Personally, the only SUV I would consider would be the Nissan Murano. Large capacity, lower than most so safer, and a state of the art CVT transmission.

Aside from that if she doesn't need 7 passenger seating then the Audi Allroad and XC70 cross country are great vehicles that are larger than most SUVs.

 

Thanks for all of the input. We are going to look at the Volvo again tomorrow and we are also going to look at the new Lexus RX 330 as well as the GX 470. The MDX is still a possibility, it looks great and really you can beat the price, especially for the touring edition wiht nav and DVD entertainment system. We are also looking at the FX35/45, but we both are not too fond of the styling. As for the Toyota Sienna, she is not a minivan woman, although I do like the new Sienna. WE also will be looking at the new 4Runner, but she would prefer the luxury segment. If we do decide to get an X5 it will be more for performance than function, we would probably end up buying the 4.6is. We drove a Proche Cayanne, and it is nice but we just can justify the amt of money they want for it. Right now the three main contenders are the RX330, XC90, and the MDX. Beings that we have never owned Lexus it is rather appealing, but also we have been very satisfied owners of both Acuras and Volvos for many years. I will let everyone know what we decide, and post pics later. The only downside of the Volvo is the 3 month waiting perido on a custom order XC90.

 

Just so you know:

Cargo volume :

Murano : 32.6
Audi Allroad : 36.4
RX330 : 39.8
X5 : 16.1
XC90/MDX : approximately 70 (with 3rd row folded)
Odyssey/Sienna : 170

Sounds like image is more important than function though :-)

 

I would say X5. At my company have all of the SUVs (lexus, BMW, ford, doge, etc) basically. My bosses X5 is the nicest out of all of them. He has the less expensive 3.0 one, i think.

 

I jist went through the whole SUV buying experience. We looked at the MDX, ML320, X5 and went with the MDX.

The X5 is WAY too small. The ML320 is $$$ and Mercedes reliability with this model is questionable... The MDX has it all. Solid price point, awesome features, and damn is the ride quiet.

We didn't look at the Volvo, so I can't comment on it.

 

Look at the loaded Highlander Limited 6 cylinder. Basically the new Lexus 330 except 1000 rebate and 2500 off of sticker. Get a loaded one for 34,000 and drive off for 31,000--It is a great value. Built in Japan right next to the Lexus. If you compare the value and quality, it is a no-brainer.

 

I wonder if your mom would like the sportiness of X5, FX, and Cayenne. If not, then better consider the comfortable and luxurious SUVs instead. I have heard the good comments about MDX and RX330 from some owners......and I really trust the reliability and brand value of Acura and Lexus. Volvo XC90 is very safe. I am not so familiar with SUVs, I just have some basic idea of what each of them is......From the styling point of view, I would vote for a dark colored Lexus RX330.

 

anyone who owns or is looking for an SUV needs to seriously reevaluate WHY they want one or think they "need" one. These are the worst things to roll out off the assembly line—period.

oh yea-and SUVs are the biggest money makers ever. The profit margin on a Navigator is $15,000 per vehicle. Most SUVs average
a profit $10-20,000 per vehicle. No car comes even comes close. You are wasting your money.

possibly do some real research (NOT just price/trendiness/engine size): such as fuel INEFFICIENCY, hideous amounts of emitted pollutants (allowed much higher numbers than cars), safety record (MOST SUVs are not as safe as cars, the remaining are possibly as safe as cars, and any SUV that is safer than a car is only because whatever its hitting, its pulverizing), handling (inferior to cars, again), stability (high center of gravity, higher ground clearance - i've seen many roll overs) and the fact that any CAR that you hit in an SUV you are 5x more likely to KILL THAT PERSON. oh and what about pedestrians? Where cars will hit a pedestrian in the knees and then scoop them up on the hood, the SUV would much rather hit them in the chest or head, knock them down and then possibly roll over them, crushing them with massive tires. Do you really want that responsibility? Is that worth driving a trendy beast? Don't let your mom drive around in a socially unresponsible vehicle, don't subject her to the occupant dangers either.

 

Without diving in to the socio-economic implications of SUV ownership, I'm trading my SUV for a wagon for the reason above. All I really need is AWD and more space for stuff than you can get in car. The new wave of sportwagons will provide a better alternative to a lot of prospective SUV owners.

 

Thanks for all of the great input. We went back to Lexus today, and we were looking at the RX 330, it is a beautiful vehicle and has some great features. While we were in the showroom my mom turned around and pointed at another SUV and said that is nice, what is it, how much does it cost, and can we drive one. It turned out to the GX470. It is a grogeous SUV and has some great features/amenities. We ended up driving it for a good hour, each of us having a turn, it rides great, the air suspension and adjustable suspension modes are a big plus, and the Mark Levinson 11 speaker sound system with satellite navi is awesome, one of the best "stock" (well its not stock it is an option but you know what I mean) sound systems I ave ever encountered. The one thing that my mom loved was the rear door, which opened sideways as opposed to opening up like a station wagon. While the 3rd row seats did not fold flat like the MDX, they folded up to the side and were easily removable, much to my suprise they were very comfortable as well. Having the 4.7 liter V8 it had nice get up and go as well. We do alot of winter sports and one of the main complaints about both of our winter vehicles is the lack of a 2nd gear start. Much to our suprise the Lexus has this feature. All of teh SUV's we drove had good driving positions as well. The nice thing about the GX 470 was there were like 10 on the lot, where we would have to order the Volvo and Acura. We also went and drove the MDX again, it is nice, but it is not as quiet, or smooth riding as the GX. The one great feature of the Acura is the rear folding seat.

As of now we are leaning towards the Lexus because of its features and comfort. I was very impressed at how comfortable it was. When I was driving it I did not think I was driving a SUV. Also, the Lexus has a feature that limits body roll, which is nice especially areound where we live. Since the dealership is near our home, we drove it home and made sure it fit in the garage as well. It looked nice in the garage. One option I would have liked to have had on the Lexus, would be HID headlights, but the sales rep said that they decided not to put them on the GX because it would be unsafe becuase of its driving height, it does have very bright halogen lights with projectors.

It was odd, I have never test driven a car that made me almost sad to have to go back and drive the CL again, but this one did. We are probably a few weeks away from purchasing anything, but when we do I will post pics as soon as I can.

As for Hot Rums comments, we did look at all of these features. the environment is a big priority to us which is why it is important to us that the car that we end up with is at least a LEV vehicle. Correct me if I am wrong, but both the Lexus and the Acura are both ULEV-2 vehicles. In addition, we need a vehicle that seats 7 people, that drives well in the snow. Now, I will admit that we will not be doing any hardcore off roading, but we have tried to take both the M3 and the CL skiing and it was not a fun experience either time. As for the safety concern, in my driving carrer, as well as my moms, niether of us have been involved in an accident of any sort, let alone hitting a person. We are both very safe and cautious drivers who are very alert and intune with our surrounds. I do hear about a lot of Pedestrian vs. Car accidents, however in a lot of cases the Ped darts out in front of the vehicle or the driver of the vehicle is doing something stupid.

We would not be looking at SUV's unless we really needed one, it just came to the point where a station wagon would no longer suit our needs and my family does not do minivans.

 

You have your head on straight kid.

 

i love the guilt trips being laid out against people buying the cars they like. do you really want to live with the responsibility of not having a pedestrian flying up on your hood? do you, do you? haha.