F23A4

I test drove an 04 SE prior to later purchasing our 05 SL. The preset "gear" ratios are a neat feature but it was not a must have for me. Hence the SL purchase.

Mokos23

Wow, good resale! Now, I looked up my 04 TSX and yikes it's only 3.0/5.0 along with the TL? #1 on that list is the G35.

http://www.autos.com/autos/rankings_...sale&year=2004

cltypeSLOW

drove a murano rental for a while with that new CVT tranny i think its called and the AWD system. it was a GREAT car.

Mokos23

wow it seems a lot of people either like Murano or Fx.

just curious why no love for RDX? i myself may think of trading in the TSX for this or if Infiniti comes out with a smaller suv.

cltypeSLOW

RDX looks too feminine to me.

Mongolian

I think the RDX resembles the CR-V a little too much. I'm not sold much on its exterior but I love the interior of the vehicle. I honestly think it's too expensive for what it is and it directly competes with the CR-V. Honda didn't differentiate the RDX enough to make it sell.

F23A4

The RDX's fuel economy is pretty scary, especially with gas prices not so slowly approaching $3/gal here in NJ.

Joe5.0

Wait a sec, $406/mo for a lease is GOOD? Maybe I'm justused to buying, but paying $14,600 to rent a car for 3 years seems a little much. Spend another 5 grand and buy a lightly used suv.Thats OT I know.

I also say look into the Acadia/Enclave. Not sure of the pricing, but they have gotten real good reviews and I bet they are dealing on them already.

F23A4

Calc the lease out on an Infinti FX or Lexus RX and the Murano lease will look like a firesa...er...firelease.

Mongolian

I'm already paying almost $3.50 for 91 octane here in CA.

F23A4

You guys in Cali get HAMMERED on gasoline prices. 91 octane is ~ $2.80 here in NJ.

Mokos23

Well in CA you're forced to pay that high on gas because I don't think there are subways, trains, and a lot of public transportation other than the metro buses and in SF the trolley cars.

F23A4

San Fran, LA and San Diego have fairly extensive Subway, light rail and bus systems.

Mokos23

Whoops I thought that SF didn't have any subways nor LA? Not sure about San Diego. Then why do so many people still drive to work there instead of using that?

F23A4

Unlike most other metro areas, Cali (particularly SoCal) is a car culture.

I love driving but I MUCH prefer taking (and do take) commuter rail to work each day.

Mokos23

I take the train myself to my job downtown. The thought of sitting in bumper to bumper traffic everyday after a long day at work would drive me nuts and get me pissed off.

Mongolian

I hate driving through California traffic. If our mass-transit transportation system is more functional, I'd use it in a heart beat. From what I've seen so far, I think the general population that consistently uses our non-functional transportation system is the underprivileged population of California. Most of these people cannot afford vehicles or even our outrageous gas prices.

I paid just under $40 to fill my commuter (4 banger 2001 Accord) and just under $80 for my FX35 this week. Gas prices are getting pretty scary to the point where I consciously try to avoid flooring my cars. I heard that the gas prices are going to soar up to $5 per gallon during summer. I think right now would be a great time to invest in petroleum companies since they are going to price gouge up the ass and make billions off of us....

runnerX

I would get X3, drove one at track and it handles just like a sports car...

Mongolian

X3 stands on the questionable reliability side according Consumer Reports magazine. I'm not sold on German engineering. My sister's A4 had a lot of problems after the 1st year of purchase and my manager's 540i bimmer has been having some sort of electrical or mechanical problems every other month. Of course I'm not trying to generalize, but I am convinced that German vehicles are not what I want.

If you are going to fork out cash for X3, you might as well get a RDX. You'd probably get a lot more bang for the bucks. RDX would probably be cheaper. Hell, can't the X3 cost as much as low $40k with options? If it's in the $40k range, you should consider a FX35.