ThermonMermon

Hey guys,

I am looking to lock up a lease in February (baby due in March). I have a good lease deal on an Outback. I originally wanted an RDX, but the navigation system / lack of apple car play may be a non starter.

Did any of you guys cross shop these two?

2018 Outback - 2.5 limited w eyesight (leather, LED turning headlights, apple car play, navi, all tech nanny features, remote start) - ~$340/mo inc. taxes, $0 down plus fees. 10k/yr

MAYBE it would be possible to get a left over 2018 RDX tech in February for that territory. I could probably get a RDX base now with roughly the same lease deal as the Outback. But i would still be left with old infotainment.

Objectives:
1. All safety features available and LEDs
2. Excellent navigation (huge family in dense NJ/Staten Island - i have terrible sense of direction, and my wife is horrible at navigating, and i want to have my hands free to navigate with a newborn in the back)
3. Decent badge
4. Basic use. We both use public transpo, so occasional nanny use, and weekend use, but primary car. Definitely less than 10k miles a year. Maybe closer to 5k.
5. Good mileage, would prefer regular gas. 90% city driving.
6. Lowest monthly lease payment possible since it will sit in the driveway most days

...we ruled out all others cars, so not open to others. Down to the Outback and RDX, and favoring the Outback at this point.

chickdr

Have you looked at a KIA Sportage and Sorrento? I would also suggest a look at the Hyundai Santa Fe Sport and Tuscon. Your #3 requirement may preclude KIA/Hyundai, but that would be a big mistake unless you have driven them and made a decision based on comparison vs badge.

I seriously doubt you will get an RDX for the same deal as the Outback even at base trim level which won't get your safety requirements covered. You would need a AWP + tech package car which is in the 40's as I assume you want AWD.

ThermonMermon

Love the Sorrento - but too big for the wife, and unnecessary for us plus 1 newborn. The Sportage is a no go.

We like the Tucson, but it doesnt lease well and is a bit cramped. The Sante Fe would be perfect if the interior build out was refreshed a la the Tucson, but it's not.

SlowLane

I am just curious. Did you also look at the Forester? If yes, why did you choose the Outback? I test drove an Outback years ago when I decided to lease a Forester. The Forester was a little quicker with the 2.5i engine. I also test drove an Outback with the 3.6 engine. I was surprised how much space the Outback had in the backseat and cargo area.

The Outback will be better in Winter compared to the RDX. I would choose the Outback over a base RDX, especially for basic transportation.

ThermonMermon

Over the past few years, the Outback interior has vastly outpaced the Forester, with a large update in 2016? and once again in 2018. Subaru did a good job at feeding one of their best sellers. The 2018 Outback interior rivals the RDX. The Forester has gone a bit unloved, and feels more economy, like a 10 year old Honda...but will receive a full blown redesign for 2019. Also, the Forester is a bit narrower, and the tall cabin makes it feel even more narrower than it is; borderline cramped.

Also, the Forester has a very suspect lumbar support that is highly scrutinized by some...to the point some people end up trading in the car after seeing the effects of a long road trip. Depending on your body type of posture, the seats could be very uncomfortable.

TacoBello

Why would the Outback be better than the RDX in the winter?

Personally, while I do really like the utility aspect of the Outback, Subarus in general are a deal breaker from me- especially coming from an Acura. Their paint quality is some of the worst in the industry. 2 year old cars look like 10 year old cars, from the rock chips the front will take. Their interiors are always Spartan compared to the rest of the industry. Let's face it- Subaru is an economy car company. They've chosen to differentiate themselves from the rest of the market by using AWD in every car... but that comes at a cost. They end up cheapening out in many departments to keep the car affordable, with the AWD system.

When is the new RDX coming out, if it is being shown in under 2 weeks time? You don't think you can tough it out a couple months and wait for the new RDX?

SlowLane

Seat comfort was one of the issues I had with the Forester, but it wasn't that bad.

Subaru's AWD is better in the Winter compared to the cheaper AWD system Acura has on the RDX. The Forester was one of my better Winter vehicles. I didn't need Winter tires. I hope Acura puts SH-AWD back in the next RDX.

RDX10

ThermonMermon

Wow, you need to step up to an SX trim just to get HIDs....and the tech nanny stuff is in addition thereafter, now your at $44k for an equally equipped Sorrento.

jcross1231

Hate to say it, but I'd go with the Outback since you can't wait for the '19 RDX. Quite a shame, but those things happen. The RDX is a lot more refined, but some aspects are dated. I'm making up for the shortcomings through the use of my smartphone, but that's a patch you'd rather not do in a new vehicle.

ThermonMermon

Yeah...i could probably get away with a 2019 base AWD too, since it will likely have apple car play. but i bet the 2019 base lease deals upon release will not be good...maybe 400/mo or more, similar to a 2018 tech. another misfortune is the new QX50 (which i have a feeling i will like better than the new acura styling) has a delayed release date, so that doesnt work either.

oh well. at least the outback is the best value of the bunch, and im not splurging on my "second choice"

RDX10

Yeah I agree, it can get rather pricey. But it really does feel like an incredibly polished vehicle now. Forget the badge and in reality it is an amazing bargain for the quality. It feels built to a higher price point to me. Pay attention to the materials that line the glovebox and center console, the materials on the upper half of all 4 doors, the fabric on the roof and on all the pillars. I came away incredibly impressed because they did a VERY good job hiding cost cutting. Fwiw the RDX is all hard cheap plastic in the rear doors, the bins are not lined in felt, pillars are hard plastic...just look at the subtle stuff and you’ll see what I mean.

chickdr

Not sure where you are getting "cramped" on the Tuscon- It is almost identical (and actually larger in some dimensions) than the RDX: You can also buy a loaded Limited Ultimate for the low 30's(which includes heated rear seats, panoramic S/R - which are unavailable even on an RDX Advance - and an up to date infotainment system with AA and ACP).

ThermonMermon

I cant disagree with you guys. I am just looking for the safest suv/wagon with all the latest tech and basic luxuries...that is effectively a cheap "safety net" to transport a newborn on weekends plus nanny duty. If I was personally driving the car regularly and gave it decent mileage, I would probably go for an X5 or maybe even a RR Velar. But for my wife and I to both walk past an Outback every morning in the driveway to catch the train makes the lease payment a lot easier to stomach.

ThermonMermon

forget the metrics on paper....the dash design bulges out into the corner of the footwells, and my right knee hits the dash with a rear facing baby seat behind me.

RDX10

chickdr

Agreed!

BLEXV6

Well, my Son has a 13 Outback, and I have 2 RDX's. Aside from there being more space in the hatch, there is no comparison. The RDX is the superior vehicle period.

HotRodW

Don't let MSRP put you off. Deals on Kias can be quite good. And with the refreshed 2019 model expected out shortly, they'll be dealing even more on residual 2018's. I'm not suggesting you buy one if you don't like them, but if you haven't driven one, it's worth an hour of your time. They are surprisingly refined.

The nice thing about the Outback, or any Subaru for that matter, is that there's a lot less risk involved. If you buy one and find it's not right for you, the hit on resale won't be as severe. (Assuming you can get out of the lease, that is.) I paid $24k for a Forester years ago, drove it for 3-1/2 years/80k miles, and sold it privately for $16.5k. The car was good to me, but the seats were bloody awful after the first hour.

RDX10

ThermonMermon

chickdr

Since you mentioned it - What's wrong with the new CRV? CX5 is also a really nice ride - if a little loud inside.

Out of curiosity, what $60k Lexus can you lease for $500 mth with zero down? Most of the leases I see advertised require several thousand down.

ThermonMermon

HotRodW

HotRodW

jrasero

Yeah if you don't care about the badge buying and financing a Kia Hyundai offers great value that quite frankly is not too much off from Acura or any Premium brand. However lease wise especially when you are looking at loaded models these are some of the worse cars to lease, awesome 0% financing or great off lease cars but the residuals are so bad. Maybe the Genesis line with their upcoming sub will be better.

As per the RDX I feel confident if you wait until the launch of the third gen you could get a crazy good deal on a left over 2018 like they did with the 2017 TLX with huge $5k lease incentives

jrasero

There is no $60k Lexus that you can do zero down for less than $500 a month for 36 months 10k miles a year. I understand using zero down as a baseline to compare cars is right and I think putting zero or as little as possible down to be the way to go since if the car is wrecked or stolen you will never get that back but rolling in taxes is somewhat dependent state to state.

A base 2018 Lexus NX AWD 36 months 10k a year zero down comes out to $470 a month without taking taxes and fees into account. This calculation is with the car at almost $36k. So no you can't get a $60k Lexus for less than $500 a month with nothing down

jrasero

Lease wise anything near or above 60 percent residual is good to very good. BMW highly over exaggerates their residuals which makes them amazing cars to lease but even they require heavy down payments to offset their high MSRP when optioned out. Acura especially the RDX is a great lease car since one it comes with a ton of standard options that the Germans would charge extra for, lower overall MSRP, but while maintaining a near 60 percent residual if not higher depending on when you buy, mileage, and lease length

Also a huge thing to consider is money factor, while BMW has great residuals their money factors tend to be around 3.6% if not higher while a Lexus NX AWD Base is around 1.44% and a RDX AWD Advance is now 1.13% while a Kia Sorento SX AWD has a 51% residual and 4.7% APR

RDX10

srpuywa

my wife has a 17 base RDX and I have a 17 Forester (base) commuting car. There really isn't a comparison on the two - the RDX is a much nicer, the subaru 2.5 is a little gutless but that may be the CVT transmissions fault

jrasero

I seriously looked at the Forester 2.0 Touring and while it was a nice performance upgrade over the base Forester it just didn't feel as smooth or refined as the RDX which is saying a lot considering that the current Gen RDX is always being panned as a non luxury car. But none the less the 2.0 Touring is a very nice car, maybe next time I will take another look at it. The Forester is always up for a major refresh

YeuEmMaiMai

negative ghost rider having driven both, the outback wins hands down in the following areas

Interior quality
visibility while driving
handling
ability to eat snow

and the important part
Off-road ability
Price for what you get

Acura is nowhere were they used to be in terms of build quality or prestige and that is sad (former Acura owner here)

ThermonMermon

chickdr

Have you made a decision yet? If so what did you buy?

I would love to see those offers. You can't even get close to $350/mth zero down on a base model RDX AWD. I agree with you about $100/10k being a good target, but it is exceedingly hard to get a lease deal like that on a popular car. I have a friend looking for a new car and he decided on a 2018 530i. The car has an MSRP of right at 60k and they are aggressive with deals as it is close to end of the model year. The lease he is going with is $750/mth (36mths) with $2,500 total due at signing. Would you be willing to share "your guys" info? If so he may get some business from the members with those kind of deals.

ThermonMermon

ThermonMermon

chickdr

Thanks for the link. The 5 series you mentioned is not as heavily optioned as the one he is getting and has a $925 bank fee so it isn't really nothing down. It also requires "5 series loyalty" which sounds as if you have to already own a BMW 5 series to qualify. I still told him to call and see what they could offer.

chickdr

I actually just contacted Legend Leasing. They only lease in the Tristate area. No good for most of us forum members.

ThermonMermon

ThermonMermon