Hi Scotty,
First of all, I would like to take this opportunity to appreciate what you are doing. I find your videos very informative as well as entertaining.
I am in the market for a SUV and will appreciate your inputs before pulling the trigger. I have driven both and currently split btw these 2.. your expert opinion may help me in coming to a decision
I am planning to try carvana or carmax this time. Here are my requirements
i. Budget- ~22-23k ,
ii. Big cargo space
iii. 2018 or after Santa Fe model , 2017 or after Subaru ; <60k miles
iii. will be driving in around Toronto or New York but limited to cities. Marginal offroading
Toronto, however gets a decent amount of snow ,so I think the AWD option on Subaru will be great
iv . Accessories: I am not really looking for all possible bells and whistles but Santa Fe seems to take the lead here. I definitely need things like front heated seats, android auto and rearview backup camera
v. Leather/Leatherette seats preferably
vi. Average driving: 8k-10k miles annually , plan to keep car for ~7-8 years
do you think I am expecting a lot for my budget 😳 . what would you recommend... appreciate your response
Hyundai
Either one will probably be OK with under 60K miles, you need to carefully check condition and have a mechanic check it thoroughly before purchase. Hyundai in recent years has had serious problems with their engines which is something to be careful of, and according to Scotty in many cases failed Hyundai engines have been replaced under warranty with use junkyard engines that will likely develop the same problems.
Subaru on the other hand has markedly improved their previous head gasket and oil burning issues of past years. The Subaru CVT is probably its weakest point, so if the Hyundai has a conventional automatic transmission that would be in its favor. However since you're only looking to take the vehicle to about 140K miles or so total the CVT would probably be OK especially if you change its fluid periodically.
