First of all, want to say love this community and the honest, reliable answers given. Been researching more on used SUVs (2016/17) and newer and have narrowed down what I would be interested in but still too many to go and test drive so I wanted to ask here to maybe narrow it down. Be commuting to work every day (44 miles round trip mixed city and semi highway) and during the summer be commuting 250 miles round trip for vacations every 2 to 3 weeks. So looking for a vehicle that I will enjoy driving in terms of smoothness of the ride, won't hurt too much on the wallet in terms of gas, has an upscale feel (does not have to be overly luxurious just standard leather and heated seats kind of thing), and can pack things for vacation. I also do live in a snowy area where after winter, the roads are full of potholes. Obviously, would want the car to be reliable and not have any/many major problems for the length of ownership say up to 200,000 miles. My list includes:
- Toyota Rav4
- Toyota Highlander
- Mazda CX-5
- Lexus NX 300
- Lexus RX 350
- Acura RDX
Any help would be appreciated including if recommend one but stay away from a certain year, etc. Thanks!
I would stay away from the Acura RDX. That engine (3.5L V6) has cylinder deactivation (what Acura calls VCM) that can potentially wear out/damage the engine over time. For longevity and simpler design, I would go with a naturally aspirated engine over turbocharged so that also eliminates the Lexus NX300. So you are down to the Toyota RAV4, Highlander, Lexus RX350, and Mazda CX-5. If you need AWD, then Toyota makes a better AWD system than Mazda so that would narrow it down to the RAV4, Highlander, and RX350. All use minimum 87 gasoline, but of those 3 the RAV4 being lighter will get slightly better gas mileage. Then of those 3, I would choose between the RAV4 and Highlander as Toyota parts will be cheaper than Lexus when you need to replace those and the 2016+ RX350 had the 8-speed AT whereas the other two had 6-speed AT (well, if you stick to the MY2016 or older Highlander) - fewer gears just means less chance of issues down the road. Between those two, that’s a tough one: if you need the room and more comfortable go for the Highlander; if better fuel economy then the RAV4.
For long term reliability and premium quality, I would go ahead and test drive a Toyota Highlander and Lexus RX350 (both gasoline non-hybrid).
The CX-5 isn't bad and Mazda has been improving a lot but it won't last as long as the Toyotas for 200k miles it should be able to do 100-150k miles + but you would want to stay before 2018 as 2018 brought it cylinder deactivation which tends to wear out an engine.
I would pass on the RDX.
In terms of rank if I wasn't clear enough:
RX/Highlander
CX-5
RDX
Good luck!
Out of those, I’d say Highlander or RX350.
None of them will return great gas mileage, though.. That’s the price you gotta pay for cavernous space & a high seating position.
