Automotive

AWD - what to buy? Any good rebates? Room for negotiations?

  • Last Updated:
  • May 29th, 2018 3:30 pm
Newbie
Apr 3, 2018
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I'm surprised no one came up with the 2018 Equinox 2.0T. 6.5s 0-100, decent amount of space and very quiet cabin. Something to consider too.
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Jan 1, 2016
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Sorry, I totally missed why you didn't consider the Honda HRV. Is it the small engine?
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SuperOxide wrote: Sorry, I totally missed why you didn't consider the Honda HRV. Is it the small engine?
Thought the HRV wasnt an AWD. We looked at one this fall and thats what the dealer said
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Nov 26, 2014
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WikkiWikki wrote: Thought the HRV wasnt an AWD. We looked at one this fall and thats what the dealer said
The HRV has both AWD versions and FWD versions. The CHR (Toyota) is only FWD.
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jerbhu wrote: The HRV has both AWD versions and FWD versions. The CHR (Toyota) is only FWD.
Ah, thats right. We looked at a lot, now I remember it was the CHR
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Apr 3, 2018
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HRV is way too small. I'm a little biased against Honda, for some reason it reminds me horribly driving soccer moms who want SUV but have no skills to park it. Oh well.
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Domestos wrote: HRV is way too small. I'm a little biased against Honda, for some reason it reminds me horribly driving soccer moms who want SUV but have no skills to park it. Oh well.
Agreed on the HRV, it's mostly pointless, though pretty much any CUV/SUV has that stereotype. Anyone getting an HRV should be getting a CRV or a Civic hatch.
It's too bad Volvo's are so pricey. They look great, are somewhat rare, have pretty good performance.
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Apr 3, 2018
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Today was the test drive day. You guys put a lot of thoughts in this topic so I thought I would let you know...

Chevy Equinox 2.0T AWD - nice engine, nice acceleration. The tranny seems very jerky, and IMO it has too many gears - it's shifting all the time. Rather cheap looking interior, but somewhat decent. Anyway, for 40k it is definitely not worth its price.

Subaru Forester 2.0xt - that was one of the weirdest rides I've ever had. The 2.0xt is really powerfull, it's very good acceleration overall, the cvt surprisingly does a great job and really fits the car. The ride qualty on the other hand was not good, very noisy, plenty of wind and road noise, and its low window line makes you feel like you're sitting on a stool. The subaru guy said the 2.0xt ends this year and offered 2k discount with 0.5% finance. Pretty decent I think. I would probably be ready to compromise the ride quality, but my missus hated it and said that was one of the worst passenger rides she had.

CX5 - the front of the car is more tight than my mazda 3! Way underpowered (I think), it's not roomy and it feels weird.

CX9 - not really my class but I still tried it, I thought maybe I needed to increase my budget to get something decent. It had a decent, linear acceleration, didn't feel that quick but looking at the speedo made me realise it WAS quick. Quite high road noise on the highway though. Very decent car, probably the best cornering of all them, but for 45k it wasn't worth it.

OVERALL: I don't think the SUV segment is for me. It just didn't feel right. I didn't feel confident in the car when cornering, some of them felt like driving a boat, the interiors are not roomier than my small mazda 3! My missus said the same, she said to me "those were the cars for me if we had kids, but I don't see you in any of them".

We decided we're gonna buy a small beater for less than 10k for her (the reason I was looking was that she needed a car for her new job, so I wanted to give her my mazda). Then wait another year or two and see how the all new 2019 RAM 1500 Laramie comes out, if it's reliable, how it drives etc. I think that's the only "high" segment that I would be ok to drive.
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Sep 21, 2004
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That's a lot of test drive in one day. I agree with you that many SUV are not bigger than Sedans and can't compare to wagons in terms of interior storage.
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Jan 1, 2016
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b166er1337 wrote: That's a lot of test drive in one day. I agree with you that many SUV are not bigger than Sedans and can't compare to wagons in terms of interior storage.
Agreed. I think to buy a SUV or CUV you have to ask yourself why. Is it for the added comfort? Is it for space? Is it just for the 4WD? The OP seems to really want power, acceleration, and handling which in general are not going to be superior to their sedan/coupe counterparts.
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Apr 3, 2018
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Tbh with you guys I would go with the Subaru. The driving experience was somewhat weird but actually amazing. The only car that seemed attached to the road with the acceleration that literally pulls your head to the back seat. It's one of those cars that I would drive with a smile on my face, actually even now I feel like I would like to come back and just test drive it again just for fun. That 2.0t engine was extra responsive. It's one of those cars that makes you realize you don't need much to have fun when driving and love the car despite its bare interior.

But my wifey hated it ;) she's hard to convince and I kinda understand it, I was the one having fun when driving it and she just sat there on that stool lol. She says at the end of the day that's my car so it's my choice but her dislike tells me "look for something better". I'll take her to have another test drive and will try to stick to the speed limit, when I merged on the highway I went over 160km/h without even noticing, just a matter of few seconds without looking at the speedo, maybe that's whats made her so uncomfortable. She always screamed at me when doing over 200km/h on the autobahn in Germany, I guess Subaru brough her those bad memories back lol.
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Apr 3, 2018
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So FYI people, I managed to convince my missus and ordered 2018 Subaru Forester XT Touring with the EyeSight package. They don't take factory orders on that model anymore (2.0 turbo is gone for the 2019 forester), the cost was 38k including everything (~2k off mrsp). There was one last model available on the ship from Japan with the color I wanted, so it was no brainer. 3-6 weeks and the car should be here. Thanks everyone.
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Domestos wrote: So FYI people, I managed to convince my missus and ordered 2018 Subaru Forester XT Touring with the EyeSight package. They don't take factory orders on that model anymore (2.0 turbo is gone for the 2019 forester), the cost was 38k including everything (~2k off mrsp). There was one last model available on the ship from Japan with the color I wanted, so it was no brainer. 3-6 weeks and the car should be here. Thanks everyone.
Good purchase and last of the Forester turbos unless they bring back in 2020, unlikely.
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Apr 15, 2014
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Yes, good purchase OP. The XT should hold it's value nicely considering it is the last year of the 2.0 turbo. Welcome to the Subaru club.
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Domestos wrote: So FYI people, I managed to convince my missus and ordered 2018 Subaru Forester XT Touring with the EyeSight package. They don't take factory orders on that model anymore (2.0 turbo is gone for the 2019 forester), the cost was 38k including everything (~2k off mrsp). There was one last model available on the ship from Japan with the color I wanted, so it was no brainer. 3-6 weeks and the car should be here. Thanks everyone.
It was on our list to, but after 9 years of a Taurus X AWD wagon, wife wanted a change, so we went the smaller/taller CUV route. She thought these just felt the same with the height and length.
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Good for you, it's the best combination of power/price/functionality on the market, shame it's gone next year.

Yeah it's deceptively quick, also deceptive amount of traction, something to watch out for in winter (i.e. it just goes when you punch the pedal, you don't feel how low traction the road actually is like with a 2WD car).
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Nov 28, 2011
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+1 for the Subaru . Seems like the perfect vehicle for your needs
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May 23, 2017
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SuperOxide wrote: Agreed. I think to buy a SUV or CUV you have to ask yourself why. Is it for the added comfort? Is it for space? Is it just for the 4WD? The OP seems to really want power, acceleration, and handling which in general are not going to be superior to their sedan/coupe counterparts.
We currently have a sedan. We don't feel that safe with all the SUV/CUV on the road. With the sedan sitting lower, our views are often blocked by the higher SUV/CUV. In case of an collision, the higher and heavier SUV/CUV will molst likely have an advantage over the sedan. So, it's a "if you can't beat them, join them" mentality.

Thanks.
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treksub wrote: We currently have a sedan. We don't feel that safe with all the SUV/CUV on the road. With the sedan sitting lower, our views are often blocked by the higher SUV/CUV. In case of an collision, the higher and heavier SUV/CUV will molst likely have an advantage over the sedan. So, it's a "if you can't beat them, join them" mentality.
Thanks.
In some cases a heavier car is safer, but in others it is more dangerous. For instance, a taller, heavier car will handle worse in general, so it's less likely to avoid an accident. It's also more likely to roll over in an incident. The sight lines are typically worse out of an SUV as well, so you're less likely to see an incident before it happens.
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