RAV4 v CRV v Rogue v Forester v CX-5 v (FUCK IT) MINIVAN.

[JHatta]

RS,

Started a family (#1), with the plans on #2 within the next 2 years.

I want to get the wife a larger car, and started doing research on the 5 SUVs listed in the title. Looking for some feedback from owners or those who have traveled this path already. Also, just thinking to say fuck it and buy a minivan because when #2 comes I think it's the practical choice.

RAV4; probably the priciest of the group. Parents have the hybrid, and it's a pretty smooth ride. Interior is solid and trunk has decent space.

CRV; I think the CRV has the best interior of the bunch, most comfortable seats.

Rogue; Looks to me as the best bang for buck. We currently both have nissans and love it. I'm personally leaning towards this choice, unless someone has thoughts otherwise.

Forester; I like the forester A LOT, it ticks the boxes for a mid-size SUV for me and probably has the best AWD system from the bunch. I'm coming down from an Xterra Off-Road, so the forester feels natural. I heard that these cars burn oil, and it's a hit or miss issue. Also I've never owned a Subbie before, not sure of the common maintenance issues.

CX-5; Have yet to test drive one. I heard that the interior is garbage but the drive really really nice.

Minivan; eh. It's a minivan. Will probably look to get an Odyssey. Haven't done any looking into the trims yet or the differences between manufacturers.

[TOPEC]

watch this, it compares all the models u listed except for the cx-5

YouTube

dont have personal experience, but minivan is the way to go when dealing with a baby/kid that requires a car seat. the sliding doors makes taking the baby/car seat in and out a breeze compared to a swinging door. with a swinging door, u'll pretty much have to have it opened all the way to have enough room to maneuver the baby/kid/car seat in and out, try doing that in tight spaces and u'll appreciate the sliding doors of a minivan.

[mb_]

CX-5. Best value out of all and drives the best. The interior is no Lexus but it's awesome for its price range. 2019 also has a turbo engine available.

Haven't driven a 2019 RAV4 yet but when I sat it in one at the auto show, rear seats had a ton of room compared to other compact CUV's I've been in

[R1CED`]

what's your priority?

cargo space?
fuel efficiency?
off-road capability?
tech?
driving dynamics?

[JHatta]

1. Cargo Space
2. Driving Dynamics and Cabin Noise
3. Fuel Efficiency
4. Off-Road Capability
5. Tech

[danned]

just buy all of them

[Badhobz]

Mini van is the most expensive by far. A loaded sienna or oddesy would cost like 60k. If space isn't that important than the RAV4 and crv would be my picks. I'd personally go with the RAV4 cuz the new ones are all loaded with Toyota safety sense.

[Fafine]

Mini van FTW
Easier to load and unload the child
And then when they're older and able to climb in and out of the van themselves, won't have to worry about door dinging other cars with a sliding door.

[heleu]

You're comparing compact SUVs to a minvan which isn't really a fair comparison price or size wise. You might want to look at some midsize SUVs if you want more space.

Hot off the press:
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews...onda-passport/

[bcrdukes]

Are you looking to lease? Or buy/finance? And how long do you plan on keeping it for?

[Mikoyan]

With one/two car seats, you need to test to see how they fit in the vehicle. The safety recommendation for kids now is to rear face them for as long as possible, at least until 2 years old. Yes, the legal rule minimum is 1 years old & min 20 lbs, but more people are rear facing longer.
It's up to you how long to rear face, but it affects the fit of the car seats. Depending on the vehicle model, they may not fit right. We wanted a Diono at first but it wouldn't fit in a RX350 rear facing. Ended up with Cleks that did.

Inlaws have new RAV4, and the two Clek car seats can't fit passenger/middle. Has to be Passenger/Passenger, so you lose the middle seating as it's too narrow to seat anyone. The same seats fit P/M in a RX350 fine. The Cleks are already one of the narrower seats out there, and can fit 3 across in most vehicles.

Double strollers are huge, I have 2 kids at the age gap you're planning, (currently 4&2) and even in the wife's RX350, it took up a sizable amount of room in trunk. You'll want as much cargo space as you can get.

[vexor]

Just out of curiosity, where did you hear the CX-5 interior is garbage? I have one on demo right now and the interior is pretty good for a mainstream vehicle. very quiet and very nice to drive of the list you mentioned.

As for what I'd recommend, I would normally say the CX-5 because it drives really well, quiet, and is available with all the tech you'd ever need.

But..

Because you're expecting a second in the near future, I think you should consider the CR-V. It offers more interior space than the CX-5 and that'll come in handy with car seats, strollers, etc. It still drives well (though not as well as the CX-5), has plenty of tech, good fuel economy, but a bit more on the expensive side if you go for the Touring trim.

[supafamous]

Originally Posted by JHatta

1. Cargo Space
2. Driving Dynamics and Cabin Noise
3. Fuel Efficiency
4. Off-Road Capability
5. Tech

Is your budget for a top trim version of one of these or for the mid-level? I looked at the CR-V and CX-5 closely and decided the RDX was the best of both worlds for items 1 and 2 on your list but it's an extra $10K.

The CR-V is massive on the inside - basically a half size bigger than its competitors but I found the CVT to be painful to drive. Otherwise it's got everything a family of 4 needs, it'll hold hockey bags, camping gear etc fine. 2nd nicest interior on your list. 20-30 more hp and a normal auto and I would have bought it.

The CX-5 is on the smaller end but the nicest inside and out - the interior is near-luxury. It wasn't as nice as the RDX but better than what BMW tries to sell people. I drove the Signature trim and there was plenty of power (and it was very quiet) but ultimately we felt that we wanted to fit 2 adults plus a child seat in the back and the CX-5 is a touch cramped for that. Jeffrey at Signature Mazda let me take it overnight - he's here on RS.

An unsung hero for me was the Golf Sportwagon/Alltrak. It had the best driving dynamics of any car I looked at, lots of fun and great powertrain. Nice interior and decent cargo space. It just didn't have enough amenities for me (heated steering wheel, memory seats) and we wanted more space. I'd recommend anyone looking at small crossovers to look at it.

Re: Rogue, BIL has one and I've ridden in a co-worker's and if you want an appliance and are on a budget then sure, go ahead but it's the most appliance of all the cars you're considering. Nissan isn't selling them because people love them, it's because people can afford them and don't care about driving dynamics.

[!Aznboi128]

Originally Posted by JHatta

RAV4; probably the priciest of the group. Parents have the hybrid, and it's a pretty smooth ride. Interior is solid and trunk has decent space.

The new Rav4 is decent but I would wait for the hybrid.

Originally Posted by JHatta

CRV; I think the CRV has the best interior of the bunch, most comfortable seats.

CRV is comfortable, has the largest trunk but it's just a large hole the rogue uses the space better with dividers

Originally Posted by JHatta

Rogue; Looks to me as the best bang for buck. We currently both have nissans and love it. I'm personally leaning towards this choice, unless someone has thoughts otherwise.

Yea Cheap and it shows, the car is out of date as hell

Originally Posted by JHatta

Forester; I like the forester A LOT, it ticks the boxes for a mid-size SUV for me and probably has the best AWD system from the bunch. I'm coming down from an Xterra Off-Road, so the forester feels natural. I heard that these cars burn oil, and it's a hit or miss issue. Also I've never owned a Subbie before, not sure of the common maintenance issues.

the brand new forester is pretty nice, tons of windows to allow light to enter makes the cabin feels bigger than it actually is. The base engine is a bit gutless but the turbo can get pricy.

Originally Posted by JHatta

CX-5; Have yet to test drive one. I heard that the interior is garbage but the drive really really nice.

could not be more wrong, the cx5 has the best interior of the bunch. driving dyanmics it's the best. The only downfall is size, if you are going to be carrying two strollers the trunk space is smlaller than the others

Originally Posted by JHatta

Minivan; eh. It's a minivan. Will probably look to get an Odyssey. Haven't done any looking into the trims yet or the differences between manufacturers.

odyssey and sienna is the "safe" choices here however the odyssey has some reliability issues on the latest generation. The Kia Sedona is rated pretty high and as always you can get a really good deal on one.

Revscene does some reviews for newer vehicles if you care to check them out they're below

Spoiler!

YouTube

YouTube

YouTube

As mentioned above for the best overall I would say the CRV most likely either the EX or EX-L trim depending if you want leather or not. It drives well enough to make you happy and it delivers on fuel economy. The trunk has more than enough space for 2 strollers and baby bag + more. A close second would be the Forester, also great to drive but it the NA 4 cylinder doesn't give enough punch but the awd system is the best of the bunch. Also subaru's eyesight system is better than others at detecting pedestrians and vehicles.

[JDMDreams]

Cccccccombo breaker

Phev, depending on how long your commute is you might not even be using gas + I think there's still ev discounts

[k3mps]

I work at Nissan and I have to say....Mazda CX-5 hands down.

[TypeRNammer]

Going to chime in and say minivan would be the better choice in terms of a family with 2 kids.

When my son was born, I thought I could get away with my 2017 Subaru WRX. Checked most of the boxes, sports car with a boot big enough to fit a Nuna Mixx stroller and other miscellaneous stuff.

Then my daughter was born a couple years later and being it a 4 door sedan, it was just a pain in the ass going anywhere cause of loading and unloading the kids.

I tried shopping between an Acura MDX and a Honda Odyssey.

In the end, ended up with the 2011 Honda Odyssey touring.

It hauls everyone in the family, including the in laws and baby stuff.

[tofu1413]

if hybrid, id take the Rav4

i like the interior and the drive on the CX-5.

Forester seems great if you're leaning more towards utility.

[teggy604]

I'd take the minivan. can fit all the kids stuff, bags, stroller, high chair, and still have room for groceries. Road trips and camping trip with kids you will thank yourself you got the minivan. Not to mention if you need to change the kids clothes or diapers you got tons of space to do it in the minivan with privacy as well.

[TouringTeg]

We have had a 13 CRV EX-L purchased from tofu from 67km to 120kms. All we have done is one recall for a sticky VTC (variable timing controller) then consumables fluids, tires and brakes. I have a second set of floor mats as driver side is looking worn.

If you dont have to tow it is a great package. Just don't expect a fun driving experience. The CX5 is more fun to drive.

[asma123]

RAV4 hands down. It just got refreshed and has everything you will want.

[fliptuner]

I thought @JHatta is brown.

Shouldn't it be as simple as Escalade or Navigator?

[Edison_Chen]

If you justify driving a van, hands down no comparison. I had a van when my kids were younger. The extra space and extra seats can carry the stroller and stuff from Costco. The extra seats comes in handy when commuting with grandparents. I sold my van and I have a 4Runner now and it’s decent because my kids are 7 and 4.

My mom will trade in her 2017 CRV for the RAV4 hybrid when it comes in.. the CRV has more second row room than the new RAV4.

[Fafine]

Plus a new sienna will beat all those in the quarter mile lol

[R1CED`]

if minivan route i'd wait for new sienna

did they fix the cr-v oil problem?