Thanks. Lots of good information there. I guess when I think “premium”, I tend to automatically think of the European stuff, as we didn’t have Acura/Infiniti where I used to live and Lexus was a very small player. RX and MDX look good. So, is the MDX similar to a Honda Pilot or is it its own thing? Good to know that the MDX has a more sophisticated AWD system too. I guess my problem with spending big money (for me) on a pre-owned Lexus/Acura is that you’re looking at a 5/6 year old vehicle with about 4 years of use on it already, no warranty etc when you can get a new vehicle for not much more (granted it’s a Kia).
Point also taken on Mitsubishi, seems like it has been a dying brand for years and despite the Renault/Nissan alliance, they recently pulled out of Europe, so who knows how long they’ll stay in NA. I sold Suzuki cars for a couple of years actually! Well-engineered for the price and decent, non-pretentious cars that I found quite endearing but mostly smaller cars, so not so well suited to the NA market. Kia/Hyundai is a pretty huge industrial powerhouse in comparison though, I don’t really see them going anywhere, I worry more for the big 3 (although less so Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Ram bizarrely, as they have the might of Stellantis behind them). Jeep/Ram still very strong brands but maybe Chrysler/Dodge will fall by the wayside in the next few years? Re Kia/Hyundai, a lot of my friends in the car industry seem to think they’re the “go to” option if you just want a decent non-enthusiast car and many now own or are contemplating owning them when they used to drive BMWs/Mercedes. Useful information about the DCT on the Sorento though, I didn’t know that, seems like an odd choice on a car like that when even BMW M/Audi RS cars are going back to torque converter transmissions now. I have to say that I though Kia/Hyundai were cheap crap 15 years ago but all the modern ones that I have driven have been quite impressive (I’d put them right up there with the Mazdas that I have driven).
Re VW, I’ve been really pleased with my Golf Sportwagen. VW really imbued it with a high quality feel for a compact car and it (touchwood) hasn’t really missed a beat in the 4 years/80,000 or so km that I’ve had it. It has been more reliable and less rattly than my 2013 Civic and significantly more refined/comfortable than my 2014 Corolla was. I wouldn’t have too much of an issue in owning another VW but the Tiguan doesn’t excite me massively, as it doesn’t have a lot more power than my Golf for its extra girth and VW seemed to have cheaped out on a lot of things post-dieselgate, so the Tiguan/Atlas don’t quite have the same “premium” feel as my Golf has. The Golf averages around 7L/100km, so I’m probably not going to beat that (our van averages about 11L/100km) but IIRC, I used to carpool with a guy who had a 2020 Highlander and he was averaging high 8s, which I thought was pretty decent for that type of vehicle, so improving on the GC should be possible.
I think that the LR4/original Volvo XC90 are probably two of the best designed 3-row vehicles ever in terms of utility but sadly both are getting on a bit now and their replacements seem to be less reliable (which I wouldn’t have though possible in the case of the Land Rover but it seems to be true)! All I’m reading about the current Discovery Sport/Discovery/XC90 is engine failures and constant electrical issues, so although my desire is high for those vehicles, my head is telling me to keep walking!
